The Don's Baby: A Bad Boy Romance (36 page)

“What happened?” Rafe wanted to know what they thought happened.

“Seems like the Reapers’ golden girl walked off with someone last night, and the whole group was all up in arms about it. It was that pretty redhead that they don’t seem to let out too often.” Brian could barely contain his glee. Rafe knew that the Reapers were very possessive about their club girls. Hell, so were the Tribesmen, but their rivals took it to a new level. They were probably as possessive as he felt right now, but he had a feeling he had them beat. He hoped the man didn’t say anything more about Emma because then he was going to have to explain why Brian’s teeth were on the floor.

“Is that right?” Rafe didn’t want to show too much interest, hoping it would just die down to whispered chuckles between people that didn’t include him.

“Yes. Word is they can’t figure out where she went or with who. Can you imagine the size of the balls on a guy who would just walk into one of the Reapers’ functions and swoop off one of their women?”

“Maybe she wanted to go. Did they find her?” Rafe asked.

“Last I heard they were still looking, but I bet she’ll turn up. They thought it was a prank we were playing on them, like we’re some high school social club. What the fuck?” Brian said indignantly, and Rafe shook his head at how fast Brian could shift from laughing to pissed.

Rafe turned back to Aaron. “So, anything up for tonight?”

“Nah, we just completed the deal with the Downtown Assassins and we’re just laying low until we have the product for the Haitians. I was just going to hang around here or find some trouble with one of the club girls.”

He shouldn’t be so happy that he wasn’t needed this evening, but he was. If he was smart, he would find Fat J., so he could get an answer about the product. When he’d seen him last, they were discussing the delicate situation that was going on between Emma and himself—not weaponry. He’d asked about the products, but thinking back, he’d never really received an answer. However, he also wanted to see Emma again tonight, so he’d probably wait to talk to Fat J. tomorrow.

“Sounds good,” Rafe said to Aaron who had already turned to talk to another member about something.

Aaron responded with a nod of his head, just to let him know he’d been heard.

Rafe got up to walk to another part of the room where the comfortable couches were when Aaron grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him down towards him. “Hey, Rafe, whatever is going on with you, know that the brothers and I have your back. When you’re ready, let me know what’s going on.”

“Sure man, I will and thanks for having my back.” Rafe needed to think but was happy for the nudge of support from his leader, making him feel like whatever happened he wasn’t alone.

“Mountain Tribesmen always have your back…your front…and your sides. That’s something you never have to worry about.” The man looked at him square in the eye, and Rafe knew the man was telling him the truth and wanted him to know it. He felt that promise, and he appreciated it, especially right now. He knew that there may come a time—very shortly—when he would need to call in that assistance.

Rafe moved to another seat in the large room where he could observe all the people and take a few minutes to get his mind right. He felt at home with the soundtrack of loud boisterous voices, and he allowed his mind to get very still. This is how he solved his problems or thought out his difficulties. He sipped his beer and looked at the motley crew they called a club. The club girls weren’t here yet, so there wasn’t any food around; but, he knew that they would be showing up. The women loved to feed the men—and even though they should be bringing more healthy foods by the look of some of them, the ladies brought what the men liked, and it wasn’t salads and wheatgrass.

It was a good thing he’d eaten that monstrous omelet a while ago although he probably burned off most of those calories with the force of the orgasm he’d had afterward. There was just something about Emma, and until he found out what it was that kept her in his mind, he was going to do his best to figure her and this whole situation out.

CHAPTER NINETEEN 

Emma was rattled and that was so unlike her. An air of confidence—that was what she always tried to put forth. Although—to some—she’d come off like a cold bitch, that was how she made it through her life. She didn’t like to break the rules, and her mouth—while witty—was also brutally honest. However, honest was something she didn’t feel like she was being now. No one had come out and asked point blank where she was or who she was with; but, she felt watched and judged since she hit the front door.

“It looks like everyone is here so we’re going to start the meeting.” Joe Burgundy stood in front of a packed room—with all eyes on him. She felt better knowing that at least people had something better to look at and think about beside her.

The meeting started, as he went over some things he thought the club girls should know about him and some of the things he wanted for them and the club. Emma didn’t miss that her friend, Tricia, sat beside him, staring up at him like he’d created high heels and good times. That pairing must have happened last night. Damn—a woman couldn’t go out for five minutes without missing all the juicy bits of information. She decided it would probably be good if she paid attention to what the man was saying since she had missed the beginning and now he had his eyes on her.

“One of the greatest compliments is to be chosen to be someone’s ‘Old Lady,’” Joe said, and the room erupted in clapping and cheers from both the men and women. This meeting was going to pair couples? It wasn’t usually done like this to her knowledge, but Joe was new. Plus, he’d changed so many things already, what was one more? Emma looked around to see who the lucky couple was going to be, trying to be excited about this little ritual but really just wanting to see Rafe again.

“Who got chosen?” One of the guys in the back asked loudly over the commotion.

“Well, it looks like Mark ‘The Hammer’ Spencer has chosen Emma Walsh,” Joe said, and Emma shook her head a bit to clear it. Had he said what she thought he said? That didn’t seem possible. There was usually some discussion before the whole thing took place. It wasn’t like she had that much of a say, but it usually wasn’t just yelled out like
Bingo
in the middle of the room with one of the parties being totally unaware.

The crowd probably roared, but all she could hear was the loud pounding of her heart in her ears. How could this have happened? And why now?

“Come on up here,” Joe called out to both of them. Emma only hoped she could walk up there without falling down or fainting. She really wasn’t a fainting type of woman—because she knew to take what life dished out and keep it moving—but she didn’t want to be with Mark. How could this happen right when she’d made a true connection with another man? Maybe there was something she could do about this? She didn’t know that much about Mark except from what others had said. He’d kept to himself when he wasn’t the leader and didn’t have much to do with the club girls unless he wanted his dick sucked or a quick fuck. He definitely wasn’t the talking-type, so she could only hope that he was reasonable.

She’d made it to the front of the room around the same time Mark had, and she stood next to him. Was she surprised that he’d claimed her? No. He’d graced her bed often since she’d been here. He wasn’t the most pleasant when it came to having sex, but she hadn’t had the negative experiences she’d heard from other girls. The other thing was he didn’t produce the passion and sparks like the ones she’d received from just one kiss of Rafe’s. Sex with Mark was just…eh…that was the only rating she had for it.

“What do we say about this union?” Joe asked the crowd that hadn’t ever really died down. The cheer of approval was deafening, and she wanted to do something to stop this before it got out of hand.

She turned to Joe and tapped him on the shoulder. He leaned over to put his ear close to her mouth. “I need to think about this,” she said, waiting to see what his response would be. His face didn’t change, but she could see the spark of anger in his eyes. It didn’t look like reasonable was the emotion of the day.

“What?” A stern look grew, as he realized what she said. The expression on Joe’s face should have been an indication to do what she’d done before—suck it up and move on—but, she said it again and watched his face turn bright red.

“Hold on everybody. We need to take a break,” Joe said to the crowd. Then, he turned to both of them. “Follow me.”

He led them out of the huge room that could accommodate everyone and into his large office where he offered Mark a seat and turned, glaring at Emma. “I didn’t think I’d have to tell you that being chosen for one member is something of an accolade and should be taken with pride. It is your duty to do as you are instructed by your leader—which is me. So, I’m confused at what you need to think about.” He was leaning on his desk, glaring at her as she stood in the middle of the room like a disobedient school girl.

Emma knew that this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought it would be. She’d been hoping she’d be given a small amount of time to figure out what she was doing before she got sucked further into the club. She’d been thinking of leaving, and although she didn’t know how that was going to happen now that she was supposedly attached, it would make it doubly hard to do what she’d planned on doing.

“I didn’t mean any disrespect, Joe. This is just a little fast for me.” Emma tried for the innocent and helpless look, hoping that would spark something deep inside him.

“This isn’t fast, honey. You’ve been with us for a good while now.” He looked at Mark every once in a while like he was showing his solidarity with his Reaper brother. The writing was on the wall, and it looked like she wasn’t going to have a chance to plead her case at all—unless she just took it. If that’s what she had to do, then she would.

“I realize that, but I don’t really know all that much about Mark.” She tried to come up with reasons she didn’t want this but knew from the look on Joe’s face he didn’t give two fucks about what she was saying. He’d made a demand, and all he could see was she was disobeying him.

“Are you saying you haven’t fucked Mark?”

“No. I’m not saying that, but fucking someone doesn’t mean I know them very well. I fucked you, too.”

Joe snickered and shook his head before speaking to Mark. “You picked a live one. I’ll tell you that.” He turned to Emma. “This is true, but you realize that you have a duty and obligation to this club. That means we reserve the right to offer you to a well-established club member who wants to have you for their own. You couldn’t do better than Mark. He’s one of our top moneymakers.”

“I’m not putting Mark down. I realize that he is very important to the Headless Reapers, but I just wanted a little time to think about it.”

“Well, you can think about it as it’s happening—because when we go back out to the club house floor, you are going to accept Mark as your Old Man.” He glared at her like he dared her to say another word, and she knew that she could have walked on water at that point and he still wouldn’t be willing to hear what she had to say.

Emma glanced at Mark and wondered what was going on in his mind. He had a slight smirk on his face but didn’t look menacing any more. She was going to plead her case a bit more. Opening her mouth to start again, she was stopped by Mark putting up his hand towards her like he wanted her to stop.

“Emma, I think you should take what’s offered because if not then we need to discuss where you were last night and who you were with. You made the whole club look like a joke because we couldn’t find you. It was like you disappeared, but you didn’t disappear. Did you? Here you are, right as rain, and we all look like we can’t control the Reaper women.”

“So what this is…a punishment?” Emma knew there was going to be repercussions for her actions last night, but she didn’t know it was going to come so swiftly or be so dramatic. There had to be something that could be done.

“Look at Mark. Does he look like a punishment to you? He’s actually come to me several times about making you exclusively his, but I’ve held off. Now, I realize that there may be something to keeping you occupied. Mark is one of our top members, and there are lots of women who wish they were in your shoes.” Joe stood up and put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans, looking at her like he didn’t understand what was going through her head.

“They can have my shoes. I’d like to keep the old ones I had on yesterday.” Emma was trying to remain calm, but this was one of the reasons she’d stopped wanting to be a part of the club. It was like she was property. An old cow, a rusty tractor, or beat up equipment was what she was in the eyes of their president. If she was lucky, she’d be considered one of the guns that they sold or something else that was valuable, but she felt dispensable.  That wasn’t a feeling she was used to or liked.

“You are disrespecting both Mark and myself. You have known this was a possibility ever since you came here, swishing your tail around, letting us guys get a few tastes of your honey, and then acting cold and distant. It was bound to happen. You’ve gotten free room, board, and the opportunity to live it up like the rest of the club girls. That comes with a price. Loyalty to the club means you meet its expectations. The expectation now, in case you weren’t aware, is that you join up with Mark and make nice.” His calm exterior had broken, and it was clear that this man didn’t give two shits about her or her desires. A club member wanted her and a club member’s Old Lady is what she was supposed to become.

She knew he was right, but that didn’t mean she liked it. Feisty and quick witted, she’d grown up a lot in this club, and she wasn’t the same person who she was when she’d pledged her allegiance. She was thinking as hard and fast, but she was coming up blank when it came to how to get herself out of this hot water. Emma also knew that it was hard to get out of the club and most women, like the men, either went to jail or were killed. Neither of those options were ones she wanted to consider at this time.

“Are you ready to go back out and accept Mark in front of the club?” Joe walked toward her ominously, and she knew that she had to do what she had to do…for now.

“Yes,” she said, knowing she sounded defeated, but she’d be damned if she would smile over being practically threatened.

“Great.” Joe beamed at her and walked toward Mark, as the man stood up. Joe patted Mark on the back, all while eyeballing Emma with a warning in his eyes. She knew better than to tempt fate, but she hoped she’d have a chance to talk to Rafe right after this. Maybe he could think of something that would save her. She knew that he was one who didn’t seem to care about the women he was with for much longer than the moments he was with them; but, she felt like she was different. She hoped so anyway. He was looking like her one and only chance.