“What’s your favorite meal?” I ask him.
“Well that’s the thing. I have two. Are you going to make me both?”
This guy.
“No. Choose one,” I tell him, my mouth twitching.
“I can’t. It’s too hard.”
“That’s what she said,” I mutter under my breath, but he hears it and starts laughing at me.
“Fuck. And you’re a teacher. Wish I had a teacher like you when I was in school,” he says, rubbing the scar on his neck absently.
“You’re being awfully chatty for someone who claims to like silence,” I point out.
He grins. “You’re cute.” He pauses. “And you cook well. And you make my brother happy. And you have a nice—”
“Fine, I’ll make you your two meals. Just stop,” I interrupt, holding up my hand. “You think I’m great, I get it.”
“Fuck if I knew all I had to do was compliment a woman to get fed, I’d have been doing it for a long time.” He looks down at his stomach. “I’m kind of hungry right now, you know.”
I scoff. “I’m not cooking now, it’s ten p.m. and I’ll need to do a grocery run anyway.”
My phone beeps with a message from Rake.
I miss you so fucking much.
I smile to myself and type back.
Already, huh?
He replies instantly.
Always.
I smile wider and send:
As much as the sky is blue?
Irish groans and shakes his head. “If you start fuckin’ giggling like a schoolgirl next, I’m out.”
Rake replies.
More.
I grin and type back.
It doesn’t get much bluer than the sky.
Next, he sends me a picture of his hard cock, with the caption
It doesn’t get much harder than my dick. For you.
ruining the romantic moment but making me giggle.
Irish throws the remote, stands up, and leaves.
Which only makes me giggle harder.
* * *
“I can’t stop thinking about Talon,” Tia blurts out as she walks into my living room.
I look around for Irish.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s sitting out front smoking,” she says, sitting down next to me. “I know it’s stupid, but what do I do? Should I just fuck him out of my system? Yes, that’s exactly what I should do.”
“You know I kissed him, right?” I say, cringing. “I wouldn’t have, if I knew you’d end up liking him.”
She waves her hand in the air. “It was just a kiss, who cares. Not like you let him bend you over.”
I expel a deep sigh.
My friend.
“From what he says he’s not the settling-down type,” I tell her, thinking it over. “Are you going to think you’re the exception to the rule?”
She nods.
“Jesus, Tia. Think this over before you dive in,” I tell her. “I don’t know how this is going to go. If you just want sex, then it’s easy, but if you want any more . . . Yeah, I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either,” she admits, sinking back into my couch. “I should have gone with you to his birthday thing and tried to figure out why I’m so infatuated with the man. Knowing me, I’ll just want to sleep with him, then I’ll get over it.”
“Talon owes me a favor, you know,” I say, thinking back to the beer pong incident. “I could call it in for you.”
Tia smiles slowly and a little evilly. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course,” I reply. “I don’t think Rake will be too happy knowing about it anyway, so I will happily use it for you.”
Tia taps her finger to her lips in thought.
Scheming.
Forever scheming.
“Okay, how about this?”
* * *
I wake to the sound of something smashing, followed by a sound I’ve never heard before in real life.
The sound of a gun being cocked. I try to remain still as the person holding the gun doesn’t make any further movements. I didn’t think they were going to shoot me, or they probably would have already. No, they obviously wanted to threaten me, or to use me against the club.
Who was in the house?
Wade?
Pill?
Fuck, when did I get so many enemies?
When my eyes focus, I’m truly surprised to see just who is pointing the gun to me.
What the actual fuck?
I hear noises in the other room. A slamming noise, like someone getting pushed up against the wall, and I hear Irish yell, his accent more pronounced than ever. Cara.
My heart in my throat, my mind races. Is she okay? Did someone have a gun pointed at her too? They wouldn’t hurt her, would they? What am I going to do? What if they try to kidnap her?
Panicking isn’t going to help.
I need to keep calm and think.
Cara.
“Get up,” she demands quietly.
All I can think about is my daughter.
Is she safe?
Does Irish have her protected? Is he okay? How many men does he have up against him? What if he needs my help right now? Shit. Not that I can do much, but I can do something.
“What are you doing, Amethyst?” I ask, sliding out of my bed slowly, not wanting her to react to any sudden movements. I need to get to my daughter, and no crack whore is going to get in my way. “What do you want?”
It’s clear she’s doing Pill’s bidding. She must be a weak woman indeed for him to be able to put her up to this.
All this for money? Or was this for revenge?
Her fingers tremble, making the gun shake.
Yeah, she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and it makes me feel a little more confident.
I remind myself that she’s just a stupid girl. I can take her, gun or not.
All I need is the right moment.
I hear some glass shatter. We both look to the door as we hear a commotion, a scuffle of some kind, and I use the distraction to kick her once, right in the stomach.
Hard.
One of the moves Anna showed me just last week.
She bends at the waist, holding her stomach, and drops the gun. It falls to the ground, luckily not going off.
I pick it up, awkwardly, and point it at her.
My hands are even shakier than hers were.
“Cara!” I yell at the top of my lungs. “Irish.”
Amethyst takes a step toward me.
“Stay back!” I yell at her, taking a step backward. If she came at me would I shoot her? If I had to, yes, I would. I’ve never used a gun before, but if this idiot can figure it out, then so can I.
“Do you even know how to use that thing?” she sneers, the moonlight shining on her face. “Just give him the money, and we’ll leave you all alone.”
I hear my daughter scream, and it breaks me out of my trance.
There is no option other than her being safe, nothing I wouldn’t do.
I’m about to rush through the door when it slams open, and Irish stands there, Cara in his arms.
I exhale.
Thank God.
All I feel is relief until I see blood on his stomach, some of it on Cara’s leg. He’s hurt.
“We have a huge fuckin’ problem,” he says to me, turning the light on and staring at Amethyst. “Of course they sent some drugged-up bitch to do the dirty work for them. Give me the gun, Bails. You take Angel.”
Cara lifts her head and looks at me, and her brown eyes look terrified. I hand Irish the gun, then carry her into my arms, running my hand down her back. “Everything will be okay.”
Irish grabs Amethyst by the arm and looks at me. “Stay here.”
Cara whimpers into my neck.
A few minutes pass before I hear a car pull into my driveway.
When I hear Tracker’s and Vinnie’s voices, I relax.
My door opens, and it’s Tracker.
He sits on the bed
and pulls Cara into his arms.
“What happened?” I whisper.
He looks at Cara before replying. “Wade thought he could use the two of you as leverage. He knew Rake was in Channon. He’s clearly not thinking right, his mind is just on drugs; he’s lost his shit.”
“Where is he now?” I ask, looking up at him.
Tracker doesn’t reply to that, all he does is look away and say, “Pack a bag, you’re going to stay at the clubhouse.”
I nod.
“And, Bails,” he says, standing and passing me my daughter back. “When you walk out of this room, don’t look.”
I pack a bag and open my room door. Don’t look? Don’t look where? I walk toward the front door with my eyes straight ahead.
I look at my daughter’s angelic face. She’s now asleep, feeling safe in my arms. Safe from the world. Safe from the sight before me.
But then, I look. How can I not? I see what they don’t want me to. I stand still, frozen in my spot and stare.
I’m glad Cara would never see what I was currently seeing.
Her “father” dead. In our living room. Blood dripping from his chest, onto our cream carpet.
No, she didn’t need to see that at all.
I wish I hadn’t.
* * *
“What did you do with Amethyst?” I ask Vinnie, when Cara was asleep in Rake’s bed in the clubhouse.
His mouth tightens, and he runs a hand over his bald head. “Don’t worry about her; you won’t see her again.”
I slam my hand down on the table. “Tell me.”
His eyes narrow at my outburst. “She’s with Talon for now, until we figure out what we’re going to do with her.”
My eyes widen. “You asked for help from the Wild Men?”
Vinnie scowls, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “Don’t fuckin’ remind me. Our hands were full with Wade’s dead fuckin’ body. I owe that fuck a marker now, and I don’t like owing people shit.” He looks at me, his eyes softening. “Your house is being cleaned. Wade is being taken care of. Amethyst will be dealt with. You have nothing to worry about.”
“What did Cara see?” I ask, looking around the kitchen. “And where is Irish? He had blood on him, is he okay?”
“He’s being stitched up,” Vinnie replies casually. “Wade got him with a knife. He’s fine,” he says when I’m about to panic. “Wade got one jab in. Not too deep. I don’t think Cara saw anything. Wade attacked Irish while Amethyst went after you. I think the bitch was meant to get you and Cara in one room while Wade took care of Irish. Then he’d probably call Rake up and tell him what he wanted. But he underestimated Irish.” He looks me in the eye. “And you too.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I say, puffing out a breath. “I was just worried about Cara. If something happened to her . . .”
Vinnie put his hand on my cheek. “She’s fine. You’re fine. Why don’t you try to get some rest? No doubt Rake will be here the second he finds out what happened. Tracker is about to call him.”
“I guess there’s no more need for negotiations,” I say wryly, standing up off the stool. I look at Vinnie until he’s looking back at me. “Talon owes me a marker, maybe I could use it so you don’t have to owe him one?”
Vinnie shakes his head. “No, sweetheart. No one pays my debts but me.” He pauses. “But thank you. Do I even want to know why the Wild Men president owes you a marker?”
I shake my head.
“I thought so,” he says, lifting his Scotch to his lips and taking a mouthful. “Bed, Bails.”
I step toward him and give him a kiss on his cheek.
Then I go to bed.
But I don’t sleep.
How can I?
I spend the long night just watching Cara’s angelic face.
* * *
Rake arrives in the morning, alone. He rode all night. Me in his arms, he whispers “Sorry” into my hair.
Sorry he wasn’t here. Sorry this happened.
“It wasn’t your fault, Rake,” I tell him, over and over. “We’re fine. Irish was there, and nothing happened to us.”
“I should have been there,” he says so softly I have to strain to hear him. “If anything happened to you and Cara . . . Who would have thought they’d be so fuckin’ stupid? Even if we gave them money and got you two back safely, we would have found them after. Same outcome, the bastard would be fuckin’ dead.”
Having enough of the whole thing, I look him dead in the eye. “Rake.”
“Yes, baby?”
“Just hold me,” I whisper, my body starting to shake.
“Anything you need,” he replies. “Anything. Do you want to talk about it?”
I shake my head. “Not right now. I’m just so thankful Cara wasn’t hurt. It could have gone in a completely different direction.”
How could Wade do something so stupid and reckless? At the end of the day, Cara is still his daughter. She could have gotten shot with that stupid woman waving her gun around. I can’t believe the lengths some people will go to. Amethyst reeked of desperation, and I have to wonder just what was going on between her, Wade, and Pill. I have a feeling there’s more to it than meets the eye.
“Don’t even think about it, Bailey,” Rake rumbles.
I’ve heard the other women’s stories, on how being involved with the MC brought them into dangerous situations. However, with me it was Wade who decided to bring trouble upon me. When Cara’s older and asks about her biological father, I’ll have to tell her that he died. She doesn’t need to know the truth behind the story.
Nothing touches my daughter, nothing.
And she will have Rake as her father, and she will be loved and protected.
I close my eyes and bury my face in Rake’s neck, smelling him.
In his presence, I allow myself to be vulnerable.
I show him weakness, as I cry in his arms.
He comforts me.
He holds me.
He loves me.
And I know everything will be all right.
When I wake up I hear Rake mutter something into his phone about dealing with the Kings MC “shit” later. I close my eyes and pretend I don’t hear it. Maybe they weren’t letting the whole Rake-sleeping-with-that-woman thing go. I don’t want to think about that; I’m not ready to deal with more drama yet. “Okay, yeah, Vinnie,” he says into the line. “’Bye.”
“Everything okay?” I ask, rolling over and snuggling into him.
“It will be,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “Go to sleep.”
I go back to sleep.
THIRTY-FOUR
One month later
IRISH comes inside and grins when he sees me. “Rake told me you wanted to see me.”
I nod and point toward the kitchen. “I wanted to thank you, for everything,” I say, shifting on my feet. “So I cooked your two favorite meals for you, just like you wanted.”
Irish grins and steps to me, wrapping me in a one-armed hug. “You didn’t need to do that, Bails. Any of the men would have done the same. It’s who we are, who we decide to be when we join the club. Family is everything, and you’re family.”
I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze. “I know, but still. Thank you.” I let go, only just remembering his injury. “Your wound?”
“It’s fine,” he says, taking a step toward the kitchen. “It was nothing but a scratch. You women all need to quit fussing over me.”
I follow him into the kitchen and watch his eyes widen at the huge spread. “Fuck me.”
“Hope you’re hungry.” I grin, grabbing a plate for him and gesturing for him to sit.
“How did you know?” he asks, watching me. “I never told you.”
“I asked Faye and Rake. And Tracker. And Arrow.”
Irish throws his head back and laughs. “Fuckin’ hate that I’m that predictable.”
“More like easy,” I say, pointing to the pepperoni and jalapeño pizza. “Pizza? Super easy. And ribs? Also easy.”
/>
“I’m a simple man,” he replies, taking a giant slice of pizza and studying it.
“All homemade,” I tell him, taking a seat and grabbing a slice. “I didn’t cheat, although it would have been easy to.”
He shakes his head, then says in his slightly accented voice, “That’s not it. I wouldn’t have cared if you bought it; the thought alone is fuckin’ nice enough.”
“Then what?”
“Just,” he says, shrugging sheepishly. “It’s really nice you did this. For me and me alone. I don’t know, I guess I wanted to savor the moment.”
He’s so cute right now, but I don’t think he’d appreciate it if I point that out, so I just smile at him and go and grab a beer for him out of the fridge.
“It’s so damn good,” he says, practically inhaling the first slice and going onto the next.
“Thanks,” I tell him, happy that he likes it.
“Where’s Rake and Angel?” he asks after chewing and swallowing.
“Rake took her to the movies. They should be back soon,” I tell him, reclaiming my seat and sliding him his beer.
“Thanks, Bails. You know what?”
“What?” I ask.
“You’re one hundred percent old-lady material.”
I smile warmly. “I’m glad you think so.”
He looks at the food when he says, “I did meet someone.”
So, for once, the gossip was right. I feel special that he decided to share this with me, of all people.
My eyes widen at his admission. “What’s her name?”
“Valentina.”
“That’s a pretty name,” I tell him truthfully. “When are you going to bring her to meet everyone?”
“Very soon,” he says, lip twitching.
“Is she old-lady material too?” I find myself asking.
“Fuck yeah.”
We both share a smile.
* * *
When Arrow gets down on one knee and proposes to Anna, in front of all his brothers and the women, I can’t help it when tears of happiness stream down my face.
“Yes!” Anna squeals, letting him slide the huge diamond on her finger, then practically jumping on him.
“About time he made an honest woman out of her,” Rake says into my ear, his smile wider than I’ve ever seen it. He wipes the tears from my cheeks and shakes his head. “Fuckin’ softhearted you are, baby.”
Rake's Redemption (Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club) Page 23
