Can't Stop Fate (Ronacks MC #4)

by Debra Kayn

  He refused to budge. "Tell me why you were in the office with Lip if what he was doing was private."

  Raelyn grinned. "You're jealous."

  "I'm not jealous." He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Until you go in front of the club, you still belong to me. That means you're not allowed to be in a room alone with Lip. That means I can kill Lip for being alone with you."

  "Really?" She laughed. "It's an office, Mel."

  "Don't give me that shit. I fucked you in that office," he said, barely finishing the statement before his throat emitted a growl.

  Raelyn's amusement fled. Her lips formed the perfect O, adding on to his frustration because he loved to kiss the surprise and consume that moment when every emotion was tied up in her.

  "When do you plan on going to the clubhouse? I'll need to make sure everyone is there, " he said.

  "I...I'll..." She shook her head snapping out of her shock. "I can't deal with that now."

  "When?"

  "Later." She cringed. " I need to work."

  "Wait." He studied her. "What was that look for?"

  "What look?"

  He pointed at her face. "You did something weird with your nose."

  She shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes my face does things without asking me first."

  "Your face...what?" He gawked at her, suddenly lost.

  Raelyn ducked around him before he could learn more. Frustration left him unable to breathe. His inability to keep her from walking away from him was slowly killing him. No matter how many times he reminded himself that Raelyn no longer belonged to him, he couldn't stop loving her.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Carl leaned back in the chair and patted his flat stomach. Raelyn sipped from her glass of Diet Pepsi, enthralled with her family. Gia had agreed to man the counter and cash register for an hour why Raelyn took an extra-long lunch. The lull between the lunch crowd and the dinner crowd provided a perfect time for her family to have time together to sit down at the same table without work or going in all different directions.

  She reached over and wiped ketchup from Dukie's cheek. Even her son enjoyed coming home from camp and having everyone together. He'd almost finished one of Peggy's special burgers she'd whipped up especially for him. No pickles or lettuce with extra ketchup and steak sauce. The same burger Peggy had made for Dukie's dad once upon a time.

  "What is that smile for, honey?" Grandma June fiddled with the bottle of beer in front of her from the other side of the table.

  Warmth filled her. "It's been a long time since I've had my whole family together. We need to do this at least once a week. Now that camp is over for Dukie, it'll be easier to eat as a family."

  "Right, cause it won't be the first time we're sitting in a bar together and acting like all families are normal like us." Carl grinned. "Though it beats the time mom took us all to that Hutterites picnic and tried to convince them we were interested in joining, so we could get a free meal."

  "Oh, my God. I remember that." Raelyn laughed. "Then, she tried to hit on that one guy, and he wanted her to call him dairy boss or something like that."

  Her mom slapped her brother on the chest, and Carl coughed, groaning in fake pain. Raelyn reached over and squeezed her mom's hand. Having Carl join everyone made the day extra special. At his age, his life could change overnight like the way Raelyn's had. A sweet girl could sweep him away, and he'd use all his time nurturing his new family and leaving his old family behind.

  Dukie swung his feet under the table. Raelyn turned her attention to her son. He'd propped his chin on the surface of the scarred table and forgotten about the rest of his food. The day's activities at camp had worn him out.

  She scooted his plate to the middle of the table. "I'm going to take him upstairs. Allison is up there waiting to stay with him for the rest of the night."

  "I'm outta here, too." Carl shoved back his chair.

  "Where are you going?" Her mom stood.

  Carl ran his hand through his unruly hair. "Around."

  "Stay away from the park and don't stay out too late." Her mom rubbed her hands together in worry. "I really wish you'd stay in longer. You're still sore and look awful."

  Carl grinned. "Girls don't think I look bad."

  Raelyn snorted. She'd been one of those girls who loved a bad boy. "Be back before the bar closes."

  "Right." Carl touched his forehead with two fingers, saluted her, and swaggered away from the table.

  Raelyn looked at her mom. "He'll be okay. He's smart. Plus, I've blackmailed him into texting me every hour while he's gone."

  Grandma June hooted with laughter. "What do you have on that boy?"

  "If I told you, it wouldn't work, would it?" Raelyn smiled, standing and slipping her hands under Dukie's armpits, lifting him up. "Ugh, you are getting so big. You weight a ton, little man."

  Dukie's head went to her shoulder. She walked with him through the bar, enjoying her son's warm body against hers, his sweet, sweaty smell, and the two slender arms that hugged her. She smiled at Peggy in the kitchen and walked straight through to the hallway. Soon, she wouldn't be able to carry Dukie or bring him down to the bar as often because he'd get older and he'd see the environment through more impressionable eyes.

  By that time, she hoped to have enough money to put down on a house and stop living above the bar. It was time for changes.

  At the door to the upstairs, she shifted Dukie to one arm and tried to fish out the keys in her pocket.

  "I'll take him," said a deep voice behind her.

  She smiled before she could stop herself. Mel had been absent from the bar most of the day after getting upset with her. She was glad he'd come back inside.

  Mel lifted Dukie from her. She soaked in the man holding the boy with ease and familiarity while unlocking and opening the door. Following them up the steps, she reached up and stroked the hair off Dukie's warm forehead. He always slept hard and dropped off in two seconds flat.

  At the top of the landing, she hurried around Mel and unlocked the apartment. Allison stood from the couch, spotted Dukie sleeping, and tilted her head to the side. "I had a feeling he wouldn't make it too long through dinner. He was almost asleep in the car coming back from camp."

  Raelyn put her hand on Mel's back. "Go ahead and put him on the bed. I'll be there in a second."

  Alone with Allison, Raelyn said, "You can skip his bath tonight and let him sleep. I can give him one in the morning since he doesn't have camp anymore and the bar is closed."

  Allison nodded. "I'll take that time to catch you up on your laundry."

  "Oh, thank you." Raelyn hugged her. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

  She walked into the short hallway and stood in the doorway to Dukie's bedroom. Mel leaned over her son, talking quietly. On the floor were her son's shoes, socks, jeans. Without being told, Mel covered her son with the blanket clear up to his neck.

  Mel glanced at her. "Will he be warm enough in his T-shirt and underwear?"

  "Yeah," she whispered, stepping forward and standing beside Mel. "It's summertime."

  Mel inhaled. "Yeah. He'll be starting school soon."

  She leaned down and kissed Dukie's forehead. "To the moon and back," she whispered.

  She stepped away from the bed and stopped. Mel had leaned down and rubbed her son's hair before picking up the discarded clothes and shoes and setting them out of the way in case Dukie woke up in the middle of the night, he wouldn't trip. She swallowed the tightness building inside of her.

  Not every man was made to be a father. Then, there was Mel.

  His ease at being around Dukie hadn't come naturally. He'd taken an interest in her son from the start. Then, learned to change diapers, feed, talk, play, and bond with her son by watching her. Over time, he ended up loving Dukie.

  Mel looked up and caught her watching. She turned and walked out of the living room. Waving to Allison, she let herself out and closed the door behind Mel. Together they walked downstairs
in silence. Highly aware of him behind her, watching her, wanting her, she took her time. The moment she stepped back into the bar, she'd need to work.

  At the back entrance of the kitchen, she stopped and turned around. Her body vibrated with the desire to show him how much he meant to her. "Thank you for helping with Dukie. I'll make sure I tell him in the morning that you put him to bed. He'll like that. He's...been asking for you."

  Mel's temple throbbed. She reached up and pushed his hair back. The need to comfort him too much, she gazed into his tormented eyes.

  "What have you told him about us?" Mel's gravelly voice tight with emotion.

  She moistened her lips. "Nothing, yet. He's too young to have adult problems to worry about."

  Mel lowered his chin and exhaled in a tired sigh. "Raelyn, I can't keep doing this."

  "Seeing me?"

  "And, not having you." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Earlier, I went looking for Lip. The only reason I didn't shoot him was that LeWorth, Prez, and Rod were with him."

  "Why would you want to kill him?"

  He emitted a huff of disgust. "You've always had a crush on him, and I watched the recordings in the office. I saw you take him into the office."

  She melted at his jealousy. "He wanted to make a phone call in private, and he knocked over the pen holder. I stayed and picked everything up, then left him alone to do his business. As for having a crush on him? You're wrong. I just loved making you jealous over the years. When you got all pissed, it gave me an excuse to be around you more. I was teasing you because I liked the attention. Today...was not about teasing you. I would never do anything to make you jealous because it would hurt too bad to have you even more upset with me than you already are."

  His gaze narrowed. She lowered her hand from his head. All she wanted was the comfort of having him back, the thrill of being able to talk with him, and the fire that burned between them.

  "We need to talk. There's still the job of going in front of the club that needs to be done," he said.

  "I need to..."

  "Babe?" he said, his gaze narrowing.

  "I have to go back to work. I've already been gone too long." She brushed past him, wanting to forget about what she promised to do.

  The building rocked, exploding in noise.

  The floor shifted under her feet. She screamed, reaching for the wall to keep her balance. A loud alarm sounded. Raelyn turned, grabbing onto Mel to propel herself to the stairs.

  "Dukie," she said, panicked to get to him and make sure he was okay.

  Mel moved out of the way. "Go to him. I'll check on the bar."

  She scrambled getting her key in the lock. Her heart raced, and fear shook her. Running up the steps, she pounded on the door, skipping the rule that Allison never answer a knock during the open hours of the bar unless she received a text from Raelyn first.

  Raelyn swallowed her sob when the door remained locked and fought with the keys on her keyring. Finally finding the right one, she opened the door and almost fell into the room. Catching herself on the sofa, she grabbed onto Allison.

  "Where is he?" she said.

  "Still sleeping." Allison held on to her. "What was that explosion?"

  "I don't know." She walked to Dukie's bedroom, needing to check on him herself.

  "The whole room shook," said Allison.

  "I know. We felt it, too." Raelyn stared into the bedroom.

  Sleeping in the same position Mel had left him, Dukie lay unaware of anything happening. Raelyn closed her eyes. Thank God.

  If anything had happened to him, she'd never survive.

  "Raelyn?" called Allison.

  She hurried out of the room and found the babysitter by the window looking over Main Street. "What's happening?"

  "I think you need to see this."

  Raelyn stepped up to the window and looked down. The rear end of a car sat on the sidewalk. "What the hell happened?"

  "It looks like that noise and the building shaking was because a car crashed into the building," said Allison.

  Raelyn let the curtain drop back into place and stared at Allison, her stomach rolling. "Oh, my God. My family. The customers. I need to go see if anybody is hurt downstairs."

  "Go." Allison squeezed her hand. "Dukie is safe up here with me. Go, do what needs to be done."

  She set her jaw and left the apartment. Her mother, Grandma June, Gia, Heather, Bethanee, the Ronacks members, and her customers were downstairs. Any one of them could be hurt, or worse.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  The loud explosive rumble gave way to a shrill, steady beep of an alarm and people shouting names. Mel rushed into the kitchen and found Peggy sitting on the floor, waving him through the room. He pushed through the swinging doors into the main room.

  Customers huddled near the back behind the pool table. Females held each other. Males held the females. He turned his gaze in the opposite direction and looked twice, unable to believe what he was seeing.

  The front wall of the bar was gone and instead the front end of a vehicle parked in the bar. Bricks were scattered everywhere, on the floor, on the chairs, the nearest tables. Mel stepped forward, coughing through the dust heavily coating the air. Through the rubble, it was impossible to make out if anyone was hit by the car.

  Swiss rose from the accident. "Mel, over here."

  His MC brother yanked on the driver's door, working on getting it open. Mel climbed over the bricks, glass, and wires in front of him and approached the passenger door. As he pried the door open, he took in the shattered windshield and met Swiss's gaze over the roof of the vehicle.

  "Gia? The others?" he shouted.

  Swiss motioned his chin. "Okay. Nobody was near the door when it happened."

  The news of no injuries helped tap down his adrenaline. Mel dove into the car and leaned over the unconscious male driver and pushed at the door. On the third shove, the access to the driver came open and Swiss appeared.

  "I'll call 911." Mel scooted back, dialed for help, and sat in the passenger seat.

  "911, what is your emergency?"

  "There's been an accident at Pine Bar & Grill. A vehicle hit the building, and the driver is unconscious," said Mel.

  "What is your address?"

  Mel watched Swiss take the vitals of the man sitting in the car, unresponsive. "612 Main Street."

  "Your phone number?"

  "482-5521."

  "Emergency personnel have been dispatched. Is the person breathing?" asked the 911 dispatcher.

  Mel repeated the question to Swiss, who shook his head. "No."

  "Does anyone there know CPR?"

  Mel handed the phone to Swiss. "She wants to know if you can resuscitate the guy."

  Swiss took the phone and stood, disappearing outside the car. Mel slid out of the passenger side. Taking his cue from Swiss, Mel walked his way out of the debris and approached Gia and Heather, while scanning the room. Raelyn's mom and Grandma June stood with the customers in the back, both of them unhurt, but obviously shaken.

  "Is everyone okay?" His gut tightened at Gia's dusty face and the tear tracks down her face. She'd been close to the wreck. Too close.

  "We're okay." Heather held her pregnant stomach protectively. "Was there anyone outside on the sidewalk?"

  Fuck. He ran back through the wreckage. Swiss, still on the phone, looked up at him. He motioned outside and squeezed his body along the length of the car, careful not to hit any of the loose bricks, still hanging but delicate, on the demolished wall.

  He stepped out onto the sidewalk. Compared to the inside, the outside was unchanged, except for half the car planted on the sidewalk where it wasn't supposed to be. A crowd had gathered, and cars stopped on the street to gawk. In the distance, sirens gave way to their impending arrival. He peered under the back wheels, working his way around the car. On the other side, he straightened.

  "Hey, over here," shouted a man.

  He whipped around and found a man waving his arm in the
air at the corner of the building. Mel lowered his gaze to the ground, and everything around him stopped.

  The commotion blurred.

  The noise muted.

  Carl laid unmoving on the ground.

  Mel rushed down the sidewalk and knelt beside Carl. Away from the accident, he put his fingers on the artery in Carl's neck, feeling a steady pulse.

  "I looked up and caught the car swerving toward the sidewalk. The man got hit and bounced off the side of the car." The bystander held out his phone. "I called 911."

  "He wasn't run over?" Mel, afraid of moving Carl, looked down the kid's body for any broken bones or injuries.

  "No, he was knocked clear of the crash." The bystander stood. "Here come the cops."

  "Carl?" Mel tapped Raelyn's brother's cheek. "Hey, wake up."

  Carl groaned, moving his head away from Mel's touch.

  "That's it. Come on," said Mel.

  Until he knew differently, the car aimed at Carl with the intent to kill. As if the beating he'd taken last week wasn't enough. It wasn't a coincidence that the kid was mowed down out in public. Whoever was after him proved they were becoming desperate.

  "Wh...?" Carl reached up.

  Mel grabbed his hand before he could do any damage. "You've been hit by a car."

  "The fuck?" Carl blinked his eyes open. "I'm...yeah, a car. I saw it."

  "Do you have any pain?"

  Carl moved his legs. "Nah."

  Mel studied Carl's eyes. They looked normal to him. "How's your head?"

  Carl lifted his head, spotted the wreckage, and struggled to sit up. "My family?"

  "They're fine." Mel helped the kid up, holding on to him in case there was something wrong that he'd missed. "Can you walk around the corner? We'll get you inside until we know what the fuck is going on."

  "Yeah," said Carl, rubbing his midsection.

  Two emergency personnel headed toward Carl. Mel pointed toward the front of the building. "Go to the driver. He's unconscious."

  Once attention was off of Carl, Mel helped him walk around the building. By the time they'd reached the back lot, Carl walked on his own and seemed more aware of what was going on. To be safe, he'd have Swiss check out the kid before handing him over to the authorities for questioning. Depending on what they found out, if it was a personal hit against Carl, the club, or a random, unfortunate accident, they'd need to make sure their answers coincided. There were certain things the club preferred to handle on their own.