by Unknown
Lacy finally eased back. “You’re crazy. You do realize my stomach is still gurgling, don’t you?”
“I can hear it. It’s scaring me to death or I’d still be kissing you.” Rafe pulled her to the door. “Let me see what I can do about that.”
“Is there such a thing as a Coke in this village?” Lacy snuggled against him. “That should help.”
“You’ve got it. And how about a shower? I know you have to be itching from that salt water bath you took on the boat.”
“God, yes, a shower.” Lacy looked up and traced the new lines between his eyebrows that had seemed to appear overnight. “Join me and I may actually be on my way to recovery.”
“I’d like nothing better.” He opened the bathroom door and called a name. “Come with me. I’ll show you to our room.” He said something in Spanish to the servant who’d appeared, then he led Lacy up the stairs. They had a suite of rooms with an attached bath. Before Lacy could strip off her sticky clothes, the woman arrived with a bottle of soda and a glass of ice. Once the door was closed and locked, Rafe made quick work of stripping her down. Lacy gulped the cold liquid then stepped into the shower which he’d started at the perfect temperature.
“Are you coming in?” Lacy held out her hand. A knock on the hall door got Rafe’s attention.
“Just a minute.” Rafe stalked over to the door. A whispered conversation started to get loud.
“Take care of your clan business, Rafe. I’m going to get clean then lie down for a nap.” Lacy watched him disappear into the hall, then washed off quickly, wrapping herself in a robe hanging on a hook behind the door.
A nap? As if she could sleep with this whole demon thing to process. His mother was threatening her children. Oh, not to hurt them but what if she wanted to take one as a protégé? The idea didn’t bear thinking about. Lacy closed her eyes and tried to imagine Rafe’s mother. Beautiful and cold. Her own mother was beautiful but warm and full of fire. The two going head to head would be quite a sight. But a demon and were-cat? It was a mismatch. Hell was bound to be the winner.
Lacy succumbed to exhaustion brought on by the resent stress of childbirth and being tossed about in a tiny boat in the Atlantic. Oh, and then there was the jet lag because she’d flown from Austin to the Canary Islands too. No wonder she couldn’t keep her eyes open. It was almost a relief to let her mind go blank and sink into sleep and nightmares.
Chapter Fifteen
They were at the airport early. When the plane landed, the man who got off was a stranger, but Rafe knew this was the father who’d left him all those years ago. The crew got busy refueling and taking on a new pilot for the long flight to Austin.
“Rafael.” Emiliano held out his hand. Rafe ignored it. “Where are you going? Your grandfather isn’t in the ground yet. Where is your respect?”
“Are you really going to lecture me? Where were you when he was dying?” Rafe turned his back to pull their bags out of the jeep and hand them to Ed who was flying back with them. “Lacy, why don’t you get on the plane? I know you’re exhausted. The bed in the back cabin is comfortable. You don’t have to wait for take-off to settle in.”
“Good idea. I’ll look it over.” Lacy followed his lead and ignored his father, walking past the man to climb the steps into the sleek plane with the fancy gold “C” on the side. “Are you coming?”
“In a minute. My father wants to talk. Maybe it’s time.” He nodded to Ed. “Can you make sure the plane is ready to go as soon as possible?”
“You got it, boss.” Ed hurried away to confer with the ground crew.
“You should stay. What does your grandmother say about your leaving now?” Emiliano nodded toward the black limo waiting a few yards away. He was getting first class treatment. “Change your mind. Show a united front to the clan. The family needs to remain close at a time like this.”
“Remain close? When have we ever been close?” Rafe looked his father up and down. He could have been looking in a mirror, except that Emiliano hadn’t bothered to stay in shape. He looked soft. A shifter didn’t stay frozen in time like vampires did. Muscles came through workouts. Rafe had always made it his business to be in top form and ready to defend himself. He’d worked as a bodyguard for years because of that.
Emiliano had obviously been more concerned with his wardrobe, tonight a black suit tailored in London, and his hair, cut by a gifted stylist. He’d defend himself with a checkbook, not his fists. He’d probably used Lily and her credit line for financial support. Rafe didn’t want to think about where that money came from.
“Where is Lily? I thought you two were joined at the hip. Now I hear she’s in Austin and you’re here without her.” Rafe forced his fists to relax by his sides.
“We are done. I don’t want to discuss your mother.” Emiliano looked around the airport. “This place is unrecognizable. So much change.”
“Yes. But wait until you see clan headquarters. I’m afraid it won’t meet your high standards.” Rafe realized he was tense again and breathed. “Seriously? After a thousand years you and Lily just called it quits? I don’t believe you. You gave up everything for her. Even your own son.”
“You sound bitter, Rafael. Haven’t you ever been in love?” Emiliano brushed an invisible speck off his jacket. “But then what I had with Lily wasn’t love, was it? With a demon you are not in love, you are ensorcelled. She finally freed me.” He nodded. “So here I am.”
“Good timing. You can take Grandfather’s place.” Rafe didn’t believe a word out of his father’s mouth.
Emiliano smiled. “Yes. It will be my pleasure. Santa Cruz looks prosperous. I’m sure the clan is doing well, despite what the home place may look like.”
“Yes, there’s money. Don’t spend it all too fast, Father, on your wardrobe.” Rafe walked toward the plane which had started warming up its engines.
“Wait. You could stay. Help me with the clan businesses. Your grandmother tells me you have been running a successful one in America.”
Rafe turned, not sure he’d heard correctly. “Seriously? You want my help? Why the hell would I do that? You never sent me as much as a post card in all the years you’ve been gone. You claim you were under a spell? I don’t believe you. I think you were your father’s son, so busy chasing tail that you had no time for anything else. You’re just lucky it hasn’t killed you like it did Matias.”
“That’s enough!” His father raised his hand then saw something in Rafe’s face that made him fail to follow through.
Rafe knew what Emiliano had seen, he’d let his eyes go red. “What’s the matter, Father? Afraid of your demon child?” He laughed. “Yeah, I have the goods your woman passed on to me and I know how to use them. You should be afraid. I wouldn’t advise hitting me. It might be your last act on Earth.”
“You threaten your own father? Of course you would be unnatural. You aren’t human, are you?” Emiliano drew himself up, trying to look powerful. It didn’t work.
It took everything in Rafe not to pop out his horns then and there. Not human? Oh, he’d like to do a demo that would blow his father’s mind. “I am what you and Lily made me. Matias was the only father I ever knew and he’s gone now so I’m leaving.” Rafe gestured toward the plane. “I’m going home and that home isn’t here, that’s for damn sure. I have a family now that means something to me. The clan doesn’t. You guaranteed that when you walked away from me centuries ago. I learned the hard way that it’s easy to forget clan ties.”
“Go. I’m done with demons. You were a mistake I’ve always regretted. Mother told me you couldn’t even save your grandfather with all your so-called powers and Matias loved you, more fool him. You will not be missed at his funeral. In fact, the clan will be glad to have seen the last of you.” Emiliano turned and stalked toward the waiting car.
Rafe watched him go and damned himself for ever talking to the son of a bitch. What had he expected? That Emiliano would regret abandoning him as a baby? Even ask his forgiveness? His
selfish father never regretted anything except fathering a half-demon child. And now he’d lead the clan, probably run it into the ground indulging his expensive tastes. But forget all that. Rafe was no longer interested in the clan. Not at all.
He looked toward the plane and saw Lacy standing in the doorway. She held out her hand, beckoning him to join her. Had she heard his father’s cold dismissal? If she had, she never mentioned it as she pulled him into a seat, handed him a cold drink and then called her mother to tell her they were on the way home. Her hand was in his when they took off smoothly. After they were airborne, she invited him to the large double bed in the back cabin and seduced him.
Making love with Lacy went a long way toward convincing Rafe that he was not a piece of trash that his parents had discarded so they could wander the world in search of their own pleasure. She loved him and proved it with her clever hands and mouth. Rafe groaned when she pulled him on top of her and begged him to take her. She scored his back with her claws, purring in his ear with satisfaction. Before they were through he rolled her so that she rode him. He carefully grasped her plump breasts and held on, loving the way her eyes closed and she bit her lip when she came.
How could he be worthless when such a woman believed in him, loved him and trusted him enough to have his children? He pulled her down by his side and stroked her hip. God, he may not deserve her, but he had her and he was going to keep her. She’d be safe with him and his children would be too or he’d die protecting them. Die? No, he’d live and be around for a long, long time. Somehow he’d make sure of it. Sleep claimed him on that thought.
They landed in Austin on a sunny day, a half a world away from his clan and Grandfather’s funeral. Rafe put that sad event out of his mind as he helped Lacy into his SUV. A phone call had made it possible to get one of his employees from the club to bring the car to the airport. Ed was being picked up by a friend and waved before taking off. Rafe knew he owed the man a big bonus for coming to Santa Cruz and helping out. He’d see to it if his club hadn’t gone into the crapper while he’d been gone.
But forget business, he had much more important things to worry about now. He drove toward Lacy’s mother’s house while she used her cell to check in. Her tense smile wasn’t reassuring.
“Yes, we just landed and we’re on our way. Is she there now?” Lacy squeezed Rafe’s thigh. “Good. We’ll grab the kids and go. Did Lily leave a phone number where she can be reached? I don’t want her showing up and bothering you again.”
“Okay. I’ll have Rafe call her and let her know our plans. Thanks, Mama. See you in a few minutes.” Lacy ended the call then turned to him and sighed deeply. “She isn’t there now. Mama is packing up everything so we can grab the babies and take them home.”
“She got Lily’s phone number?” Rafe wished he had time to think. “I want to warn her to stay away from Sheila. Like you said.” But he hadn’t spoken to his mother in centuries. He had a headache again and couldn’t blame it on that lump on his head this time. That had subsided. No, this was dread. Lacy got sick to her stomach when she was stressed. He got blinding headaches and this one was coming on strong.
“She’s texting it to me.” Lacy’s phone chimed. “Here it is. Maybe you should pull over and call her now, Rafe. I don’t want her to be there when we drive up.”
“You think if I call her and order her to do something she’ll just say, okey dokey?” Rafe knew sarcasm wasn’t the way to go here but he was close to losing it. Fuck. He should have had a vasectomy centuries ago. Though he doubted they did such a procedure back then, not without a mallet for a nut cracker.
He didn’t regret having children. He loved each one of them but so far he’d just seen their pictures. He couldn’t wait to hold them. The girl, Daniela, was the image of Lacy, already his little princess. And the boys… He could imagine doing the Little League thing, all the sports he’d wished they’d had when he was a kid. Normal stuff. He’d even coach if he could watch enough videos on the Internet to learn the rules and the skills for whatever sports the boys wanted to play. Before they were born he’d started making plans, bought a couple of balls, and looked at some houses with basketball goals and big yards…
Some would say those were foolish dreams when a man is half demon. He should have known hell would come calling eventually and want its piece of his soul. But he wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d finally come to terms with his demon side and, by damn, he was going to learn to accept it and use it to his advantage. He was strong, he knew he was a good man and no demon was going to get the better of him, not even his own mother.
No one, not even Lucifer himself, was going to take away his children’s happiness. He’d make sure of it. He pulled into a convenience store parking lot and dug his phone out of his pocket.
“Tell me her number. I have to make this call from my cell. I don’t want her to have access to yours.” He grimly put the digits into his phone and listened to ringing. When her voice came on, he almost couldn’t talk, but finally made himself speak. “Lily, this is Rafael.”
“I expected I’d hear from you, son. How proud you must be of your children. The boys, so sturdy and looking just like you. And the girl… I can see she will break many hearts as she grows to maturity. Lovely.” Her laugh was merry.
“Stay away from my children.” That came out a growl.
“Now is that any way to talk to your mother? I have discovered I quite like being a grandmother. It is fascinating to see the gene pool ripple forth. Don’t you think?” She hummed.
“I think you have no right to call yourself a mother. You left me without a backward glance centuries ago. It is much too late to claim a kinship now. You will never have a relationship with any of my kids.” Rafe felt the plastic case crack in his hands and eased up. God, but he hated her. She sounded so smooth, so sure of herself. While he was on the edge of an explosion that could make the car shake. If he turned demon here and now what would Lacy think? Do? He couldn’t. She loved him and trusted him but the less she saw of his demon side the better. Even he didn’t like to look in a mirror when he had his demon on.
“Look out your car window.” Lily was suddenly serious. “Come. We need to speak privately. Without your little cat twitching her ears. We must meet face to face.”
Rafe saw his mother a few feet away, beside the store at the edge of a wooded area. “Fine.” He turned off the phone and tossed it into Lacy’s lap. “I’ll be right back.”
She looked past him and her eyes widened. “Is that--?”
“My demon mother? Yes. She wants to discuss things. I’m going to set her straight about our children.” Rafe unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door. “Stay here, lock yourself in. If I’m not back in fifteen minutes, go on to your mother’s. I’ll see you at home at our place later. This may take a while. Lily and I have a lot of history to discuss.”
“Be careful. She’s powerful, you said.” Lacy reached out for him and he stopped long enough to drop a kiss on her lips.
“So am I, babe, so am I. Don’t worry. What is it Lily told your mother?” He deliberately lowered his voice. “I’ll be back.” Then he grinned and climbed out of the car. He walked over to where his mother had disappeared into the woods. Good idea. If things headed south and they both went demon, they didn’t need an audience.
“Look at you, so strong, so sure of yourself.” Lily stepped out from behind a tree. “I heard how you handled that witch Shiloh. Impressive.”
“Somehow I knew you’d like that. Do you have spies everywhere? Or was Shiloh working for you? You never did like Matias.” Rafe crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a tree trunk.
“No, I hated him. Matias laid down the law and I let him bully us. Foolish of me. I never should have chosen your father instead of you. What was I thinking?” She threw up her hands. “Emiliano. One phone call from his mommy and he decides to go back to the clan. Claims I had him under a spell. As if I’d bother.” She blinked her long las
hes, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“Yes, he told me that story.” Rafe was fascinated by her. Was this her power? This mesmerizing speech and look that men couldn’t look away from?
“We were together because we wanted to be. He has a taste for what I can give him.” She laughed. “I won’t say what it is. But I don’t doubt he’ll come crawling back once he bleeds his clan dry. The man is very expensive. I won’t have him though. I will laugh in his handsome face.” She opened and closed her hands, as if struggling for control.
“It’s what he deserves, I’m sure.” Rafe almost felt sorry for her. He couldn’t believe it.
“Never mind. I know now he was a mistake. I let his charm blind me to his weaknesses. He is not strong like you are, Rafael. But then he doesn’t carry my blood.” Her cold smile made Rafe shiver.
“Did you arrange for Shiloh to kill my grandfather?” Rafe took a step toward her.
She shook her head. “Why would I work with a low level witch? It is beneath me. If I wanted Matias dead, I’ve have killed him a thousand years ago and taken you with me. Instead I listened to Emiliano and left with him. Left you and your precious grandfather in that backwater town to do as you pleased. Too bad that you were not appreciated there.”
She sighed. “Stupid peasants. They did not realize that demon blood is to be celebrated. Look at how you used it to get revenge for Matias!” She paced the forest floor. “There should have been a parade, fireworks. You should have been honored and made leader of the clan. Instead, they bring back Emiliano?” She spit on the leaves beneath her feet. “Pah! He has done nothing to deserve the honor of heading the clan. He will have the title, the riches and you, our son, get the bum’s rush out of town.”
“Save the fake maternal rant. You’re a thousand years too late. I wanted to leave. But, thanks to you scaring Lacy’s mother and looming over my children like a vulture from hell, I couldn’t even stay for Grandfather’s funeral.” Rafe held his ground when her eyes glowed red, even though a wise man would have run for his life. “What the fuck do you want with my kids?”