Custom Love by Chantal Fernando

Chapter Twenty-Six

While Decker is still processing my theory, I read the letter from Taylor to Chains. It was a gamble taking it, because he might notice that it’s missing, but I didn’t have time and I knew I wanted to read it.

Chains,

I love you so much, and thank you for giving me everything I need. Without Damon here, I can now move on with my life with you, and we can be together forever. I don’t care whether he killed that girl or not. They found him guilty and now I can be free from him. You are a stronger man than he will ever be.

I can’t wait to be your wife one day.

Love, Taylor

I show Decker. “It’s a bit vague, but either way, I’m convinced Chains had something to do with Ariel’s murder.”

I know going off a leather belt is kind of a stretch, but it’s just too coincidental for my liking.

The belt.

The fact that he’s gone rogue dealing drugs, and against his president’s wishes.

What else has he done? Did he kill Taylor, too? Is he really capable of murdering someone?

“What do you want to do?” Decker asks me.

“I don’t want to tell anyone else about Chains until I’m sure and have enough evidence to prove my theory,” I say. “I need a little time.”

And if I’m right, I don’t know what Trade will do to Chains when he finds out. It’s one thing finding out a man you consider family is scheming behind your back. It’s a whole different thing finding out that he killed a woman you loved.

I don’t want Trade to do anything that he will regret.

I don’t have the time to go around hoping to find any scraps of evidence. At this point, it’s now or never. But how the hell am I going to make this happen?

I come up with an idea. It’s fucking terrible, but it might work.

Or it might not. I’m just going on a hunch here, but what do I have to lose at this point?

My phone rings and Trade’s name pops up. Okay, I have everything to lose. But what other options do I have? I need to beat Chains at his own game and play him.

I need to win.

“What happened to Ariel’s phone?” I ask Trade when I pick up.

“What?”

“Ariel’s phone. What happened to it that night?” I ask. “It’s important, Trade.”

“It was lost in the lake, I guess,” he replies.

“What kind of phone was it?”

“Samsung in gray.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“What’s going on, Nadia? I got some orders to keep Chains busy for a while and I have no fucking clue what’s happening,” he whispers.

“It will be fine. Stick to those orders, and I’ll tell you everything after. I love you.”

I hang up and get in my car.

I break into Chains’s apartment for the second time, this time alone. I’m not as stealthy. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t even matter if he knows I was here, because after the MC confronts him, I doubt he will be coming back here anyway.

The phone is where I last saw it, sitting in his side table drawer. If it really is Ariel’s, then he must keep it here as some kind of trophy, which is sick. I grab the phone, have a quick look around for anything else that will come in handy, and then get the hell out of there.

When I’m safely in the car, I send Trade another text.What is Ariel’s passcode?

He replies straight away. It’s her birthday, 1219. You found her phone??? Babe, call me as soon as you can.

“Fuck, I hope this is her phone,” I whisper as I press in the four numbers.

The phone unlocks.

“Oh my God, it is her phone,” I say. I browse through her photos, her messages, my heart dropping as I finally understand what happened. “Yeah, I have what I need.”

There are photos of Chains talking to Damon. Money exchanging hands. These are better photos than what Decker has. Ariel must have come across them at the gas station on her way home from the salon. On her way home to Trade, while he was waiting for her that night.

Chains must have seen her, and needed her to not report back to the MC. The last photo has Chains looking directly into the camera. He saw her. He saw her taking photos.

So he killed her.

He did do it.

I head straight to Decker and tell him everything.

“If his prints are on this phone, that would be perfect.”

“I tried not to touch it as much as I could, but I’ve picked it up twice,” I reply, wincing. I should’ve worn gloves. Rookie move on my part. “So hopefully they are still on there.”

I head to Fast & Fury next. I don’t know what they know, so I need to act normal until I know what’s going on.

When I step inside the garage, it’s quiet. A little too quiet. Bronte runs over when she sees me. “You’re okay, thank fuck.”

“I’m fine—what happened?”

“The whole MC came here and took Chains away,” she admits, linking her arm with mine. “Do you know what’s going on? It was hard to watch. Temper punched him in the face and they all dragged him out of there. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Where’s Trade?”

“He’s out back.”

I walk into the staff room to find him braced over the wall, head down. He looks up when he hears me. “Hey.”

“Tough day?” I ask, wrapping my arms around him from behind and resting my cheek against his back.

“Yeah, you could say that. What happened with Ariel’s phone? You found it?”

I nod. “Yeah, you might want to sit down for this one.”

He sits straight down and looks up at me.

“I found her phone at Chains’s apartment,” I start, taking a deep breath. “I thought he had something to do Ariel, and I was right.”

“What?” he whispers, shock apparent.

Everyone now knows Chains is a liar, but no one ever thought he could have murdered one of their own. That thought is written all over Trade’s face.

I start from the beginning and explain about the drugs, the photos, the small clues, and then how I remembered seeing a phone there. And when it matched the phone he told me Ariel had, all the pieces came together.

“She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. She saw him speaking to Damon during the drug deal, and he killed her before she could tell anyone,” I say quietly, rubbing his shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Trade.”

He goes silent as he processes what I’ve told him. The betrayal must hurt so deeply, especially because this man was under his nose every damn day.

“He fucking comforted me when I lost her,” he finally says, his fingers trembling. I take his hand in mine and give it a squeeze.

“He’s not who anyone thought he was,” I agree, swallowing hard. “And now he’s going to pay for what he’s done.”

“Yes, he will,” Trade murmurs, and stands and starts to walk out the door.

“Where are you going?” I call out, chasing after him.

“To the clubhouse,” he replies, shaking me off when I try to grab hold of his arm.

“Trade, you can’t do anything stupid. You’re not thinking clearly right now,” I say.

He turns and looks at me, eyes narrowed with determination. “Stay here, Nadia.”

He storms out and gets into his truck. I ignore him and follow, jumping into the passenger’s seat. “I’m coming.”

He opens his mouth.

“And don’t even try to tell me what to do,” I add.

He closes his mouth, his jaw going tight.

Smart man.

The ride is tense, and I turn the music on for a little distraction. Trade turns it back off. Apparently he likes the thick atmosphere.

“You need to calm down before we get there,” I say, keeping my tone gentle. “You need to think before you do something that you’re going to regret.”

“I’m not going to kill him,” he says. “Even though that’s what he deserves. I have my kids to think about. But he’s not just going to get away with this either. I’m not going to regret a damn thing. He’s going to get what’s coming to him.”

I exhale deeply, and then send Crow a text so he knows what to expect.

Let’s just hope that Chains is left alive to go to prison, and it’s not Trade, or one of the other men, going there instead.

Crow and Temper are out the front of the clubhouse when we arrive, standing around their motorcycles and having a conversation. “You’re not going to stay in the car, are you?” Trade asks, turning to me with his fingers on the handle.

I shake my head.

“I thought as much,” he mutters, opening the door and getting out. I do the same, following behind him, practically jogging as he approaches his friend and brother.

“Where is he?” Trade demands, getting straight to the point. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

My jaw drops. “You just said you wouldn’t do that!”

Crow comes over to me, while Temper lowers his head and quietly tries to talk some sense into his brother. At least that’s what I hope he’s doing. For all I know he’s amping him up and telling him they will dispose of the body together.

“We won’t let him do anything he will regret,” Crow promises. “Okay? You brought him here, he’s safe. He’s with his brothers. We got him.”

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Those words make me feel better. I can trust that they will handle the situation, in their own way, and most likely better than I could. “Okay.”

Trade looks over at me. “Stay with Crow, all right? This is something I need to do on my own. I don’t want you to see me like this.”

Temper nods from behind him, silently asking for me to trust him, to trust them both.

I agree, and the two of them head inside. I turn to Crow, wrapping my arms around myself. “What now?”

“Come on, let’s go inside, away from the gym. The women are all either here or on their way here.”

“They are?”

“Yeah, if there’s something big going on, we always come together. It’s safer that way,” he explains. “Bronte is on her way now.”

I love that they all support each other like that, and I’m happy they are here.

Sure enough, I see Abbie and Izzy the second I walk past the kitchen. The two of them are sitting at the table, coffee in hand, talking among themselves.

As soon as they see me, they both stand and come over to give me a hug. I have a hard time looking at Izzy. She doesn’t know the truth yet, none of them here do.

“Glad you’re here,” Izzy says. We all grab a drink and sit down.

Bronte arrives next, until one by one all of the MC women and men are under one roof. I don’t know what’s happening with the men. Crow conveniently went missing the second Abbie embraced me, and I can only imagine what is happening on their end right now.

“Ladies, we’re all here so we can be together right now, while shit is hitting the fan. I have no fucking idea what our men are going to do about the Chains situation,” Abbie says to us all. “I have food and drinks, so make yourself at home.”

Bronte looks at me, and I realize that I haven’t even been able to tell her the truth of it all.

“Abbie, if you don’t mind, I have something to say.” I turn to Izzy and hesitate. “Izzy, this is going to be especially hard for you. I am so sorry. And Bronte, I would have told you, but it all just happened and I haven’t had the time.”

Bronte’s brow furrows. “What is it?”

All eyes are suddenly on me. “You guys might not know that I was looking into Ariel’s death, because some of the story wasn’t adding up. And I have just found the proof that it wasn’t Damon who killed Ariel. It was Chains.”

A collective gasp fills the room.

“I’m so sorry, Izzy. But Trade knows the truth—that’s why he stormed over here. I don’t know what he’s doing to Chains right now.”

But apparently I’m here for it, sipping a soda in the kitchen while it all happens.

Izzy starts crying, and I feel like absolute shit for being the one bringing this all back up for everyone, but at least the truth is all out now.

And that’s all of it. There’s nothing more to come as far as I know.

Bronte sits right next to me and lets me know that I’m not alone in this room of strong women, and I appreciate that.

Izzy comes over and hugs me, and thanks me for finding out the truth of what happened to her sister, and I appreciate that even more.

“I trusted him,” she whispers. “It hurts, you know? My sister didn’t deserve that. She’d never hurt anyone. She always saw the best in people. She actually was one of the only people who liked Chains. Genuinely liked him.”

I nod. “You should have seen Trade’s face. I don’t think I’ll ever forget his expression.”

“They say that the good always die young,” she says to herself. “I just wish they didn’t have to take her.”

“She lives on in Mila,” I say, smiling sadly. “And you. And Trade. And the rest of the kids.”

Izzy nods. “That she does. I meant what I said—she always liked you, and I know right now she’s smiling down on us. Especially now that we know the truth. And we owe that to you.”

I look down at my hands, feeling choked up again. “Thank you.”

Then I get a little teary-eyed, and we both cry together.

Even if it hurts sometimes, Ariel is always with us.