Eyes widening, I pull out the first piece of paper, and read.

   “It’s Freddy’s daughter, Jasper, she knows something. I don’t know what to do, I think I should leave town. Why else would she come to my studio? She knows.”

   “That snake,” I murmur to myself. “Jasper. Where have I heard that name before?”

   “He was on the list,” Nadia says, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s one of the men trying to take over Grayson’s territory.”

   “Who the hell is Grayson?”

   “Your uncle Neville,” she explains, telling me how apparently he goes by different names. Nothing my uncle does at this point is going to surprise me.

   “So Jean has ties to Dad and to one of the men on the suspect list. What do you do now?” I ask, frowning. “Tell me what I need to do.”

   “I think we should wait and see what else she says,” she says, looking down at the folder. “We need more proof and we need to know what their plan is before we go in guns blazing.”

   But it’s not looking good for her. Did she kill my dad, or was it Jasper? Or both of them?

   I read the rest of the conversations, but they don’t give anything else away. I still don’t know how she is connected to Dad exactly, and I still don’t know what she wants.

   But I will.

* * *

   When Crow comes over that night, he lets me listen to the new recording. It’s so much better actually listening to her voice instead of reading it.

   “They are onto us, I know it,” Jean says. “I want to close the studio and just leave town. It’s not safe for me anymore.”

   “Don’t be ridiculous,” Jasper replies. “You will do what I tell you to do.”

   “So Jean and Jasper are working together,” I say when it comes to an end. “Maybe she’s hiding something for him? Maybe it was him calling Dad from her phone.”

   “Maybe.” Crow nods slowly. I know he wants to say something, but he’s hesitating.

   “What?” I ask.

   He touches the stubble on his jawline. “I’m surprised you haven’t come up with the most obvious conclusion, which is that your dad and Jean had something to do with each other.”

   My mouth opens and closes again. “My dad never dated anyone after my mom. He said he never would, because there was no one else for him except her.”

   I realize how ridiculous it sounds when I say it now, but I grew up hearing this, and believing it.

   But then I think of that scarf. Maybe what Crow is saying is true. It’s still a hard pill for me to swallow. I always told my dad I’d be happy for him if he moved on, but he assured me he was fine as he was. I even asked him if he was dating and he said no.

   “At the end of the day, he was still a man,” he says gently, stroking my knuckles with his fingers. “And everyone gets lonely, babe. Imagine being alone all of those years. All I’m saying is, you never know. With the amount of times they spoke on the phone, and for the length of their conversations, it’s leaning toward them having some kind of relationship.”

   “He wasn’t alone all of those years—he had me,” I say, even though I know exactly what he meant. Swallowing hard, I listen to reason. “Okay, maybe you’re right. But maybe you’re not.”

   “Just keep an open mind,” he says, kissing my temple. “That’s all I’m asking. And you know what? If he did have something with her, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

   “Why didn’t he tell me? If this woman hypothetically did mean something to him, why did he keep it a secret?”

   Why couldn’t he come to me with this, and be honest about his own life?

   “Maybe because you’d take it really hard, like you are right now at just the possibility?” he suggests.

   Fuck.

   “My mom was the love of his life—”

   “And I’m sure she still was, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the company of someone else. Especially when your mom had been gone for so long. There are different kinds of love. Not all are the soul-connecting kind. Just being simply happy with someone’s company isn’t a crime.”

   Gritting my teeth together, I nod slowly. “Okay, you’re right.”

   That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt any less, though. I know I’m holding my dad to an impossible standard, but he’s the one who set that standard, so I don’t understand how I’m supposed to react right now.

   If this is the truth.

   “Do you think it was Jasper who did something to Dad?” I ask, resting my head on Crow’s shoulder and staring straight ahead at the TV. “Maybe he was jealous over Jean, or maybe he just wanted him gone so he could take over.”

   “I think we’ll find out in the next few days,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “And then we will make a plan. But either way, they aren’t going to get away with what they’ve done. They’ve messed with the wrong family.”

   He’s not wrong.

   Nothing can bring Dad back now, but at least I can make sure he gets justice.

   Before bed, I give Nadia a quick call and update her on everything I found out.

   “Bronte, it’s getting dangerous now. I’ll keep listening in, but we need to leave the rest of it up to the MC and your uncle,” she states. “Be careful. This Jasper guy is no joke, and we need to protect ourselves.”

   “I know,” I reply.

   But we’re close.

   I can feel it.

* * *

   “Where’s Crow?” I ask Chains as he steps into Fast & Fury. He’s wearing all black, his dark eyes alert, hair slicked back. He’s such a wildcard, and I never know how to act around him. He’s intimidating.

   “He can’t come in today, so I’m covering for him,” he says, coming over, eyes pinned on me. “He said he will come to your place later tonight.”

   “Okay,” I reply, sitting down at my desk. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you today.”

   “I’m good,” he grits out, face expressionless. “But thanks.”

   He walks off to the garage and disappears inside. Cam comes over and sits down on my desk as she looks over some documents. “This next bike is going to be insane. You should see the design for the spray paint.” She beams, showing me her idea.

   “I love that,” I tell her, checking out the black, white and red design. “Who is it for?”