by Bella Rose
Table of Contents
Wed to the Russian Biker
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
ANOTHER STORY YOU MIGHT LIKE
Mobster’s Revenge Baby
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Wed to the Russian Biker:
A Mafia Romance
By Bella Rose
All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2016 Bella Rose.
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Chapter One
The day could not have been more perfect. The sky was bleached pale and colorless. A cold breeze tickled the bare legs of anyone brave enough to wear a dress. Fall leaves skittered over the dying grass, and rows of plain granite headstones stretched away into the distance.
Leah Rawlins made it a point not to make eye contact with anyone standing at her father’s graveside. None of them thought more of her than dirt. More than two dozen motorcycles were parked alongside the narrow dirt road across the street from the cemetery. Leah straightened her spine and forced herself to listen to the minister drone on and on about a life well lived and a peaceful transition to the next realm. She wondered if the poor man were worried that lightning would strike him for somehow insinuating that Deacon Rawlins had been any sort of God-fearing man. Calling Deacon a servant of the Devil would have been more on target.
The minister turned what was probably an intentionally bland smile toward Griffin Prentiss. “Deacon’s good friend Griffin would like to say a few words before we bury this man who will be sorely missed.”
There was not an eye around that plain oak casket that didn’t roll. Leah herself was hard pressed to suppress the sarcastic snort that wanted to pop out. Griffin Prentiss hadn’t liked Deacon Rawlins at all. In fact Leah would have put good money on the possibility that Griffin had been counting the days until Deacon’s demise. And Leah wasn’t the betting sort.
“Friends,” Griffin said in a firm voice. He stared at those assembled and made eye contact with more than a few key players. “We’ve come here to bury a friend, a leader, and a father.”
Leah glanced at her younger brother Thorn. The sixteen-year-old was quite possibly the only person present who had a reason to miss Deacon. For all that Deacon Rawlins had been a bastard to just about everyone on the planet, he had loved his son more than life and had treated the boy like a king in training.
Griffin continued. “I know that we will all miss Deacon’s leadership and wisdom. He was known far and wide as heading up the best custom bike shop in the state. He was fearless on the road, and Deacon would face anything and anyone he met head on.”
Leah had to give Griffin credit. The guy knew how to spin a story. He wasn’t saying anything that people could argue with.
“I only hope that as I step into Deacon’s boots as the new leader of this club, that I can hope to command the sort of loyalty that Deacon did. I want all of you to know that I have every intention of taking this club to the next level. I want loyalty between members. I want honesty no matter the price. And most of all I want to see us grow and strike fear into the hearts of anyone who might want to oppose us!”
The assembled bikers roared in approval. Leah kept her gaze straight ahead. She wasn’t part of this group and hadn’t been since a police escort had made it possible for her mother to leave Deacon Rawlins. Now Leah could feel the heavy weight of the gang’s scorn on her back as though it were a physical blow. She had only come to lend moral support to her brother. He was all that mattered to her anymore.
Griffin Prentiss stared at Leah Rawlins from the corner of his eye. To say the woman was proud was barely scratching the surface. He knew that most of the core members of the Hellfire Crew figured Leah was a self-absorbed snob just like her mother. Very few people realized just how badly Deacon Rawlins had treated his wife Molly.
Thorn Rawlins shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. The boy was only sixteen. Griffin had no illusions about how badly the kid missed his dad. For Deacon, the sun rose and set with Thorn. Everything was about his son. Now Thorn was essentially alone—except for a sister he barely knew.
Griffin moved back and the minister stepped to the podium once more. The man made a big show of picking up a handful of dirt and tossing it to the coffin. “As we are all born of our mother’s womb, we all return to the earth from whence life comes. Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.”
There was a murmur from everyone present. Most began filing up to throw their handful of dirt down on Deacon’s plain coffin. Griffin scooped up some dirt and moved forward to toss it into the hole. Beside him, Leah did the same.
From seemingly nowhere, Moira Collins put her shoulder into Leah and sent the girl sprawling into the dirt. “Move over. The only people who matter are the ones that actually liked Deac. That means you don’t count, bitch.”
“Moira!” Griffin snapped. “Back off.”
Leah was already on her feet. She brushed off her black dress, and her spine straightened so much that Griffin expected to hear it crackle. Then Leah moved forward without looking left or right. She bowed her head for the span of about five seconds and then gently her handful of soil into the open grave. Without another word, she turned and walked off.
He stepped away from the grave to let others approach and half turned so that he could catch a glimpse of Leah. Had he not known that she was Deacon’s daughter, Griffin would have never suspected the hook-nosed old man could have fathered such a beautiful woman.
The dainty black heels she wore accentuated her long legs. Her dress floated around her slim hips and ample breasts. Still, it had always been the long cinnamon-colored hair and bright green eyes that had fascinated Griffin. She was nothing like the women he usually came into contact with. They were rough and in some cases, straight up uncouth. Even the female members of the Hellfire Crew who embraced their feminine side had a hard edge that made a man wary of getting bitten. Leah just wasn’t like that.
Leah wished that Griffin would stop staring. The man made her uncomfortable, and she hated him. Or just wished that she could hate him. Perhaps if she could focus on the fact that he was the new leader of the stupid Hellfire Crew and probably just as despicably as her father had been, she would forget th
at Griffin looked like a sex god.
The man was six-foot-two and dripped charisma. He had the body of a Greek statue wearing denim and leather. His tangled blond hair hung to his shoulders, and he was continually shoving it behind his ears. He had just the right amount of scruff on his face, and dimples appeared in his cheeks if he ever took the initiative to smile. His blue eyes were deceptively dark. If he allowed himself to laugh, they sparkled like midnight. It was the most beautiful sight that Leah could remember seeing—in another lifetime.
Deliberately turning her back on Griffin, Leah searched the quickly dispersing group for her brother. Finally locating him over by the long line of motorcycles parked across the street, she hurried to close the distance between them. Lifting her hand, she called out to him. “Thorn! Wait up!”
Her brother didn’t even bother to hide the eye roll he gave her. “What do you want?”
“You have to come home with me,” Leah said, trying to be gentle. “Now that Dad is gone, I’m your only family.”
“I’ve got the crew.” Thorn shrugged as though that was the deciding factor.
“I’m sorry, but the state doesn’t consider the crew a suitable legal guardian for a sixteen-year-old,” Leah reminded him. “Look, we’ve talked about this.”
“Yeah?” Thorn stuck his chin out, looking belligerent. “I changed my mind. I’m going to live in Dad’s house. I don’t need a fucking guardian.”
“Yeah?” Leah put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. “Well, when they come to take you to foster care you might change your mind again.”
“Not fucking likely.”
Leah flinched but quickly hid her reaction. It hurt that her brother seemed to hate her so much. “What’s likely is you getting picked up for truancy. Then your crew will get in trouble for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. You’re not old enough to be on your own, Thorn.”
“That’s bullshit.” He spat, hitting the toe of her favorite pair of sling backs.
“Oh? Why?” she snapped. “You think I’m going to lie about this so I can live with you in a house where you’re fighting me every single day? Yeah. Let me tell you, I’m really looking forward to it!”
Griffin couldn’t help but overhear the loud argument between sister and brother. He grimaced as he heard several of the other crew members whisper about going over and just telling the self-righteous bitch to take a hike. The thing was, no matter how much the crew thought of Thorn as their own, he wasn’t. He was Deacon’s kid and Leah was his next of kin. She would have custody until the boy turned eighteen. Griffin just didn’t think she understood what that meant.
Sighing, Griffin strode toward Leah and Thorn. Thorn’s hopeful look at his approach was heartbreaking. The kid wasn’t going to like Griffin for interfering.
“Hey, kid,” Griffin said with a nod.
“Can you please tell my stupid sister that I can take care of myself?” Thorn groused.
Griffin shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. She’s right. The state doesn’t consider you old enough to be on your own. You have to live with a guardian.”
“So you can be my guardian,” Thorn suggested. “Simple.”
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t meet any of their requirements for custody, kid.”
Thorn looked confused. “Custody?”
“I tried to tell you,” Leah said again. “The state granted me custody because I’m your only living relative.”
“That’s bullshit!” Thorn raged. “You live in town!”
“Just go get in my car,” she suggested. “You can say whatever you want there.”
“Wait.” Thorn frowned. “So you’re telling me to go get in the car and bitch because ain’t nobody got time for that?”
“If that’s how you want to think of it, yes.” She pointed toward her car.
Thorn snarled something completely rude and stalked off. She watched him go, and Griffin was surprised to see the compassion on Leah’s face. He’d never really considered what she might think or feel about her younger brother, but it was becoming apparent that she really cared.
“Leah, there are some things that you need to understand about Thorn,” Griffin said in a low voice. He cast a glance around the dispersing members of his crew. They were all staring. He was going to have some serious explaining to do about why he would be prolonging an interaction with Leah. Great.
“I’m listening,” Leah said caustically. “What is it I have to understand?”
“He wants this life,” Griffin said emphatically. “He never had any other expectation than to be the leader of this club. He’s grown up with us.”
“Great. When he’s eighteen, he’ll have my blessing to go and be stupid with the rest of you.”
“It doesn’t work quite like that,” Griffin murmured. “If he’s gone for two years he’s going to have to start over. He’ll have come of age somewhere other than the crew. The only thing that would have made him able to skip the initiation ceremony was the fact that he’s Deacon’s son. Now that Deacon’s dead, he’s going to lose his position.”
“That’s bullshit,” Leah snorted. “Then he has to start over. Big fucking deal.”
Griffin drew back. There was a little more spice in Leah than he had expected. Interesting. The stubborn expression on her face was on par with the mulish looks that Deacon and Thorn could affect when they wanted to stonewall.
“You’re making him lose his inheritance,” Griffin said quickly. “All of your father’s property and financial holdings are tied to the crew.”
“Then it won’t matter when he takes possession,” Leah said primly. “If they’re legally his, they’ll still be his in two years.”
“That’s not how the Hellfire Crew works, Leah, and you know it.” Griffin gave her a long look before turning around and walking away. She wasn’t a stupid woman. She knew exactly what was happening, but it would be up to her to make the decision to do the best thing for her brother.
Chapter Two
“I hate you!”
Thorn shouted so loudly that Leah could have sworn she heard the windows in her tiny two-bedroom bungalow shiver and shake in their casements. She had purchased the little home because it was cute, welcoming, and affordable on a schoolteacher’s salary. Now she wasn’t so certain the little place could contain the irrational anger of a sixteen-year-old boy.
“Thorn, please? Let’s just talk about this. Okay?”
“You left!” Thorn said bitterly. “You and mom just up and left Dad and me. Why do you give a shit what happens to me now?”
“Thorn, I’ve always cared,” Leah insisted. “Do you really think I had a lot of choice about what happened when Mom and Dad got a divorce? I was twelve. I didn’t get to pick where I lived.”
“Well you guys ditched us.” Thorn’s face contorted into a mask of hatred. “Mom thought she was too good for the Hellfire Crew. That’s what everyone says.”
Leah took a deep breath. This was not going well and it had been less than two hours. “Look, I know it’s difficult to understand why adults do things. But Dad wasn’t very nice to Mom.”
“You lie,” Thorn said flatly. “Dad was awesome.”
“Sweetie, Dad loved you. He didn’t treat anyone like he did you. I know you know that. Think about it for a minute. He used to beat Mom black and blue. He even broke her arm once.” Leah didn’t add that her mother had left after their father had taken a belt to Leah one night and sent her to the hospital with welts and bruises that made the Department of Family Welfare come knocking.
“It’s not true!” Thorn turned his back on her and started walking away.
“What are you doing?” Leah asked, feeling a little panicky that he might just disappear.
“I’m going to my room.”
“Okay.” Leah hesitated and then she decided there was nothing to lose. “Do you need anything?”
“No!”
She let him go, taking the opportunity to change out of her funeral dress. When
she checked on him a half hour later she was glad to see he had fallen into an exhausted sleep. He was sprawled out across the double bed still wearing his clothes and his black motorcycle boots. She truly felt sorry for the kid. This wasn’t just a change. It was culture shock, but he wasn’t really trying very hard to make things work.
Leah pursed her lips, thinking about what Griffin had said earlier. It pissed her off to no end, but she knew that he was right to some extent. Maybe she would be better off at least talking to him and seeing what he had to say. And it had nothing to do with how pleasant he was to look at either.
***
Griffin took a long drink of his beer and relaxed back in his seat. It was good to be on home turf, especially when the bar belonged to him. Now that Deacon wasn’t giving away free drinks all the time, he might even start to turn a decent profit.
“Well, look at that,” Jason mused.
Griffin turned and nearly did a double take when he saw Leah push her way through the front door. “I would make some reference to a cat dragging something in,” Griffin joked to Jason. “But we both know there isn’t a cat alive that would touch her.”
“Damn straight.” Jason grunted and took another drink of his own beer. “Get her out of here. She’s ruining the atmosphere.”
“Let me see what she wants. There’s a chance she’s here to renegotiate the custody shit,” Griffin said hopefully.
“You mean because she has no idea what’s going on out at the compound?” Jason looked completely nonplussed.
“Just stay out of my way,” Griffin said irritably. He got up from his seat at the bar and walked straight up to Leah. “What can I do for you, princess?”
“Don’t call me that,” she said coldly. “I want to talk to you.”
“All right.” He gestured to a booth near the door, fully aware that they’d gained the attention of the entire bar.
“Do you have customers in here that don’t belong to the Hellfire Crew?” she asked, looking around.
“Not at the moment.”
“That’s sort of stupid, don’t you think?” Her brow furrowed as she seemed to put some thought into his business plan—as if he had one. “I would think you’d want to branch out and infuse the place with some new money.”