Chapter 13 Zach
ZACH
Was Rafe fucking serious?
He wanted me to walk out of there with no agreement, no further discussion about working together.
For all I knew, if I turned up at his office tomorrow morning, he’d have his guards take me out.
I definitely wouldn’t count on him welcoming me with open arms after having the rest of the night to think about all the reasons he shouldn’t work with me.
“No fucking way. I’m not leaving until we have a deal.”
“What kind of deal do you think you’ll get from me? Are you going to write up a contract for me to sign? Do you think I give those kinds of guarantees?”
“No. I want your word. I want to know where I stand. We’re both taking risks here. Neither of us can afford to fuck this up.”
His expression softened, and for a moment, I thought he was going to agree to talk. Then he shook his head. “Be there tomorrow. We’ll talk then.”
Was this some kind of test? Was he trying to see if I’d come back for more? “I think your cock would miss me.”
“I think you’re arrogant as fuck.”
“They say the same about you.”
“Takes one to know one and all that. Now, get out.”
I stuffed my cock back in my pants and zipped them up. Without looking at Rafe, I grabbed my jacket and walked out the door. I was furious, but yelling at him wasn’t going to help.
As I stepped onto the porch, I remembered that I’d gotten there by driving a stolen car that I’d parked illegally.
Fuck. The last thing I wanted to do was turn around and slink back inside.
I could just take the car if it hadn’t been towed.
I’d drop it off at the casino in the morning.
What was he going to do about it? If he told his family I’d stolen it, he’d have to tell them about me.
I doubted that wasn’t something he wanted to do any more than I wanted to tell Maria I’d asked him to work with me.
I owed Maria a check-in, but she could wait until the morning.
If I put it off much longer than that, she’d start harassing me.
I hated lying to her because she was damn good at seeing right through me, but no matter how hard she pushed this time, I wasn’t going to give her the whole story.
Some of what had happened between me and Rafe was none of her business anyway, no matter how much she’d become a friend over the years.
I wasn’t even sure she’d believe it all. I wasn’t sure I did. Had I really had the best orgasm of my life with a man, a fucking mobster? What the hell was going on with me?
Had this job finally pushed me over the edge? Or had I really liked men all along?
All I knew was that I would’ve spent all night fucking Rafe over and over if he’d let me. I was already half-hard again thinking about it. He might be several years younger than me, but tonight, I’d been so turned on. I was sure I could keep up with him.
I jumped when the door opened behind me. I’d forgotten to pay attention to my surroundings, which could be deadly in my position. Rafe was really messing with my head.
“I’m going back to the casino,” Rafe announced. “I assume your car is there.”
“It is.”
“I’ll give you a ride since you shouldn’t be driving around in a stolen vehicle, but no talking.” He gestured toward a black sports car parked in front of his house.
That would be awkward. But what other choice did I have other than standing here, waiting for an Uber? I doubted Rafe was going to let me stay here alone. “Okay.”
As he started down the porch steps, he clicked the fob on his keys. We were both thrown back against the house as the car exploded.
I knew I should be hearing the roar of the fire and parts of the car raining down, but the blast had taken my hearing.
I’d lived through a number of explosions, but the unreal feeling, the sense that I was alone in a quiet bubble, unable to step outside of it, never changed.
I coughed, choking on the smoke as I tried to blink my vision back to normal, and I looked for Rafe.
I screamed when he started running toward the burning car. I stumbled down the steps and tried to grab him, but he was too fast.
“Rafe! Stop! What the hell are you doing?” It was only a fucking car. Was he trying to die?
He grabbed the passenger door handle, then jerked his hand back. He was coughing and sputtering when I reached him. When I grabbed him around the waist and slung him away from the car, he fell to the ground.
“What the fuck were you doing?” I yelled.
He didn’t respond. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t moving. I dropped to my knees. I knew he hadn’t inhaled enough smoke to kill him, but my heart pounded with terror.
I shook him by the shoulder. “Rafe! Rafael! Are you all right?”
He coughed and turned to his side. I helped him up and pulled him toward the porch.
When we were at the door, he held up a hand like he was asking me to wait.
He started to speak, but a coughing fit had him bent at the waist. Finally, he got it under control and looked up at me.
There was soot on his face, and his eyes were red, and I didn’t like the wheezing sound his breath made, but he was alive.
“Gallagher, did you just save my life?”
I couldn’t hold back a smile. “Zach.”
“What?” He frowned, obviously expecting my usual response.
“My name is Zach. And yes, I fucking saved you. Why would you run toward a burning car?”
“My mom’s necklace. She died, and I’ve always had, and now it’s… it’s gone too.”
“I’m sorry. We can try to get it when the car cools down.”
He shook his head. “No. It doesn’t matter now. I wouldn’t want to look at it all burned up.”
I heard sirens approaching. Someone had obviously called 911. I shouldn’t be here. I absolutely did not need to be talking to local cops. The sirens were moving closer. We didn’t have long.
Neighbors were coming out of their houses to stand on their lawns and stare.
At least the fire wasn’t spreading. Thank God for the damp climate.
There were some scorch marks on the side of the house, and the motorcycle he’d parked in his tiny front yard was destroyed, but otherwise, everything would be fine. At least I hoped so. I needed it to be.
“Zach?”
Damn. I loved hearing Rafe say my name. He looked painfully young and scared, and I didn’t like it. Someone had tried to kill him. I was going to find out who they were and make them pay. “Yes?”
He looked down at his burned hand. “It hurts. I… what do I do?”
He was pale, and his breathing was shallow. I was pretty sure he was going into shock. He certainly wasn’t in his right mind. I grabbed his arm and hustled him inside. “I’ll help you.”
He looked back toward the burning vehicle. “The police?”
Fuck. He was really out of it. “We’ll deal with them when they get here. We need to take care of your hand now.”
I pulled him into the kitchen, turned on some cool water, and stuck his hand under the faucet. He gasped and started to pull away, but I gripped his wrist tight, holding his hand there.
“You need to let the water run over it as long as you can.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I can do that.”
I left him at the sink long enough to grab a blanket off the couch and wrap it around him. He was shivering, and his pupils were huge. He needed care, but we didn’t have time.
I laid a hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I… I think so. Sorry. I’m not usually…”
I kissed the top of his head before I thought about what I was doing, but I couldn’t regret it when he looked up at me and smiled.
“Where’s your phone?” He pulled it from his coat pocket with his good hand. “You’ve got to call somebody to help you take care of this.”
He nodded. “Right. You can’t be here.”
“I’m sure some of your neighbors have already seen me.” Why was I arguing with him? He was right. I couldn’t stay with him, couldn’t talk to the police. I shouldn’t even let the firefighters see me.
“My brothers. I can’t tell them about you.”
“Say I’m some guy you hooked up with.”
“Okay, go hide. I’ll pretend you left.”
I didn’t love the idea, but at least he seemed more with it now. He could handle this with his brothers’ help. “All right, but call them now. Hurry.”
“Go upstairs and stay there.” The arrogance was back in his voice, and it made me smile.
“What if you need—”
“I need to protect you. You… Fuck. You saved my life.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” I didn’t need things to get any more complicated between us.”
“Yeah, I do.” He tapped his phone, and a moment later, whichever Theriot he’d called answered.
I retreated toward the stairs and stepped out of his sight while staying close enough to hear what he said.
I was a hell of a lot better off if his family knew nothing about me, and I sure as hell didn’t need to meet them under these circumstances.
I had no doubt they’d suspect I had something to do with the explosion, but I would do whatever it took to protect Rafe.
I didn’t like thinking about what that meant.
How had he gotten to me so fast and so deeply?