Chapter Twelve
After Vassago and Gorgon left, Creamy arrived to retrieve the tray of empty plates. Rai walked toward her bags. “I want to email Russell now.”
“This can wait for morning,” said Tannin. She opened her mouth, but didn’t speak as Creamy eyed her.
“Thanks, Creamy,” said Tannin, giving her a determined stare. She finally left, and Tannin addressed Rai. “Look, we’ve been through shit like this before. You haven’t. We know how to handle it. And you need to watch what you say in front of the others.”
They locked gazes, and he waited for her to protest again. Finally, her expression softened. “All right. I’ll wait. Only because you know these players better than I do.”
“You have to trust us, Rai. We aren’t going to let anything happen to this club or its members.”
“Trust isn’t easy for me, and I would imagine it’s not for you, either.”
What she said was true. When he considered this this from her point of view, it wasn’t only her own safety she was worried about. “I know this is hard for you.”
“Hard for me? What about you? I’m so pissed off for you right now that I could punch someone.”
“Rai, I’m forty years old. I walked away from my family twenty-two years ago. I’ve lived with this for a long time.”
“That doesn’t make it easier to deal with.”
Something in her voice made him believe again that she was hiding a sad secret of her own. “I agree, but for the rest of this night, I don’t want to think about it.” He stifled a yawn, and she smiled as her own came out.
“I guess we both need some sleep.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Can’t imagine why, can you?”
“No. Not even close.”
“Then we should rest. In the morning, after we’ve taken a shower together and I’ve fucked you again, you can email your attorney.”
“Tannin, seriously, thank you for everything.”
“All in a day’s work.”
“Yeah. Right. Come on. You look ready to drop.” She took his hand and led him back to the bed. After shedding her robe, Tannin removed the t-shirt and sweatpants he’d donned for the impromptu meeting, and eyed her naked body. If he wasn’t so fucking tired, he’d take her again. He hadn’t had this much sex in one night for years, but he wasn’t complaining. Not even close.
Crawling back under the comforter and holding her body against his was more peaceful this time than arousing, and soon he drifted off to sleep.
****
It was light outdoors when knocking on the door woke Tannin. Next to him, Rai rolled over, squeezing her eyes tighter against the brightness. “No. Make it go away.”
He chuckled and called for whoever was knocking to come in. Legs and Tarot walked in, carrying a tray filled with food and a coffee pot. Thank God. Tarot eyed his naked torso, moving her gaze lower where the comforter barely covered his dick. She arched a brow when she spotted Rai.
“Gorgon said to bring you two breakfast,” said Legs. “He also said to tell you that if Rai is going to stay here, she’ll be expected to cook her own meals.”
“I have no problem with that,” she said. “I don’t expect anyone to serve me.”
“Tell Gorgon that Rai got the message,” said Tannin.
Tarot continued giving him unmistakable lustful glances, so he glared at her until Legs tugged on her arm. “Come on. We have work to do.”
It takes a special kind of sweetbutt to try to seduce a Brother when he’s in bed with another woman. He’d had Tarot once, and had no desire to go back for seconds. Fucking her hadn’t done a thing for him, to be perfectly blunt.
Tannin nuzzled Rai’s neck. “Wake up, sleepyhead. There’s food and coffee.”
“It’s too bright in here.”
He climbed out of bed, padded across the room, and pulled the blinds closed. “Better?” What the fuck had this woman done to him?
“A little.” She sat up and stretched her arms overhead, which of course made her boobs jiggle. She would be his undoing, but what a way to go. “That smells delicious.”
Without the hesitation she’d shown earlier, she bounded out of bed and took a seat at the small table where Tarot and Legs had placed the food. It was the same place the pair had sat with Vassago and Gorgon earlier, discussing what Donny Messina had found.
“What if Gorgon and Vassago show up again?” He had to tease her. He couldn’t help it.
“I’m too hungry to care.”
“That’s the spirit.” Tannin took a seat next to her and filled his plate. The whole scene was so domestic. Instead of the unease he usually felt during times like this, it was peaceful, like he belonged here.
“You know, I could get a new phone number.” She must have been dreaming about this. If he was in her place, he would be.
“You could, but wouldn’t that still leave a paper trail? It’s the same cell phone account.”
She nodded while she chewed and then swallowed the food in her mouth. “Yeah. True. But if I got a new phone with a new number… Never mind. That would leave one, too. Can’t get a phone in someone else’s name, unless I get one of those throwaway ones.”
Tannin stopped eating and placed his hand on her arm. “Rai, let the phone go for now. This won’t be forever. Finish breakfast and then send the email, okay?”
“How do you know it won’t be forever? Vito is only in his mid-forties. And even if someone kills him, another person will take over. You said it yourself. This has been going on for nearly a century in this country alone. People go into witness protection for the rest of their lives for ratting out the Mob.”
“That isn’t going to happen. Vito can’t get to you here.”
“But he can get to my staff.”
“The FBI is watching them.”
Taking in women with a past, or who were running from someone or something, was nothing new to the Demons on Wheels MC. Legs had run from a horribly abusive relationship. But it was easy to stay detached from their personal turmoil when you weren’t fucking the woman in question. Tannin had avoided complications and strong attachments in his sexual encounters by keeping them just that. Sexual encounters only.
Not once had he let his heart get involved. Not until now. He didn’t need a psychologist to tell him why he’d avoided it. When your childhood memories included being told your choice of best friends was a hoodlum, a criminal, and that if you continued hanging out with him and his gang, you’d end up in jail or digging ditches for a living, you tended to grow up filled with resentment and confusion.
And when your own father had that friend, his parents, and others killed, you found it a bit difficult to let anyone past the walls. Keeping sexual relationships from becoming emotional ones was Tannin’s way of keeping the pain at bay. When you loved someone, both of you became vulnerable. If they were hurt, so were you, and vice versa.
As he gazed into Rai’s dark eyes, his world shifted again. Tannin wasn’t naïve. This woman had the power to break down those walls. He’d known it from the first time he’d looked into her face. But it wasn’t merely one person who had put a dent in the armor he’d built around his heart. It was now her entire fucking staff! Because she cared about what happened to them, he did, too. And that meant he had to do something about it.
Damn it all to hell and back. One night with this extraordinary woman, and Tannin had feelings for her. Strong feelings.
“Are you done eating?”
“Yes.”
“Why you don’t you get your personal laptop and get that email sent? It will make you feel better.”
Her face brightened, and horrible guilt washed over him. This was a temporary solution, and a tenuous one at that. “Yeah. It’s tangible. Something I can do to effect change.”
“You’re sexy when you do the corporate speak.”
When she laughed, his heart gave an odd lurch. Yep. He was in big fucking trouble here. No doubt about it. She dug both laptops out of her bag and brought them over. “What should I do about the work laptop? Leave it off for now?”
“Yes.”
“Tannin, I have clients. I have obligations. I have to pay my staff. They have families to feed.”
“Your staff is still working. Let them take care of the other clients. Does Tiffany have access to payroll?”
“Tiffany has access to everything.”
“Then she can make sure everyone gets paid. Tell Russell your concerns. That’s what Vassago advised, and I agree with him.”
“I can’t stay hidden and still run this company.” She ran a hand through her hair. “God. I should have told Tiffany I was going.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Absolutely not. Anyone you told is at risk, too. Did you tell anyone on your staff?” Had she answered that question earlier? He couldn’t recall.
“No.” The panic on her face made him want to kick his own ass.
“One thing at a time, Rai. Okay? Deal with one issue at a time. Send the email.”
He was in the unique position among the Brothers to understand how much went into running a corporation. From what Rai had told them about how her two largest clients threw themselves around the office, Tannin had his doubts that when this was over, Rai would still have a company. She could easily end up getting sued for breach of contract by her other clients. Her staff could wind up hurt or dead, including Tiffany and her family.
As she opened her personal laptop and connected to her MiFi device, he imagined she was aware of the scenarios running through his head right now. On an intellectual level, at least. She wasn’t stupid. It wasn’t too difficult for him to imagine the fear and anger she felt toward the situation, not to mention the foolishness for having landed in this mess to begin with.
But none of that was her fault. She was still so young. She’d been full of promise and eager to build a company. He’d have done the same things, without guidance, but she hadn’t received any. She had told them her family hadn’t offered any financial help, and Tannin had never heard her surname among his father’s associates or the business world. He had no reason to believe she’d been lying about that.
What was her story? Her background? The secret she held in her heart? These were questions that needed answering eventually, if she stayed here for any length of time.
“Okay. New email address set up. Here we go.”
It took her twenty minutes to compose an email she was happy with. After she sent it, she leaned back in the chair and sighed. “This is crazy. I should be on my work laptop. Do you know how many things I have to do?”
“Yes, I do. Or at least, I can easily picture it.”
She gave him a thoughtful glance. “Did you help your father at work? I mean before the fire.”
“He began grooming me in grade school.”
“You were set to take over.”
“Yes. It was always a given.”
“How did you get to know Scotty?”
“This is a small town. We went to the same school. He was what my parents’ generation called a greaser. He had a swagger about him, even as a kid, but I witnessed his kind side early on.”
“In what way?”
“In first grade, one of the class bullies pushed a girl named Veronica down onto the ground during recess. Scott was right there, offering a hand to help her up. Then he shoved the bully up against a tree and had an honest-to-God chokehold on him. Told the kid if he ever saw him push anyone down again, he’d cut him up. It was the coolest thing I ever saw, and we were best friends from that moment on.”
She smiled. “What a fabulous story. So you grew up here, in Creek Ridge? I mean, I know your father’s bio said he was from here, but I didn’t realize you never moved.”
“The home I grew up in is less than three miles away.”
“Holy shit. That must be uncomfortable.”
“Very. At least once a month, I have visions of torching it.”
“I would, too. Hell. If my ex and his whore were that close, I’d do more than visualize hurting them. But Aruba or wherever the fuck they’re hiding is too far away to simply…”
Her voice trailed away as the most profound look of “I really wish I hadn’t said that” came over her face. “Yeah. Never mind.” She rose and began to stack the dishes. “You done? Should I call down and have them retrieve this, or do you want me to—”
“Rai, stop. Sit. Spill it. Now.”