Her hand covered her mouth as she choked back a sob. If anything happened to Rafa, she would never forgive them.
“There!” Ink said excitedly. “See? I told you!”
Steph looked ahead, through the front windshield, just in time to see her bike skid onto the highway in front of them. And there, on its back, was Rafa.
Relief flooded through her causing her to sag into the seat. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer for his safety.
“That bike is your most prized possession,” Ink stated. “He refused to leave it behind.”
“Why didn’t you just say that he went after my bike?” she asked.
Ink shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She rolled her eyes. If she weren’t hurting like hell, and if he weren’t driving, she probably would have smacked him in the back of his head.
They all stared as emergency vehicles flew past them with lights flashing and horns blaring. There was no way to save the guest house, but Steph hoped they could at least save the main one.
“Where are Holston’s men?” Doc asked, as he ducked his head and peered out of the side mirror of the car.
“Dead.” That was all Ink said.
Doc nodded.
Stephanie sat in the back seat with her eyes glued on the lone rider in front of the car, but her mind was centered on the fact that the cops and fire department were only moments away from finding several dead bodies on her parents' property.
“We have to call my dad,” Steph stated the obvious.
“Already on it,” Ink replied, his phone moving to his ear.
It didn’t take her dad long to answer. Ink gave a brief rundown on the night's events while Steph listened on. She was surprised to hear that the alert system hadn’t gone off, even after Ink swore that he’d set it. Holsten’s men should have never even made it past the property line. Buried just inches below the surface was a detection fence. An alarm should have sounded in the house to indicate that someone had crossed the barrier, but it hadn’t. Holsten men had gotten close enough to launch a moltov cocktail through the living room window that had laid only feet from where Ink had been sleeping.
Steph cringed. She couldn’t imagine waking up to flames in her face.
Her dad asked a few questions, to which Ink answered. But judging from Ink’s instant replies, and her father’s subsequent screams through the phone, she knew her dad wasn’t happy. She felt sorry for the state of Ink’s eardrum and by the time he ended the call, some of the color had completely left his face.
“Well, that was worse than I expected,” she deadpanned. “Are you okay?”
Ink gave a stiff nod but didn’t say anything more.
They rode in silence for a long time. On a few occasions, Steph dozed off in the backseat, only to wake up when the car hit a bump or shifted when Ink turned down another road. Each time though, she continued to check to see if Rafa was in front of them, and each time, he was. So, she relaxed again and fell back asleep only to be woken up by the sound of Rafa’s voice.
“Wakey wakey, sleepyhead.” He nudged her softly.
She blinked open her eyes and the second they met his, she was moving out of the seat without any care of her leg. Steph needed to touch him. She needed to know that he was real, and he was there.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “You’re okay,” she stated, more to herself than to him. “I was so scared.”
Rafa hugged her tightly. “Shh,” he told her. “I’m fine.”
She felt him lift her into his arms and she buried her face into his neck as she breathed the smell of him into her lungs. There, she found a bit of comfort. She allowed the smell and feel of him to wrap around her almost like a protective blanket. She didn’t care to even look to see where they were going, because as long as Rafa was there with her – it didn’t matter. With this man, Steph knew she’d travel to the gates of hell, without a single complaint.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Rafael
He’d never feared for anything as much as he feared for the woman in his arms. When he’d woken up to Ink slamming open his door, Rafa would have never thought it was due to someone trying to burn the house down, with them all in it. But he should have known that Franco would try something. His brother was like a rabid dog after a meaty bone. Nothing would stop him.
Aside from death, he thought to himself.
Rafa carried Stephanie into the cabin and walked over to the bed. “Here, baby,” he whispered, “try to lie down.”
But she didn’t want to let him go. Her arms tightened around his neck.
“Hey.” He tried to pull back a bit to see her face. The same fear that he felt was mirrored in her eyes when she finally looked at him. “No.” He shook his head. “None of that.” He wiped a tear off her cheek. “I’m fine. I’m right here. Okay?”
Stephanie nodded.
He set her on the bed and this time, she reluctantly let him go. He made sure that she was comfortable and then sat gently on the edge as Ink and Doc both found the lanterns and lit them to put some light in the room.
“This place looks a lot better since the last time I was here,” Ink commented.
Rafael looked around. He’d done a lot of work on the small cabin to keep himself busy since he’d arrived. Everything that he’d built, had kept with the natural theme of the place. The small table had been made from an old stump, and so had the makeshift stools. He’d even built a door out of the old wood from the unstable carport out back to replace the curtain that led to the bathroom. Not to mention, there was probably a decade worth of logs ready to go that had been neatly stacked right outside the front door.
“We need to figure out what to do next,” Stephanie said to the group. “Franco isn’t going to stop until he gets what he wants.”
“Or if he’s dead.” Ink shrugged. “Hard to go after someone if you aren’t breathing.”
“What are you talking about?” Doc asked. “You can’t even walk. What the hell are you gonna do?”
“I don’t need to walk to snipe a hole in your head, asshole,” she clapped back.
“You aren’t doing anything,” Doc argued. “Heal. That’s your job.”
“The hell it is!”
“Steph…”
“No, you don’t get to order me around,” she interrupted him. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Your doctor!” Doc shouted back. “And your damn friend!”
“Alright, let’s calm down,” Rafa interjected. “This isn’t going to help our situation.”
“You mean the situation we wouldn’t be in if she hadn’t decided to blow your brother’s shit sky high?” Doc asked, taking another shot at Stephanie.
“Enough!” Rafael raised his voice. “You can be mad, or you can help us figure out how to fight this. But what you will not do, is take shots at her. Understood?”
“No.” Doc shook his head. “You don’t get to tell me shit. I spent hours fighting for her life and repairing the damage. And less than seventy-two hours later she just wants to hop back out there, after she nearly died? I don’t fucking think so! And the fact that you’re just sitting there, not saying shit about it, definitely proves that you aren’t the man for her.”
Anger flashed through him at Doc’s words. Rafa surged to his feet and before he had time to process, he swung at the other man. All hell broke loose in that small cabin. Ink rushed toward them and used his size and strength to shove the two men apart.
“What the fuck!” Ink yelled. “We have enough shit going on. We sure as fuck don’t need this shit.”
“Whatever.” Doc shrugged off Ink’s hand and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.
Rafa placed his hands on his hips and paced the room. Who the fuck did that guy think he was? Who was he to say what Rafa thought was important? He took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. Normally, he tried to always remain calm and never let anything get to him, but for some reason, Doc ru
bbed him the wrong way, especially after his assumption that Rafa didn’t care about Stephanie or her injuries.
“Man, just let it go,” Ink said.
“How the hell do you suggest I do that?” Rafael snapped.
“Whoa.” Ink raised his hands. “Don’t bite my head off. I’m on your side. Doc was out of line. But right now, rather than focus on him, we need to focus on Franco. Because until we figure out what to do there, it’s not just us in danger.”
“It’s the entire club,” Stephanie said softly.
“Exactly,” Ink replied. “So. What now?”
They all looked to him as if he had the answers. But Rafael didn’t know what to do next. While he knew all his brother’s holdings, he didn’t know what could be done to cripple Franco’s production. His brother had a lot of high-level officials in his back pocket. Men and women who would do anything to keep themselves in the shadows. Right now, the Devil’s Henchmen were beginning to shine lights where people didn’t want them. That could only lead to more shit rolling downhill on them. So, whatever they did, they would have to play it out perfectly. Because once Franco got wind of them closing in on him, he would just up and move. It would turn into a game of cat and mouse.
“What if we hit all of Franco’s businesses at once?” Stephanie asked. “Is that possible?”
“There’s a lot of them,” Rafael answered. “We are talking about dozens of locations, all at once.”
“Let me call Sledge,” Ink replied. He waved a finger at Stephanie. “That might just work.”
Rafael watched as Ink pulled out his cell from the inside of his cut and headed out the door. He walked over to Stephanie and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. The tussle with Doc had his ribs hurting like hell, but he made sure to keep his face neutral. He didn’t want her to worry about him.
“Doc means well,” she told him. “Just blow him off. He’ll calm down and be back.”
Rafael nodded. However, he couldn’t help but wonder if Doc’s issue with him stemmed from something else entirely, but he would have to worry about that more later. Right now, he needed to figure out how to keep both Stephanie and the rest of the Devil’s Henchmen MC safe.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Doc
He walked over to the river’s edge and stood there, staring out into the water. They hadn’t had much rain lately, which had caused the flow of the current to settle. With his fingers interlocked behind his head, Doc took several deep breaths.
He knew better than to lose his temper. He wasn’t that sort of person. He never let things get to him. And while he was pissed about Steph’s lack of care for herself, he was angrier with himself.
He’d spent his entire life hiding his feelings. He’d become a pro at it. And then, in one night, all of that changed. However, it wasn’t supposed to. He couldn’t afford to let his feelings be known. It wouldn’t do any good.
He was too late. Story of my life. A day late, and a dollar short, he thought to himself.
He heard the snap of a twig and glanced behind him to see Ink walking toward him. The look on his friend’s face had him shaking his head.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Doc told him before he even had a chance to open his mouth.
“I think you need to talk about it,” Ink replied, “but I’m not gonna push the issue.”
“Thank you.”
“Mhm.”
Both men stood there, looking out over the water, neither of them saying a word. The silence stretched, becoming a bit uncomfortable. Or maybe that was just Doc. But he couldn’t stand there and have the same conversation with Ink for what felt like the millionth time. It wouldn’t do any good. What was done, was done. However, that didn’t stop his annoyance because he knew Ink was only there to press on him.
“Fucking hell,” he muttered. “Just say it.”
“What?” Ink looked innocently at him. “I have nothing to say.”
“You and I both know that’s a load of shit,” Doc chuckled. “The day you don’t have anything to say is the day the world ends.”
“I’m offended.” Ink looked hurt.
But Doc knew it was bullshit. “Mhm. Liar.”
Ink smiled, but the look didn’t last long. As it faded and became more serious, he turned toward him and said, “Look man, either you need to tell Steph how you feel or let it go and move on. Because the shit I just saw in there,” He pointed back toward the cabin. “is not you.”
“I can’t, brother,” Doc replied. “She made her choice a long time ago.”
Doc knew he’d never stood a chance. No matter how much he loved Steph, she’d always been hung up on Rafael. Even after he’d died.
“Then let it go and move on,” Ink said.
“I’m trying, dude. I really am.”
“Then what was that?” Ink asked.
“I don’t know.” Doc sighed. “Seeing her bloody on the floor, that shit twisted something.” He rubbed absently at a spot in the center of his chest. “Fighting to save her… And knowing that it was because of that mother fucker that she was even in that position…”
“I get that.” Ink nodded. “But man, that was her decision. Not his.”
Doc shook his head. “But if…”
“No,” Ink interrupted. “No buts. Steph made the choice to go after the Holston crew. That’s on her. I have no doubt that if Rafa had known, he would have done everything in his power to stop her.”
Doc knew Ink was telling the truth, but he still blamed Rafa. If the man would have just stayed dead, then he wouldn’t have had to put his surgical skills to the test to save Stephanie’s life. She would have been safe, in the clubhouse, instead of playing Rambo and blowing shit up and getting shot to hell.
“Look, man.” Ink slapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. “Let her go. Go find you some fine ass tail and wet your dicklette until the little guy is shriveled up like a prune.”
Doc chortled.
He didn’t want another woman. Maybe one day, someone would come along and make him change his mind, but right now, he just needed to focus on his career and the club. Maybe it was time to make some serious life decisions. Because the hurt he was currently feeling, felt like it was eating him up inside. And Doc wasn’t a fan. At all.
“I’ll figure something out,” he told Ink.
“I’m sure you will, brother,” Ink replied. “But until then, Sledge has agreed to a plan to take Franco and the Holston’s out of the picture.”
Now that was something Doc could use to get his mind off the woman who was lying in a bed, less than fifty yards from him, with a man he wanted to punch in the face. “What’s this plan?” Doc asked, trying to get his mind to go in a different direction.
Ink smiled, looking sinister. He threw his arm over Doc’s shoulder and chuckled. “Well, let’s just say, things are about to get really interesting.”
As they headed back toward the cabin, Doc listened as Ink let him in on the details of what was to come. He didn’t know if interesting was the correct term, but the plan would be exciting if they could pull it off. However, the only issue Doc saw with it, was the fact that Steph was not going to like it. And for some reason, her hatred of the plan made Doc love it just a bit more. Inside, he could almost see himself rubbing his hands together evilly. And for a brief moment, he paused.
Was that really the man he was becoming? The type who took pleasure out of another’s discomfort. Absolutely.
If Doc were going to move on and put his feelings for Steph to rest, he knew he would have to harden his heart to her. Which meant, no longer putting her feelings before his own.
“Ready for the fireworks?” Ink asked as they mounted the porch.
“Yep!” Doc’s smile matched Ink’s.
“Then let’s do this!”
The two men walked back into the cabin, and while Ink relayed Sledge’s plan, Doc took great satisfaction in seeing the color drain from Steph’s face. While that might make him a class A prick
, Doc was okay with it. She had made her choice, and now he was making his. One day at a time. One way or another. He would find a way to get over her and move on with his life.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Stephanie
“What?” she shouted. “No. Just no.”
“Sorry, Chica,” Ink replied. “Sledge’s orders.”
“He is not going anywhere near Franco!”
“Steph…” Ink sighed.
“No!” She moved to get out of bed.
“Stephanie,” Rafa started to say.
“Don’t you dare!” she yelled. “Move.”
He stood and Steph continued to maneuver herself out of the bed. She slapped his hand away when Rafa tried to help her. She could do it herself. When she stood, she sucked in a breath as her weight came down on her leg. The pain had her closing her eyes and taking a moment to compose herself. When she finally opened them, the guys were staring at her. She looked at each of them, her eyes finally stopping on Doc.
“And you’re going along with this?” she asked him.
He shrugged.
The aloofness irritated her.
“Give me your phone,” she told Ink. “This shit isn’t happening.” She grabbed it from him and pressed a few buttons, calling Sledge.
“Stephanie,” Rafa said. “It’s a solid plan.”
“No!”
“I’m sorry, what?” Sledge said.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” she told him.
“Oookay,” he replied. “Then what did you call me for?”
“Really?” Steph asked, not even bothering to hide her annoyance.
“Stephanie, I will not argue with you,” Sledge replied. “You will follow the plan. You will follow orders. Period. It is not up for debate.”
“Sledge, you cannot send him back there!”
How could he think sending Rafa back to Franco’s was a good idea? Franco would kill him on sight. Any idiot would know that. Why was her family so set on ending her happiness?
“Kiddo, I’m sorry,” Sledge said. “But it’s the only way.”
Capturing Stephanie: Devil's Henchmen MC Next Generation, Book Three Page 11
