Page 45 of Celtic Dragon
He turns back toward me and asks, “What the fuck is so funny?”
Smiling, I say, “I’ll fill you in later. It’s a long story.”
“Fine, so tell me why the fuck you’re here. Did something happen?”
“Another long story,” I reply.
“Well, is someone going to tell me what the fuck is going on here?” he says and I can feel his anger rising.
“Babe, I’m really tired. Can we go to bed now? I’ll tell you everything, just not here.” He nods grudgingly, seeming to be placated for a while. I then turn toward Rebel and ask, “Do you have room for us?”
“Of course,” Rebel replies. “Emma, you’re in with Ice, of course. Honey, your room is the first one at the top of the stairs, to the right.”
Ice walks over and grabs Honey’s bags as well as my own, and then starts to head for the stairs. Rebel grabs Ari’s and does the same. As he walks up the stairs, Caden says, “It’s been a long day and I’m sure you girls are tired. Let’s go to bed; we can talk in the morning.”
“Look, I know you’re tired, but do you mind telling me why you’re here?” Cade asks once we’re in our room.
I shake my head. “Like I said, it’s a long story and one I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”
“Did something happen to the baby?” he asks worriedly.
“Oh, no. The baby and I are perfectly fine,” I say, reassuring him.
“Then what would bring you all the way here?” he asks, confused.
I reach into my purse and pull out the three notes, then hand them to him. “Read them in order. The first one was on my windshield the morning after you left. The second was found on our bed that same night accompanied by a red rose. The third one arrived two days later and was found on the front porch. Next to the note was a pretty basket; inside the basket was a rattlesnake.” He looks at me in shock and then looks back to the notes. He begins to read.
“Holy shit! I assume the person these notes are referring to is Grayson?” he asks.
“That’s what Hawk and I think. At first we thought it was Skid, but Hawk said that Skid wouldn’t lurk in the shadows. He would make it known that he was the one making the threats. Something about his ego.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Skid. Did Hawk have any other ideas?”
“No. He had Spike and Dbag staying with us. When the rattlesnake arrived, it became clear that whoever is doing this knew my every move. I decided that I needed to leave. I didn’t want to get the club involved in another one of my dramas and it was clear that this person was not targeting the club. They’re after you and me.”
“And Ari and Honey?” he asks. “Why are they here?”
“I didn’t intend to bring them, but they insisted they go with me. They blackmailed me, so to speak. Ari knew where you were and Honey threatened to tell Hawk everything. I knew if she did that I would not be able to leave.”
“So Hawk didn’t know you were leaving?” he asks.
“No! Hawk had no idea until ten minutes before I boarded the plane. I called him from the airport, knowing he couldn’t stop me at that point. He still tried to, though—he pulled out all the stops.”
“I see.”
“Please, Cade, don’t be mad at him. He didn’t know. This is all me. If you want to be mad at someone, take it out on me.”
“I’m not gonna take it out on anyone. I understand why you came here. But what makes me mad is that you took risks. If you would’ve called me and told me what was happening, I would’ve made arrangements for you to come.”
“I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. I knew you were busy and I knew what you were doing here was dangerous. I didn’t want you to worry until I got here.”
“Then you should have gone to Hawk with your concerns. He would’ve listened and had one of the boys travel with you. What if this person followed you?” He holds up the notes and shakes them in my face. “You didn’t think, Emma. You put yourself and my kid at risk recklessly. You ran scared.”
“I thought I was protecting the club like a good old lady. I didn’t want them to suffer because of me and Grayson anymore.”
“Emma, when are you gonna realize that the club is your family now? They don’t care how much shit you bring down on them. They don’t care about the danger. All they care about is protecting every brother and their families. Our family—it’s the most important thing to us.”
I realize that he’s right. Feeling ashamed of my actions, I say, “I’m sorry. I guess the whole extended family thing is hard to get used to. You know I’m an only child; I don’t have aunts, uncles, or cousins.” I pause and then add, “I was blinded by fear and the only thing I could think was that I needed to get to you.”
