Fallen Princess

by Chantal Fernando

  His lips tighten. “I’m just trying to look out for you, Clo.”

  “I know that, I do. But I’ve got this. He didn’t back down to you,” I point out, lip twitching. “Yet he wasn’t disrespectful. I think he handled it well.”

  “You aren’t going to listen to me at all, are you?”

  I put my hand on my chest, all dramatic. “Excuse me, I’m listening to you. I’m listening to you talk trash to me right now, without fly-kicking you in the head. If that isn’t friendship, I don’t know what is.”

  He blinks slowly a few times, then starts to laugh, shaking his head at me. “You’re fuckin’ crazy, Clo. I just don’t want to see some punk-ass guy hurt you. It’s not going to happen on my watch.”

  “You haven’t said anything about Felix being a pussy, or any other comment you’d usually make, so I’m going to take that as a good sign,” I reply, wiggling my eyebrows at him. “Maybe you’ll end up liking him and being friends with him.”

  “I highly doubt that,” he says in a dry tone. “He’s a cop, and he might not be stuck on a power trip yet, but just wait.”

  “So cynical.”

  “And your head is in the clouds.” He sighs, softening his tone. “Does he even know about you and the Wind Dragons?”

  I shake my head. “Not yet.”

  “And if he’s so damn great, why haven’t you told him?” he asks me, looking me dead in the eye.

  “It’s complicated,” I reply, shutting down a little. “I want people to see me for me, the real Clover, without any preconceived notions.”

  “The MC is the real you.” He sighs again. “Come on, I don’t want to argue with you. Get your jacket, or we’re going to be late for this movie.”

  Rhett suggested we do a dinner-and-movie bestie date, and I’m looking forward to it.

  I go to my bedroom and get my leather jacket from the wardrobe, sliding it on as I grab my oversize bag. “I’m ready.”

  Excited that I get to ride on his bike, I rush down to his Harley and swipe my hand over the seat. “Just as beautiful as I remember her.”

  He laughs, eyeing his pride and joy. “Isn’t she?”

  “Can I ride her?” I ask him, sticking out my lower lip.

  “No.”

  “Bet you’d let Cara,” I grumble, giving him shit.

  “Cara can’t even ride,” he points out. “And I’d let you, but you don’t have your license.”

  He’s right, of course, but I do know how to ride, and he knows it.

  “So what, you’re just going to pick and choose what laws to follow? Are you a shopping-basket criminal?”

  He throws his head back and laughs at me. “Shopping-basket criminal, where the fuck do you come up with this shit? And if I’m a criminal, so is your whole family.”

  “I’m aware,” I reply in a sarcastic tone. I know the MC has claimed to be legit for a while now, but there’s no way Rhett and the younger men aren’t up to some kind of shit. I’m not that stupid to believe that. I’ve seen how much money Rhett has, and he couldn’t have just gotten it from the businesses, considering he was only patched in this year. I doubt they’re handing out shares just like that.

  “Stop arguing for the sake of it and get on the back of my bike, Clover,” he says, handing me his spare helmet.

  “When you and Cara get together, is she going to let me ride with you still?” I ask him, eyes going wide. “I need to ask her this.”

  “I’m glad you won’t be able to talk in the theater,” he deadpans.

  “I can whisper.”

  Sliding my helmet on, I open the visor and say, “You know I love you, Rhett.”

  “It’s the only reason I put up with you.”

  I grin and jump on behind him.

  “Hey, sorry about last night,” I say to Felix when I see him outside the front of the station the next morning. “Rhett can be a little overprotective sometimes; he’s been like that since we were little.”

  “Have you dated him before or something?” he asks, watching me closely and waiting for my reaction.

  “No,” I say, wrinkling my nose. “He’s basically family. Trust me, there’s nothing going on there. Why do you ask?”

  “Just checking,” he murmurs, shrugging and clearing his throat. “Beautiful day today, isn’t it?”

  My eyes narrow.

  Is he jealous?

  There’s no way I’m going to ask him, so I accept his pathetic attempt at changing the subject. “It really is.”

  “Jones told me you’re a mixed martial artist,” he says randomly. “You never mentioned that to me.”

  “You never asked,” I say, glancing up and flashing him a haughty look. “I grew up doing all different styles of fighting. Started with karate until I got my black belt, then I dabbled in a little bit of mixed martial arts.”

  “Fuck, you’re a weapon, you know that? Deadly. And no one would see it coming,” he says quietly, puffing out a breath. “What a way to go though. Taken out by the most beautiful woman they’ll ever lay their eyes on.”

  I duck my head, my cheeks heating. It’s not that I haven’t been told I’m beautiful before, because I have, plenty of times.

  It just means more coming from him.

  And the deadly weapon comment?

  I can’t express how much I enjoyed that one. “That’s very sweet of you, Felix.”

  “I’m only being sweet because now I know you can kick my ass,” he says with a straight face, blue eyes amused. “I’m going to have to step up my game now.”

  “Not from what I’ve heard about you,” I assure him. “Some kids learn musical instruments, or dancing, or sports; my parents just happened to make sure I knew how to defend myself from a pretty young age.”

  “Do you enjoy it?” he asks me, sounding genuinely curious.

  I think about it. “Yeah, I do. It’s always been a part of my life, and it makes me feel safe, powerful even, not that I’d go around hurting people just because I can.”

  “You’re in the wrong career if that’s what you want to do,” he teases, then does something that takes me by surprise. He holds out his hand, looking me in the eye, and waits patiently for me to take it.

  When our fingers touch, sparks sizzle up my arm, goose bumps appearing on my flesh. “What are you doing to me, Felix?” I ask him, expelling a deep sigh.

  I wasn’t meant to find him. Not now, and not like this. The timing is all off.

  He gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “I ask myself the same thing about you. I don’t know what it is, Clo. I just like being around you, and yeah . . . I’m not normally this forward with women, but there’s something about you I just can’t let go of. I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re an enigma. Sweet but strong, mysterious yet so open-minded. You’re intoxicating.”

  I swallow hard, not knowing what to say to that.

  He doesn’t really know who I am, but I’m going to have to tell him.

  “You only know the parts of me that I’ve let you see, Felix,” I warn him, rubbing my thumb along his knuckles. “You’ve only just touched the surface, and trust me, you’re not going to want to see who I am the further you delve.”

  “I want to know everything about you, all of you,” he says, stopping and turning to me. “If you let me in, you won’t regret it.”

  I force a smile as he opens the door for me, and I walk in front of him.

  I might not regret it, but I know that he will.

  “My dad would have liked you,” he says, catching me off guard.

  “Would have?” I ask, brow furrowing. “Is your dad . . . ?” I trail off, not knowing how to word what I want to ask him.

  “He passed away,” he explains. “He was killed in the line of duty a few years back. He died a hero.”

  When Felix mentioned his father last time, he said he was an officer, not is, but still, I had no idea he had passed away. “I’m so sorry, Felix.”

  I never really asked about his family until now, or pressed
for information, because that would mean that I’d need to return the favor and tell him about mine. We need to know this stuff about each other though, or our new relationship won’t be off to a good start.

  “Don’t be,” he murmurs. “I still remember the day it happened. My mom was pacing in the kitchen, a worried look on her face. I knew that meant that Dad was late to come home. She’d always worry whenever he was late; I guess that’s a downside to being with an officer. You never know when they might not walk through those doors.”

  I wrap my arms around him, offering comfort, but then quickly pull away when I remember where we are. “What happened?”

  “He and his partner had been called into a bar,” he says, swallowing hard. “Two men had gotten into a fight, and they weren’t letting up. They tried to arrest them, but one of the men pulled out a gun on my dad and shot him. Apparently they were both bikers—you know, like in a motorcycle club—and Dad had just walked into some club war, and instead of being arrested they decided they would just shoot him instead. As usual the bikers thought they’d hand out their own version of punishment to someone who was just doing his job.”

  Fuck.

  Eyes closed, I lay my head on his shoulder.

  How am I supposed to tell him who I am now after this story? His father was killed by bikers, and now he’s dating the daughter of one.

  I don’t know who killed his dad, but I guess being raised with bikers, regardless of the club, he might see me as guilty by association.

  And the Wind Dragons haven’t always been angels, what if one of them had something to do with Felix losing his dad?

  The thought makes me feel ill.

  “What happened to the man who shot him?” I ask, holding my breath.

  “He got away,” Felix grits out, teeth clenched. “They never caught him. Somehow the bar lost the camera footage and he managed to get away before backup showed up. He’s still out there somewhere, probably.”

  “Is that why you’re here?” I ask him softly, cupping his stubbled cheek with my palm. “For revenge?”

  He shakes his head. “No. I meant it when I said I always wanted to be a cop. But if I got justice for my dad? I can’t lie and say that that doesn’t fuel me. Of course I want the man who murdered him behind bars. I’d like those bikers to pay for what they did to him. I want to know who they are. I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to forget what happened to him. He was there doing his job, trying to protect people, and in return they took his life. I’ll always wonder what would have happened if someone else took that call. Would he still be alive? Or would I have lost him in another accident?”

  “Don’t think like that,” I whisper to him, feeling very drained all of a sudden. “It won’t change anything.”

  Felix and I already have so much stacked against us.

  My family ties.

  My father not liking anyone to even look at his daughter, not to mention someone who is a cop.

  Me not being completely honest from the start.

  But this?

  This one is the one that we might not be able to recover from.

  Instead of opening up to him about my family, I decide to let it be for a little while. There’s no way I can say anything now after he just told me all those things.

  In his eyes, I’m probably going to be put into the same category as the man who shot his dad.

  And it’s too late to back out now.

  Because I’m falling for him.

  “We miss you,” Mom says to me, giving me a warm hug. “Now that you have some experience, can’t you find a job here in the city?”

  “Maybe,” I reply vaguely. “I’m sure I’ll move back eventually.”

  If my brother, Asher, was home, I don’t think Mom would mind so much, but because he’s overseas she’s without both her children, which must suck for her.

  “How is work going?” my aunt Lana asks, as she reaches over and takes a handful of grapes from the center of the table.

  “Not bad. Same old,” I reply, shrugging. “How about you, Aunt Lana? How are your books going?”

  “I’m taking a little break for now,” she says to me, pushing her glasses back up on her nose. “But in a few months I’m going to start a paranormal romance.”

  “I’ll have to read that one,” I say to her, eyes darting to the door as Rhett and Cara walk in.

  Together.

  Holding hands.

  “Oh my god,” I whisper, standing up and cheering. “It’s about fucking time!”

  Cara’s face goes bright red, but I don’t even care. I turn to Mom, Aunt Lana, Aunt Anna, and Aunt Bailey. “Can you guys believe this?”

  Cara grabs my arm and yanks me out of the room, leaving Rhett to deal with the peanut gallery.

  “Dude, how the hell did this happen? When I hung out with Rhett last week you two were still friends, flirting, but still friends, and now? You just made it official.”

  This news is going to travel around the clubhouse faster than the usual gossip. These two really have some balls walking in like this.

  “I’m going to kill you,” she whisper-yells, fingers digging into my soft skin.

  “For what? You two walked in here all coupled up without giving me a heads-up,” I reply, smirking. “How did this happen?”

  “He took me out on a date, and we had the chat we should have had a long-ass time ago,” she admits. “We told each other how we really felt, but both of us didn’t want to ruin our friendship; I think that’s why we just didn’t do anything about it for so long. We don’t know what we’d do if we lost each other. It would be like losing you.”

  “No one is losing anyone,” I tell her, wrapping my arm around her. “Just don’t fuck up.”

  I should be telling Rhett that.

  “Tell him that,” she mutters, reading my mind. She sighs and then tilts her head to the side with a warm smile.

  “What is your dad going to say?” I ask her.

  “Cara!” I hear Uncle Rake call out.

  Fuck.

  “I guess I’m about to find out,” she replies, as Uncle Rake storms up to us.

  “Hey, Dad,” she says, supplying an awkward wave.

  “You and Rhett?”

  She nods.

  I take a step back, well I try to, but she grabs my arm to keep me in place, so I have to share this awkward situation with her.

  “At least she’s keeping it in the MC,” I offer, trying to help her a little.

  Uncle Rake’s jaw goes tense. Even though I make a point, this is the first time Cara has openly dated someone in front of the whole family. Any other dalliance was always hidden from everyone, so this must be a huge shock for overprotective Uncle Rake, even though I know he does love Rhett.

  His eyes narrow on me, silently telling me my input isn’t appreciated. I shrug and flash him a charming smile. “If it makes it any better, I too only just found out about this.”

  He scrubs his hand down his face. “Me, you, and Rhett need to have a chat.”

  Cara gulps.

  I manage to escape, rushing back to the kitchen, not wanting to hear the good old “if you hurt my daughter I’m going to kill you with my bare hands” lecture.

  Mom, Aunt Bailey, Aunt Anna, and Aunt Lana are lost in the gossip, with Rhett nowhere to be seen. The women have all known one another for years, each of them having fallen in love with a Wind Dragons member and becoming instant family, kind of like me with Cara and Rhett.

  “I think it’s about time,” Mom tells them. “We all saw this coming, just didn’t know when they were going to stop being stubborn and admit that they both liked each other.”

  “I know, and Rake will get over it,” Aunt Bailey assures them. “I like Rhett. If I had to choose a man for my baby, Rhett is a good choice.”

  “When did they grow up?” Mom sighs, looking over to me. “What about you, Clo? When are you going to spring a man on us?”

  I swallow, hard. “Not anytime soon.”

&nb
sp; Mom’s eyes narrow. “You hesitated. Who is he?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie.

  “Spill,” she demands, not falling for my bullshit.

  There’s no point even denying it at this point.

  “Now, now, Mom. Today is about Cara and Rhett; I wouldn’t want to steal their thunder,” I say, grinning and exiting the room before they can question me further. After finding Rhett sitting outside, having a smoke, I take a seat next to him and wait a few moments before starting in on him.

  “Do you think Uncle Rake is going to battle you to the death or just beat the shit out of you?” I ask him, in a tone way too cheerful for the subject matter.

  If looks could kill. “A bunch of us are heading out now to handle some business, so I’m sure he will save the beating for when we return.”

  I’ve never really pried into their activities, not really questioning too much, so I really have no idea what pies the MC have their fingers in. It’s probably better off that I don’t know actually. It’s the only way I can keep my family separate from my job.

  My phone rings and Felix’s name pops up.

  “Hey,” I say into the line.

  “We have a lead. How soon can you get here?” he asks me.

  “An hour?” I reply, standing up.

  “Drive safely.”

  “See you soon.”

  I hang up and look down at Rhett. “I have to go. I’m going to miss out on all the drama, so send me a recap, please.”

  I say good-bye to everyone, gently brushing off questions of why I have to leave so soon, saying that something has come up at work and I need to be heading back. I know that they are suspicious because what possibly could come up at an accounting firm, but there’s nothing I can do about that right now.

  I have a drug dealer to get off the streets.

  EIGHT

  “YOU’RE going to do fine,” Felix tells me under his breath, eyes gentle on me. We’re gearing up for my first-ever raid in the city, where we will be breaking into the address that was given to us in an anonymous tip and hopefully making an arrest of the man known as Reaper, the infamous dealer Charmaine told us about. It’s been a week of following leads that have brought us to this moment, and I can’t help but feel nervous. I really want this to go well, and I won’t allow myself any mistakes.