Page 79 of Rafe: Sins of the Father

His slick muscular body collapses on top of me, and he rolls to the side, pulling me with him so I rest against his chest.

We lay cuddled in each other’s arms, staring at the ceiling.

Church bells toll, and I feel Rafe’s chest vibrate with his chuckle. “It’s midnight.”

I lift my head. “Do those go off every night?”

“Yup, 6am, noon, 6pm, and midnight. Every night.” He rolls his head to meet my eyes. “This neighborhood is on the edge of the Little Portugal North neighborhood. The Portuguese catholic parish is two blocks over.”

“Really? That’s kind of cool.”

“Mrs. Vargus, who lives next door, works for the church. She’s always trying to get me to attend. Guess she thinks my soul needs saving, and she seems determined to see to it. Two summers ago, she and her husband invited me to the Feast of the Holy Ghost. It was pretty cool. They’re a sweet old couple.”

“Not this year?”

“This year she tried to fix me up with her granddaughter, but I wasn’t about to go there. I didn’t want to have to start avoiding my neighbors if it didn’t work out.”

“How considerate of you. No other reason?” I ask teasingly.

“Okay, I’d seen pictures of her on their mantle. I’m sure she’s a sweet girl, but not my type.”

“You have a type? I’m nothing like Sutton.”

He shrugs. “Maybe not a type, but there has to be a zing. I have to be attracted, right?”

When he doesn’t like my silence, he rolls on top of me and brushes the hair from my face. “It’s more than attraction with you, Tori. It’s the whole package.”

“Like what?” I press.

“I don’t know, you’re easy to talk to. I feel like you get me. I feel like I can be myself with you.”

“Can I ask you something, Rafe?”

“Anything, but I hope it’s not about Sutton, because I really don’t want to talk about her anymore.”

“It’s not about Sutton. It’s about your accident. Will you tell me about it?”

“How’d you know about that? Wait, let me guess. Fiona.” He rolls off me.

I go up on an elbow. “Don’t be mad at her. She thought I already knew, and when she realized I didn’t, she wouldn’t tell me anything, just that it was your story to tell.”

“Well, that’s something, I guess.”

“So, tell me.”

He sighs. “You really want to hear it? It’s kind of a mood killer.”

“Yes, I really want to hear it. I thought we were going to share everything.”

“Okay, fine. I was with the club. A couple of us were at Gigi’s tattoo shop. She’d been having some trouble with an ex-boyfriend stalking her.”

“Oh, my God. What did he do?”

“This fucker named Tick… he broke into the shop. Vandalized the place. Anyway, TJ put some of us on guard duty whenever she was there, to make sure she felt safe. Tick was actually the son of a really bad dude named Taz who used to ridefor the Devil Kings MC. He made my father’s life hell, but that’s another story.

“Brayden and Kyle were in front of Gigi’s shop, guarding her. Back then, we were all prospects. I was covering the back alley. We’d come every day since Gigi reopened her shop to keep her and her unborn baby safe. I’m told, though I don’t remember, that Gigi came out the backdoor to empty her trash in the dumpster in the alley, and that’s when Tick and another guy kidnapped her. They tell me I was already on the ground with a puddle of blood pooling under my head.

“Brayden and Kyle found me and saw the car tearing out of the alley. They got me to the hospital.”

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