Chapter 11 Rachel
“Istill think you should be staying here at The Crossroads,” Hannibal grumbled.
“But you said yourself that the threat is eliminated. There’s nothing else to worry about.”
“I should have rephrased it.”
“By lying?” I asked, shaking my head. “You know that won’t work with me.”
“Yeah, baby girl, I do. And now you’re leaving.”
“You know where I live,” I pointed out.
“It’s too far.”
“Dad. We live in the same small town.”
He still huffed and puffed like a dragon.
“I’ll see you soon. Say bye to Rylee. She wants a hug.”
His frown disappeared as she picked up his granddaughter and swung her around, squeezing her lightly before he placed her on her feet. “Bye, sugar bug.”
Rylee squealed. “I’m not a bug!”
Hannibal chuckled. “How about sugar bean?”
Rylee shrugged. “Okay!” She skipped away from us, joining Crypt as he loaded our bags into a truck.
He was taking a loaner and using a trailer for his bike. We needed the space for Rylee and all the stuff we accumulated while staying here for several days.
“You sure you’re good?” Hannibal asked.
“Dad. I’m fine.”
“Okay.” He tugged me into a tight embrace, hugging longer than I expected, but I didn’t mind.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“You will.”
Crypt drove the truck home, but we stopped to pick up food along the way. He parked the truck under the carport and helped us unload the bags. By the time we finished eating, it was already early afternoon.
Rylee reached for Crypt’s hand. “Can we check for monsters?”
He looked down at her. “In your room?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“You’re in luck. I’m a monster hunter.” Crypt revealed his gums and growled.
Rylee giggled. “That’s scary! Come on.”
She led him down the hall to her room, and I followed, pausing in the doorway to watch as Crypt searched her closet, then dropped to his knees to check under her bed.
“Oh, no!” he shouted, pulling out stuffed animals. “We’ve got a giant turtle!”
Rylee laughed. “It’s only a stuffed animal.”
“Are you sure?” Crypt pretended to make the turtle hiss.
Rylee covered her mouth, giggling.
“Should we keep him?”
She nodded at Crypt as she dropped her hands. “He’s a good turtle.”
“Then he stays.” Crypt propped the turtle on her bed. “He looks like Mr. Lumpy Back. Is that his name?”
Rylee snickered. “No. It’s Green Turtle.”
He glanced at me, waiting for my input. “I sort of like Mr. Lumpy Back.”
Rylee pointed at the turtle. “He’s just Green Turtle, that’s it.”
We left her to play and headed out to the living room. Both of us flopped onto my couch. I was the one who moved first, crawling over to him before sliding between his legs to rest my head on his chest.
“I think Rylee likes you. She hasn’t laughed as much with Hannibal as she has with you in the last few days.”
“Shit. Don’t tell him. He’ll make it his mission to correct it,” Crypt laughed.
He was right. Nobody one-upped my dad when it came to his granddaughter.
“It’s awfully quiet back there,” he observed a short time later. “Do you think she fell asleep?”
“Maybe. I’ll go check.”
I got up from the couch, walking in my socks to my daughter’s room. She was coloring with a ton of craft supplies spread out on the floor around her.
“That looks pretty. Where did you find all these markers?”
“In the box in the kitchen.” She went back to coloring, trying hard to stay in the lines.
I didn’t have a clue what box she was talking about. We kept our craft supplies inside a tote with plastic drawers. It organized all the little pieces so that Rylee made less of a mess whenever she wanted to color, draw, or paint.
I wandered into the kitchen after seeing Rylee and noticed the box right away. It wasn’t one we brought with us, and it wasn’t outside when we pulled up and parked.
I grabbed the flaps and checked for an address label. Nothing. The only thing I saw was my daughter’s name written in black Sharpie on the top. Someone delivered this while we were all inside today.
I shivered, trying to ignore the sudden fear that overtook me. “Crypt? Can you come here, please?”
“Sure, babe.” He walked into the kitchen, stopping as soon as he saw the box. “Fuck.”
Yeah, fuck. That seemed an appropriate response.
“When did it arrive?”
“I don’t know. Within the last couple of hours.”
Crypt frowned. “Whoever dropped this off knows we’re here with Rylee. We need to move. Now.”
I understood his urgency and felt it. My stomach threatened to expel the lunch we had recently eaten as I struggled to breathe.
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. We’re good, babe. You get Rylee. I’ll grab our bags. We’re just gonna take another trip. Go somewhere safe. Okay?”
I nodded, but this wasn’t okay. Not at all.
We never had a chance to unpack. It was easy to add a few more things to the bags and bring them into the living room while Crypt spoke on the phone. He kept his voice low, but I could tell he was agitated.
He turned to me when he hung up. “We’re going to a safe house.”
Rylee looked at her mom. “What does that mean?”
“It’s a fun place where we get to pretend that we’re on vacation. No one calls us, and we don’t call them. We can play games and eat junk food. Watch lots of movies.”
“No bad guys and monsters?”
“No bad guys and monsters,” Crypt confirmed.
My daughter relaxed. “Okay. Let’s go!”
I heard a motorcycle as I was locking the door, and was relieved to see Hannibal parked on the street by the curb. “Hey! You coming with us?”
“Yeah! Following you!”
Good. My anxiety didn’t start to fade until we pulled away from my house. I felt stupid for thinking that everything was okay and there wasn’t any further danger. At the same time, it didn’t make sense. Hannibal said he took care of the guys who kidnapped Rylee.
So who was after us now?
Crypt seemed distracted as he drove, probably thinking everything over in his head like I was doing. It didn’t add up.
“How far are we driving?” I finally asked after we’d been on the road for several hours.
Rylee had fallen asleep again. It still knocked her out like it did when she was a baby. The gentle rocking motion made me sleepy, too.
“California. There’s a place in the north that’s hidden in the redwoods, and it’s gorgeous. Rylee will love all the trees and the lake.”
“Have you been there before?” It sounded like he had.
“No, but I saw a few pictures. It’s a good place to lay low. Grim already ordered a grocery delivery with minimal contact. We won’t be disturbed.”
Oh. Well, that was good.
“It’s gonna be a long ride. We’re still seven hours away,” he warned. “Let me know when you want to stop.”
“For food?”
“Or anything else you and Rylee need.”
We stopped once at a diner to eat and once at a rest stop to use the restroom. That was it. Rylee slept about a third of the trip. She was nearly bouncing with energy by the time we arrived.
Hannibal followed us to the safe house and parked his bike beside the truck. The safe house turned out to be a gorgeous cabin close to the lake. We unpacked and changed into swimsuits, heading straight to the water.
Rylee already knew how to swim thanks to the YMCA, so I didn’t have a problem with Crypt and Hannibal taking her out.
It ended up being a relaxing afternoon. I got to enjoy the sun, and Rylee wore herself out in the water and playing on the shore.
She nearly fell asleep as we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire.
It almost felt like a real vacation, but in the back of my mind, I knew better. I couldn’t help looking over my shoulder once in a while, hoping I didn’t see anyone pointing a gun at us. Dramatic? Maybe.
Hannibal took Rylee into the house when she dozed off in a lounge chair, and it left Crypt and me alone.
“You’re quiet,” he observed. “Anything on your mind?”
“Just concerned about that box. Who left it? Why?”
“Don’t know. At a glance, it looked harmless, but I’m worried about how it got inside. Did you ever ask Rylee?”
“No, actually. I didn’t want to spook her.”
“I assume she wouldn’t talk to a stranger.”
Not after being kidnapped. Rylee would have freaked out. “Is it possible we overreacted? Maybe she knew who dropped it off.”
Crypt seemed to think about it. “Well, if she did, why didn’t she tell you?”
Good question. “I don’t know.”
“I think it’s a good idea if we ask her in the morning.”
“You’re right. I will.”
“Why don’t you come over here? The stars are beautiful tonight.”
It wasn’t subtle, but I didn’t care. Rylee and Hannibal were inside, and I wanted a few minutes alone with Crypt.
“You know, you’re nothing like I thought when I met you in prison.”
He snorted. “That’s a hell of a story to tell family and friends, isn’t it?”
I laughed. “Yeah.”
“Come here.”
I joined him on the ground as he rested his back against a big log. The campfire had burned low, and flickers of light danced in shadows. High above, the moon shone down on the lake, reflecting the surface and surrounding stars. It was beautiful.
I straddled Crypt, facing him as he slid his hand around my neck and pulled me close, fusing his mouth to mine.
There was something sexy and undeniably erotic about the way he held me in place, ravaging my mouth as his hands roamed my body.
One palm gripped my ass before rising higher, cupping a breast through my bra.
“Goddamn, you’re beautiful, Rachel.”
I only moaned in response as he slipped the straps of my tank off my shoulders and tugged them down, revealing my bra. His mouth closed over a nipple, and I rocked my hips against his groin, needing friction and connection.
It had been so long since I had sex. I was aching for him before he ever touched me. With his mouth and hands on my skin, I felt like I might combust.
“More,” I begged, reaching down to unsnap the button on my jean shorts.
“You sure?” Crypt asked.
“Oh, yes.”
He gently rolled me onto my back, pulling off my shorts and underwear in one try.
Left bare to his gaze, I watched as he licked his lips before dropping onto his stomach and diving between my thighs.
God, I loved it when a man was eager to eat me out.
So many never tried or cared to learn what I liked.
But Crypt? He was ravenous.
His beard tickled, and I marveled at the perfect man between my legs. A god with long hair and dark ink covering his chest and arms. He got me good and wet, inserting a finger as he avoided my clit. I groaned when he sat up, ripping off his shirt. It didn’t take long for him to get naked.
When he lowered his body over mine, I stared into his eyes, feeling a shift between us that felt perfect. Like it was meant to be. He reached down to stroke his cock a couple of times before he lined up, ready to enter me.
“I don’t have a condom, but I’m clean.”
“Same. I want you, Crypt. Please.”
He slid inside me on the last word, filling and stretching me in that delicious way that bordered on pain but felt too good to want to stop.
His thrusts were long and deep, coaxing my orgasm to surface as I held onto his arms. My fingers dug into his skin as he kissed me, wishing this would last and already thinking about doing this again with him.
The man knew how to move his hips. He touched that perfect spot within me, and I cried out his name when I came, jolting as he rubbed my clit and dragged out my release.
God, I could fall hard for his man. His gentleness and strength. The way he looked at me as if I was everything he could ever want. How he treated my daughter with care and made her laugh.
“Fuck, you feel good, babe. I want to stay buried inside you all night.”
I almost told him to do it, but he shuddered, filling me as he came. He spoke my name with reverence, like a prayer. After a few more strokes, he stilled, staying inside me.
Crypt brushed the hair back from my face. His body and mine were joined, and he kissed me, tangling our tongues, in no hurry for us to separate.
“Not gonna lie, beautiful. I want a lot more of this with you.”
“I do, too.”
When we finally dressed, he held me beside the campfire, and I knew I had already lost my heart to this outlaw.