Raw Honey: Knights of Silence MC (Raw Honey: Knights of Silence MC Book 4)

by Amy Cecil

  "I'm just telling you like it is. I would rather see you be safe than sorry. I know how important he is to you, hell, how important all your brothers are. So, are you willing to take that 5% risk or are you gonna risk his life?"

  "Well, if you put it that way, I guess I really don't have much of a choice, now do I?" I know that Ice hates to be backed into a corner and that's exactly what Brewer is doing. But on the other hand, we're talking about Rebel's life.

  "Let me make the arrangements and you can bring him in tomorrow." Brewer pauses and starts putting things back into his bag. "I think my work here is done for now. Doc did a great job getting the bleeding to stop, so I'm not too concerned there. He's a little pale, but I don't think the blood loss is dangerous. I gave him some pretty potent pain meds, he'll sleep the rest of the night. But someone should keep an eye on him."

  "I think that is covered. I don't see Ari leaving his side tonight."

  "Yeah, I think you're right."

  "Thank you. I really appreciate you coming over here this late."

  "You'll get my bill!" he says, laughing. He starts to walk out of the room and Ice follows him to the door. He says, "I'll call you and let you know when to bring him to the hospital for that MRI."

  "You got it." Ice opens the door and thanks him again as he leaves.

  "Hospital?" Hawk asks. He walks over to Ice and lowers his voice. "Are you sure about this?"

  "I know what you're thinking. But we don't have a choice. Brewer knows how we feel about hospitals and gunshot wounds, but he insisted. And frankly, I don't want to take any fucking chances with Rebel's life."

  Hawk nods. "I agree, but are you ready to face the consequences of this?"

  "Brewer assures me that he'll do everything he can to keep Rebel's visit under the radar. I've gotta trust him."

  "Yeah, I know."

  We hang out for a little while before it becomes clear that everyone is running out of steam. Turning to Emma, Ice says, "Babe, do you want to let everyone know where they'll be sleeping tonight?"

  "Sure," she replies sweetly. She says, "Aillise and Conner, you will take the first room on the left. Honey, you will keep your room, and Ari, since Rebel is already in your room, I am assuming that you will want to stay with him."

  "Yes, thanks, Emma," Ari replies.

  "Hold on one minute," Ice says firmly. "Ari is not sleeping with Rebel."

  I knew he would have something to say about that.

  Emma turns toward him and says, "Babe, remember what you said earlier about being happy with whatever plan I had come up with?"

  "But …" he grumbles, but she quickly interrupts.

  "She'll be fine. I don't think her virtue is in any danger tonight. Remember, he's in there because he's recovering from a gunshot wound."

  Ice grumbles again and clears his throat. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess it's ok." I'm proud of Ice for letting it go. Emma sure knows how to reel him in. He then looks over to Rebel's parents and says, "Do you need anything?"

  "No, Caden, your lovely girl here has taken care of all of that. She got us what we needed for tonight, as long as you don't mind Connor wearing your clothes. The rest we can get in the morning."

  "Good. We'll take you out tomorrow to pick up whatever you may need." Turning toward Emma, he says, "Thanks, babe." She smiles and helps Ari and me clean up the plates and cups.

  "Well, if you all will excuse us, I think we're going to call it a night," Connor says.

  "Sleep well—and if I didn't say it before, I'm glad you both are safe.

  I know I got a little defensive with you on the flight. I guess we have a lot to talk about," Ice says.

  "Yeah, I guess we do," Aillise says.

  "We'll talk more about where we go from here in the morning."

  They nod and Aillise says, "Goodnight, Caden."

  "Goodnight."

  Ice walks into the kitchen just as we're finishing up and says, "You ladies are fantastic."

  "I think I am going to turn in," Ari says.

  "Goodnight, sweetheart. Let us know if Rebel needs anything," he says, kissing the top of her head.

  "I will."

  "Me too," I say. "I'm beat." I make my way out of the kitchen and up to my room. Before I get too far the doorbell rings. Ice walks over to answer the door. Who could be stopping by at this time of night?

  Sgt. Briggs walks inside Ice's house, followed by two other men. One is a uniformed officer and the other is Joe Russo, Grayson's twin. He's the man that has been threatening Emma and the reason why we left Edinboro and went to Ireland.

  I don’t run from Sgt. Briggs anymore. It’s a relief that he knows everything now, but I still can’t fight the ache that I feel every time I see him. My heart hurts for everything that we’ve lost, as well as the fact that I know he’ll never forgive me for all that I have done. I deserve that…but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.

  I can see the disgust on Ice's face. The general camaraderie in the house suddenly stops as Emma walks over to Ice. She gasps at the resemblance that Joe Russo has to Mark Grayson and she reaches for Ice’s arm for support.

  "Hello, Emma," Russo says. Emma's hand tightens on Ice's arm and she begins to tremble. Russo says, "Good to see you again." He winks at her and it makes my skin crawl. This sick fuck did a number on Emma by switching places with his brother. That explains why she had said that there were times when it felt like she was dating two different men. What sick bastards.

  Briggs steps close to Ice and whispers something in his ear, and then louder so that everyone can hear, he says, "Caden Jackson, you are under arrest for the murder of Mark Grayson. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as I have read them to you?"

  "Caden!" Emma screams. "No!" She pulls his arm away as Briggs tries to place him in handcuffs. When her efforts don't work in her favor, she throws her arms around him and begins to cry hysterically. "You can't take him!"

  Hawk walks over to her and pulls her off him. "It's ok, baby," Ice says. He looks directly at Hawk and says, "Call the Vitalis and get Sainte here."

  I recognize the Vitali name, but who is Sainte? Hawk nods as if he knows exactly what needs to be done. He always does.

  Ice turns back toward Emma and says, "Everything's gonna be alright, darl’n. Take care of our kid. I love you both."

  "Caden! No!" Emma cries again. Hawk tries to settle her down, but it's really not working.

  "Caden, do you understand?" Briggs repeats.

  "Yes," he replies. Briggs nods and walks him to the door. Emma continues to scream hysterically, which isn't good for her or the baby.

  I silently watch this whole thing play out. Emma breaks down as they take the man she loves away in handcuffs. We all know that he's being arrested for murder. We also know that he committed said murder, for her.

  My blood begins to boil. Suddenly the hard face of jealousy emerges and all the hate and anger from when she first arrived resurfaces. Everything was perfect before she came along. I had Ice and we were happy. Never in a million years did I think he had some long-lost girlfriend that would come back into his life and ruin everything he and I had together.

  But she did. And even though I have grown to like Emma, I can't control this jealousy when it rears its ugly head. As I hear the car drive off into the night, I make a vow to myself. If Ice ends up spending the rest of his life in jail, friendship be damned, I'll never forgive her.

  Why did things have to change? When I came to this club, Ice took me in, gave me a place to live and a job. He was my savior and I loved him for it. I still love him. Hell, I’ll always love him. Probably not in the way I did then, at least I don’t think so. I'm moving on, but I just can’t turn those feelings off. I’m loyal to the core, and when someone fucks with someone I love, I don't take it too well.

&nb
sp; I wish I had known that this was gonna happen. Hell, I should have known. I should have prevented it. But, nothing, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for this – even if I had known.

  I’ll never forgive her for this. If he ends up doing real time for this, I swear I will make her worst nightmare seem like a happy place.

  Chapter 25

  Present day

  It's been two days since Ice got arrested. We are all still in a state of shock; none of us expected this to happen. I find myself wondering when things will get better. Haven't we been through enough?

  I can't look at Emma with any kindness right now. All my rage is directed at her. This is her fault. My stomach turns when I think of Ice sitting in jail because of her.

  Hawk has been busy the last couple of days; other than him passing through here and there, I hardly see him. I know that he's contacted Vitali and Ice's legal counsel is arriving today. I also know that he had new identities made for Rebel's parents and thankfully, they are leaving. It's all been hush-hush as to where they are going, which I assume is for their own good.

  Before Hawk left this morning, he mentioned to me that we will be having company for dinner. Apparently, Ice's lawyer and Sainte are coming. I'm really not in the mood for entertaining, but he asked me to prepare something nice for them tonight and so I am in the kitchen busily preparing my best Italian meal. I thought it would be fitting since we were entertaining the Italian Mafia.

  I remember when Ice got arrested he told Hawk to call Vitali and asked him to get Sainte here. I assumed then that he wanted Michael Vitali for his legal connections. The club has used them in the past. But I had no idea who Sainte was. When I asked Hawk about him, he was very vague. He said something about him being a top button pusher for the Vitali crime family. I had no idea what he meant, so I asked him what a button was and he said, “When Michael Vitali tells him to push a button, Sainte pushes the button.” He didn’t elaborate and I can only guess that the button is a reference to someone’s life. So Sainte is a mafia hitman.

  The whole idea of them being involved in this makes me nervous. I've never really had any dealings with the Mafia before, but I've heard stories. The last thing I want is for us to get into a situation where we owe them something. When I voiced my concerns to Hawk, he quickly assured me that our relationship with the Vitalis is good and that I don't need to worry. Obviously, he couldn't tell me more.

  It's now half past six, and dinner is just about ready. Emma, who has spent the last two days in her room, finally decides to come down. Ari has taken food up to her a time or two but she just picks at it, which is a great fucking way to take care of Ice's kid. I understand that she is upset, but she has a little one to think about. It's not always all about her. I told myself that if she didn't come down for dinner tonight and actually eat something, I was going to go up there and force-feed her.

  "Hey Emma, nice of you to join us," I say sarcastically.

  "Hi Honey," she says and sits down on one of the barstools. When I don't pay her any mind, she adds, "I'm sorry for being such a pain the last couple of days."

  "Don't worry about it, Emma. We're all under a lot of stress. Ice getting arrested is not a good thing for this club, but we're dealing." I don’t want to come right out and say it, but I want her to understand the ramifications of all this. I want her to see that this is all her fault.

  "I know, and I know I'm responsible."

  There it is. Well, at least she fucking admits it. I have to say, I fully expected her to place blame elsewhere.

  She continues, "Hawk tells me that I shouldn't feel responsible, but I do."

  What. The. Fuck! How dare he tell her that when he knows as well as I do that if she wasn't here, we would still be back in our old clubhouse and safe. Hawk and I are definitely having words later.

  "You know what, Emma? I'm not in the greatest of moods right now and I'm afraid that I will say something that I shouldn't. Let's just drop this and concentrate on dinner. We've got the Vitalis coming soon; they should be here any minute."

  "But Honey, I feel that there is tension between us and I want to clear the air."

  I hold up my hand and take a deep breath. "Yes, there is tension, but I am not going to do this now. Grow a pair, Emma, and be the old lady that Ice needs you to be." She stares at me, offended. Poor, pitiful Emma. I'm so done with this shit. I'm sick of everyone coddling her and I'll be damned if I continue to do so.

  Before she can respond, the front door opens and in walks Hawk and two very handsome men. One is dressed in a suit and I am assuming he is the lawyer. But the other one … holy fuck! He's dressed in tight jeans and a black t-shirt that fits so perfectly that you can see the ribbing of every muscle on his torso. His jet-black hair is cut in a short buzz that totally accents his chiseled face. He looks like a man that nobody would want to run into in a dark alley.

  Hawk walks into the kitchens and says, "Ladies, this is Vince Bonito and Nick Saintero," as he points to each man respectively. "Gentlemen, this is Emma, Ice's old lady, and Honey, my old lady."

  Old lady? When did that happen? Did I miss a conversation we had?

  I notice that Nick—or I guess he goes by Sainte—looks at Emma curiously. He walks over to her and says, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Emma. I've heard a lot about you from Ice."

  What the hell does that mean? And why would Ice be talking to this guy about Emma?

  He then turns to me. "And Honey," he says as he winks and takes my hand and kisses the back of it, "truly a pleasure."

  Who the fuck does this guy think he is? I quickly look over at Hawk—he looks annoyed, but he doesn't say anything.

  The other guy, Vince, speaks up and says, "Hello ladies, I'm Ice's attorney. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

  Sainte is still watching Emma closely, and I can’t make out why. Is it an attraction? What the fuck? Surely this guy knows that Emma belongs to Ice, especially if Ice has talked to him about her. The irritation riles me and I can’t take it anymore. "Ahh, Mr. Saintero," I say, "why don't you put your eyes back in your head? Emma is taken." Everyone in the room looks at me and I can see that they are surprised by my outburst. I don't care, I may not like Emma right now, but she still belongs to Ice.

  "Well listen to you, Miss Feisty Pants," he says and begins to laugh. "I've been called many things, and most of them are true. I've never been called Mr. Saintero. Call me Sainte."

  "Well, whatever you call yourself, Emma is off-limits." I turn and walk back into the kitchen, calling behind me, "Dinner will be ready in five minutes."

  How dare he call me feisty pants? I don't know what it is about this guy, but he totally rubs me the wrong way.

  A few minutes later, we sit down to dinner. When asked about Ice's case, Vince proceeds to tell us that he met with Ice before coming here and after talking over the details of the case, he's hopeful. He also mentions that Sainte will be staying on for a while at Ice's request, and that he will be Emma's personal bodyguard while Ice is away.

  Why the fuck does she need a bodyguard? I don't trust this guy. At least we have some good news about Ice. Hopefully, he will be coming home soon.

  After dinner, Vince and Sainte linger for a bit and then Vince leaves. I guess when they said that Sainte would be staying on, they meant that he would be staying here. Tonight, he will have to sleep on the couch, as Rebel's parents are not leaving until tomorrow. I guess he can have that room after they leave. This house is getting to be more and more like a fucking hotel.

  When Hawk gets ready to leave, I follow him out. When we get to his bike, I ask, "So when did I become your old lady?"

  He chuckles. "The day you agreed to go out with me."

  "It's that simple?"

  "It's that simple, babe." He gets on his bike and says, "Honey, I'm counting on you to make Sainte comfortable."

  "Why is he here?"

  "Now don't you go worrying about that. Ice has his reasons."

  "But Hawk, there's somethi
ng about that guy that I don't trust."

  "You're being ridiculous. Ice trusts him with Emma's life. That's testimony enough for me that he's a good guy."

  "But …"

  "Honey, it's all good. I promise," he says. "I gotta go." He kisses me goodbye and then puts on his helmet. He waves and pulls out of the driveway.

  I still don't trust Sainte. That fucker called me feisty pants.

  Chapter 26

  I storm back into the house. Emma, Ari, and Rebel have already gone to bed and Sainte is sitting on the couch. Obviously, the asshole is waiting for me to make up his bed. Well, that ain't gonna happen. I stomp upstairs, grab a blanket, pillow, and sheet from the linen closet and make my way back down. I throw the bedding on the couch and say, "Here," then proceed to walk off.

  "You don't like me, do you?" he says.

  I stop and turn back toward him. "Well, if you really want to know, no, I don't."

  "I think you're being unfair. You just met me." He pauses and then says, "Are you always this judgmental of people you’ve just met?"

  "Judgmental? You think I'm judgmental?" I step up closer to him and get in his face. "Listen, asshole, I saw the way you acted with Emma. I've got your number, buddy, and I'll be damned if you're going to fuck with her or Ice that way."

  "Oooh, you're a little spitfire aren't you?" he says and I know he's making fun of me again.

  "You really think that you're something, don't you?"

  Before I can finish my thought, he moves in close and backs me against the railing of the stairs, our bodies touching. He says, "Oh baby, I know that I am. And before you know it, you're gonna be dreaming about me in ways that not even you can imagine."

  "Fuck you!" I spit, then push him away and proceed up the stairs.

  "Goodnight, Feisty Pants," he says and begins laughing.

  I call back downstairs, "Don't call me Feisty Pants!" He may be easy on the eyes, but he's still an asshole.

  I get to my room and I'm fuming. What a cocky son of a bitch! How dare he assume that I would dream about him? What a dick!