Page 38 of Celtic Dragon
“It sounds like fun,” he says.
Spike looks over at him and says, “You’re such a fucking pussy! We’re not going! And that’s final!”
Honey and I look at each other. In unison, we walk over to Spike and flank him. As we place our arms around him, I ask, “But Spike, you wouldn’t disappoint us, would you?” I then add, “Honey has a hot date with your VP tonight. You want her to look especially pretty for him, don’t you?”
“It’s not working, Emma. Your attempts to unman me are not gonna get me to change my mind. I said no and I mean no!” he replies.
I know it’s time to play the old lady card. Rebel told me once that I would need it from time to time, and although I try not to use it all the time, now is a perfect opportunity. “Maybe I should remind you, Spike, that I’m Ice’s old lady. You know, your club prez? I think he would be very disappointed in you if he knew you weren’t willing to take his woman and her friend to the spa and shopping.”
“He would agree with me if he knew about the threats,” he says defensively.
“But he doesn’t know, does he? And Hawk won’t let me tell him, so sweetie, it appears to me that if you don’t take us where we want to go today, you’re screwed.”
Spike shakes his head in defeat. I can see that he knows he has no way out of this. “People are so wrong about bikers. They fear them when they should fear their fucking old ladies. They’re the dangerous ones,” Spike says.
Honey and I have a blast on our girl’s day out. We start at the spa with facials, mani-pedis, and massages. Once we are all prettied up, we hit the stores, have lunch, and then return home. The boys are great sports about it all and there are even times that I think they’re actually enjoying themselves, although they would never admit it.
Spike pulls into the driveway and turns the car off. We all get out of the car and walk toward the trunk. Spike opens it up and begins handing packages to Dbag as Honey and I turn the corner to head to the front door. As I approach the front porch, I spot a large basket sitting in the middle of the top step. In front of it is a piece of paper. My heart begins to race with fear; I swear I can hear every beat.Oh damn, another note!I walk closer and realize that the basket has a lid on it. As I stand there staring at it, I see the lid move.What the fuck?
Honey stops in her tracks next to me and says, “What the fuck is that, Emma?”
“I don’t know, but I saw the lid move. There is something inside that basket, and I’m not going to be the one to find out what it is.” We both back away from the steps slowly and I call as calmly as I can, “Spike?”
As he and Dbag come around the corner with all our packages, he says, “What’s up, doll?”
I point to the step and say, “That. There’s another note. And there is something alive in that basket.”
Spike walks up to the basket slowly. Just as he’s about to remove the lid of the basket, we all hear the rattle. Suddenly, my worst fear is staring me right in the face. The one thing in the entire world that I’m deathly afraid of is sitting on my fucking front porch. The rattle that came from the basket echoes in my brain and I begin to have trouble breathing. My body begins to shake. All my instincts tell me to run as fast as I can and as far as I can, but my feet are glued to the ground. My eyes never leave the basket.
Honey comes over to me and tries to get me breathing again. Her words are soothing, but I still fear the snake nestled in that basket.
Spike and Dbag both draw their guns and fire on the basket. The hail of gunfire destroys the basket and reveals the snake, still twitching, lying dead upon the remnants of the basket. We wait for the muscle reflex to stop.
“A fucking rattlesnake!” Spike yells. “This asshole isn’t just trying to scare you, he’s trying to fucking kill you!” He walks over and grabs the note. Opening the note, he reads out loud:
Enjoy your shopping and the spa today?
I hope so, because before long you will soon realize that you can run.
But you can’t hide.
When your biker boyfriend returns from Ireland
Your day will come.
This isn’t going away. Whoever is doing this wants me dead.That realization terrifies me more than anything Mark ever said or did to me.
As I listen to Spike read the note again, one thought consumes my mind: it doesn’t matter how many guys they have watching me or protecting me, it will never be enough. This person was able to get into the house; they knew what we were doing today; they knew that Caden was in Ireland. They’ve known everything all along. They’ve had access to everything. Without Caden here, I feel totally vulnerable. It’s then that I realize what I have to do. I can’t stay here and put the rest of the club in danger. It’s going to piss Cade off, but I don’t give a fuck.
I’m going to Ireland!
After all the dust settles, I go up to my room for some privacy and call Ari. I’m sure that Rebel told her where he could be found if needed.Why didn’t I get that information?I ask myself.I guess Cade thinks that if I need him, Hawk would know how to reach him.Still … the reasoning makes sense, but I should have that information as well. I make a mental note to talk to Caden about it when he gets home.
“Hey, Emma!” Ari says when she answers the phone.
“Hey, Ari! How are you?” Although I’m in no mood for small talk, the last thing I want to do is alarm her by just jumping in and telling her everything that’s been going on since the boys left. We chat for a few minutes and then I ask, “Ari, do you happen to know where Rebel’s family lives? Maybe an address or a street or something?”
“What’s wrong, Emma?”
