Page 55 of The Prez

I start to shake my head, but he told me not to lie to him anymore. “A little. My face. He hit me a few times in the stomach, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. He just knocked the wind out of me.” Raf growls and I pat his hand. “I’m okay. I promise. He said I owe him two thousand dollars by tonight. I?—”

Raf shushes me, then pulls out his phone. He presses a few buttons and puts the phone to his ear. “Zeke. Make it obvious to that piece of shit that Omari won’t pay him any more money. You tell that hijo de puta that if he tries to collect again, I’ll remove his head from his fucking shoulders.” He hangs up the phone and kisses my cheek. “Handled.”

Sighing, I snuggle closer to him and close my eyes, wanting to rest after all the bullshit.

I must have dropped off to sleep at some point. I wake up to Zeke stepping inside the house. “Message received,” he says happily. I focus on him and see spots of blood on his shirt and the bruises on his knuckles.

Sitting up, I look him over. “Are you hurt?”

Zeke laughs. “Nah. He was a bitch. Apologizing and shit when we gave him the message. He won’t bother you again after the ass whooping we gave him.”

I sit up to allow Raf to move from behind me. “Thanks, brother,” Raf says.

Zeke claps hands with Raf and brings him in, whisperingin his ear. I go into the nursery to give them some privacy. Little Raf is squirming in his crib and I scoop him up, soothing him as I pat his back.

Raf peeks in, his eyes softening when he looks at us. He crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe, his face growing serious. “You know I’ll always take care of you, right? I’ll always protect you.”

Smiling—even though my lip is sore—I walk over to him and kiss his cheek gently. “I know, baby.”

CHAPTER 15

RAFAEL

When I’mat the clubhouse, I make sure one of my brothers is with Omari and Little Raf, especially when Omari is out running errands or having fun with the baby. Omari said that fucking Brock dickhead stays mainly in the Southside, but I don’t give a fuck. They’re never alone when they leave the house.

Since Omari came home after taking a beating, that voice in my head telling me I’m a failure has gotten louder and louder every day, proving that I haven’t changed. I haven’t learned from my past and gotten better. I failed Omari, just like Elena said I would fail her the last time I spoke to her.

A knock sounds through my office door, pulling me out of my spiral. “It’s open,” I shout, turning back to the order form for alcohol for Inferno.

Jace pokes his head inside. “This a bad time?”

I shake my head and look away from the computer screen, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Nope. What’s up, hermano?”

Jace steps inside, plopping on my couch. “It’s Pete’s turn to sit with Omari and Little Raf, but no one has seen him. Hewas supposed to relieve Brian, but he ain’t show and ain’t answer his phone. You talk to him?”

I sit up straight at the news. “Not since a few days ago. He asked for some time away to handle some shit, but didn’t say what. He should have been back, yeah?”

Pete said he had some personal business to handle, something he was supposed to do a while back but never did. He never said what it was, but I didn’t pry either. I don’t like people asking about my shit, so I try to do the same.

“Yeah. I dropped by his house but he wasn’t there,” Jace says.

Wheels spin in my head, trying to figure out where Pete could be. He’s one of the members that doesn’t really have a life outside of the MC. Much like me. So for him not to show up when he has a shift is bad news.

“Take a few guys and ride around town, see if you spot his bike.”

Jace leans forward, leveling me with a serious gaze. “Prez, this is prospect work, man.” He holds his hand up, asking me to wait while he pleads his case. “I know what happened with the other two bitches that prospected with us. I was here when Rax shot Telly that tried to rape Finn and helped when that snitch, Sam, ran the gauntlet. But they came on their own. I want to put someone forth. My neighbor is interested and has been for a while. He’s a good guy. A little young, but smart and loyal. Ain’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Let me put him up for consideration.”

While I don’t want to admit it, we do need a prospect in the MC. We need new members to swell our ranks. But the last two, Sam and Telly, put a sour taste in my mouth.

When Rax came back to the clubhouse for his going away party before he was to head to Cuba to start a new life, Telly tried to rape Finn and disrespected Rax on top of that. For his insolence, Rax put three bullets in him. His bitch buddy,Sam ratted Rax out, landing him back in prison for a few months. We had to come up with a plan to get Rax out of prison again and in the meantime, we tracked Sam down and had him run the gauntlet—a punishment when the offending party has to get past all of the ranking members as we beat him to within an inch of their lives. After Sam got to the end, Finn shot and killed him.

My lips twist as I remember that whole fucking debacle. I told Zeke it would be a long while before I took on more prospects. But it’s been over a year. Maybe this one won’t fuck up. Jace will have to answer to me if he does.

“Bring him in so we can talk. If I feel like he has what it takes to be a patched member, I’ll give the kid a shot. But if he fucks this club over, I’ll strip you of your rank and kill him myself. Entendido?”

Jace’s face pales, but he nods. “I accept those terms.”

“Good. Now go find Pete.”

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