Chapter 14

Emma

It’s been two days since I’ve heard from Caden. I’m beginning to worry for his safety. Hell, for all of them. I hate that he is so far away. I think back to our last conversation and remember that he did say that he didn’t know when he would be able to call again. I shrug; I guess I just have to trust that he’s safe. Besides, I think I would know in my heart if he wasn’t.

It’s been quiet around the house with the boys gone. My mystery stalker hasn’t been around and we haven’t heard back from Sgt. Briggs. I wish he had some answers so we can put this mess behind us, but I have a sinking suspicion that it’s not gonna be that easy. Whoever is doing this wants something from Cade and me, and I believe the only way we are going to find anything out is to play his game.

On a happy note, Honey and I are planning a day out, shopping, spa, etc. She and Hawk are going out tonight and we are going to spend the day pampering her. It’s been a long time since I’ve had some girl time, so I’m really looking forward to it.

I come downstairs and find Spike, Dbag, and Honey sitting at the kitchen table having coffee. I plop my purse down on the table, look at Honey, and say, “Are you ready for our big day?”

Before she can answer, Spike asks, “What big day?”

I reply nonchalantly, “Honey and I are having a girl’s day out today—hair, nails, makeup. The works.”

“Oh, hell no!” Spike replies.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You ladies are NOT going out shopping and doing girly shit today. Hawk told you both to stay put!”

“We weren’t planning on going alone.”

“I’m not having a spa day with you girls. That would be emotional suicide for a guy like me!”

Spike is beginning to grow on me; his resistance to spending a day out with the girls just makes me giggle. “It won’t be that bad. What do you think, Dbag?” I ask.

“It sounds like fun,” he says.

Spike looks over at him and says, “You’re such a fucking pussy! We’re not going! And that’s final!”

Honey and I look at each other. In unison, we walk over to Spike and flank him. As we place our arms around him, I ask, “But Spike, you wouldn’t disappoint us, would you?” I then add, “Honey has a hot date with your VP tonight. You want her to look especially pretty for him, don’t you?”

“It’s not working, Emma. Your attempts to unman me are not gonna get me to change my mind. I said no and I mean no!” he replies.

I know it’s time to play the old lady card. Rebel told me once that I would need it from time to time, and although I try not to use it all the time, now is a perfect opportunity. “Maybe I should remind you, Spike, that I’m Ice’s old lady. You know, your club prez? I think he would be very disappointed in you if he knew you weren’t willing to take his woman and her friend to the spa and shopping.”

“He would agree with me if he knew about the threats,” he says defensively.

“But he doesn’t know, does he? And Hawk won’t let me tell him, so sweetie, it appears to me that if you don’t take us where we want to go today, you’re screwed.”

Spike shakes his head in defeat. I can see that he knows he has no way out of this. “People are so wrong about bikers. They fear them when they should fear their fucking old ladies. They’re the dangerous ones,” Spike says.

Honey and I have a blast on our girl’s day out. We start at the spa with facials, mani-pedis, and massages. Once we are all prettied up, we hit the stores, have lunch, and then return home. The boys are great sports about it all and there are even times that I think they’re actually enjoying themselves, although they would never admit it.

Spike pulls into the driveway and turns the car off. We all get out of the car and walk toward the trunk. Spike opens it up and begins handing packages to Dbag as Honey and I turn the corner to head to the front door. As I approach the front porch, I spot a large basket sitting in the middle of the top step. In front of it is a piece of paper. My heart begins to race with fear; I swear I can hear every beat. Oh damn, another note! I walk closer and realize that the basket has a lid on it. As I stand there staring at it, I see the lid move. What the fuck?

Honey stops in her tracks next to me and says, “What the fuck is that, Emma?”

“I don’t know, but I saw the lid move. There is something inside that basket, and I’m not going to be the one to find out what it is.” We both back away from the steps slowly and I call as calmly as I can, “Spike?”

As he and Dbag come around the corner with all our packages, he says, “What’s up, doll?”

I point to the step and say, “That. There’s another note. And there is something alive in that basket.”

Spike walks up to the basket slowly. Just as he’s about to remove the lid of the basket, we all hear the rattle. Suddenly, my worst fear is staring me right in the face. The one thing in the entire world that I’m deathly afraid of is sitting on my fucking front porch. The rattle that came from the basket echoes in my brain and I begin to have trouble breathing. My body begins to shake. All my instincts tell me to run as fast as I can and as far as I can, but my feet are glued to the ground. My eyes never leave the basket.

Honey comes over to me and tries to get me breathing again. Her words are soothing, but I still fear the snake nestled in that basket.

Spike and Dbag both draw their guns and fire on the basket. The hail of gunfire destroys the basket and reveals the snake, still twitching, lying dead upon the remnants of the basket. We wait for the muscle reflex to stop.

“A fucking rattlesnake!” Spike yells. “This asshole isn’t just trying to scare you, he’s trying to fucking kill you!” He walks over and grabs the note. Opening the note, he reads out loud:

Enjoy your shopping and the spa today?

I hope so, because before long you will soon realize that you can run.

But you can’t hide.

When your biker boyfriend returns from Ireland

Your day will come.

This isn’t going away. Whoever is doing this wants me dead. That realization terrifies me more than anything Mark ever said or did to me.

As I listen to Spike read the note again, one thought consumes my mind: it doesn’t matter how many guys they have watching me or protecting me, it will never be enough. This person was able to get into the house; they knew what we were doing today; they knew that Caden was in Ireland. They’ve known everything all along. They’ve had access to everything. Without Caden here, I feel totally vulnerable. It’s then that I realize what I have to do. I can’t stay here and put the rest of the club in danger. It’s going to piss Cade off, but I don’t give a fuck.

I’m going to Ireland!

After all the dust settles, I go up to my room for some privacy and call Ari. I’m sure that Rebel told her where he could be found if needed. Why didn’t I get that information? I ask myself. I guess Cade thinks that if I need him, Hawk would know how to reach him. Still … the reasoning makes sense, but I should have that information as well. I make a mental note to talk to Caden about it when he gets home.

“Hey, Emma!” Ari says when she answers the phone.

“Hey, Ari! How are you?” Although I’m in no mood for small talk, the last thing I want to do is alarm her by just jumping in and telling her everything that’s been going on since the boys left. We chat for a few minutes and then I ask, “Ari, do you happen to know where Rebel’s family lives? Maybe an address or a street or something?”

“What’s wrong, Emma?”

“It’s nothing, I just need to know where I can find your brother.”

I’m being vague on purpose, but she doesn’t let it slide. “I’m not telling you anything until you tell me what’s going on.”

I realize that she’s just as stubborn as her brother; there’s no way I’m gonna get what I want without telling her everything. So, I do. I tell her the whole story and about my plan to fly to Ireland.

“I’m going with you!” she states.

“No. You need to stay in school. Cade will kill me if you leave.”

“Nope, doesn’t work that way. You want an address, then you are taking me with you!”

“Ari, work with me here. You know that Cade will be even more pissed off at me if you come with. It’s gonna be bad enough that I’m going. If I bring you along … hell, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“I get it, Emma, but you aren’t traveling alone. I think he would be more pissed off if I let you go alone. And since you aren’t taking any of the boys with you, I’m going.”

Damn! I sigh and say, “Fine. Then get your ass home as soon as you can. I’m gonna try to get a flight out of Buffalo for the day after tomorrow.”

“I’ll be home first thing tomorrow.” She pauses and then adds, “You don’t have to say it. I’ll be careful!”

“Ok. Love you,” I say, then I add, “Text me the address.”

“”Ok, will do. Love you too, sis!” she says before she disconnects the phone.

Cade is going to kill me! It’s bad enough that I’m gonna show up in Belfast, but his sister going with me is just going to make matters worse. Fuck!

I pull a bag out of the closet and begin packing. A few minutes later, Honey is standing in my doorway.

“Whatcha doing?” she asks coyly.

“What’s it look like?” I say. I don’t mean to be irritated with her, but that snake really did a number on me. My nerves and my patience are shot.

“You’re leaving?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“And where, may I ask, are you going?”

“Away.”

“Not good enough. Where are you going?”

“Ireland!”

“Emma, you can’t. Ice will be so fucking pissed if you show up there. It’s club business; you can’t get in the middle of it. You know the rules.”

“Honey, I really appreciate the rules and all, and I’ve done everything I can to abide by them. But now I have my child to worry about. That rattlesnake on the front porch changed the rules for me. I’m going somewhere where I’ll feel safe. I’m going to the one man that grounds me. The only man that makes me feel truly protected. If that pisses him off, then so be it.”

“You shouldn’t travel alone. What if this person follows you?”

“I’m not traveling alone.”

“Who’s going with you?” she asks.

“Ari.”

“What?! Not only will Ice be pissed that you have flown to Ireland, he will be furious that you brought Ari along as well!”

“I don’t think you hear me. I don’t care. I’m leaving and that’s final.”

“Then I’m going, too!”

“Like hell you are!”

“You can’t stop me! If it is ok for Ari to go, then I see no reason why I can’t go.”

“What the fuck, Honey? This isn’t a party. This isn’t a girl’s trip to Europe.”

“I know that! I’m not stupid, Emma. But you’re going to need all the help you can get if this person follows you. It’s better to have reinforcements. It’s better to have Ari and me!”

I look at her in disgust. “I’m not gonna win this argument, am I?” I ask in defeat.

“Nope!”

“Fine. And I suppose I am paying for the tickets as well,” I say teasingly. I would never expect either of them to cover the cost of the airline tickets, especially since I have plenty of money.

“Well …” she says shyly. “I was kinda hoping that you would offer.”

I just shake my head. It’s a good thing that I love her. “I’ll get the tickets booked. Hopefully, we can be on a flight in a day or two. Make sure you’re ready to go,” I say and Honey nods. Then I add, “And Honey, not a word about this to Hawk or any of the boys.”

“You’re not going to tell him?” she asks, confused.

“Absolutely not. He would lock us up before he would let us leave. Not a word!” I reiterate.

“My lips are sealed,” she says as she turns to leave my room.

“And Honey?” I say to her back.

She turns. “Yes?”

“Have a good time on your date tonight.”

“You think I should still go?” she asks.

“Absolutely. Everything should continue as normal. Nothing should alarm Hawk or any of them that we’re up to something. Got it?”

“Yep, I got it,” she says as she leaves the room.

Shit! Now I have Ari and Honey going with me! Cade is going to be so pissed off … but I can’t worry about that now. I’ll worry about that tomorrow.

Two days later, from Gate 24 of Buffalo Niagara International Airport, I make a call to Hawk. He answers on the first ring.

“Emma, where the fuck are you? Spike said you and Honey left the house early this morning without him. What the fuck, Emma? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” he yells into the phone, finally pausing long enough to give me a chance to respond.

“I’m calling to tell you that Honey, Ari, and I are safe. We’re in Buffalo at the airport, about to board a plane.”

“A plane! What fucking plane? Where the fuck are you going?” he yells.

“We’re going to Ireland.”

“Emma, no! You need to get your ass back here ASAP.”

“Sorry, Hawk, but that’s not gonna happen.” I pause and then add, “I love you—really, I do. And I know you’re doing everything to keep me safe. But you have a club to run and Ice is counting on you.”

“He’s also counting on me to protect you. He’s gonna have my fucking head.”

“No, he is not. I’ll make sure of that. This decision was mine and mine alone. I can’t put you all in danger again. Not after all the turmoil you all went through because of me in the last few weeks. That rattlesnake was the last straw. Anyone could’ve been bitten. I’m not taking any more chances. I’ll be safe in Ireland and I’ll be with Caden. I need him, Hawk. Once he finds out about all the threats he will be glad that I’m with him and not here where he can’t protect me.”

“And what am I supposed to tell him about Honey and Ari?” I can tell by his tone that he’s calmed down a bit. Good. I really don’t want him having a heart attack on my account.

“My initial plan was to go alone. It’s a long story, but they both insisted that they go with me. They really didn’t give me much of a choice,” I reply.

Just then, I hear over the intercom, “This is the final boarding call for Aer Lingus flight 3784 to Belfast. All passengers, please board immediately.”

“Hawk, I need to go. They just announced the final boarding call for our flight.”

Before he answers, Honey tugs on my arm and says, “Let me talk to him.”

“Hang on, Honey wants to talk to you.” I hand her the phone.

“Hey,” she says. I can hear faint yelling through the phone and can only guess what he’s saying to her. It’s probably a lot like what he said to me. “Yes, I know better,” she says and then I hear more yelling. “Hawk baby, calm down. I’ll look after them. No worries. I’ve got this,” she says silkily. Surprisingly enough, I don’t hear any more yelling. She hands me the phone, smiling. “He’s better now.”

Taking the phone to my ear, I say, “Hawk, we really need to go. I’ll let you know when we get to Belfast.”

“Be safe,” he says. It’s all he could say; I left him without options. It had to be this way.

“I will.” I disconnect the line.

I look over at Honey and Ari. “That went well,” I say and we all bust out laughing as we proceed to board our plane.