Chapter 82 We're being watched
Sage's POV
"I think Vincent was dealing with threats from multiple directions and trying to protect his family the only way he knew how, but I also think he wasn't thinking clearly toward the end and may have made decisions that put him in more danger." Martinez stood up from his chair. "But I also think he trusted the wrong people and it got him killed because someone close to him betrayed him in the worst possible way."
"We're not done here." Jaxon moved to block the door. "You need to give us more than vague implications about my father's state of mind."
"I've told you everything I know about Vincent's final weeks and I've already broken patient confidentiality by telling you this much." Martinez's voice was firm despite the fear in his eyes. "Whatever happened to Vincent, I had nothing to do with it and you can't prove otherwise. You want answers, look at the people who were closest to him on a daily basis, the ones who had the most to gain from his death and the most access to his private life."
"Like who?" I stood up and faced him. "Give us names."
Martinez paused and when he looked back at me, genuine fear showed in his eyes. "Like whoever convinced him he needed untraceable poisons in the first place, whoever planted that idea in his head and made him paranoid enough to ask his doctor for help with something like that. That's the person you should be investigating."
He moved past Jaxon and headed for the door of his office, clearly done with this conversation.
"Thank you for your time, Dr. Martinez." I kept my voice steady even though everything inside me was screaming. "We appreciate your honesty and cooperation."
Martinez paused with his hand on the doorknob and looked back at me with a sad expression. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help Vincent when he needed it, Sage. He was a good man who got caught up in something bigger than he could handle, and I wish I'd pushed harder to get him real help instead of just prescribing pills and hoping the stress would pass."
He walked out and left us standing in his office with more questions than answers.
Ryder pulled out his phone and started typing. "I'm texting Tommy to keep eyes on Martinez and see where he goes and who he talks to after we leave. If he's involved in this, he might contact his accomplice to warn them we're asking questions."
"Do you think someone actually drugged my father before killing him?" I wrapped my arms around myself because I suddenly felt cold despite the warm lighting in the office.
The question made Ryder's jaw clench with barely controlled anger. "I don't know, but Martinez is right about one thing. The answers are with the people he trusted most, the ones who had access to his secrets and his daily routine."
"The other names on Dante's list." Jaxon's voice was grim.
"Yeah, and we just confirmed that Martinez was keeping secrets and noticed Vincent's paranoia before he died." Ryder moved closer to me. "That gives us more pieces of the puzzle even if we don't know how they fit together yet."
My phone buzzed with another text from Dante and I pulled it out with trembling hands. "Forty-three hours left, princess. I hope your little investigation is going well because time is running out faster than you think."
I showed the text to Ryder and Jaxon, and both of them looked furious.
"He knows we're investigating." Jaxon's voice was low and dangerous. "Someone's reporting back to him about what we're doing."
Before I could respond, Ryder's phone buzzed with a message. He opened it and his expression went from concerned to deadly in an instant.
"What is it?" I moved to look over his shoulder at the screen.
The message was from an unknown number with just three words and a photo attached.
"I will warn you once more. Stop asking questions."
The photo showed the three of us walking into the clinic, clearly showing our conversation with the doctor just minutes ago.
Someone had been watching us the entire time we were in that office, and they wanted us to know it.
"We need to leave. Now." Ryder grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door. "Whoever took that photo might still be out there."
We rushed out of the clinic and into the parking lot, and Ryder's eyes scanned every car and every shadow looking for threats. Jaxon was right behind us with his hand on his gun, ready for anything.
But the parking lot was empty except for our truck and Martinez's car, and there was no sign of anyone watching us now.
"They're gone." Jaxon's voice was tight with frustration. "Whoever it was cleared out before we could spot them."
I looked around at the buildings surrounding the clinic, trying to figure out where someone could have taken that photo from. There were several windows with clear views into Martinez's office, and any one of them could have been the vantage point for our mysterious observer.
"This means we're getting close to something." Ryder opened the truck door for me. "Whoever killed Vincent is nervous enough to start threatening us directly instead of just watching from the shadows."
"Or they're trying to scare us off the investigation before we find evidence that points to them." I climbed into the truck and Jaxon got in beside me. "Either way, we can't stop now."
"No, but we need to be more careful about who we talk to and where we have those conversations." Jaxon pulled out his phone. "I'm calling Snake and Diesel to meet us at the clubhouse. We need to compare notes and figure out our next move before Dante's deadline runs out."
As Ryder drove us back toward the clubhouse, I couldn't stop thinking about what Martinez had told us. My father had been asking about untraceable poisons, stockpiling medications, and growing increasingly paranoid about threats from inside the club.
And someone had been watching him closely enough to know his habits, his fears, and his vulnerabilities well enough to use them against him.
The question was which one of the five names on our list had been close enough to Vincent to gather that information and cold-blooded enough to use it to kill him.