Chapter 17
Remington was shaking and I was doing my best not to look at my house.
Did that just happen?
I had Remy unharmed in the back of a black SUV with tinted windows, speeding away from the scene of the crime with Rhode behind the wheel driving like he was the king of the road and everyone should yield to him. I must’ve been in shock because now I wasn’t scared or freaking out.
I was in total disbelief.
Not denial—disbelief.
Someone executed a drive-by.
A freaking drive-by shooting. On my house.
When does that actually happen other than in the movies?
I lived in a quiet neighborhood. A family neighborhood. Peaceful. Nice houses. Drive-by shootings didn’t happen on my block.
Until today.
And since I was in shock I didn’t know what to say.
Not to my son, not to Rhode. Weirdly I didn’t give a rat’s ass where Rhode was taking us.
Wilson had said “up north” —that could mean Canada and I was a-okay with that.
Rhode could continue to drive us up to Alaska and I wouldn’t complain.
As long as Remington was far, far away from the insanity that just occurred and Rhode was with us he could take us anywhere and I wouldn’t utter a complaint.
Rhode’s phone rang and Remington startled.
“Remy, baby, we’re safe.” I pulled him closer and asked, “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Remy answered with a shake of his head.
“That was pretty scary.” I noted the understatement of the year.
All I got was a nod.
“We should talk about it, bud.”
That got me another shake of his head, this one more forceful than the first.
“Your mom’s right, that was scary,” Rhode interjected after he silenced the call.
Remy lifted his head off of my chest and asked, “You were scared?”
“Oh, yeah,” Rhode returned. “You were in the house and I didn’t know where you were. That scared me. I needed to find you which meant I had to leave your mom unprotected in the backyard and that scared me, too.”
What was interesting was what Rhode wasn’t scared of.
He was scared of not knowing where Remington was but not of getting filled with bullets when he’d rushed into the house.
He was scared to leave me unprotected but not scared for his safety.
That made me wonder, unhappily, how many times Rhode had been shot at and if that would happen again in the future.
“But you’re big,” Remy argued.
“I can be as big as a giant, buddy, but that’s not gonna help me not be scared when I don’t know where you are or if you’re safe.”
Rhode changed lanes and turned onto 95 north, then wove between two cars, not slowing down.
I might’ve been in shock but I wasn’t so far gone that Rhode’s erratic driving made me wonder if someone was following us.
But I also couldn’t ask without scaring Remington.
I also was too afraid to look behind us and find out.
“Are you still scared?”
“No. Now that I know you and your mom are safe I’m not scared.”
Firm. Unyielding.
Remington snuggled back in and said, “Then I’m not scared either.”
I wasn’t sure if that was healthy. He was four and had been alone in the house during a drive-by shooting.
I wasn’t four and I was still scared shitless.
However, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to announce I wanted Rhode to take us to a secure underground bunker with armed guards to protect us until the police caught whoever tried to kill us.
On that thought, I asked, “What about the police?”
“Wilson will handle them.”
“Shouldn’t we have stayed to talk to them?” I pushed.
Thankfully, I’d never been involved in a shooting, nor had I ever been the target of a drive-by.
Actually, I’d never been involved in any criminal activity of any kind—that was if you didn’t count the one time I went skinny-dipping in the lake on a dare.
But I hadn’t been caught, and Letty was the only witness and she’d never tell.
So, seeing as I was an upstanding citizen who didn’t have run-ins with the police I didn’t know for a fact but I was fairly certain they’d want to question me and Rhode.
“Wilson will facilitate communication. But it will be after we’re settled and he’s had a chance to speak with the authorities to explain that you and Remington have been taken into protective custody.”
Protective custody.
“Do you know—”
“Sugar, let's worry about that later.”
Um. I didn’t want to worry about anything later. The shock was wearing off and I didn’t like being left in the dark.
“I’d like to know.”
“And you’ll know everything but I can’t tell you something I don’t know. Right now my only concern is getting you and Remy up to the cabin and settled.”
Rhode’s cabin.
Not an underground bunker with armed guards.
Then I remembered Rhode running into the house hellbent to get to Remy with zero concern for his personal safety.
That was when I realized we didn’t need armed guards—we had Rhode. We also didn’t need a bunker. We had Rhode and he would protect us—with his life if it came to it.
So I settled back and cuddled my son close. I also decided not to think about my house or bullet holes or anything except that we were safe.
“Are you sure they’re safe?”
We were at Rhode’s cabin. Remy had fallen asleep on the drive up and he was now snoozing on the couch. Rhode had just finished telling me about his conversation with Wilson.
I was also freaking the fuck out.
Smutties had been hit by a drive-by, too.
Which if I thought about it made sense—the bookstore would be a target instead of Letty’s apartment seeing as she lived on the fifth floor.
Michael and Tallulah’s had not been hit but according to Wilson that was probably due to the police presence.
After what had happened at my place, Wilson had demanded protection for the Welshes.
Thankfully when Wilson made demands it seemed the police listened and Michael and Tally now had protection from the local PD, and Reese and Cole, as well.
But I was still worried.
“Letty’s staying with her parents,” Rhode told me something I knew since we’d been over this. “Wilson arranged for a car to sit out front of the house and Reese and Cole have been assigned to security detail. They’re safe and will be safer when Wilson talks them into going to a safe house.”
Now that Michael and Tally knew Kiki had not been kidnapped and she wasn’t being held by some ominous, shadowy figure, Wilson had reported Michael was furious and being stubborn.
He wanted to speak to his youngest daughter and he wasn’t leaving CDA until that happened.
And he was insistent that he go with Wilson to the Horsemen clubhouse and yank his daughter out of there—his exact words according to Wilson.
I didn’t doubt Michael would do just that. I also didn’t doubt Michael had dug in and wouldn’t be leaving until he saw Kiki.
“I need to call Tally.”
“Sugar—”
“You don’t understand, Rhode. By now she knows I lied to her. I need to explain and I need to talk to Michael.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Rhode murmured.
The way he’d gently uttered the words made my heart sink.
“They’re mad at me,” I whispered, and in two quick strides, Rhode was in front of me.
His hand went to my hip and pulled me forward, bringing me close. His face dipped and with our noses almost touching he gave me more gentle.
“No, baby, they’re not mad at you. They’re mad at Kiki and trying to reconcile how an hour ago they were scared their child was missing and what horrors she was living, to now being angry she’d essentially thrown a tantrum because her mother wouldn’t loan her money.
They’re embarrassed because when Kiki hadn’t answered their calls, wasn’t at her last known residence, hadn’t shown up for work, and when they asked around no one had talked to her, they did what any parent would do and called the police.
That led to a missing persons report and a search.
With all of that, they’re hurt, relieved, angry, and mortified.
“But there’s more. They’re feeling guilt you and Remy are in danger and Letty’s business is affected.
And lastly, Michael is a father whose daughter is in a new kind of danger.
She’s hooked up with a Horsemen. That’s bad in and of itself, but, baby, Kiki went all or nothing and hooked up with the president.
She now has his ear and told him a bunch of bullshit about you and me.
And if she lied about us it’s safe to assume she lied about her parents and Letty, too.
Give Wilson time to talk to Michael and get him to leave Idaho.
Let them process all that has happened and then you can talk to them. ”
It sucked but Rhode was right. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to reach out.
“You still wanna call,” Rhode sighed and dipped his chin, bringing us even closer together.
So close all I had to do was tilt my head back and his lips would be on mine. And I really wanted his lips on mine. And his hands. And other parts besides.
“Baby,” he groaned, and when he did I inched closer. “You’re killing me.”
“How’s that?”
“You have no idea what you’re asking for.”
Oh, yes, I did. There wasn’t a second of our time together I didn’t remember.
I knew exactly what I was asking for and if I didn’t remember it from years ago I hadn’t forgotten from earlier when he’d given me a refresher.
One that was too brief, and now I wanted another taste.
I didn’t care if it was from the adrenaline, from the near-death experience, or from the twinge of excitement I felt every time I was in his presence.
I felt like I did when I first saw him in D.C. I was willing to take what I wanted and feel no shame after.
“I do,” I said confidently. Then because I was feeling extra sassy I added, “I’ve had you, Rhode, so I don’t know how you can say that.”
As it turned out, my cockiness unleashed Rhode’s.
And it must be said, he did it so much better.