“I would,” she said firmly, making me chuckle with amusement. “It was actually quite intimidating at some points. Cornering me in the hospital, stalking me to the diner, turning up at my home. It was all quite stressful. My lawyer says that’s definitely harassment. I believe you’ve met my lawyer already, haven’t you?”
“Have I?”
“Well… As Dante’s old lady, my lawyer is the club’s lawyer. I’m sure you’ve dealt with him before.”
“Oh… I didn’t realise…”
“That I was back and his old lady?” She finished for him. “Well, now you know. So if there’s nothing else I can help you with, I’m going to go for that nap now. It was a pleasure, as always.” She turned her back on him and got on her tip-toes to give me a small kiss before heading back to the house where Hacksaw was waiting with our son.
My God, sometimes I adored her.
I hated admitting it, but it was the truth. If there was one thing Rachel was capable of, that was taking care of herself. I fucking loved watching her put people in their place and besting them—I didn’t love being on the receiving end so much, but it was a massive fucking turn on to watch her make grown men shrivel to half their size with just her words.
I twisted my head to watch her leave and then looked back at Officer Bradley with a smirk. “Was there anything else?”
“She was murdered. The woman, Hayley? Her brains were all over the kitchen floor.”
I shrugged. “Not much I can do about that.”
“No, I suppose not. There’s no bringing people back from the dead, is there? But there is a way to prevent more needless deaths, and that woman you’re so intent on protecting has a rap sheet as long as my arm.”
“Don’t we all,” Vienna piped up.
“No. We don’t,” Bradley snapped back. “Normal people don’t go round murdering people.”
“What about self-defence?” I asked.
“Well…”
“Or paedophiles?” Vienna said.
“I personally think killing wife beaters is justified,” Shark said from the corner.
“Guy Fawkes had the right idea,” Sunshine yelled over. “I think that was more than justified.”
“Right, but that’s notquitewhat we’re talking about, is it?” Bradley muttered, his face growing red with frustration. “Rachel is not a paedophile, she’s not a wife beater, and she’s not bloody Guy Fawkes! And murder still wouldn’t be justifiable in those cases. That’s why the police exist.”
“What if it was a life or death situation? Your life or theirs? What if they had a knife to your throat and you couldn’t ring the police? But you had a gun in your pocket. Would it be right to kill them, or would you be expected to let yourself be killed?” Vienna said.
“We’re not playing hypothetical—”
“Oh, are we not?” Vienna breathed, his eyebrows in his hairline, feigning the perfect shocked expression. “I kind of thought that’s what we were doing since you’re bringing up this hypothetical scenario about Rachel being responsible for that woman’s murder. My mistake.”
“We’re not sure if that’s hypothetical.”
“Do you have evidence, then?” Sunshine asked. I grinned to myself when I noticed all the guys had got up from their seats and were slowly walking closer to Bradley with every question they asked.
“No, but—”
“So by the very definition of the word, this is a hypothetical scenario, yes?” Shark said, circling closer to Bradley. They hadhim trapped, all of them looking down at him until he was cringing and shrinking in on himself.
“I best be going,” he mumbled, trying to take a step back but bumping into Ant’s chest, who gave him a far from reassuring grin.
“So soon? But I like playing this game,” Ant said, glaring down at him, his eyes like ice, his smile manic. “Hey, here’s another scenario for you: Hypothetically, what would happen if this tiny little man came into a bar belonging to bikers?”
“I—”
“Hypothetically,” Doc added. “What would happen if this tiny little man started thinking he could issue threats?”
