by Jayna Vixen
The elder Vidal had tried to cut him off, but now who was sitting in the driver’s seat, about to triple his income? Me, old man! That’s who.
Vidal grabbed his phone. “Kestler. Got the video. Great work, man. Now, take Boyle and get the bitch and the kid. I’ll be waiting at the cannery.”
Time to catch some fish.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It was always a good idea to rest when Sirena was sleeping, but after twenty minutes, Rhee gave up on taking a nap. The burning ache between her legs had subsided to a dull throb, but it was ever-present. All she could think of right now was sex. With Dax. And lots of it.
A gentle knock at the door signaled Manali’s arrival. “Keiki?”
“I’m here, Manali. Sirena’s still asleep.”
“Ah. The lost boy…was he here?”
Lost boy?
“Yes, he was.” There was a dreamy, wistful quality to her voice that seemed to make Manali smile.
“And you—talked?”
Those shrewd eyes swept Rhee from her head to her toes. She flushed. “Um, yes. Just talked, though.”
Manali seemed satisfied. “Where is he now?”
“Business, I guess.” To Dax, the club was everything. Business would always come first. And that, Rhiannon had realized as she leaned against the door, shattered from his kiss alone, would never work. Sirena deserved a father who would put her first. Rhiannon wanted a man who would be a good model of what a partner should be for her daughter.
Rhee had been surprised and grateful when Dax laid his cards on the table. He stated that he wasn’t leaving, but in a sense, Dax was always leaving to deal with club issues. He was the vice president, after all. Rhee refused to compete with that. She wouldn’t ask him to choose. He would come to resent her if she did that. Rhee sighed heavily in response to Manali’s raised eyebrows.
“The club always comes first,” she explained, swiping her palm across her eyes.
Rhee’s landlady-parent was silent for a few moments as she stroked the large, black stone that was a permanent fixture hanging around her neck. “You are lost—as he is. Hold your vision, keiki. He will find his way to you.”
“I thought—I think he already has. In a way. But, it’s not enough, Manali. Maybe it could be enough for me, but it’s not enough—for her.” Rhee looked meaningfully at Sirena’s door.
As if on cue, Sirena began to stir.
“Go outside, take a walk,” Manali suggested. “Breathe. Ask for what you want.”
Rhee nodded. Manali was a big believer in that new age, law of attraction stuff. Or maybe, it was ancient islander stuff. Whatever the case, a short walk would calm her brittle nerves. “Okay. I’ll head out in a few minutes. She was asking for your grilled cheese earlier.”
Rhee and Manali exchanged a smile as a sleep-tousled toddler emerged, clutching her favorite, pink blankie.
“Mama, gotta pee.” Sirena announced.
This was a new thing. Rhee was constantly amazed by Sirena’s ability to simply decide one day to do things, after all the cajoling and promises in the world had made no difference. She tossed her bottle in the trash at eighteen months and ditched her pacifier soon after, on her own. Now, with no formal attempts to potty train her, it looked like Sirena was going to achieve another big milestone.
“I want my Dora panties.”
Rhee shook her head as she followed Sirena into the bathroom. Why were some things so easy, and others so very hard?
***
Dax groaned as he slowly returned to the world of the living. He figured it must be night because he couldn’t see a damn thing. Fuck, his head ached something awful. Dax tried to reach up to explore the lump on his temple and discovered that he couldn’t move. His arms and legs were roped to the posts of a very uncomfortable chair. Being tied up was not something that Dax Jamison was into. This was bad. Real bad. Slowly, he realized that the darkness was due to the scratchy blindfold covering his eyes. After some maneuvering, the cloth slipped. Light rushed in and it took a moment to adjust. Dax squinted, but he didn’t recognize his surroundings. Then, he became aware of the stench.
It smelled like a thousand rotting corpses. Dax swallowed the wave of bile that rose in his throat as the dank, fishy odor overwhelmed his senses. His fingers were numb from his bonds but whoever tied him up had neglected to rope his feet securely. Dax flexed his right foot and allowed himself a small, grim feeling of hope. The knife in his boot had gone undetected. Now, all he had to do was retrieve it.
He sucked in as deep a breath as he could manage. The darkness, the fear, and the inability to move started to fuck with his head. Without warning, Dax was launched backwards in time. He was just a kid. A kid whose mother wanted to party without him underfoot. Dax shuddered, hearing the echo of his mother laughing as her boyfriend tied his wrists and ankles and shoved his small, bound body in a closet.
He could hear the music that bumped in the living room of the cramped apartment they lived in. The delicious aroma of pizza wafted in as he huddled in the cold, dark space. He was five years old. And he took a stand. He decided to fight for his freedom. His victory then was short-lived. When his mother’s flavor of the week discovered him sneaking pizza into his closet domain, things got ugly. Dax shuddered, almost feeing the crackle of lit cigarettes pressing into his back.
Then, just as he might have allowed himself to succumb to his feelings of helplessness, another memory inserted itself into his mind, like someone had changed the channel from a horror show to a very different kind of story. Rhiannon. Long flowing hair, green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. A girl-child with a stubborn jaw and a laugh that made something inside of him twist with yearning. Family. No one would take Dax from his family.
Dax wouldn’t allow it.
He straightened, feeling the rope tugging at him as he filled with new resolve. As a child, he couldn’t fight back against his mother or the other abusive assholes she dated. No one protected him then. Dax wasn’t about to let his own child grow up without a man to fight for her when she needed it.
A half-smile tugged at Dax’s mouth beneath the heavy tape. Then, he went to work, loosening the rope that held him hostage. He exhaled with relief as his hand slipped free from his inexpertly tied bonds. Whoever had done this—they had another thing coming.
***
Ask for what you want.
If only Manali’s advice were that easy. At first, she wasn’t sure what she wanted from Dax. Then, he put his mouth on her again and it became apparent that she wanted it all. All of him. And that was something Rhee knew Dax wasn’t prepared to give her—-or Sirena. The club would always come first for Dax.
A sharp stab of envy made her gasp at her own behavior. It was ridiculous to be jealous of a motorcycle crew. But….what that crew meant to Dax—that’s what Rhee wanted. To be held dearest to his heart. To secure a place for herself and Sirena in the man’s life. What would that life look like? It was hard to picture a life with Dax and Sirena together. There would be no white picket fence, to be sure. That scenario didn’t feel right anyway. If Dax wanted something long-term, would they return to Darling? The very idea made her anxious. Rhee sighed. It was difficult to imagine her perfect, happy ending to this drama.
But, she would try.
Rhee closed her eyes and listened to her own breath as it rushed in through her nose, filled her lungs, and flowed back out. Her toes curled into the warm sand, the sun heating her bare shoulders. After a moment, she almost gave up. Manali was old and wise, but sometimes her island magic didn’t do the trick. Then, unexpectedly, a feeling of connection began to hum in Rhee’s veins. It felt right to be here. Right here. On this beach. An image of Dax came to her mind. Dax, in those sexy board shorts, carrying surfboard. Sirena, her pink plastic pail. Building sand castles. Dax’s lop-sided grin. And suddenly, Rhee realized that her perfect ending wasn’t so far off, after all. All of the pieces were here, scattered about.
She just had to find a way to fit
them together.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Manali felt it coming. That happened sometimes. As she grew older, it seemed that the very breeze spoke to her. The large, onyx pendant hummed with warning against Manali’s neck, signaling that a massive shift was going to occur. A deep sense of foreboding saturated the air. Manali’s eyes fell on Sirena, who was hard at work dumping and refilling colorful glass beads into her mother’s tote bag.
“Come, mermaid. I have a new game for us to play.”
The little girl leapt from her activity. “New game!”
Something was telling her to go. Now. Manali stuffed some items into Rina’s tote bag and headed for the door. It wasn’t safe here at the moment. As she shuffled Sirena down the beach path, she glanced back at the hale. Her phone was in the main house, but there was no time to spare. Manali touched the stone around her neck and sent a silent message to Rina.
Keiki, be safe.
Manali took Sirena by the hand and opened the door. Whatever was coming would have to catch them first. They stepped out onto the porch, and Manali discovered that her intuition had been correct. It had just come a little too late.
***
Wince wasn’t leaving anything to chance. He made sure he was strapped. He texted Hawk and let Smalls know to wait for a return call. Slade was in the back, with Alanna. He was carrying too. Hell, when weren’t they carrying heat?
“What the hell’s going on?”
“Something’s wrong, man. Dax isn’t returning calls.”
“Who’s she?” Slade indicated the skimpily clad woman sitting beside him with interest.
“She claims she has some Intel for Dax. She’s coming along so we can keep an eye on her.”
“I’m not involved in this!” Alanna spat.
“You are now, sweetheart. Maybe you’re a decoy, is that it?” Wince glared at the girl from the rearview mirror.
“No way. I support Dax and the club. That’s why I’m here.”
Wince made eye contact with Slade, who shrugged. “Whatever, man. Is Turtle meeting us?”
“Yeah. He’s bringing some back up.”
“Great.” There was a click as Slade adjusted his clip. “I’m ready.”
***
Rhee had walked a long way down the beach. It made sense to head back up to the road rather than walk on the sand. No doubt, Sirena was fed and ready to play by now. The thought of Manali’s grilled spam and cheese made her stomach growl. Rhee smiled, recalling how gross spam had seemed at first. It grew on you. Rhee was so intent upon returning to her hale that she failed to notice the brown sedan that idled up behind her until the man driving it called to her.
“Miss Blake?”
Rhee’s adrenaline spiked immediately. To everyone out here, she was “Sabrina Jeffries.”
She regarded the man in the car suspiciously. “Sorry, no.”
“Miss Blake, I really need to speak with you.”
Poised to run, Rhee’s eyes darted from one side of the tree-lined street to the other. The closest house was a hundred yards away. There was no way she could outrun a car. Her fingers slipped into her pocket, fumbling for her phone. Fuck. Where was her phone…
“I know who you are, Miss Blake. I’m not going to hurt you. Please, we don’t have much time.”
“Who the hell are you?” Rhee demanded. From the periphery of her vision, she spied a large branch and began to inch towards it. If he got out of the car, she would grab it and make her best attempt at a grand slam, using the man’s head. In response, he reached into his jacket. Rhee ducked, her fingers wrapping around the branch. “Back off!” she screeched.
The low chuckle was infuriating. “Come now, Miss Blake. Is that any way to treat someone who’s trying to save your life?”
She didn’t realize her eyes were closed until she had to force one of them open. The sunlight glinted off something shiny and pointed. Rhee caught her breath. A badge? This was either really good news…or really bad news.
“Are you with Darling P.D.?” she asked. Maybe they had found Mickey. Oh, God, her sister was dead. Rhee felt icy shivers trickle down her spine.
“Darling? No, sweetheart. I’m ATF. Would you get in the car, please?”
Rhee looked up and down the deserted street. “My daughter…I can’t just go with you…”
“Miss, with all due respect, if you don’t get in this car right now, I can’t guarantee your daughter will be there when you get back.”
Shaking with fear, Rhee complied. “What do you mean? I just left my daughter and Manali.”
Rhee wasn’t sure what was going on but the last thing she wanted to do was implicate Dax or the club. The presence of an ATF agent was bad news. Wasn’t it? The car sped up, eating the distance between Rhee and her hale. But not fast enough.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“Where’s the girl, grandma?”
Manali narrowed her eyes as she regarded the two men who had materialized from the trees next to the porch. The first one was not only lost, but he was also pure evil. She could feel the malice emanating from the man. Cold fear gripped her heart but she stood her ground.
“Not in front of the baby.”
“You’re in no position to be making demands, old woman.” The man flashed the revolver in his waistband. Sirena, thankfully, seemed oblivious to Manali’s anxiety.
“What would your mother say?” she admonished.
Manali’s words had the intended effect. The man hesitated, an angry flush appearing on his face. He opened his mouth, only to be interrupted.
“Doggie!” Sirena laughed, pointing behind the man.
Axl. Thank the Gods.
His bark was rather distinct. And where Axl was, Turtle could never be too far away. The shepherd mix came into view, barking loudly as he raced toward the steps. Both gunmen swung around to face the unexpected threat. In an uncharacteristic display of aggression, Axl tore into the second man’s calf. He let out a loud scream.
“Shoot it, Boyle!”
Manali backed away as the man called Boyle aimed his revolver at Axl. She scooped up Sirena, to shield her from what was to come. Without warning, men exploded from both sides of the main house. There was a flash of metal and then a series of pops staccato through the air. Manali was moving faster than her age would suggest was possible. There was only one way off of the property now—through the back gate that led to the beach.
These old legs can still move when they need to.
There was confusion all around them, but Manali’s sights were set on the sandy trail. If she could get down to the beach, they could take shelter in the small cave that sat nestled in the cliff. She put her hand out to open the gate, but it flew open unexpectedly. An unfamiliar girl stood there, staring at the child who struggled in Manali’s arms.
“Want down! Down, Mali!”
“God, she looks so much like him…”
“I told you to stay in the car!” A man’s harsh whisper issued from the garden shed.
“But…” the woman trailed off, a horrified expression appearing on her face as she peered over Manali’s shoulder.
“Oh—oh my God! Run!”
The girl pushed Manali so hard she nearly stumbled. “Go!”
She needed no further urging. More gunfire erupted behind her. Dimly aware that the female stranger followed close behind, Manali rushed down the trail, moving with a grace she was certain she no longer possessed. She heard nothing, saw nothing, but the dim archway of her destination. Sirena clung to her neck, the tears coming now, soaking Manali’s neck. Her blood pounded through her veins. She slowed, knowing that her energy was waning. An odd, numbing sensation began to spread down her left shoulder. Her grip on Sirena wavered as Manali’s breathing became labored. A pain in her chest began to bloom and she struggled to maintain her grip on the child.
Ah, Gods, what is happening to me?
The woman was right on her heels. “Let me take her. I’m faster.”
The sight of th
e two men arriving at the bottom of the trail convinced Manali that she was not going to outrun their pursuers. “Please….”
“I’ll protect her. She’s Dax’s. I swear I won’t let them hurt her.”
Manali had no choice. Her vision was growing dim. She relinquished Sirena and slumped against the rocks. “There is a shelter…down the beach,” she managed to gasp. Why was her breath so short?
Sirena was limp, a dazed look in her eyes, as the woman took her and began to run. Shock. The child will remember none of it, Manali prayed. A few minutes passed and a shadow fell across her face as she slumped in the sand.
“Where are they, old woman?” he punctuated his demand with a sharp kick to Manali’s side. She turned her face away, even as he aimed his weapon.
Manali heard the shot as he fired from close range. There was an odd sound. She expected to feel more pain, but other than a burning sensation at her neck, there was none.
Instead there was peace. Her grandmother’s kind face appeared. She touched her neck, and nodded as though the simple gesture held intense meaning.
All will be well, keiki.
There was a smile on her lips, even as Manali’s consciousness waned. The last thing she heard was Axl, barking and a man’s urgent shout.
“She’s here! Oh, shit…”
***
Agent Marino screeched to a halt in front of Rhee’s hale. She knew immediately that something was wrong. The van Dax had been driving the night he took her out sat haphazardly on the front lawn. Turtle’s vehicle was skewed in the driveway. Rhee felt her blood turn to ice.
Sirena. Manali. Oh, God. Please, no.
A hand stopped her as she reached for the door handle.
“Stay here, Miss Blake.” She was already shaking her head. “No. No fucking way.”
“I’ll cuff you if I have to.”