“Aren’t you going to eat?” Rachel asked Cash.
“Later.” Cash was staring at the Freedom Riders who had sat down a few tables away.
“You don’t like them, do you?” Rachel questioned when she saw where Cash was staring.
“No.”
“Why? They seem friendly enough.”
“So was Ted Bundy.”
Shade agreed with Cash’s harsh comparison.
“I can’t eat anymore.” Lily pushed her plate away, looking queasy.
“You only ate a biscuit.” Rachel said.
Shade frowned, bringing his attention back to Lily. Her plate was practically untouched.
“I guess it’s not agreeing with the baby.” Lily turned green, getting up from the table with his help. Seconds later, she darted to the nearest restroom inside the church.
Shade stood beside the table. Lily hadn’t had an upset stomach since the early stage of her pregnancy. If she didn’t come out soon, he would check on her.
“No need wasting food.” Mag reached out, pulling the plate toward her.
“I heard things didn’t go well last night,” Beth broached the subject tentatively of Rachel attending her first Friday night party.
Rachel made a face. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“I was shocked the first time I went, too. I ended up leaving.” Beth’s face was red from embarrassment. “Lily ran back to college.”
“I tried to run, but Viper wouldn’t let me,” Winter gently butted into the conversation. “It was after my attack. Believe me, if I’d had use of my legs, he wouldn’t have been able to catch me, either.”
“I would have caught you,” Viper stated.
At that moment, Shade saw Mag pass out at the same time Beth screamed, her chair falling back.
“No!” Rachel screamed at the same time Beth yelled for someone to call nine-one-one.
Shade already had his phone out, dialing the number.
Mag had turned deathly pale and had passed out, her head falling back over the wheelchair. The men quickly pushed it back from the table, laying her on the ground. Beth frantically took her pulse while Shade moved Lily back as she came out of the restroom, turning her so she couldn’t see what was going on. Cash knelt by his grandmother, holding her hand.
“Her heart is racing,” Beth told Cash.
Rachel was staring down at Mag, crying. Going to her knees beside Mag, she laid her hand on her heart.
Shade could see she was going to try to help her the way she had helped Lily and Cash.
They all watched in amazement as Rachel used her gift to save the old woman. Whimpering cries passed her pale lips as she focused on her.
Shade moved Lily farther away as the ambulance arrived.
“What happened to her? She was fine when I went to the restroom,” Lily asked.
Shade looked down at her pale face. “Are you feeling better?”
Lily nodded, wincing. “I threw up. Something I ate must not have agreed with me.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Stay here. Don’t move,” he ordered. Seeing Knox and Diamond on the edge of the group, he quickly walked toward the brother.
“Knox.” Shade stopped a few feet away.
Knox excused himself from his wife, coming toward him.
Shade didn’t waste time. “Lily was sick right before Mag passed out after she ate off Lily’s plate. I want the food tested.”
“You think it’s food poisoning?” Knox said, pulling out his cell phone.
“No, I don’t. Lily and Mag got sick too fast. You see anyone else getting sick?”
“No, I don’t. I’ll call my deputies in and get the food checked out.”
“Make it fast. It could help save Mag’s life. I’m going to drive Lily to the hospital and get her checked out.”
As Shade strode back to Lily, they were loading Mag into the ambulance. Lily was crying helplessly as another paramedic worked frantically on Rachel.
“They called another ambulance. Rachel’s heart went out of rhythm.”
Shade let her stay long enough for the other ambulance to arrive. Then they watched as a paramedic shocked Rachel’s heart. When they loaded her into the other waiting ambulance, Shade turned to Lily.
“We’re leaving. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“I’m fine, Shade,” she protested.
“I want to make sure.” Shade took her arm, leading her back to the truck and passing the booth Brooke was in.
Once Brooke turned away, avoiding his gaze, he tore his eyes away, his hand tightening on Lily’s arm. He didn’t need Knox’s test results to know she was guilty. Her fucking face when the crowd had parted and he had glimpsed it had said it all. The malice emanating from her was dangerous, and Shade wasn’t going to put off the inevitable any longer. Brooke had sealed her own fate, and he was the executioner.
* * *
When Cash opened Rachel’s hospital door, stepping into the hallway, Shade was waiting on the other side.
Beth had come to the emergency room when he had called Razer and told him he and Lily were there. Beth and Razer had taken Lily home for him because he wanted to talk to Cash before leaving.
“You got my text?”
Cash had sent him a text telling him Brooke had been in Mag’s house with her husband when a plant had gone missing. Rachel hadn’t thought anything of it at the time, but she and Cash had made the connection when the reports had come back on what had nearly killed Mag. Trace amounts had also been found in Lily.
“Yes. You sure Brooke is the one responsible?” Shade asked menacingly.
“We have no concrete proof of the poisoning other than she was there the day the plants disappeared from Mag’s house, but I found the motel she and Lewis were using. She was manipulating the stupid bastard.” Cash’s harsh voice stated his own hatred of the woman.
“She’s an expert at that.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Nothing for now. I can’t take care of personal shit until the mess with Scorpion is cleared up. As soon as it is, I’ll deal with Brooke. I’ll keep Lily home for now. She’s far enough along that she shouldn’t put up too much of a fuss.”
“Good luck; you’re going to need it.”
“Lily won’t jeopardize our baby; she’ll listen.”
“I’ll ask Rachel if she’ll take over the store,” Cash offered.
“Thanks, brother.”
Both men stared at each other, reading each other’s intentions before they shook hands and parted. Cash went back inside to Rachel, while Shade rode Razer’s bike back to the clubhouse since Razer had driven the truck to take their wives home.
Cash hadn’t stated his intentions out loud, but it was going to be a race to see which one of them took Brooke out first, although both of them had a commitment to the club to deal with the Freedom Riders before they took care of their own personal grievances. He wasn’t going to have to dig out some of Cash’s IOUs, though. There was no way he was going to let him have the pleasure of killing Brooke. That pleasure was going to be all his.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Lily asked, walking out of the kitchen.
Shade was at the top of the steps, about to come downstairs for dinner, but paused when he heard Lily’s concerned voice.
“Nothing,” Beth denied, taking a seat on the couch.
Lily had told him Beth and Razer were coming to dinner. Evie and King were babysitting, so the sisters could spend the evening together alone with just their husbands.
“Don’t lie to me, Beth. I can tell something’s wrong. Are you and Razer having problems? Where is he?”
Beth was already shaking her head. “It’s not Razer. He’s coming. He’s in the shower. I wanted to see if you needed help with dinner.”
“No, I made a roast, and everything’s done. So, if it’s not Razer, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing important,” Beth prevaricated.
“If it’s not i
mportant, then tell me. I’m getting tired of everyone treating me like a child.”
“Okay, okay, you win,” Beth said, giving in to Lily’s demand. “I received a text message today, and I don’t know who it’s from.”
“What did it say?”
Beth took her cell phone out of her pocket, pulling the message up.
“Oh, my God. They called you a slut,” Lily whispered.
Beth nodded, taking the cell phone back. “If Georgia was still alive, I would think it was her. Could it possibly be one of her friends?”
“Possibly. They were just as mean as she was, but why would they send that message to you?”