Chapter 26 RC & DM
Ryder's POV
I set up the training mats in the clubhouse gym and tried to focus on teaching Sage instead of the questions racing through my mind.
Robert Cordova's accident might not have been an accident at all. And the coroner who signed off on it had the same initials as one of the mystery names in Vincent's ledger.
DM could be anyone. But my gut told me it was Dr. David Martinez, the club's doctor for the past fifteen years. A man Vincent had trusted with everything from patching up knife wounds to keeping quiet about activities that would interest the authorities.
A man who could easily make a murder look like an accident if he wanted to.
"You're distracted," Sage said, pulling me back to the present.
"Sorry." I shook my head to clear it. "Let's go again. Remember, you want to use their momentum against them."
She got into position and I came at her like an attacker would. Not hard enough to hurt her but fast enough to make it real. Her hands came up automatically, blocking and redirecting like I taught her.
But she hesitated on the follow through and I ended up with her pinned against the mat.
"Don't think," I said, still holding her down. "Just react. Your body knows what to do if you let it."
"Easy for you to say." She was breathing hard beneath me and I became very aware of how our bodies were pressed together. "You've been doing this your whole life."
"And you've been doing it for two weeks. You're getting better." I released her and stood up. "Again."
We ran through the sequence five more times. On the sixth attempt, everything clicked. She blocked my attack, redirected my weight, and used the momentum to flip me onto my back with her knee on my chest.
Pride flooded through me as I looked up at her flushed face and determined eyes.
"Good," I said. "That's exactly right."
"Did I hurt you?"
"No. But an attacker would be winded at minimum." I grinned. "You're getting dangerous, princess."
She climbed off me and offered her hand to help me up. "I'm not the scared girl who ran to New York anymore."
"No, you're not." I pulled myself to my feet. "You're becoming a warrior."
We took a break, sitting against the wall and passing a water bottle back and forth. Sage was quiet for a while, that look on her face that meant she was working through something in her head.
"Tell me about Robert Cordova," she said finally. "What was he like?"
I took a drink before answering. "Smart. Loyal. He handled a lot of the business side of things that Vincent didn't have patience for. Negotiations with suppliers, territory agreements with other clubs, that kind of thing."
"Why would someone want to kill him?"
"If they did kill him, it would be because he knew too much." I looked at her. "Robert was Vincent's right hand before Jaxon took over. He knew all your dad's secrets, all the deals he made, everyone he did business with."
"So if someone wanted to hide something Dad knew..."
"They'd start by getting rid of the person who knew it too." I finished the thought she couldn't say out loud. "And they'd make it look like an accident so nobody would ask questions."
Sage was quiet for a while, processing what I just said. "Do you think Dr. Martinez killed him?"
"I don't know. But I think we need to be very careful about who we trust until we figure out what's really going on."
"How do we do that without tipping off whoever we're investigating?"
"We ask questions that sound innocent. We watch for reactions. We pay attention to who gets nervous when certain topics come up." I shifted to face her fully. "And we don't do anything that puts you in more danger than you're already in."
"I'm not scared."
"You should be. If Martinez is involved in whatever got your father killed, he won't hesitate to protect himself."
"Then we'll be smarter than him." Sage's jaw set in that stubborn way that told me arguing was pointless. "We figure out what he's hiding and we use it against him."
Before I could respond, the gym door slammed open so hard it bounced off the wall.
Tommy rushed in, out of breath and wild-eyed. "Ryder, we've got a problem."
I was on my feet immediately. "What kind of problem?"
"Someone vandalized Dr. Martinez's clinic. Spray painted the whole front of the building."
"When?"
"Sometime in the last hour. Jaxon just got the call from Martinez. He's freaking out and wants the club to find whoever did it."
"What did they spray paint?" Sage asked, standing beside me.
Tommy looked at her, then back at me. His expression was grim.
"A message. Painted across the door in red letters." He swallowed hard. "It says 'Liars die too.'”