back, and the whole thing was on fire. It’s burned to the ground, nothing left.”
That had to have been set on purpose, and Ethan reached out to her, stopping her movement and embracing her for just a moment. “I’m sorry, Brett. We’ll find out who did this and make them pay.” He didn’t hold her long, offering her comfort but not halting her when they needed to move.
As he released her, she nodded. “That’s exactly what I want to do.” As she tugged on her boots, she glanced up at him. “Do you think Dennis would do something like this?”
It was highly suspect, but Ethan couldn’t be sure. Why would he want to burn down the clubhouse, if he was dead set on keeping the club going? “I wouldn’t put it past him. But let’s see what we find when we get there before we start pointing fingers.” What he really wanted to do was tie Dennis up and torture him until he spilled his guts about what was going on. But that would be ill advised at this point.
As they headed out the door, he asked, “Was there anything in the clubhouse that someone would want to destroy?”
Her back tensed as she mounted her bike. “There were all the files, all the records. But I brought most of them here. I was afraid someone would screw around with them. And I’ve been going through all the financial records, too.” She shook her head. “There was five grand in cash hidden in the office. Pretty much everything we had left. It’s either burned with the building, or someone took it and burned everything down to cover their tracks.”
“Who knew it was there?” Ethan asked, fairly certain there weren’t many people.
She shrugged. “I didn’t think anyone knew. And there are only two or three people who might have access to the office, without someone else letting them in. Dennis and Martin had keys. I have a key. As far as I know, no one else does.” She kicked into gear, and Ethan let that information soak in as he followed her out of the parking lot.
It was a short ride, and the smell of smoke and the dark sky filled with it greeted them halfway there. The last of the flames had been doused, but the entire place truly had come down, fragments of walls charred and a few random beams sticking up and soaked with water from the fire hoses. Anything that hadn’t been devastated by fire was ruined by water.
Several of the Silver Suns stood around, looking lost, and when Brett stepped off the bike, Ethan worried she might collapse for a moment, her expression heartbreaking. Instead of grabbing her and making her look weak, he stepped behind her and spoke quietly, “Stay strong, at least in front of everyone. You can fall apart in my arms later if you need to.”
She gave a short nod without turning around, squared her shoulders, and marched forward, her eyes searching until she found Kent, who was scratching his head and speaking to a man who looked like he might be in charge. Ethan hung back a little but followed her over, wanting to hear what was said.
“I didn’t see anyone here,” Kent was saying. “There were no bikes outside, no cars anywhere nearby. Everyone was already gone when I left.”
The man listening nodded. “There’s no sign anyone was inside when it went up. Of course, we’ll have to question all the members of your club at some point.”
Brett stepped up at that point. “I’ll get you a list. My brother is the president, but he’s missing.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Missing? Did you file a report?”
Rolling her eyes, Brett told him, “When has a police department taken the disappearance of a biker seriously?” she asked, nonplussed. “No, I didn’t report it. No one did because no one would have listened.”
“We’ve hired a private detective to try to find him,” Ethan spoke up, drawing the group’s attention. “I’d be happy to have you speak with him, if you’d like.”
“I’ll get that information,” the guy, who Ethan now saw was the fire marshal, told him with a nod. He turned back to Brett. “I’m willing to bet this fire was set purposely, and we’re going to investigate it that way. We’ll be working closely with the police department, so you’ll both be asked to give a statement.”
She nodded and seemed to swallow hard. Ethan wanted nothing more than to take away the pain