Rafe—
I bring Cody with me the next morning to replace the window glass in Tori’s back door and clean up the mirror in her bedroom.
Once that’s done, we measure the frame, and I send him to get a replacement the same size.
He takes the one from his own bedroom and brings the entire piece.
When he arrives with it wrapped in a quilt, tucked in the backseat of a car he borrowed from a buddy, we carefully swap the mirrored glass into the frame of Tori’s bedroom set.
When we’re done, we clean all traces of what happened.
Then I go to my saddlebag and get the sweeping device I procured from Green and sweep Tori’s white Lexus for a tracking device. I find one stuck to the inside of the door to her gas tank.
“C’mere, babe.” I point at it.
“Oh, my God. I can’t believe he did this.”
“All he had to do was press on the door to get it to spring open.”
“I never would have noticed it.”
I pry it off, walk over, and attach it to the gas tank of my bike. “There. He’ll have a surprise if he tries to follow you.” I take my fist and punch my palm.
The prospect sits in his car, waiting for me.
“You should lock the doors until your aunt gets here, okay?” I say.
“I will.”
Her phone chimes with a text, and she checks it. “It’s my aunt. She says she’s on her way now.”
Tori has her clothes on from last night, with one addition.
My flannel shirt is tied around her waist. I told her I wanted her to keep it, to remember our night together.
That made her smile. I grab the sleeves that hang from her waist and tug her closer, then take her hands in mine.
“I’m not glad for how it happened or what led to it, but I am happy I got to spend time with you last night.
I’m grateful we got to know each other better. ”
“You saved me, Rafe. I’ll never forget that.”
She’s already talking about us like I’m in her past. A lump forms in my throat. I know the drill. There’s no way this girl will ever be mine. Doesn’t make this any easier.
I nod. “Promise me something.”
“What?”
I stare into her blue eyes. “You stay the hell away from Connor. You feel threatened, you call me. Okay?” When she nods, I add one more thing. “You make sure your father ups the security. I feel like I should get you a weapon.”
“There’s a gun in my father’s desk.”
“He leaves you alone again, you get that gun and keep it close, understand?”
“I will.” She searches my eyes, then surprises me by going up on her toes and pressing her lips to mine.
When we break apart, I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear and wink, then step away. I walk to my bike and ride off, the prospect behind me.
Rolling off the mill property, I pull over about half a block down and wave the prospect on, then watch the mill entrance. There’s no way I’m leaving until I know Tori’s aunt returns.
About five minutes later, a little blue sedan pulls in, a white-haired old lady behind the wheel.
I sigh in relief and pull out, staring at that tracker stuck to my gas tank and imagining a hundred ways to kill this asshole.
When I roll into the clubhouse parking lot, it’s 10am.
Strolling inside, I see Cody behind the bar already, making a pot of coffee. I take a stool and lean my elbows on the bar, lifting my chin to him.
“Hit me up with one of those, too.”
He carries two mugs over and leans his elbows on the bar.
We both sip our steaming coffee quietly.
“Thanks for bringing that mirror. I owe you one, prospect.”
“Forget it. It was all second-hand stuff, anyway. It’s not like I’ve got a girl who’ll miss it.”
I grin. “Gotcha. Still, I appreciate the effort you went to. Won’t forget it when it comes time to vote you in.”
“Thanks, Rafe.”
Before long, some of my brothers filter out, yawning.
Billy takes the stool next to me and signals Cody for a mug of his own. Cody carries the carafe over and pours him a mug of steaming brew. After Billy’s first sip, he looks over at me.
“You look down in the dumps. What’s the matter?”
“Tori.” Just a single word. That’s all I give him.
He nods. “I liked her. So did Melissa. You two don’t work out, I think she’s still gonna be part of their girl squad.”
“Yeah.”
“You good with that?”
I nod, staring at the bar top, flipping a coaster over and over, lost in thought.
“You sure about that? It means you’ll have to keep seein’ her. After what happened with you and Sutton—”
“This is nothing like me and Sutton.”
“Okay, I get that.” He cocks his head and bumps my elbow. “C’mon, Rafe. What’s wrong?”
TJ shuffles out and takes the bar stool on Billy’s other side, yawning. “Hit me up, prospect.”
Cody fills him a mug.
The sound of a motorcycle pulling up outside carries to us and a minute later, the door opens, bright sunshine flashing inside and around the silhouette of Green.
He takes the stool on my other side. “So, what are you little grasshoppers up to today?”
I shrug.
His eyes move from me to Billy. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know,” Billy replies. “He won’t tell us.”
Green waves Cody over, and the prospect pours him a coffee, then Green points to the line of liquor bottles on the shelf in front of the mirror behind the bar. “Bring me the Baileys.”
“Um, sorry. The girls drank us out of it last night.”
“Son of a bitch,” he grumbles. “I was salivating all the way over here thinking about having a Bailey’s and coffee.”
“Got Kahlua, got some Jameson. You want an Irish Coffee?”
Green huffs. “Fine. Bring me the bottle of Jameson.”
When Cody hands it over, Green pours a measure in his mug, then tips the bottle over my mug and passes it down to Billy and TJ. After he takes a gulp, he leans on his elbows and dips his head close to mine.
“Tell me your troubles, Little Grasshopper.”
I relent and tell all three of them the whole incident from last night, how Connor and his buddies have been tormenting Tori and how I found a damn tracker on her car this morning.
Green lifts a brow. “So that’s why you needed that device. What’d you do with the tracker?”
I meet his eyes. “Stuck it to my gas tank.”
He laughs. “That’ll be a surprise, now, won’t it?”
“I want to kill the son-of-a-bitch. They had her down on the bed when I got there, Green. There were three of them. Goddamn three of them. Shit, if I hadn’t heard her scream…”
Green slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Then let’s take care of the little fucker.”
“He’s the son of the Governor,” I drop the bomb.
“No shit?” Green’s eyes widen. “Well, fuck.”
“Yeah, so that’s the problem.”
“Fuck that,” Green says and points a finger at me. “You like this girl; you take care of business. Hell, we met her. We all like her.”
“She suits you,” Billy says, sipping his coffee.
“She’s out of my league,” I protest.
TJ chuckles. “So was Sara. Didn’t stop Green.”
Green nods. “That’s right, grasshopper. Learn from your elders.”
Billy downs the last of his coffee and pushes off the bar. “Let’s go. Beating up bullies is my hobby. Come on.”
“He sees our cuts, this motherfucker will rat us out to the cops. No doubt about it, and I don’t want to bring that trouble down on the club,” I say.
“Then hoodies and ski masks it is.” Green downs his coffee. “Let’s go.” He looks at Cody. “Toss me the keys to the van, prospect.”
“Don’t we need some kind of plan first?” I protest.
“Nah,” says Green. “Somethin’ like this, it’s always best to play it by ear.”
I catch TJ’s eyes. He looks as uncomfortable with that as I do.
“I don’t know where the fuck he lives,” I protest.
TJ scrolls on his phone. “He’s the governor’s son. The governor’s mansion is in Sacramento.”
“He’s going to school here. He’s got to have a place here,” I disagree.
“You still got that tracker?” Green asks.
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s lead him to it.”
“Tori drives a white Lexus.”
“Will she let you borrow it?”
“Probably, but her aunt is there with her.”
“Wait. Brandy has a white Lexus. Her father gave it to her and Marcus for a wedding present. Let me text her,” TJ says.
A minute later, he gets a reply. “She says we can borrow it, but there better not be a scratch on it when we bring it back.”
“How we gonna play this?” Billy asks.
“We put the tracker on it and Rafe sits in it, low in the seat, so he can’t really be seen, and we hope he takes the bait,” Green says.
“Okay, but where?” TJ asks.
Green looks to me. “Got any ideas?”
“It’s got to be somewhere remote, but also somewhere he’d believe she’d be.”
“And where’s that?” Billy asks, his hands on his hips.
TJ gets on his phone, scrolling again. “What’s the name of her school?”
“Huntington College,” I reply.
Green whistles. “That place costs a mint.” When we all turn to look at him quizzically, he shrugs. “So, I’ve heard.”
TJ shows us the map he pulled up, and we gather around. “Looks like there’s a long entrance road, lots of trees. Might give the rest of us cover. Someone can wait up the road in the van.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s go check it out,” Green says, and we all troop outside.
I grab the tracker off my gas tank and get in the van. Green is in the shotgun seat, and Billy is driving.
TJ reaches in the box we keep in the back of the van and passes out black hoodies and ski masks.
Green twists his head. “Pass me a couple of those zip ties.”
TJ does, then peers in the box. “Ooh, duct tape.” He pockets the roll.
Twenty minutes later, we arrive at Marcus’s house, and he meets us in the drive.
“Where’re we goin’?” he asks.
“We’re going to beat the fuck out of a bully who’s been harassing Rafe’s girl,” Billy says.
I like how they’re already thinking of her as mine, but I doubt it will ever be true. I climb from the van and hold my hand out for the keys. “You don’t have to come.”
“Beating up a bully? Hell yeah, I do. I’m in, and I’m driving the Lexus.”
Our two-vehicle caravan heads out, Marcus behind us and TJ giving Billy directions.
Green takes out his phone and pulls up the song Man on a Mission , then taps out the beat with his gloved hands on the dashboard. “God, I love this song.” Then he sits back. “We need snacks.”
“We don’t need snacks,” Billy snaps, glaring at him.
“I always need snacks when I’m about to pound on someone.” He points at a place as we drive past. “Oh, stop at this donut shop.”
Billy drives on past, and Green shifts in his seat to glower at him.
“You suck, brother.”
“You’ll live,” Billy replies.
“Turn here,” TJ says.
We drive on for another fifteen minutes and arrive at the spot. Billy pulls over and Marcus pulls in behind us. Green, TJ, and I all bail out.
I approach Marcus, sitting in the driver’s seat, and toss the tracker in his cup holder. “Keep low and out of sight. Billy’s gonna drive around that curve out of sight, and we’re gonna wait beyond the tree line.”
“Gee, I feel so vulnerable,” Marcus teases.
“You are kind of like shark bait,” I reply. “Thanks for the help, brother.”
He holds out his hand for a fist bump. “I live for this shit.”
I head into the trees and squat next to TJ and Green, wondering how long this will take. “We could be here a while. He may not even show.”
“Ye of little faith,” Green says. “Your girl’s gorgeous. He’ll show up.”
Turns out Green is right, and we don’t even have to wait long.
A black Porsche slows and parks behind the Lexus.
“That him?” TJ asks.
“I don’t know. I can’t tell through the windshield. He needs to get out of the vehicle, so I can get a look at him. He’s alone, though. That’s good.”
The driver climbs out, leaving his car running.
“That’s him.” I start to rise, but Green grabs my arm.
“Let him get farther from his car.”
TJ calls Billy. “We got him. Come on.”
Once Connor approaches the car, Marcus gets out, surprising him. He’s startled by the hoodie and ski mask and stumbles back.
“Now,” Green growls, and the three of us charge out of the woods.
Connor makes a break for his car, but Marcus is quicker, slamming him over the hood and holding him until we get there.
Green pulls out the zip ties and secures his wrists and ankles, and TJ slaps a piece of duct tape over his mouth as Billy roars up and skids to a stop.
The four of us carry him to the van and toss him in the back.
“TJ, get his car,” Green snaps, and we all load up.
Billy hauls ass with me and Connor in the back and Green riding shotgun. Marcus follows in the Lexus, and TJ brings up the rear in the Porsche.
“Where are we goin’?” Billy asks.
“I know a spot,” Green says. “This ain’t my first rodeo, youngin’s.”
We drive for about forty-five minutes, and Green leads us to a remote ravine.
We drag Connor out, and he’s screaming behind the tape. I love the terror I see in his eyes. While my brothers hold him upright, I beat the shit out of him, pounding my gloved fists into him like I’m going three rounds in the ring. When he’s bloody and unconscious, I stop.
“Now what?” TJ asks, him and Marcus dropping the arms that are all that supports his limp body.
Connor falls face down in the dirt.
Green glances to me. “Up to you, kid.”
“We cut him loose, strip him naked, and leave him out here.”
Green grins. “I like the way you think, brother.”
Once the asshole is naked, Green digs in his pocket and pulls out a black marker, tossing it to me and lifting his chin toward Connor.
“Leave him a message.”
I uncap it and scribble a warning on his chest.
Stay the fuck away from Tori, or the next time we’ll kill you.
On the way out, Marcus sticks the tracker on the Porsche, and we leave the car a mile down the road with Connor’s phone and keys locked inside.
Riding back in the van, Green turns and grins at me. “That was fun, wasn’t it? Feel better?”
“Yeah, I do.” I flex my fist, my knuckles aching.
“Good.” He turns to Billy. “Now let’s get donuts.”