Hunted (Steel Kings MC Book 4) Read online

  Griffin took her hand as they walked through the parking lot, and her heart skipped a beat again. There was something sweet and tender about holding hands with him, like he actually wanted to be close to her. It wasn’t him trying to put on a public face, to show the world they were a happy couple. Heck, they weren’t even a couple, were they?

  Her heart beat even faster as she considered the question. No, they weren’t a couple. But she wanted them to be. For the first time in her life, she was free to choose. Choose her hair styles, her outfits, her lovers. And she wanted Griffin to be that lover. After the way he’d treated her last night, she was pretty sure he wanted the same thing.

  The restaurant wasn’t fancy, just a little mom and pop place, but it was packed. There were couples on dates, families out for a night on the town, even a few groups of friends laughing and having a good time. The entire place put Rachel at ease, and she couldn’t stop smiling.

  Conversation flowed like water between the two of them. Griffin was easy to talk to. He wasn’t a verbose man, but he was honest with his words. Never once did it feel like he was keeping anything back, hiding anything from her. She was sure he had secrets, everyone did, but any time she asked him a question, he answered without hesitation.

  “How long have you known Doc and the others?” she asked, curious about his friends. They’d all seemed so nice. She’d seen biker gangs on the news, heard about their clubhouses, but this was her first actual contact with any of them. The ritzy neighborhood she’d lived in wasn’t the kind of place bikers lived. The only ones there that rode were old retired men who’d spent their retirement on a shiny toy they took out on sunny days.

  Griffin shrugged as he twirled pasta on his fork. “Seems like I’ve always known them. They’re my brothers, my family. My real family and I don’t get along much, but the guys have always been good to me.”

  Rachel nodded, understanding what he meant. She’d always gotten along with her family, until recently. Until they’d chosen Gabriel over her when she’d gone to them for help. She hadn’t spoken to any of them since then. She had no plans to change that, either. She liked the idea of finding a new family, a family that she chose and who chose her, rather than the one she’d been thrust into.

  What would it be like, having a group of friends like Griffin’s? Most of the “friends” she had were superficial at most. They were people she’d go have brunch with once in a while. They’d tag each other on Instagram, maybe send a Snapchat once in a while. But no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t think of one person she trusted absolutely, one person she could talk to about anything.

  Griffin must’ve sensed the direction her mind had gone. He reached out and placed his hand on hers, squeezing it gently and smiling at her. That simple act drove the darkness back, and she smiled at him in return. Perhaps Griffin was that friend. He’d taken her in barely even knowing her name. He was risking himself to keep her safe from Gabriel. He’d put his entire life on hold to stay with her, to get her medical care. Lord only knew the things he’d done to get her the new identity he’d promised.

  “Thank you,” Rachel said, turning her hand over to hold his. For the first time, she’d found a real friend. Someone who didn’t want anything other than friendship from her.

  Griffin’s brow scrunched as he looked at her. The big bad biker man actually looked cute that way, and Rachel had to stifle a giggle. “For what?”

  “For everything.” There was no way she could put it into words. But something about the way Griffin looked at her said he understood what she meant. He squeezed her hand again, and she squeezed back.

  When the waiter came with the check, Rachel stiffened, staring at the little black binder in horror. How was she supposed to pay for her food? She’d left everything she owned back at her apartment, including the money she had stashed away. Since Gabriel obviously knew about her place, it hadn’t been safe to go back. She hadn’t even thought about money when she’d suggested they go out. Money had always been an afterthought to her, and even after leaving Gabriel and having to actually manage her money, it took a while to get used to not having multiple credit cards with a seemingly endless amount of credit.

  But Griffin just smiled as he reached for the folio, stuffing a handful of bills into it, then snapping it closed.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. She probably looked as red as a tomato, but she didn’t care. “I’ll pay you back, I promise.” She wasn’t sure how she’d get the money, but she’d figure it out somehow. Griffin had already done so much for her. He shouldn’t have had to pay for her dinner when she’d been the one insistent on going out.

  “Don’t worry about it.” The tone he used left no room for argument. But it wasn’t the brash, clipped tone Gabriel had always used to end a discussion. There was no condescension. He truly didn’t seem to mind paying.

  Then, he offered her his hand and helped her stand. Her heart pounded as he led her toward the exit. It was like being in a fairy tale. In this one, though, Prince Charming looked like he’d rip the dragon’s head off bare-handed.

  “Rachel!” a voice shouted from the other side of the restaurant. The place wasn’t quiet, but that single word seemed to rip through all the noise.

  Griffin stiffened at the same time she did, muttering a quiet “Just keep walking” as he pretended not to have heard the woman. Rachel wanted to believe the woman had been calling for someone else, that it had just been a coincidence. Then, the woman called out again. Called out a third time. Each time, she seemed even closer, and Rachel fought the urge to run for the door.

  Then someone touched her shoulder. Rachel was forced to turn. Standing right behind her was Selena, a confused look on her face. “I didn’t expect to see you here!” Selena said, with that fake smile on her face. Rachel had seen that smile so many times, but it wasn’t until now that she realized just how false it really was.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t speak English,” Rachel said quickly, dredging up the remnants of her high school French classes.

  Thankfully, before Selena could respond, Griffin stepped forward. He didn’t quite stand between the two of them, but he made it clear she was under his protection. “I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said, his voice sounding oddly polite and passive. “My cousin is from Paris and doesn’t speak English. If you’ll excuse us, we’re on our way out.”

  Selena looked confused, but she didn’t say anything as Griffin led Rachel from the restaurant. Rachel had to fight back the urge to turn and look at the other woman, not wanting to give Selena any more reason to second-guess what Griffin had said.

  Her stomach rolled, though. It wasn’t morning sickness that had her queasy, and even once Griffin had helped her into the car, she couldn’t stop feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. She’d been so excited to be off bed rest. After having spent a week seeing very little outside of Griffin’s apartment, going out for dinner had seemed like a heavenly idea.

  But she’d been wrong. She shouldn’t have gone out. Gabriel was still looking for her. They lived in a fairly large town, but it wasn’t a metropolis. There were bound to be people all over the city, in all different neighborhoods, that would recognize her. How could she be so stupid?

  Once he was in the car, Griffin put a hand on her leg, squeezing gently. It helped bring her back to reality, and she opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. “Just breathe, okay? You did just fine. You played everything perfectly.”

  It was then that she realized she’d been crying. She wiped the tears away and nodded, wanting to believe what Griffin had just said. Deep down though, she knew he was wrong. She’d just screwed everything up.

  17

  Griffin

  The entire drive back to his apartment, Griffin had a death grip on the steering wheel. They’d been having such a great evening together, and then that woman had shown up and ruined it. Rachel had filled him in on who the woman was, a friend of Gabriel’s that Rachel had
been sure he’d been sleeping with. As if Griffin didn’t already have a long list of reasons to hate the man.

  He just hoped their little act had been enough to dissuade the woman. After all, Rachel didn’t look anything like her former self. She didn’t even walk or talk like the woman he’d met that first day. It was like there’d been new life breathed into her, and he hated that woman for trying to break the fragile sense of self Rachel had slowly been forming.

  He helped her up to her room, saying good night once she was in bed, then slipped out of the room. The way things had been going, he’d planned on spending the night with her. He wanted to continue what they’d started the night before. And since she’d gotten the all-clear from Doc, he’d wanted to show her all the different ways he could make her scream in pleasure.

  But she was too emotionally drained for that. Seeing that Selena woman had taken everything out of Rachel. Part of him still wanted to spend the night with her, to let her fall asleep in his arms, but he had other things that needed to be done first. He needed to finish building Rachel’s new identity. All the paperwork, short of her passport, was done and processed. That part was just a waiting game.

  There was more to a life than paperwork, though. She would need money. He’d made his way into most of Gabriel’s online life, finding all the different accounts he had hidden all over the world. And while a lot of those accounts were secured to make them virtually impenetrable, Gabriel’s own files were not. It hadn’t taken long for him to track down everything he needed to access the man’s accounts.

  Sitting at the kitchen table with a large mug of coffee, Griffin set to work calculating everything Gabriel had squirreled away. By the time he’d finished, his head was swimming. The man had way more money than any single person ever needed, millions upon millions, most of which was in accounts that didn’t seem to serve any purpose other than to hide the money away.

  Three cups of coffee later, Rachel had a bank account of her own set up under her new name. Griffin funneled money out of each of Gabriel’s accounts, bouncing it all around the world, before finally depositing it into Ella Sander’s brand-new Samoan bank account. He was careful to make sure none of the transfers could be tied back to either Rachel or him. He’d created such a spaghetti web, he wasn’t sure if even he’d be able to untangle all of it. There was no way Gabriel would ever be able to find where his money went, if he even noticed any of it was missing.

  The sun was peeking into the kitchen by the time he closed his laptop. How had it gotten so late, or was it early? It wasn’t the first time. When he really got going on a project, time zipped right by without him knowing.

  His vision was blurry, and he rubbed his eyes. He barely had enough energy left to put his laptop away and set the dirty dishes in the sink. He’d deal with them later. Griff stumbled through the kitchen to the living room. As he collapsed onto the couch, he was vaguely aware of the shower turning on down the hall. Then, he closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

  18

  Rachel

  Rachel smiled when she walked down the hall and found Griffin sound asleep on the couch. For a moment, she just stood there smiling, watching the man sleep. He took up the entire couch with his massive body, but he looked so sweet and peaceful when he was asleep. She’d hoped he would come to her bed last night, but he never had. She’d woken up alone.

  She’d wanted him to spend the night with her. At the same time, though, she was glad he hadn’t. He had to have been able to see how crappy she’d felt last night and had respected that. He’d given her the space she needed. He hadn’t even hinted about wanting to have sex with her last night. Gabriel never would’ve done that. When he wanted sex, it didn’t matter what she’d wanted. With Griffin, though, she didn’t even have to tell him how she felt. He’d just known.

  The kitchen was fully stocked, and Rachel busied herself cooking breakfast for the two of them. The last time he’d fallen asleep on the couch, the scent of fresh bacon and coffee had roused him, but this time it didn’t. Even by the time she’d finished cooking everything, he was still face-first on the couch, softly snoring. She considered waking him up, then decided against it. If he was still asleep, then he’d probably been exhausted. She didn’t know what time he’d finally crashed out and figured it wouldn’t hurt to leave him alone.

  Hannah was all too happy to eat Griffin’s share of the bacon. The two of them enjoyed a quiet breakfast together, then Rachel cleaned up the dishes. Whenever Griffin woke up, she’d make him something else to eat, she decided. Until she’d left Gabriel, she’d never had to cook anything. But the more time she spent in the kitchen, the more she enjoyed it. Cooking was fun. It wasn’t just a chore to be looked down on, only to be handled by servants.

  It was lunch by the time Griffin finally woke up. He was still groggy, and after he scarfed down a sandwich, the two of them settled onto the couch to watch some TV. A news channel was on, discussing a mugging regarding a local doctor. When they showed her bloodied and bruised face, Rachel nearly passed out.

  “She the one . . . from the ER . . .” She had to fight to get the words out. The apartment seemed to be closing in on her, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. The more she tried to calm herself down, the worse it became.

  “Makenna . . . Shit.” When she glanced over at Griffin, she saw him glaring at the TV. He grabbed his phone and immediately began typing away on it. That was when she remembered that doctor, Makenna, was a friend of Doc’s. That was how Rachel had met Doc and Griffin.

  Rachel’s breathing became even shallower. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Gabriel was behind the supposed mugging. No doubt it wasn’t a mugging at all. Gabriel knew she had something to do with Rachel being able to sneak out of the hospital without him. It was because of Makenna that she wasn’t with Gabriel anymore. So, he’d sent some of his thugs after her, hoping to get her location out of the poor woman.

  Had she told him? Did she tell Gabriel about Doc and Griffin and the others? If she did and if Gabriel talked to Selena . . . It wouldn’t be long until he figured out where she was, until he came to get her back. Her hands went to her stomach as she closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears. She wasn’t going back. No matter what, she would not go back to that man.

  She wasn’t going to let him near her daughter. And it was her daughter, not his. He had no right to call himself a father or a husband, not after the things he’d done to Rachel. He was just an evil bastard, one who didn’t like to be told no.

  Then Griffin’s hand was on her knee, squeezing gently. Gradually, her heart rate slowed, her breathing became easier. When she opened her eyes, he was looking at her intently. “Are you okay?” he asked. When she shrugged, he nodded. The look her gave her told her he understood. That was how it was between the two of them. They didn’t always need words to understand each other. “I need to shower, then we’re going to head to the clubhouse, okay?”

  Rachel nodded, gritting her teeth. She didn’t want him to leave, even to just go a couple rooms away to shower. She wanted him to stay there with her, to hold her, keep her safe. But she knew that was being unreasonable. Griffin was a grown man. She couldn’t cling to him like that. Besides, it wasn’t like Gabriel was going to just come busting down the door all of a sudden. The thought was like a bucket of cold water being dropped over her head. Would he? Could he?

  Griffin probably took the fastest shower on the planet, but it still felt like it’d taken an eternity. She’d sat there on the couch, arms around Hannah, watching the same news channel. The reporters didn’t have much information on the supposed mugging and gave a tip number if any viewers had information to help the police catch the people who’d attacked the doctor.

  More than anything, Rachel wanted to call that number. She wanted to tell them exactly who had been behind the mugging. She wanted to give them everything about Gabriel, but it wouldn’t do a damn thing. She had no proof. And who would believe her? She was just his soon-to-
be ex-wife. They’d all probably just assume she was trying to get money out of him, that she wanted attention. After all, he was a public figure, one who was well respected and on his way to the state senate. He couldn’t possibly do any of those things, right?

  If only the world knew the truth about him.

  When they got to the clubhouse, the entire place seemed to be packed with motorcycles. The night she’d arrived there had been at least a handful in the small parking lot, but that night the number was overwhelming. And when Griffin led her into the clubhouse itself, it was brimming with people. Her heart started to race again, until Griffin reach down and took her hand in his. Then she was able to breathe again, though she was still nervous.

  “Is this everyone?” Griffin asked, looking at Vlad. When he nodded, Griffin started talking, filling everyone in on the details of the last few days. It was strange, hearing her life laid out bare like that, but she was glad. She’d spent so much time with it all bottled up inside her, it was good to have it all out in the open. She didn’t know most of the people in the room, but that didn’t matter. Other people would know about Gabriel. It wasn’t just her secret anymore.

  “I’ve already got feelers out about Makenna,” Doc said after Griffin finished talking. He seemed just as angry as Griffin, maybe more so. Makenna was his friend, wasn’t she? “She’s physically okay, but the police are keeping a close eye on her. No doubt Gabriel is too. If she didn’t tell him anything, then we’d just be walking right into their hands if I went near her right now.”

  Everyone nodded. Another man spoke up next, Padre? At least, that was what she thought his name was. He’d been there when Griffin and Doc had come to get her, though they hadn’t spoken much. He was an older man with a potbelly. He was probably the same age as her father, if she had to guess, and he had that calm, fatherly vibe about him. “We should assume she told them everything. Best case, she didn’t tell them shit and we took extra precaution for nothing. Worst case, they know everything, and we’ll be thankful we were prepared.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and he continued. “We should probably get her out of town ASAP. You’ve got her new identity, right, Shakespeare?”