And the fact that his mother and sister couldn’t or wouldn’t see the big picture and only wanted to focus on themselves, just rubbed him the wrong way. Yes, he did what he did in the beginning to protect them, but it hadn’t always been that way. Rafa had done some sketchy shit in the last four years. Things he wasn’t proud of and he knew that once those deeds were brought to the light, everything would change, and he would lose any chance he had at reclaiming Stephanie as his own and capturing her heart. And that fact is what kept him from fully disclosing the truth.
Chapter Eleven
Stephanie
She walked into the clubhouse and looked around at all the people. It was so different seeing the place filled. Normally, after a long day, she’d come home, sit down with the family to eat dinner, then head to her room to work on club business. However, as she stood there watching all the people meander about, Stephanie couldn’t help but feel put out. She looked toward the kitchen to see her mom and aunts working their tails off to feed the large group. In a way, she resented having everyone there, but at the same time, she was thankful.
“Hey, kiddo.”
She turned and smiled at her dad as he came over to hug her. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Got a minute?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.” She wasn’t sure what he had to say, but she knew she needed to hear him out. After all, it wasn’t every day that a daughter called her dad because she was being chased by crazy people.
She followed him down the hall and into the Chapel. She walked inside and took a seat as her dad closed the door.
“So, what happened?” he asked, not wasting any time. Typical, she thought and almost smiled.
She quickly gave him the rundown, being careful not to leave anything out. If there was anything she’d learned in all her years, it was that her father expected full disclosure, at all times. Even when the news was shitty. She explained why she left and shook her head when her dad rolled his eyes. She knew to him, her reasonings would sound dumb, but for her they were legitimate. She told him about seeing Franco and then about what had happened at dinner and the shock of seeing Rafa, sitting there at the table.
“Well.” Diesel cleared his throat. “Most important question, how are you?” he asked. “With all this.”
“I honestly, don’t know.” She shrugged. “A part of me is so thankful to have him back.” She shook her head. “To like, have a second chance.” Her eyes fell to her hand that was resting on her lap. “Nobody ever gets a second chance after they lose the love of their life, you know.” She looked at her dad, praying he could see the emotion she felt because she had no idea how to convey it. “But then, another part of me is so angry.” She balled her hands. “He lied to me. He left me to pick up the pieces of a life without him. Who the fuck does that?”
He nodded. “I get that. Have you asked him why he did what he did?”
“Yeah.” She laughed but there was no humor in it. “To save his mom and sister from the caves.”
“That a pretty bad place from my understanding,” Diesel stated.
“I don’t even know what it is, but it sounds stupid.”
“It’s been said that the Holston crew runs a sex shop,” Diesel explained. “A place they call ‘The Cave’.”
“What?” That couldn’t be right. “Why would Franco send his own mother and sister to a sex shop?”
“Because he’s a sick bastard.” Her dad shrugged. “I have no idea. But maybe you should talk to Rafa and find out.”
“I don’t want to talk to him.”
“Stephanie…”
“What?” She knew she sounded like a child, but she was still hurt.
“Talk to him.”
Steph grumbled.
“Stop it,” he told her. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Well, my fiancé just came back from the dead,” she said. “I think I’m a bit entitled to be a tad dramatic.”
Her dad chuckled. “Okay. I’ll give you that one.”
“Honey, sometimes things aren’t always black and white,” he said. “Sometimes, things get shitty. They turn every color of the rainbow, and then some. Sometimes, we block ourselves off to protect ourselves, but we forget to keep an open mind, so we are still capable of understanding the world around us. You, my dear daughter, have barricaded yourself behind so many walls, you can’t even see the sun anymore.”
His words seemed to hit her directly in the heart.
“Knock down the blocks, Stephanie,” he went on. “Because until you do, you’ll never be able to see the full picture. And you will never have the ability to see outside of yourself. So, talk to Rafael. Listen to what he has to say. Hear him out. Absorb it.”
She knew he was right, but she couldn’t do it tonight. Her emotions were still raw. And honestly, all she wanted was a long, hot bath, a glass of wine, and her bed. In that exact order.
“I’ll think about it,” she told him.
“Please do,” Diesel replied. He reached out a hand and pulled Steph from her seat. “Really. You’ve been hurting long enough, sweetheart. Talk to him. Yeah?”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
Her dad pulled her in for a hug and she wrapped her arms around him and held on a bit tighter than normal. It was a rare moment for them, and Steph cherished it for what it was. A father looking after his daughter and trying to help her heal.
He pulled back and held her shoulders. Looking into her eyes, he said, “I love you, kiddo. But it’s time to heal from the past and move on.”
Steph nodded. She knew he was right, but she didn’t know if she could.
Together they walked out of the Chapel and headed back into the living room. Her dad gave her a quick shoulder squeeze and then headed back to the table with Reaper and Sledge.
The place was loud and chaotic. She looked around the room, unsure of what she was even looking for and confused when all she felt was disappointment. Ink and Sparo were sitting at a corner table with Gunny and a few other bikers playing a card game, Joker, Jasmine, Keily, and Tinker were all laughing about something the baby was doing, and it made Steph smile. Having a baby in the house had brought a lot of joy to the rough group of bikers. Tuck and Doc were off in a corner with their heads together talking with a few different chapter members, and Kailyn and Ava were in the kitchen with her mom and aunts. And several others talked and joked as they watched a hockey match on the big screen TV while eating game-day snacks and drinking whatever they preferred at the moment. The clubhouse was packed, and Steph was fairly sure they were over capacity. It seemed it was life as usual around the clubhouse, but this time, Steph felt out of place. She didn’t have the same joy that she normally did when she came home. Seeing everyone so happy annoyed her. Not because they were happy, but because she wanted that. She used to have that. And now, because of one person, it was gone. And as she looked around the room again, trying to decide what to do about it, the person who caused her discontent walked into the room. Shirtless and completely short-circuiting her brain.
Chapter Twelve
Rafael
He saw her the moment he walked into the room. Even after all their time apart, his eyes were still trained to find her. They always would be.
He took a step toward her but stopped when her eyes darted away from him. He wanted to respect her boundaries. He wanted to give her the space she needed to come to terms with him being back in her life. But it was hard.
During his workout, Rafa had concluded that if he wanted any future with Stephanie, then he needed to bare his soul to her. She wouldn’t settle for anything less and shouldn’t have to. He owed her at least that much and was fully prepared to give it to her.
But apparently, she wasn’t ready to receive it.
He watched as she walked to the kitchen and pulled something out of the fridge before turning to her mother. The two women exchanged a few words before Steph turned and started walking toward him.
“Hey, can we…”
Rafa blew out a long, heavy sigh.
He turned back, intent on grabbing a drink, but when he saw that several heads had turned his direction and were staring at him, he just turned back around and headed toward his room.
On his way down the hall, something caught his eye. He walked over to a door that led outside and pulled it open. Stepping outside, he stared at the huge fire that blazed in a pit about twenty yards from the house. A few people were meandering around, but Rafa ignored them. Making his way over to the fire he sat down on a log and just stared into it. Something was calming about the flickering of the flames. So chaotic, yet so unformed.
Beauty in chaos, he thought to himself.
He had to figure out a way to get through to Stephanie. Now that he was back, he couldn’t bear to be without her another day. He had to get her to understand, to forgive him. That was the thing that consumed him the most. How in the fuck would he get her to forgive him?
“If you’re looking for world answers in there, you aren’t going to find them.”
Rafa looked over his shoulder and inclined his chin. “What’s up, man?”
“Not a damn thing,” Ink said, taking a seat next to him.
They both sat there for a moment, neither saying a word. Out of all the club members, the Parks brothers were the ones that Rafa had known the best. The three of them used to run around together back in high school. But since Rafa’s ‘death’ those friendships had crumbled, too.
He sighed.
When he’d made the deal with Franco, he hadn’t realized just how much he would lose. Literally, Rafa had lost everything. His hope. His faith. His love. His… entire life.
“So, you want to explain to me what the fuck is going on?” Ink asked.
“Yeah, I’d like to hear that explanation, too.”
Rafa turned his head to see Sparo stepping over the log and eyed the other man as he took one of the empty seats.
“I wouldn’t mind hearing this.”
Rafa looked behind him. “Anyone else?”
“I mean, if you’re offering,” Jasmine said, skipping over and taking a seat at the feet of the other guy who had joined them.
Rafa could only assume that the man was Joker. Which meant he was also Stephanie’s brother.
Lovely. He rubbed his temples. He knew he should have just gone back to his room…
“I’m Joker, by the way.”
“I figured,” Rafa replied.
Joker nodded.
“So?” Ink prompted. “Talk, man. What the fuck happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Rafa groaned.
“We’ve got a lot of cold beer.” Sparo smiled, holding up a bottle. “And all night.”
“I think I’m going to need one of those.” Rafa sighed again.
He knew there was no way to get out of the conversation. And while he really wanted to talk to Stephanie first, Ink and Sparo were his friends, too. Or at least they had been, but he hoped after they heard him out, that they would be again.
“Hey!” Sparo yelled over to a girl who was hanging out with a smaller group. “Go grab some beers, chica. Please and thank youuuu!”
The girl jumped up and rushed off.
Rafa raised a questioning brow.
“What?” Sparo asked with a shrug. “Club girls are a real thing.”
“Oookay,” Rafa replied, still not understanding, but not really wanting to know what that even meant.
“Here you go, Sparo,” a singsong voice said from behind them.
They all turned to see the club girl standing behind them with a small cooler. Sparo reached over and opened the cooler, grabbing a cold beer out, he passed it to Rafa. Then he turned back to the girl. “Thanks, darling.”
“You’re welcome.” She batted her eyes.
Sparo turned away from her and back to the group. Rafa watched as the smile fell from the girl's face as she walked away after Sparo’s dismissal.
“I think she likes you,” Rafa joked.
“Not today, Satan!” He took a swig of his beer. “No biker bunnies for me.”
“Biker bunnies?” Jasmine asked.
“Yeah, you know,” he explained, “those girls that hop from one biker to another until one of them finally make her their ol’ lady. Yeah, not me. I don’t want any steady woman in my life. I like my freedom too damn much.”
“Mhm.” Ink gave his brother the side-eye.
Rafa had the impression that there was a story there, but he knew they wouldn’t spill it. They wouldn’t allow him to distract for too much longer.
And he was right.
Ink slapped him on the back and said, “Explain, brother.”
Rafa popped the top off his beer and took a long pull. He wasn’t ready for this, but it didn’t look like he had a choice. However, he also knew that if he just got it over with, things would be a lot better. Or at least he hoped they would be. If more people knew his side and understood, then maybe he wouldn’t feel so alienated.
“Four years ago,” Rafa started, “my dad died.”
“I remember that,” Sparo said.
“Stop interrupting him,” Ink chided.
The brothers eyed each other, but Rafa ignored them. It was nice to see that some things hadn’t changed.
“When he passed away, my brother Franco took over the family business. He was working at an accounting office downtown, at the time.”
“I remember that,” Ink said. “Next door to that little donut shop.”
“Now who’s interrupting?” Sparo asked, looking at Ink with questioning eyes.
“Oh my God,” Jasmine retorted. “Both of you shut up so the man can tell his story. Jeeze!”
“Wow,” Sparo said to her. Then he looked at Joker. “You need to give this girl a dick-down.”
“Keep talking shit,” Jasmine warned. “I’ll give you a dick-down. Right in the damn ear.”
Rafa looked at the guys and in turn, they looked at him, and suddenly they were all laughing. He laughed until his stomach hurt, and tears spilled from his eyes. The act did something to his soul. Sitting there, surrounded by friends, it made him feel lighter. Freer.
He looked at Jasmine and smiled. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked.
“I needed that.”
“Apparently.” She smiled at him.
“Alright.” Ink cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “Continue, man.”
“Yeah, anyway.” Rafa wiped his face. “Franco started to come to visit me, once or twice a week. He handed me the business accounts and wanted me to start investing them. I didn’t think anything of it at first. But eventually, things got weird. The accounts were doubling, then tripling. Money was coming in hand over fist. And when I asked him about it, he just shrugged it off and said that business had kicked up and the community was showing its support after Dad’s death. So, I just carried on.” Rafa stared into the fire for a moment then looked over at Ink. “I thought it was pretty cool that the community cared, ya know?”
Ink nodded.
“But then, the visits started turning into an almost everyday thing,” Rafa continued. “And I knew then that something wasn’t right. I mean, everyone loved my dad, but nobody had that much laundry or bodywork that needed to be done to their car. Both businesses were bringing in almost six figures a week. There was no way.” Rafa shook his head. “So, I started digging. I found out that Franco was running drugs, guns, and girls through the businesses. He had taken our father’s hard work and turned the businesses into fronts for his illegal activities.” He took another swig, then tossed the empty bottle to the ground. “I confronted him about everything I found and that’s when it all went to shit. While I was just doing my job, Franco was collecting information to use against me. My name was on all the bank transactions. He had paper proof, a trail, that led from the money direct
ly back to me.”
“Damn…” Jasmine whispered.
“Exactly,” he said to her. Then he continued, “He was pissed that I gathered information on him so to get back at me, he hit me where it hurt the most.” He looked directly at Joker. “He ordered a tail on Stephanie. Was having her followed. He found out about her involvement in confidential government cases. He found out about the club’s involvement.”
“Shit,” Ink cursed.
“Yep.” Rafa nodded. He leaned back and pulled another beer from the cooler. Popping the top, he chugged down nearly the entire bottle. “He came to me with the information and threatened to use it against me. I told him to fuck off. I thought if I caved, then I would be admitting he had something on her and the club. So, he took the information to the FBI. It all just turned to shit. I had some agents show up and toss the accounting office. I lost my job after that. And when I told Franco that I was turning over the information I had on him to the FBI, he decided to go after my mom and sister next. He cut off Angelica’s money for college and forced her to move back home. And when she pitched a fit, he tossed her into a place he calls ‘The Cave’,” Rafa said in air quotes.
“What’s that?” Jasmine asked.
“It’s a sex shop,” Rafa explained. “Basically, men and women with too much money and a sick perversion go there to purchase sex. The people down there are on display, in glass rooms.”
“Oh wow,” she replied.
“It’s not pretty,” Rafa said. “Angelica was forced to do some things…” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. He cleared his throat. “Franco came at me with a deal. He’d remove Angelica from The Caves, but in return, I had to work strictly for him. Leave my life behind. Die. And stay hidden.” He finished off what was left in the bottle and tossed it into the flames. “I couldn’t leave her down there.” He had to make them understand. “The things they did to her…”
“I get it, man,” Ink told him. He gripped his shoulder and nodded. “I would have done the same for any of the girls here.”
Rafa cleared his throat. “The day I… The day I died, I pretended to go to work. Franco set up some guys to get busted by the cops. He planned it all out. All I had to do was walk down the street,” Rafa explained the day his life had ended. “But then Steph showed up, and I tried to call it off. I didn’t want her to see any of that. But Franco refused. I tried to warn her, but I guess he had someone keeping tabs on me. They saw me try to wave her down, and boom!” Rafa slapped his hand over his chest, right over the spot where the bullet had entered his chest.
Capturing Stephanie: Devil's Henchmen MC Next Generation, Book Three Page 6