The Don's Baby: A Bad Boy Romance (42 page)

“Rafe.” Emma called out the name as her body convulsed over and over in a powerful explosion of desire and loneliness. When she finally caught her breath she remembered what had come out of her mouth and felt a shiver of fear. Why the hell did she say that? The way they watched her it wouldn’t be uncommon to think that they had her room bugged or someone stationed nearby. She was getting paranoid, but she had a good reason. These men had been her friends, but she had no doubt that if given instructions to do so they would kill her. Did she need to give them a reason? No. All of the time she spent negating everything they threw at her it would be stupid to get caught yelling out the name of the man they wanted her to claim while she was in the heat of passion.

Emma got up quickly and rinsed off. The water had cooled off and she wondered if someone was going to come to her to complain about that. This place wasn’t built for as many people that now lived in it and the hot water tank only held so much. She wrapped up in a towel and wiped off the mirror. The red flush on her face made her look healthy. Her body felt more at ease because of the release she’d just had but she was terrified of what was on the other side of the door. Were they out there waiting for her? Did they hear what she’d yelled out? Her clothes were on her bed waiting for her so she was naked and vulnerable. Not that a sleep shirt would stop a bullet or a fist but it would make her feel more confident.

She said a silent prayer and opened the bathroom door.

The room was as empty as it was when she left it. This whole situation was crazy, and on top of that she was making herself insane, but when she heard Rafe’s name fall from her lips she had been terrified. One thing was clear, she had to get herself out of this situation. Rafe was gone. Whatever connection she thought they had must have been one sided. It had only been one night and then she’d pulled him into a life changing event. She may have been done with herself if she were in his position.

She pulled on her clothes and slid between the sheets of her bed happy that for the next few hours she didn’t have to think of anything, but Rafe. It was only there that they could be together and she’d have to take what she could get.

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Rafe sat in a quiet cabin wondering when the hell he’d been so bored before. After the shooting in which he tried to talk to Emma’s Old Man, and then ended up having  to defend himself against said man, he took his friend, Andres “Fat Jesus” Rios who he called Fat J’s, advice and left town. He was trying to keep the peace but it wasn’t fun being out here by himself and it wasn’t productive either. He’d not called Aaron, the president of the Mountain Tribesmen and that was just cowardly on his part, but he didn’t want to hear the lecture he knew he'd get. He’d fucked up. He knew it, and wasn’t big on listening to anyone else go on about it. There would be a time that he’d have to explain himself but he wanted to do it face to face. It was his hope that he’d be able to do it soon because if not he’d be headed for a psych ward. Bat shit boredom would be his diagnosis.

His thoughts moved from his past to his future when he thought of Emma and how odd it was how their paths kept crossing…especially for her. He’d seen her before when he’d saved her from getting trampled or worse when she found her way into the middle of a fist fight that had turned into a brawl. What that woman was doing there he had no idea but the stark terror he’d seen on her face was one he wouldn’t have walked away from no matter what side the woman was from. Her gaze had been fixated on a gun that had fallen out of the pocket of a man who’d been thrown across the floor, and he didn’t think anyone but him had noticed her. Since it was clear that she’d been hiding who knew what she’d heard, but he was aware that The Headless Reapers could be literally cut throat when it came to information breaches. Not that his club was much better but they were willing to hear you out and he’d heard his rivals weren’t as kind.

He wanted to get out of this life and settle down. He dreamed of a family of his own and maybe to get a job somewhere or start his own shop. There were things he was good at, working with wood and fixing plumbing…real plumbing not just fucking. There should be some call for someone like that in a nice little neighborhood. His thoughts had taken several turns toward a calm family life with Emma at his side. Whether he believed in happily ever after or just knew that this was a chance he didn’t want to pass up, he wanted to make it to the other side of this experience.

His phone rang and he answered it. After he’d said hello he thought he may have wanted to look at the caller ID. That was the problem with being as bored as he was… it made him impulsive and that was how this all started in the first place. Being bored led him to his rival motorcycle club’s Night of Riley that was a first annual celebration for one of their beloved club members who had died. Everything had been great and he’d not been detected because Riley had liked to wear masks… mostly the one’s from scary movies so no one saw his face. Emma had sashayed around him all night until he called her bluff. That was one call he was glad he made… win, lose or draw.

“Did you even look to see who was calling?” Fat J said, and Rafe chuckled because now it seemed like the man read minds as well as he did everything else.

“I thought about it after I answered, but I was sitting here thinking about how bored I was so I figured it would be you and your telepathic powers.” Rafe was trying to make a joke since he could tell his friend wasn’t happy about the way he picked up without checking. It was a bone head move and he’d not do that again.

“I wish I had any kind of powers when it came to you then I could figure out why you did such crazy things.” Fat J sounded like he was amazed and Rafe couldn’t blame him. In the two weeks that he’d been hiding, the hostility that had always been between the two groups had gone from understated to in your face aggression. His friend hadn’t wanted to tell him about it but he’d pried it out of him. Rafe had wanted to go back and face what he left for his Mountain Tribesman brothers but Fat J thought that would only make it worse.

“Sometimes I do too. I’ve had a lot of time to think the last few weeks and this self confinement I’m in has got to end sometime soon. I’m not going to be sitting here forever. The longer I sit here the longer I think it’s crazy that I’m sitting here. Tell me again why I’m not facing those fuckers and hiding here like some wimp.” It wasn’t that he cared much what most people thought of him, but his bikers were like his family and them thinking he just ran out on them didn’t sit well.

“The reason you’re there is to let everyone cool down.” Fat J was using his calm voice on him now and damned if it wasn’t working. The only problem was, the effects went away as soon as he wasn’t on the phone or around the man.

“Oh, yeah? How’s that working out?” Rafe knew that it was failing miserably when the man who always had something to say was at a loss for words and they only thing they were hearing were the minutes of this call adding up.

After a few long seconds Fat J let out a big sigh. “It’s not working how I expected it to. They want your head. From what I’ve heard they are looking high and low for you as well as trying to make sure that you are the one who’s guilty but your girl Emma isn’t talking. That’s really pissing them off but she doesn’t seem to be any worse for the wear.”

“You’ve seen her?” Now this was something Rafe wanted to hear about. The woman had invaded his mind and his heart before he left town, but within the last few weeks she had set up camp and taken over. He could barely remember all the other women he’d been with before her, because none of them made him willing to leave all he had behind and start again.

“Yes.” The answer was short and blunt so it felt like his friend was leaving something out. He’d probably never know what it was, but that wasn’t going to stop him from asking a few more clarifying questions.

“With your own eyes? No one just told you she was doing all right?” Rafe knew he sounded crazy but she was the main reason he’d left. Fat J told him that they would make it harder for her if he was around and he didn’t want anything bad to happen to either of them.

“You know I wouldn’t have taken hearsay for something as important as this.” Fat didn’t like his word questioned, Rafe knew that, but he also knew that the man didn’t give all his facts away, and Rafe needed more than the man was giving. He could soften him up a little bit but spending all this time alone was making and keeping him grumpy.

“I guess you wouldn’t, but I had to be sure. What I do know is that you are a planner and a schemer and I’m saying that in the best way possible, so I need you to put your mind together and figure out how to get Emma and me out of this mess.” Rafe knew this man well and he could think almost anyone out of anything given the right tools and information. He was like his own MacGuyver.

“Separately?” Fat J asked the question but Rafe knew the man was smart enough to figure out the answer. It was his party so he’d play along and dance to the big man’s tune.

“No. Not separately. I want us to get out of this together. I’ve thought about it a lot while I’ve been stuck away from everything I know. There need to be some changes in my life. Emma and I both need a new start somewhere else.” Rafe couldn’t sit still while talking about this so he got up to pace the living area of this modestly sized cabin.

“Hmmmm. That’s going to be a tough one with a lot of pieces to put together. What’s it worth to you?” Fat J was tapping his nails on what ever hard surface there was and usually that just annoyed the shit out of Rafe but the sound, coupled with his question almost brought him to the point of fury. There was usually a method to his madness but Rafe was in no mood to play.

“Whatever you want. There is no limit.” Rafe wasn’t going to play around with 'do you want this for that' kind of talk. He wanted Fat J to put his cards on the table and tell him what he wanted. Rafe would make sure he got it. Rafe’s ass was out and if Fat J needed or wanted something  for such a big endeavor, so be it.

Again there was silence on the line and Rafe didn’t know what was going on. The Fat J he knew wouldn’t have asked for anything but maybe times were changing. It was a testament to how much he’d grown as a person over the years because the old him would have said ‘fuck off’ and blazed through whatever he had to for what he wanted. Thinking about another person…Emma, made him cool down and try to think this out.

“You’ve given it already, my friend.” Fat J chuckled like there was some joke that had just had its punch line told.

“You’re talking in riddles and I’m kind of antsy. So I’m going to be blunt. What the hell are you talking about?” Rafe said as he stood there confused by his friend’s behavior. Fat J wasn’t the type to be anything but straight forward, that’s why they were so good together. Was his time away changing everyone or was this some test? Rafe didn’t have the time or inclination to sit around on this man’s suggestion when he appeared to be dicking him around.

“Rafael ‘The Lucky One’ Neal, the man who is on top of the world. Has the whole area in the palm of his hand and you want to give it up and get out of the club life for a woman? I never thought I’d see the day.” There was something in his friends voice but he couldn’t tell what it was. If he could see Fat J he might be able to get a grip on what he was hearing.

“I take it you don’t approve?” Rafe said feeling like he could hear the other man’s head shaking and finger wagging. Another trait he wouldn’t have laid on Fat’s door but apparently another side of him was emerging, and it wasn’t one he particularly liked.

“It’s not for me to approve or disapprove. My thought was to find out if you were serious and you sound as serious as a man can be. I will be thinking of someway to help you but it’s going to have to be a hell of a plan.”

“If anyone can do it it’s you, Fat. I thank you for keeping an eye on everything and Emma. The last time we talked you said that trouble was brewing but has anything actually happened yet?” More silence greeted his questions. “Fat I don’t understand why you can’t just give me a fucking answer.”

“You are very testy Rafe, and I know it seems like I’m giving you answers that need more meat to them but things here are fragile and hard to explain. There have been fights and like I said the violence is escalating. They are looking for you high and low and they don’t believe The Mountain Tribesmen don’t know where you are.”

Rafe was feeling a bit better about Fat J and his answers. The man seemed to be acting a little more normally. Since it appeared the man was willing to talk about what was going on he decided to push a little further.

“What are my brothers saying?” Rafe wanted to know the truth even if it would sting a bit. He’d done this for everyone but he could see how it would look like he was leaving his mess for the rest of the guys to deal with. He flopped back down on the couch and waited to hear the verdict.

“They think you’re out here somewhere but the vote is split on if you’re coming back or if you’re going to just keep running.”

“I can see why they’d think that.” It felt like the air had been taken out of his tires and he was just riding the wheel. He’d never want to be seen as a person who ran away from a fight or challenge but here he was stuck someplace that didn’t even have a name to it and his brothers were fighting his fight without him.

“Let me get to thinking about how to get you and your girl out of this and I’ll get back to you.”

“All right, brother. I’ll talk to you later, but don’t make it too long. I’m dying of boredom and we both know that’s a really bad place for me to be.”

“I know, Rafe. I’m glad you’re away from the trouble but I know that you have the uncanny ability to find trouble anywhere you go. Stay safe and stay put.” Fat J rarely sounded playful but right now he sounded downright serious.

“Got it.”

The phone disconnected and Rafe sat there wondering what Emma was going through right now. He had been instructed by Fat J. not to call her as of yet because he wasn’t sure about her living situation and the fact that she was protecting him by not saying who she was with and who killed Mark, but it was so difficult. He just wanted to know she was safe. The Headless Reapers were known to be pretty tough on people they felt weren’t as loyal as they should be. Hell, so were the Tribesmen but he could take care of himself. If there was going to be hell to pay for what he’d done he’d take it.

His phone buzzed and he was more careful this time. He’d just talked to Fat J. so he knew it wouldn’t be him. The man wasn’t crazy about texting either come to think of it.

Emma: Please come help me.

The one sentence knocked the breath out of him. Was it a set up? Did someone have her phone and wanted to lure him out there? He picked up his phone and made a call to Fat J but the phone went straight to voicemail. What the hell? He was willing to stay out of sight to keep her safe but he was unwilling to hide up here in this remote cabin if she needed his help. Torn. This wasn’t like him. He was a kick ass, take names type guy and he was tired of sitting here like a mamby pamby ass.