Chapter Twenty
This had easily been the longest week of Rai’s life. Or at least, the most jam-packed. It was still difficult to believe everything that had happened to her, and yet, how little information she had now compared to a week ago. It hadn’t been easy to sit back and do nothing, trusting in others to handle things. She didn’t do trust well, and she was used to taking care of things on her own.
How in the hell does a Mob boss set up a hit and frame someone else for it? She’d pictured men like Vito and Donny siting back in offices, like in some silly movie, giving orders and smoking cigars. That was obviously not true.
For all their catering to Donny, he was no saint, and they knew that. And, he must be very powerful if he could simply insist on sitting down to talk to another Mob boss like Vito. Who was the real powerhouse here?
And where did one draw the line? Was it a matter of degrees of illegal or unethical activity? Was it like a buffet, where you chose which ones to partake in, and which ones to leave alone? Was the entire business world corrupt, and she’d buried her head in the sand so far she’d never noticed?
More importantly, what would happen to her staff now? Her clients? Her company? She’d worked her ass off to have this, all for the sake of proving something to herself, and to two people who had turned their backs on personal and financial obligations. But what had she gained in doing so?
Rai rose from the bed and slowly paced the room. It reeked of sex. She’d grown used to the smell this week. She’d grown used to the purple bruises on her ass, and the slight discomfort every time she sat down.
Her pussy was sore, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Tannin’s dick, slamming into her. Each time she did, she was wet and ready all over again. He was like a drug. She had to have it now. No way could she imagine not having this gruff, sexy man in her life.
Agreeing to be his old lady felt so damn right! She wanted to share his life, and he wanted to share hers. Because although it wasn’t a traditional marriage proposal, it was their version of one. Holy fuck. Rai laughed and twirled in a circle as the full force of what had just happened hit her. She belonged to a biker dude. Her. Raiyana Maria Teresa Parente, biker chick!
And it was about fucking time she let go of the past she’d been hanging onto. Ronnie and Lori were long gone, and they weren’t coming back. Any revenge she might have exacted on them was now lost to her.
Fuck the past. Fuck Ronnie and fuck Lori. Jennifer Wise-Minnick was dead, and Timmy Bowling would end up in jail for the rest of his life, for a crime he didn’t commit. Everything had changed now. She had no choice but to wait this out and let the pieces fall into place, and then deal with the consequences. But she would no longer do it alone. She hadn’t been alone in this since day one.
Tannin had been there. Chloe had been there. Meghan had been there. Even Gorgon and Vassago had been there. These people had taken her in, sheltered her, fed her, and let her in turn help them run this household. And along the way, she’d fallen in love.
So had Tannin. He’d said so. He had said the words. “I love you, Rai.” That wasn’t a dream. And then he’d asked her to share his life. These weren’t the kind of men who went casually into a relationship of that magnitude.
From what Meghan had told her, the Brothers in the MC were between the ages of thirty-five and forty-five, and only four of them had old ladies. Well … five of them now. They didn’t do lifetime commitment on a casual whim. Only two of the officers had old ladies.
She had nothing to fear from Tannin. He’d never do to her what Ronnie had done. Tannin was miles above Ronnie in every way possible. She had trusted Tannin with her darkest secrets. He had called to her like a siren song from the second she’d looked into his ice blue eyes. That only happens once in a person’s life. He was the man she was meant to be with.
****
Saturday would have been interminable if Rai hadn’t been in the kitchen all day, helping Connie and a sweetbutt named Janel made cuccidati. Janel was known as Red, and it was easy to see why. She had the most brilliant copper hair Rai had ever seen.
Making the fig cookies wasn’t a complicated process, but it was a time-consuming one. Rai had imagined it would also be a pain in the ass having to take the time to show others how to do each step, but she’d been wrong. The two women kept her laughing and smiling all day with their stories, and both proved themselves to be competent bakers.
Since Donny was coming the next day with some of his men, Rai had asked Tannin early that morning, after the club had closed and he’d come upstairs, if he thought it would be a nice gesture to offer the man a treat from his ancestors’ country. Tannin had thought it was a perfect idea. Rai was grateful for something to keep her mind off how Donny’s negotiations with Vito might or might not be going today.
She also couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit sorry for Timmy Bowling. If he truly was being framed, he would pay the ultimate price for making lousy choices under the guise of a religious leader and advisor.
As they filled tray after tray with the finished cookies, it became more of a challenge to keep the Brothers from sampling them than keeping dire images of the talks out of her mind. By the time the club was ready to open, they had ten dozen cookies. Rai was covered in flour, and the kitchen smelled like heaven.
Connie and Janel asked two of the prospects to guard the cookies. Both men were among the younger ones in the group, and just as muscled and tattooed as any of the Brothers. They had been hanging around the kitchen most of the day, teasing Connie and Janel, who hadn’t minded one bit. But now, they asked what the two would give them in exchange for guarding the precious cookies until Donny arrived the next day.
“And what about this one?” asked Todd, giving Rai a lecherous grin. Todd knew by now that Tannin had claimed her. They all did.
“She’s Tannin’s old lady,” said Connie.
“Yeah, but he won’t mind if she does us a favor. I’d hate to see all those cookies gone before Donny gets to taste them.”
Janel sidled up to Todd and ran her hand down the front of his jeans. “You two can have me and Connie in exchange for guarding them.”
In this MC, the sweetbutts were allowed to service the prospects, but there were still rules the men had to follow. No one was allowed to bother any woman a Brother had claimed, and they certainly weren’t permitted to suggest to someone’s old lady what these two had just asked for. The officers and patched members took those rules very seriously.
Todd shook off Janel’s hand as he advanced toward Rai. Mike, sensing a hunt the way an animal in the wild might do, followed his lead. Rai didn’t back up. One scream from her and these men would be out of this building tonight, forever. Surely they knew that as much as she did.
“Favors cost around here, Rai.” Todd stopped inches from her. “Get on your knees and open your mouth.”
“Todd, did you hear me?” asked Connie. “She is one of the officers’ old ladies. Are you fucking crazy?”
He glanced over his shoulder toward Connie and Janel. “I don’t give a fuck. Get over here. Both of you. We’re going to take turns fucking all three of you. That’s our price for guarding the cookies.”
“You know you can’t touch her,” said Connie, giving the men a lust-filled smile as she dropped to her knees. “Come on over here. I’ll give you both what you want.”
“Then she has to watch,” said Mike, smirking at Rai. “That’s not against the rules, is it?”
His mocking tone made Rai sick to her stomach. None of the others had treated her this way all week. Was that because Tannin had always been around? Was this how things really were here, and she was finally getting a taste of reality inside the MC, old lady or not?
“It’s not against the rules, but you still have no right to ask her to do it.”
They whirled around at the dark tone in Tannin’s voice. Rai moved away from Mike and Todd, stepping close to Tannin, who was flanked by Phenex and Vassago. “I didn’t know what to do,” she whispered.
“You did nothing wrong.” He didn’t look at her, but it was impossible to miss his anger. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and his eyes were cold and hard.
“Creamy, get off your knees and find two prospects to help Mike and Todd pack their shit. Phenex, find Gorgon and let him know his Sergeant-At-Arms has officially released Mike Wellington and Todd Grainger, effective immediately.”
“With pleasure,” said Phenex, turning to leave the room. Connie had already run from the room.
“You can’t do that,” said Mike. “You—”
Rai gasped as Tannin shoved Mike against the nearest wall. He had a chokehold on his trachea within a second. No sound came from Mike. His eyes were huge and filled with terror. “I can do it, and I just did.”
Todd lunged for her, and Rai yelled, trying to step out of the way but not quite making it before Todd grabbed her around the torso, pinning her arms at her sides. Before she had a chance to react, his grip was torn from her and Vassago had the man face-down on the floor. Vassago’s boot pressed into the back of Todd’s neck.
“You son-of-a-bitch!”
Vassago pressed harder, and Todd let out a strangled cry. “One twist of my foot and I break your neck,” said Vassago. “So go on, asshole. Give me a reason to do it.”
Gorgon and Phenex came into the room, along with Connie and two prospects whose names escaped Rai at the moment. Gorgon took in the scene with a sweep of his gaze, turning his attention toward Connie and Janel. “Get the other officers.” Then he nodded toward the other men. “You two, take Mike up to his room and don’t leave until he packs up his stuff.”
“Not sure we can trust him.” said Tannin, giving Mike a horrible grin. Rai shivered as she realized the power this man had. “Can we trust you, Mike?”
Mike nodded as much as he could, considering Tannin still had his hand wrapped around Mike’s trachea. Tannin released him, and Mike slid to the ground, coughing. “He’ll need a minute,” said Tannin, his voice filled with sick humor.
Tannin turned and walked over to Rai, pulling her into his arms. “It’s all right.”
“Are they all like that?” she whispered.
“No.”
“These two should have been gone a while ago,” said Gorgon. “This is my fault. I didn’t listen to Tannin when he told me they were bad news. This won’t happen again, Rai. You have my word on it.”
Rai didn’t completely understand the look that passed between Tannin and Gorgon. It was as if the two had been feuding about something for a long time, and this incident finally gave them both resolution. All was now right between them.
Once the men were gone, Tannin made sure someone would be around to guard the cookies. Rai went up to her room to wait for Tannin, and to wait for news about Donny’s meeting with Vito.