Hayley’s car… I’m hoping you were the one who put the tracking device on it,” I said.
He leaned forward and braced his arms on the table. “I think you need to start at the beginning. And by that I mean, how the fuck did you meet my daughter? Because she was already pregnant when I introduced the two of you the night you caught her stalker. Why did you leave her to have a baby on her own? Seems like a shitty thing to do.”
Figured he’d go right for the jugular.
“I met Hayley when she was chasing after Cuddles. He’d yanked his leash from her hand and taken off. As for the other, I wouldn’t have. She never told me she was pregnant. First I heard of it was nearly a week ago. I packed up her shit and brought her home, where she belongs.”
Hayley kicked my foot and glared at me.
“I’m not tracking her car,” the chief said. “One of my officers saw Hayley leaving town with bikers. Took them a day or two to remember your cut said Reckless Kings MC. Otherwise, I’d have been here sooner. Now, how’d you find the device?”
“I had someone clear out her car while we shopped for a new one. Got a call they found a tracking device and… someone hid drugs in her car. A lot of them.”
The muscle in his cheek tightened and his lips thinned. Yeah, he was pissed. So was I. Whoever put that shit in her car needed to fucking die. Although, I didn’t think a cop would let me murder the guy responsible. He’d probably want to lock them up, except a drug charge wouldn’t exactly give them life behind bars, so sooner or later, they’d get out. If they blamed Hayley for their arrest, she’d be a target.
“I had drugs in my car?” she asked, turning deathly pale.
“Yeah. Hidden in your trunk under the spare, inside the back bumper, and in the wheel wells. It’s a lot. If you’d have gotten pulled over and a cop had seen it, you’d have been booked for possession with intent to distribute,” I said.
Chief Daniels arched an eyebrow at me.
“All right, maybe not back in your hometown because of who your dad is, but once you left? All bets were off.”
“Who would do that?” she asked. “When would they have done it?”
“Baby girl, you weren’t in your car or have it within sight at all times,” her dad said. “I need to know where your car was located the times someone might have had access.”
“To the trunk?” she asked. “I always kept it locked. The only person who ever had the key to it, other than you, was… the mechanic.”
The chief leaned back in his seat. “Lance Gilbert?”
“No. I mean, yes. He worked on it several times, but once his son James hired me, I let his garage do any maintenance on it. After I started working at the garage, the car needed an oil change. I had a flat tire they patched another day. Then it wouldn’t start one time after I’d gotten to work. I don’t remember what they had to do to it.” She sucked her lips into her mouth and shoved her hands between her thighs, rocking back and forth. “It couldn’t be James. Right? He seemed so nice.”
“How many people worked for him other than you?” I asked.
She shrugged a shoulder. “I think two or three guys either ran the tow truck or worked in the bays. He had someone leave while I was there. A new guy started about two months before I lost my job.”
“I need his name,” her dad said.
“I don’t know. It started with an S. Sam? Saul? You’d have to ask James.”
“I’ll do that,” her dad said. “And then we’re going to discuss you running off without even telling your mother.”
He pulled out his phone and made a call. I reached over and tugged Hayley’s hands free, lacing our fingers together. Between her dad, the Dixie Reapers, and the Reckless Kings, we’d figure out who’d put the drugs in her car, who was keeping tabs on her location, and we’d put a stop to them. I didn’t think we’d be lucky enough it would be the same person, but I could hope.
* * *
Hayley
I’d disappointed my dad and hurt my mom. I felt horrible about it. I should have called before I left town. Or maybe I should have let them know I was losing my apartment. I’d