“Please, Rafe. You have every reason to hate us, but please, help us stop him,” Cece said.
“If you help us now, I can guarantee immunity for you, Cara, and your mother,” I added. “If not, you all will be hunted by every federal agency for the rest of your lives.”
Rafe looked over at Cara. I glanced at her to find a mask of cool resentment. They both knew that meant they could never live in the US again. They would be forced to live like their father, sneaking in and out of the country every few years.
Rafe turned to me. “How will it happen?”
I let out the breath I had been holding. “We know your father would not come easily. It would be a bloodbath if they tried to take the place by force. So, when he arrives, I send the signal. Special Forces will come in at night to extract him, me, and Cece.”
Rafe nodded and then looked at his sister.
“Cara,” Rafe said softly, walking toward her.
She had tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Is it true, about Dad?” she asked.
Rafe cupped her cheek. “Yes,” he said before he brought his arms around her.
We watched as Rafe stroked his sister’s hair as she sniffled into his chest. I felt Cece take my hand, and I squeezed it tight as we waited for Rafe to comfort Cara.
After a few moments, Rafe asked, “What do you need us to do?”
“Nothing. Just act like none of this happened,” I replied.
Rafe snorted above his sister’s head. “Right.”
He gave Cece one more look before he moved Cara toward the door, closing it behind him.
“Do you think they’ll keep our secret?” Cece whispered.
My arms wrapped around her as she came close. “After what you said to him, I think so. You did great, babe,” I said.
She looked up at me, her eyes a little glassy. “I don’t feel so great.”
“I know,” I said and quickly lifted her off her feet. I sat her down on the bed and kissed her gently. “Get some sleep.”
She gripped my hands. “You’re not staying?”
“It’s probably not a good idea.”
She nodded and let go of my hands. “Yeah, I know.”
I brought the blankets back on to the bed where we had pushed them off earlier in our haste. I covered her up to her neck and kissed her again. I put all my love and lust into that kiss, so she would know how much she meant to me. This girl was the love of my life, and she was pregnant with my child. Now I had to leave her by herself, so we could do right by the world. Pulling away was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I left the room with one last look at Cece before closing the door, praying to God that we got the chance to go home. Cece deserved a shot at being a normal family, even if I had to die to give it to her.
Chapter Forty-Four
Cece
When Silvito arrived late the next afternoon, we all gathered outside the front door to greet him. It was as if we were welcoming home a sixteenth century king, all lined up by rank. Rafe stood toward the front with me at his side, while his mother and sister stood on the other side of him. Jordan stood on the other side of me, and the household staff stood behind us.
Jordan tried to convince me to stay in my room for when he arrived, but Rafe vetoed that idea, stating that his father was a suspicious man by nature. Any type of mysterious illness might tip him off.
When the black convoy pulled down the driveway, I felt Rafe grip my hand a little tighter. Not for the first time I wondered how Rafe was handling this situation emotionally. Ever since he caught me with Jordan, he wouldn't look me in the eye unless we were around his mother. My hand gripped his a little tighter, silently apologizing for this mess Jordan and I had put him in. He didn’t squeeze mine back, and I understood why. We wounded him, Jordan and I. And now we had asked him to betray his own father. It wasn't fair.
But I had a feeling Rafe's stress at his father's approach stemmed from a deeper place. Even before we came here, he’d spoken of his father with a strange ambivalence, as if he was confused on how to feel about him.
Three black Tahoes pulled up with the middle one coming to a stop right in front. Four men dressed in black suits exited the other vehicles and came toward the middle. One stopped to open the back door, and there he was.
Silvito Digali.
He stepped out on to the gravel, shining like a piece of silver in his silky gray suit. He was a little shorter than I imagined but still held himself as a man in charge. He came up the stairs and walked toward Rafe first. They shook hands and exchanged greetings, but Rafe did not introduce me. In fact, Silvito completely ignored me and offered a hand to Jordan.
“Good to see you, son,” he said.
“You, too, sir.”
Then he finally turned to his wife and daughter, giving them both kisses on the cheeks before heading toward the door. I let Rafe and Jordan follow behind him while I let the rest of Silvito’s entourage go in first.
At first, I thought they were all security, but there was one man holding a laptop bag and looking down at his phone as he followed the family inside. He was probably Silvito's assistant. The three other men were tall and bulky, which meant they were his extra security detail. Only one looked at me as he walked by, even gave me a little smirk. He was handsome with cool blue eyes and blond hair. But the smirk didn't feel flirtatious or threatening. It was more reassuring, which was even more confusing.
Marilyn led us all to the large family room where she suggested we make introductions.
Rafe put a hand on the small of my back. “Dad, this is Cecilia.”
I held out my hand, trying to remember to keep it soft. “It's nice to meet you, Cecilia. I'm so happy my son has finally brought a nice woman home,” Silvito said.
I blushed and simply said, “Thank you.”
“Everyone, this is Eric,” Digali said, finally acknowledging the man with the phone. “He is my assistant whom I'm forcing to work over the holiday. Business never stops,” he said, winking at me. I kept the smile on my face even though I wanted to puke. Of course, the celebration of the birth of Christ is no reason to put a hold on selling human slaves.
Rafe rubbed my back a little, no doubt sensing my tension.
Silvito looked at his son. “Rafe. Why don’t we go to my office, talk about how the new business is going before dinner? Bring Jordan, too.”
“Of course,” Rafe said before he looked at me. “Darling, why don’t you go take a nap? You look a little tired.”
“I’m fine,” I said, rolling my shoulders.
“It’s all right, Cece. We both know I kept you up rather late last night,” he said, pretending to whisper. But the subtle glare in his eye said that embarrassing me was a part of his revenge for last night.
I blushed as Marilyn gave me a disapproving look, like I was a whore corrupting her son.
“Go. I don’t want you falling asleep during Christmas Eve dinner.”
I chafed at his condescending tone. “All right.”
The men left the room, and I glanced back at Marilyn and Cara, who had already moved toward the kitchen.
I felt a little embarrassed at being told to take nap like I was a child, but Rafe was right. I was exhausted. After Jordan left my room last night, I was restless, too anxious to sleep. And when I did, I dreamed of all the different scenarios of what could happen tonight, of all the things that could go wrong. Needless to say, they didn’t end well.
When I got to my room, I simply lay down on the bed, not bothering to pull the covers back.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I said. I sat up on the bed, expecting Jordan, but Rafe was walking slowly toward me. He stopped a few feet away from the bed.
“I'm sorry for what I said to you last night, and earlier,” he said, finally meeting my gaze.
I swung my legs over the side to face him. “No, it was warranted.”
He was quiet
for a moment. “I’m not so sure,” he said.
I suddenly realized that Rafe was feeling some guilt of his own. Or maybe he still had some lingering feelings for me.
I stood up and came close to him. “Rafe. Let me explain something. The Cece you've gotten to know isn't real. When I came to Vegas, I developed a new personality to fit in, but this isn't the real me.”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Like the heels. I hate heels. And the clothes, they are pretty, but I'd much rather be in jeans.” I did love the look when I came to Vegas, but months of heels and tiny shorts riding up my ass had taken their toll. “And I don't like wine, even before I was pregnant. I'm also not as nice as I've been pretending.”
He smiled. “Really?”
“Really. You call me sweet, but I am most definitely sour. That is the real Cece. That is the Cece that Jordan loves.”
He put his hands in his pockets and looked down.
“You are a good guy, Rafe, but you want a woman who dresses nice and knows the difference between pinot grigio and Moscato.”
“You know the difference.”
I laughed. “Because of you. You've taught me a lot. This whole experience has taught me a lot. Most important being how great my life in Clayton was. I always thought it was so boring and stupid. But now I know it was a good, safe life.”
And it was true, surprisingly. I spent so many years wanting to escape that place. Now all I wanted was to get back to it. I missed Lauren and Mark and Sonny. I missed Jordan, too. The Jordan who pursued me with a single-minded intensity. The Jordan I lived with in my mom’s shitty trailer.
“You think you’ll be happy as a wife and mother in some small town?”
“Jordan hasn’t asked me to be his wife,” I said with smile. “But yeah. All the intrigue of the last few months has not been exciting. Maybe it would have been if I wasn’t pregnant. But it has been mostly scary.”
“Then why did you stay?”
“Because of Jordan,” I said. “I need him. And not just to be a baby daddy. When he left, I was … lost.”
He looked down again. “Then I’m sorry. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here,” he said.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “None of this is your fault. I don’t blame you, and I know Jordan doesn’t either. In fact, I know Jordan thinks of you as one of his closest friends.”
“Until I went after his girl,” he said and cupped my cheek, the flirtatious Rafe looking down at me. He stepped back after a moment. “You should probably start getting ready. Dinner is in an hour.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I watched him walk away. For the first time since I came to Vegas, I felt like things were going to work out. If Jordan had only been truthful to everyone in the beginning, maybe things wouldn’t be so complicated right now.
I took a deep breath and headed to the bathroom to shower. After this dinner, the play-acting would be over, and we could go back to the way things used to be. But I had a feeling, things would never be the same again.
Chapter Forty-Five
Jordan
After I signaled Parker, I decided to see Cece before dinner, just to reassure myself that we were okay. If the worst happened tonight, I wanted to die knowing that Cece felt the same way I felt for her.
When I neared Cece's door it opened, and Rafe stepped out. He saw me and looked a little sheepish.
“What's going on?” I asked.
“I just wanted to speak to Cece.”
“About?”
“Going back to Clayton,” he said with a smirk.
I snorted. “And what did she say?”
“That she wanted to be out of this way of life.” His face turned serious. “She also said that you loved the real Cece, not the sweet and sophisticated version I fell for.”
I nodded, glad Cece set him straight. I thought about asking for his forgiveness for lying to him all this time, but I wasn’t sure it would be accepted. And he didn’t seem angry with me, at least not now. I decided not to push the issue. There would be time for apologies later.
I walked past him to the door.
“Is she really so different?” he asked, before I turned the handle.
“Oh, yes. That girl is a viper in real life.”
“And you're not scared of her venom?”
“I've been bitten so many times, I'm immune,” I said and opened her door.
I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face when I heard the shower going. I came into the bathroom to see Cece through the glass, naked and wet.
“Just saw Rafe on his way out,” I said leaning against the counter to watch the water slide over her body. She looked at me over her shoulder as she massaged soap into her hair. “He said that you told him the truth, that you are not the sweet and innocent girl you pretend to be.”
She shrugged. “I knew telling him the truth about being a heinous bitch would kill any sort of feelings he had left.”
She stepped under the spray, letting the water push the suds down her body, caressing her like I wish I could be. “I’m not so sure about that,” I said, feeling my cock harden.
She rolled her eyes and reached for the conditioner.
“And I don’t think ‘heinous bitch’ is the appropriate term either,” I said.
“What would you call me?”
“I used the word viper.”
“Viper, huh?” she asked.
“In fact, I think that will be your new road name. I'll have it stitched onto your cut when I have it made.”
“How come you don't have a road name?” she asked as she combed the conditioner through her locks.
I shrugged. “Road names have to come naturally, and one never did.”
She stepped out of the shower, grabbing the robe off its hook and putting it around her body.
“Well, I have a new name for you,” she said. “Before we go downstairs, I want you to open your Christmas present.” She walked past me into the bedroom. She pulled out a small package from beneath the mattress.
“I didn't get you anything,” I said, feeling ashamed.
“I know,” she said, rolling her eyes.
I opened the box to find a black onesie that said, “Daddy’s New Riding Buddy” in white writing with a picture of a motorcycle.
“This was how I planned on telling you about the baby, before Rafe ruined it.”
I looked down at the onesie in amazement. It was so small.
“I know it’s silly…” she said.
“Is the baby going to be this small?” I asked suddenly.
“Um … well, that size is a three month, so the baby might be smaller.”
“Fuck,” I said.
I looked up to see Cece smirking at me. “I can’t believe it. Jordan Mitchell, badass enforcer of a one-percenter MC, secret boxer spy, is scared shitless.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I am.”
She laughed, too. I looked back her, and I couldn’t help but feel this overwhelming feeling that she was the most beautiful and amazing woman in the world. And she was all mine. “Good thing my woman is fearless,” I said.
Cece came closer, putting her arms around my neck. “I’m not fearless. I’m just determined to give my child everything I didn’t have, including a loving father.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said, tucking the small fabric into my coat pocket.
“Yes, you will.” Then she put her mouth near my ear and whispered, “Or I will castrate you.”
I hissed as she gave my ear a little nip.
“There’s my viper.” I grabbed a handful of her wet hair and then kissed her. She moaned into my mouth and I grabbed for the belt of her robe, wanting my hands on her.
“No, we don’t have time, Jordan,” she said, pushing my hands away.
“All right,” I said, knowing she was right. If I got inside her now, I’d need a couple hours to stay there. Instead, I cupped her stomach with my hand before she could close the robe again.
“Just a few more days, little one.”
I looked back up at Cece, who had tears in her eyes.
“Babe,” I said.
“Get out,” she said weakly. “You make me want to cry, laugh, and … hump your leg all at the same time.”
I let her push me again but not before stealing one more kiss.
“I love you,” I said before opening the door and stepping out.
I smiled as I heard her call out, “I love you, too.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Cece
I was supposed to wait for Rafe to come to my room to escort me to dinner, but I decided to go down alone a few minutes early. My anxiety wasn’t getting any better by pacing in my bedroom, so I figured some ginger ale might help settle my stomach before I had to face Silvito again. Not to mention, the number of people who know about my pregnancy had now doubled, making it more real.
The black, tea length dress that I chose had a sweetheart neckline and slight shimmer to the fabric that it made it perfect for the holiday. It did a good job of hiding my bump, but I still had to stand up straight or it would become obvious.
I came into the family room to find Cara already there. She was staring at the fire with arms crossed, a glass of white wine hanging from one hand. She had on a long dark green dress that complemented her olive skin and hugged her curves.
“Hi,” I said, approaching her slowly.
She glanced my way but then turned back to the fireplace.
I understood why she would despise me. Not only did I lie to her brother, but I took away her date for the weekend.
It was probably a waste of breath, but I couldn’t help the apology that came tumbling out of my mouth.
“I’m sorry, Cara. For everything,” I said softly.
“I know,” she responded, her face tight.
“No, really. We are asking a lot of you, and I appreciate your willingness to help.”
She just nodded, still not looking at me.
Cara was angry; she also seemed tense. But that was understandable. If things went as planned tonight we would probably be breaking up her family for good. After going through a divorce, the last thing she needed was for us to fuck up things further.
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