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“MISSING,” I REPEATED, the blood rushing to my head. “What do you mean, missing? I just left her about two hours ago.”
“That’s what we’d like to talk to you about, Ms. Nikolas,” answered Detective Stone. He turned and nodded toward Trevor’s bike. “Whose motorcycle is that in your driveway?”
“It’s mine,” said Trevor, coming up behind me. He put his arm around my shoulder. “Can you tell us what’s going on?”
“And you are?” asked Detective Williams.
“He’s a friend,” I answered quickly. “Look, you said Krystal was missing. What exactly do you mean by that? I just left her about an hour ago.”
“Let’s go inside and we’ll talk about it,” replied Detective Williams.
“Fine,” I said, moving back to let them in.
The two detectives followed us into the living room and we all sat down.
“I spoke to Krystal’s mother and she mentioned that you were meeting her this evening?” asked Detective Stone.
“Yes. I met her at Club Hideaway and then shortly afterwards I gave her a ride to her car.”
“You dropped her off at her car?” asked the woman. “Where was that?”
Trevor actually gave them the address but it was obvious the detectives both knew where her car had been parked.
“That’s where you and your gang hang out, isn’t it?” asked Detective Williams, nodding toward Trevor’s cut. “The Gold Vipers?”
“It’s our clubhouse.”
“Excuse me, what did you say your name was?” she asked, pulling out a small notepad.
“I didn’t. It’s Raptor,” he replied.
“Raptor?” She stared at him, a cool smile on her face. “Could you give us your birth name? That would make things so much easier.”
“Sure. It’s Trevor Larson.”
She wrote it down. “And, what is your relationship with Ms. Nikolas?”
“Why does it matter?” he asked, frowning.
“We’re investigating a woman’s disappearance, Mr. Larson. We need to know as much as we can about Krystal and the people in her life to help in this investigation. Obviously, Ms. Nikolas and Krystal are friends. I imagine,” she looked at my hair, “that you and Ms. Nikolas are lovers?”
Embarrassed, I touched my hair, which felt like it was in total disarray. I could only imagine my appearance after what had just happened upstairs.
“We’re halfway there,” replied Trevor with a straight face.
My cheeks turned scarlet.
Detective Williams smirked. “Well, we apologize for interrupting your plans for the evening. We only have a few questions for you and then you can get back to whatever it was you were doing.”
“Right. I doubt I will be doing anything after this news,” said Trevor, looking at me. “We need to find her.”
“Understandable. Now, have you met Krystal before, Mr. Larson?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I’m tight with Krystal’s old man. He’s my brother.”
“Your brother, as in your club brother?” she asked.
“We may not be blood related, but he’s my brother in every important sense. I’d take a fucking knife for him,” he replied.
“I’m sure you would,” she said, her smile fake. “And he’d probably do the same for you, I take it?”
“I would hope so,” said Trevor, studying her. “Kind of like you two, right? You’d take a bullet for your partner?”
The two detectives looked at each other, but didn’t comment.
“Who reported Krystal missing?” I asked, losing my patience.
“We’ll get to that,” said Detective Stone, clearing his throat. “First off, Ms. Nikolas, could you tell us what happened when you dropped her off at her car?”
I explained how we opened the gate and went on to tell them how I’d watched Krystal get in and start her car. “Then, I left.”
“So, you left right away?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He brushed a piece of lint from his slacks and then looked at me again. “Did you see anyone else in the parking lot?”
“No,” I said, feeling my chest tighten. Had someone been hiding in the parking lot? “You said she was missing. Has she been abducted?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” replied Detective Williams.
I looked at Trevor. “Oh, my God,” I said, feeling my eyes fill with tears. “She’s my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her,” I said, trying not to cry.
He grabbed my hand. “I’m sure Krystal will be fine. If they don’t find her, we will.” He looked at Detective Stone. “Have you spoken to Tank?”
“Her boyfriend?” he said. “Yes. He said he doesn’t know anything.”
“I still don’t understand what’s going on,” I said, sniffling. I leaned over and grabbed a tissue from the coffee table. “When I left her, she was in her car and ready to leave. Could she have driven to someone’s house? Maybe she’s just hanging out somewhere. In fact, I’ll try calling her now,” I said, standing up.
“Her car is still at the clubhouse,” said Detective Stone. “So is her purse and her cell phone. The keys were in the ignition and the car was running when we arrived at the scene.”
“But she wasn’t there?” I asked, sitting back down.
“No. The driver’s side door was open and,” Detective Stone looked at his partner and then back at me, “it looks like she lost one of her shoes.”
I stared at him in horror. This was definitely foul play. There was no doubt in my mind. “Oh God, you have to find her,” I said, now crying. “Please!”
Trevor put his arm around me. “She’ll be found, babe. I swear, we’ll find her.”
“Hopefully one of us will find her in the next twenty-four hours,” said Detective Stone. “That’s why we need to ask you some more questions.”
“How did you hear about this?” asked Trevor. “That she was missing? Did one of my crew call you?”
“We’re not sure who called in the tip,” said Detective Williams. “All we know is that it was a woman.”
“What did she say?” asked Trevor. “Did the caller see who did it?”
“She wasn’t sure, it was pretty dark, except for one streetlight. She said she was driving by the clubhouse and noticed a woman getting dragged into a van by two men, both wearing masks,” said Detective Williams. “The caller became frightened when one of the men noticed her vehicle, so she sped off.”
“Did she say if they wearing cuts or jackets with club patches?” asked Trevor.
“She didn’t say and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to trace her call,” said Detective Stone.
“I need to call Slammer or Tank. See if they know what’s going on,” said Trevor, more to himself.
“We’ve spoken to Tank and his father. We also spoke to everyone who was inside your clubhouse at the time. Nobody seems to know anything,” said the woman, looking frustrated. “Which, I guess would make sense since the windows are boarded up and nobody can see in or out.”
“Believe me, if Tank or any of my brothers would have seen this shit go down, the fuckers would be caught by now,” said Trevor.
“I don’t get it,” I said, looking at all of them. “Why would two men in a van kidnap her? Especially wearing masks? It’s like it was planned or something.”
“It almost looks that way, doesn’t it?” replied Detective Stone, a strange smile on his face.
“What I don’t get is why her,” I said, dabbing at my tears. “They didn’t know what time we’d be getting back to the clubhouse. Unless they were following me back there.” I suddenly thought of Breaker. “Oh, my God!”
“What is it?” asked Trevor.
“That guy who has been harassing me, Breaker! He was following me again tonight. Maybe he had something to do with it!”
“Who is Breaker and why do you think he was following you?” asked the woman, sitting up straighter.
“He’s a sack of shit,” said Trevor, looking angry. “Who has the hots for Adriana. He followed you again?”
I nodded.
“I’m going to kick the shit out of him when I see the fucker,” he growled.
“Now, now, Mr. Larson. Violence only leads to more trouble. If this guy is harassing her, she needs to get the law involved,” said Detective Stone.
He stood up and began to pace. “The ‘law’ won’t protect her from a bastard like Breaker. He’s already been convicted of rape and I’m not going to wait for him to try and do it again, just so we can get a fucking restraining order.”
“Settle down, Mr. Larson. If we’re lucky, we’ll link him to Ms. Blake’s disappearance and that will be the end of him harassing Ms. Nikolas.”
He stopped and looked at me. “It’s going to be the end, no matter what, Kitten. I won’t let him scare you again.”
I nodded.
“Look, I’m going to ignore that threat because you haven’t yet broken the law. But, I do want to remind you that should you attack this person, you could be the one going to jail,” said Stone.
“I understand,” said Trevor, sitting back down next to me. “And you have to understand what kind of guy we’re dealing with.”
“Tell us about him,” said Williams.
“His real name is Thomas Kramer,” said Trevor. “He’s in the Devil’s Rangers.”
The two detectives looked at each other and then back toward us.
“This is interesting news,” said Stone. “Since a man named Thomas Kramer was found dead about three hours ago.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“He was shot and killed in his truck. What time did you say that he was following you?” asked Williams.
I told her. “It was right before I drove to Club Hideaway. I was going to make him follow me to the police station, but he turned at the last minute. I think he must have known where I was headed and changed his mind.”
“Do you own a gun, Ms. Nikolas?” asked Detective Stone.
My eyes widened. “What? No!”
“Of course she doesn’t own a gun,” said Trevor, looking pissed off.
“How about you, Mr. Larson. Do you own a gun?” he asked him.
“Yes,” replied Trevor. “I also have a Carry-And-Conceal Permit.”
“What kind of gun do you own, Mr. Larson?” he asked.
“A Smith & Wesson, Thirty-Eight Special.”
“Where is your gun at the moment?” asked Detective Williams, putting a hand on her holster.
“As you can see, I’m unarmed,” said Trevor, holding out his arms. “And, I’m not a murderer, so you can relax.”
“We’re not accusing you of that.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to bring you in for further questioning.”
“What do you mean?” I cried, standing up. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“There’s been a murder and a kidnapping tonight. You were the last person in contact with both victims, Ms. Nikolas. We need to interview you properly.”
Frightened, I looked at Trevor. “Is this where I say ‘Not without my lawyer present?’”