Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She looked away from Griffin too, not wanting him to see her like this. But he’d either already seen or he just sensed what was going through her mind. He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. Just that light bit of contact made all the difference in the world. She wasn’t sure how this stranger could have such a calming effect on her, but he did.
And if there was one thing she’d learned from being with Gabriel all that time, it was to trust her instincts.
9
Griffin
The moment they stepped through the front door, Hannah came barreling through the house. Rachel froze in place as the massive ball of fluff came running straight at her. Hannah looked like she was getting ready to run right through Rachel and send her flying, but she skidded to a halt right in front of the woman, plopped her large backside on the ground, and proceeded to flop her tail around as she demanded attention.
For a long moment, Rachel just stood there, her mouth hanging open in shock. Then, she burst out laughing. The sound echoed around the house as Rachel wiped tears from her eyes before reaching down to pet Hannah. Griffin stood and watched as Rachel knelt down to be on level with the dog, giving Hannah all the affection she could ever want. His heart skipped a beat as he watched the two of them play together, and he couldn’t fight back the smile that had formed.
Now, more than ever, he was sure bringing her home with him had been the right thing to do. Hannah was a good dog, but she was picky about the people she liked. And there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Hannah absolutely adored Rachel, just as Rachel adored the giant fluffball he called a guard dog. The two of them were so alike, both sweet and friendly with abusive pasts. And just like he’d taken in Hannah, kept her safe, and showed her the entire world wasn’t out to get her, he promised to do the same for Rachel.
That bastard husband of hers would never lay a hand on her again.
“Come on, you two,” Griffin said, grinning down at the women. Rachel was doing much better now that Hannah had worn down some of her barriers, but she still needed to rest. “Let’s get you upstairs and into bed. You’ve had a long day, and you need some rest.”
Rachel looked like she wanted to argue the point, but then she yawned and reluctantly nodded. Hannah stayed by her side even after he left her upstairs in the guest room. Part of him had wanted to lead her to his own bedroom, but that wasn’t a good idea. Rachel was attractive, and he was already falling for her, but she was still married, even if in name only, and pregnant. She didn’t need him coming on to her. She needed to know she was safe there, without any strings attached. She needed to focus on resting, not worrying that the man who was keeping an eye on her was making a move on her.
Griffin was too wired to sleep. Instead of even trying, he sat down in the kitchen with his laptop and started typing away. The laptop wasn’t as good as the setup he had back at the clubhouse, but it would do for what he needed. It took him only a few moments to get into the Department of Vital Statistics network and search for a baby born the same year as Rachel that hadn’t survived. He went with one from Maryland, not wanting anything to tie her back to Oklahoma.
He deleted the death record from their network, scrubbing it to make it look like it had never existed, then he moved on to the Social Security Administration, using the tunnel he’d already built into their network. It was amazing how lax the security on most government systems was, and it didn’t take long before he had a social security number issued to Ella Sanders, the baby whose identity he’d taken for Rachel. After that, getting into the DMV was even easier.
Before long, Rachel had a whole new identity created for her, one with absolutely no ties to her previous life. It wouldn’t be easy for Gabriel to track her down with any of it, and Griff grinned at the job he’d done. But he wasn’t done yet. As much as he knew he should’ve gone to bed and gotten some rest himself, he made a pot of coffee instead before sitting back down at his laptop. He went through a couple cups, but he managed to find all of Gabriel’s bank accounts, and crawled through most of them.
There were a lot of large, seemingly random deposits. All of them were under the threshold to be flagged by any of the government agencies, but they were still large enough to raise red flags. Gabriel had spent enough time on the wrong side of the law to know those payments weren’t legitimate, but each time he tried to follow one of them, he ended up tied in a knot.
It took him hours to unscramble everything, to trace the payments back to their source. And when he finally did, he came very close to throwing his laptop out the window in frustration. Each of the payments Gabriel received was tied to a Cayman Islands bank account, one he couldn’t access. The United States government was lax with their cybersecurity, but the banks down in the Caymans were not. They took their security, and their clients’ privacy, very seriously. It was the only way they stayed in business.
Finally, he closed the laptop, then stumbled over to the couch and collapsed, too tired to even bother going upstairs to his room.
10
Rachel
Humming to herself, Rachel didn’t hear him approach until he was just a few feet away, rubbing sleep from his eyes. She jumped at his sudden appearance, and her heart felt like it was going to explode. She’d come downstairs and found him passed out on the couch and had figured she’d surprise him with some breakfast. She hadn’t expected him to surprise her and nearly give her a heart attack.
She turned and glared down at the dog sitting by her feet. The monstrous fluffball hadn’t even moved when her master had approached, hadn’t given Rachel even a moment’s warning. What good was a guard dog when it was so distracted by the cooking bacon, hoping a piece would accidently fall right into her waiting mouth, that she ignored everything else going on around her?
“Good morning,” Rachel finally said, shaking her head at the beast. She couldn’t stay mad at the dog for long though, and broke off a piece of the already cooled bacon, tossing it to her.
“Morning,” Griffin said, stifling a yawn. “If you keep that up, she’s going to get even bigger. At this rate, she’s not even going to fit through the doors.”
“Well, if she gets any bigger, you can ride her into battle!” Rachel burst into giggles at her own joke, imagining Griffin riding the giant ball of fluff into battle, complete with medieval knight’s armor and a shiny silver sword in his hands. Even Griffin smiled at the joke, and for some reason, that made her heart flutter. She fought down the feelings welling up inside her and turned her attention back to the food she was cooking. “Breakfast should be ready soon. Coffee is already waiting.”
Griffin sluggishly made his way over toward the steaming pot, pouring himself a large cup. He didn’t even add any cream or sugar before he took a tentative sip, practically moaning as he did so. “You’re a goddess,” he told her after a couple more sips.
Rachel’s face flushed. She tried to ignore the compliment. He was just being silly, right? He was one of those people who could barely function before they had any coffee and was appreciative of her making him some. She couldn’t believe he would actually be complimenting her like that. Certainly no one else had ever called her a goddess before.
Griffin filled her in on what he’d been up to the previous night, telling her all about the new identity he’d made for her. She could hardly believe he’d managed to do all of that, much less do it all in such a short amount of time. But that wasn’t the part that had really floored her. He suggested she cut and dye her hair, to change her appearance so people would be less likely to recognize her.
Her fingers twirled through a lock of her long, blonde hair, as she wondered what it would be like to get rid of it. Gabriel had liked her hair long, said it made her actually look feminine. He’d also insisted on her bleaching it blonde, rather than keeping it her normal dark brown. Even after she’d left him, she’d kept her hair just the way he liked it. It’d been a part of her for so long, s
he hadn’t known how to do anything else. But now . . . Griffin’s idea had sparked a new life inside her, and she nodded eagerly at his suggestion.
She was done with Gabriel, done with everything in her former life. If she really was going to start over, then she should start with herself, give herself a whole new look to go with the new name Griffin had given her. Ella Sanders wouldn’t have long blond hair. Ella Sanders wouldn’t be controlled by Gabriel, wouldn’t even consider what he thought of her.
Ella Sanders was her now.
11
Rachel
After breakfast, Griffin went out to do some shopping, since his kitchen wasn’t exactly well stocked for having a guest. Rachel had offered to go with him, but he’d insisted she stay put. Until they’d finished her makeover, he wanted her out of sight as much as possible. So after telling her to sit and rest, and giving Hannah orders to watch over her, he’d disappeared, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts.
And that was not somewhere she wanted to be.
Instead of letting herself fall down that rabbit hole, she plopped down onto Griffin’s couch, and turned on the TV. She flipped to the news channels first, curious to see if there was anything on there about her. If Gabriel had reported her missing, no doubt one of them would’ve had some kind of coverage about her. Gabriel was in the running for state senator, and the missing wife of a prospective senator was flashy enough to get quite a few views.
And yet, not a single news channel mentioned anything about her. She let out a sigh and closed her eyes. If they weren’t reporting on it, that meant Gabriel hadn’t officially reported her as missing. He must’ve been trying to keep it quiet for as long as possible. No doubt he had all of his people out looking for her, though, wanting to get her back in his grasp as quickly as possible. He would only be able to make excuses for her never making appearances for so long. Eventually, someone would get a little too curious, dig too deeply, and everything would become public. No way would Gabriel want that to happen.
Rachael put her hands on her stomach, feeling the slight movements of the baby inside. She took deep breaths to keep herself calm. No matter how hard Gabriel searched, he wouldn’t find her. She would never go back to him. As far as Gabriel was concerned, Rachael was dead. Ella Sanders was there now, taking her place. And though it felt weird to think of herself as Ella, she would get used to it eventually. It would be worth the minor inconvenience if it meant keeping her baby safe and sound.
She put on some mindless sitcom to help keep her from thinking about Gabriel, and that was where she was when Griffin came home, loaded down with groceries. She went to stand up to help, but he waved her off, so she stayed cuddled on the couch with Hannah. The dog had become her silent protector, the one she could lean on when she needed something to keep her grounded. Part of her wanted to lean on Griffin, but she kept that part of her mind locked away, refusing to even entertain those thoughts. She barely knew Griffin. Even though she liked the man, she couldn’t stay for very long. If she wanted to keep Gabriel from finding her, she would have to move far away. Otherwise, there was always the chance she’d run into him and he’d recognize her.
Once Griffin finished with the groceries, she let him lead her to the bathroom, where he cut her hair short, giving her a pixie cut. It was so unlike any hairstyle she’d ever had. Her parents never would’ve let her cut her hair that short growing up, and Gabriel certainly wouldn’t have even entertained that thought. Then, he helped her dye it. When he rinsed all the dye out and she looked in the mirror, she almost fainted. The woman looking back at her was most definitely not the Rachel she’d ever known. No, it was Ella Sanders looking back at her, with her short cropped hair dyed a beautiful auburn.
Tears formed, but she brushed them away immediately. She wasn’t the Rachel of her youth anymore. Wasn’t the Rachel that Gabriel had pushed around like a slave. She was a whole new person, ready to lead a whole new life. Griffin had helped her take the first step in putting the past firmly behind her. Now, even when she looked in the mirror, she wouldn’t have to worry about being reminded of her past. She could look forward, look toward the future, one free of Gabriel’s rule, where she and her baby would finally be safe.
She turned to Griffin, who was looking at her apprehensively. Before he could even open his mouth to ask what she thought, she rushed over and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight as more tears formed. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she managed to get out through her sobs. She couldn’t fight back the emotions bubbling up inside her any longer.
He chuckled and held her, and she never wanted him to let go. Being in his arms felt good. It felt right. For the first time in her life, she truly felt safe. Standing there in his bathroom, it felt like nothing could ever touch her again.
That’s when the first jolt of pain in her stomach came.
12
Griffin
The moment Rachel screamed out in pain, Griffin felt like his heart had stopped beating. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the living room and laid her onto the couch. When she still continued to moan and clutch at her stomach, he started to panic. Then, he saw the blood slowly beginning to show at the crotch of her pants.
He’d never dialed his phone faster in his life. At the same time, he had her back in his arms, rushing her out of the house and into his car. Everything after that blurred together. The next thing he remembered was Doc waiting for him outside the clubhouse, helping him carry Rachel down to his makeshift hospital. Part of him had wanted to take her to a real hospital, but he’d managed to keep his head enough to bring her to Doc first. Unless Doc determined she needed the full treatment only a hospital could provide, Griffin didn’t want to put her at risk. She didn’t look like her former self anymore, but until her ID and all showed up, it would be hard to explain who she was to the hospital staff.
Then, he paced around the exam room while Doc gave Rachel a thorough examination. His heart continued to pound the entire time as Doc went over Rachel from head to toe, muttering more than once about how he wished he had an ultrasound machine. Unable to stand there just doing nothing, Griffin texted Vlad, giving him an update on what was going on, needing his permission.
By the time Doc was finished and pronounced Rachel mostly healthy, the machine was ordered and on its way. If they couldn’t use the club’s funds for helping the people around them, then why did they even have them? At least, that was Griffin’s logic, and Vlad agreed with him.
“It looks like it’s just a simple hematoma from what I can tell. I can’t be positive without an ultrasound machine, but everything else looks normal to me.” He took a deep breath, then reached out and took Rachel’s hand in his. He smiled at her, and Griff was amazed at how easily Doc could change his demeanor to put people at ease. “Best I can tell you is to take it easy for a while. You’re already on bedrest from the hospital, and I suggest you take it seriously. If you continue having problems, then we can look at alternate options.”
“The ultrasound machine will be here within a week,” Griffin said, making Doc’s eyes widen. Then he grinned at his friend before turning back to Rachel.
“Well, then either way, once the machine comes in, we’ll get you checked out.”
“You’re sure I’m not miscarrying, though?” she asked, looking up at him, her eyes wide with fear. She trembled slightly, and Griffin saw Doc squeeze her hand again as he shook his head.
How Doc could keep calm during all of this, Griffin wasn’t sure. He was barely able to keep himself in check, but then, that was probably due to him feeling useless. He could do so much for Rachel, but this stuff was beyond any of his skills. “I’m pretty sure the baby is just fine. I could feel it moving around when I pressed on your stomach and hear the heartbeat with the stethoscope, and you’re not showing any other symptoms of a typical miscarriage.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said, brushing tears from her eyes. She didn’t look like she was in pain anymore, but she still looked s
cared to death. Not that Griffin could really blame her. He’d just met the woman, and he’d been terrified she was about to lose the child. He didn’t need to know her for very long to see just how much she cared about the unborn child, how badly she wanted everything to be okay.
Doc reiterated his orders for bedrest and lots of fluids, then Griffin took Rachel back home. He had to fight back the urge to pick her up off the exam table and carry her back out to the car. Now that they knew she wasn’t dying, he doubted she would appreciate it. Rachel was strong and tough, and even though she was terrified, Griffin knew she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be watching her like a hawk.
13
Rachel
After the scare, Griffin really did seem to treat her like she was a goddess. He took Doc’s orders of bedrest very seriously and barely let her out of bed to come downstairs and lie on the couch. Rachel was lucky she was able to go to the bathroom without him insisting on carrying her. He did insist on doing basically everything else for her, though. He brought her food, water, anything else she needed.
The entire time, Hannah stayed dutifully by her side. For a couple of days, it was like she’d forgotten Gabriel even existed. And Rachel very much appreciated the dog’s constant attention and affection. Not that she didn’t appreciate Griffin’s, but with the dog, there was less expectation there. She didn’t feel guilty about relying on the dog to keep herself sane. When it came to Griffin, she couldn’t help but feel guilty. He’d basically put his entire life on hold to stay home and take care of her.
Hunted: Steel Kings MC - Book 4 Page 4
