I thought about Jewel and our future together, and shook my head, smiling. “I'm honored, man. Truly. But I can't. Besides, you've got this. It's your time now.”
Jewel and I ended up getting married a few months after what happened on the yacht. We found out she was pregnant two months after that. Since my biker days were over and I wasn't good at much else, we talked about it and decided we might like to try our hand at farming. It just so happened that we knew of a farm with a house that was vacant, one that already had some special memories for us.
But before we could buy the place and get set up as farmers, we'd need some start-up money. It wasn't like a former biker and felon like me could just walk into a bank and borrow that kind of money.
Luckily, I had the perfect idea. I called Boomer and asked him to help me arrange a very special meeting as one last favor. When he heard my idea, he laughed for three minutes straight, then agreed and hung up the phone.
Two nights later, Boomer and I were at the Devil's Nest as Jewel packed up our stuff in the apartment we shared, preparing for the upcoming move.
At exactly ten o'clock, five men walked in. They were all middle-aged or older, well-dressed, and Italian.
“Where the fuck do you get your balls, huh, Boomer?” Piero Mancuso demanded. “Calling a meeting with me, after what your fuckin' club did to Jester, Angelo, an' the rest? You must be outta your fuckin' mind.”
“And not just you,” Lucio Esposito rasped. “All of us. The heads of the five crime families of Chicago. We haven't been in the same room with each other in years, and now you summon us to this filthy shack as though you have the right.”
“Yeah,” Marcello Rizzo rumbled, “what gives?”
I stood up in front of them with my hands in my pockets. “Actually, I called you here, gentlemen, and I appreciate your time. I know how valuable it is, so I'll be brief. You see, this isn't really a meeting. It's more of an auction.”
I held up the memory stick.
“This contains a file with the names of every member of the Family of Thorns in your ranks. This represents your chance to purge yourselves of these traitors once and for all, in whatever way you deem appropriate. And I am offering it to you.”
The five men stared at the memory stick, wide-eyed.
“So,” I continued, grinning, “shall we start the bidding at one hundred thousand?”
# # #
Jewel
Rafe told me his plan for the memory stick, and it seemed like a solid idea to me. I knew we'd need the money in order to start a new life together, and after everything the Chicago Mafia had put us through, it seemed only right that they should be the ones to bankroll us.
I spent about half an hour rummaging through my drawers trying to find the broach that my mother and father had given me before remembering that it was still under the seat of the Saab, which meant I'd be able to retrieve it soon enough.
I touched my belly, and even though I wasn't supposed to feel the baby inside of me yet, I was still sure I could. I wondered if all expectant mothers felt the same way. I had thought up a name for the baby, and I couldn't wait until Rafe came home so I could tell him.
I heard Rafe at the door. I put the last few items into the suitcase I was packing, latching it closed and putting it on the floor. When I turned around, Rafe was framed in the bedroom doorway, grinning that grin that never failed to turn my insides to liquid.
“Well?” I asked. “How'd it go?”
Rafe reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a banded roll of bills that looked about as big as a roll of toilet paper. “Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars,” he laughed, unsnapping the band and fanning the cash out. “Can you believe it? A quarter of a million dollars, tax-free, and it's all ours!”
I threw my head back and let out a loud, long, triumphant shriek, throwing my arms around Rafe's neck. “You did it!” I yelled happily. “You did it, you did it!”
Rafe spun me around once before releasing me. Then he tossed the cash onto the bed, spreading it around until it covered the bedspread in a crisp green blanket.
I looked up at Rafe and saw that the glee in his eyes had been replaced with something else. It was the same wild, hungry look they'd had in the farmhouse during the nights when we'd been on the run.
Just seeing that look made me wet.
“Take off your dress, sweetheart,” Rafe commanded. I loved that he still called me that, even when he was being bossy.
My eyes stayed on his, hypnotized, as I pulled my dress over my head. I wasn't wearing a bra, just panties. I reached down to slide them off and Rafe darted forward, grabbing my wrists and yanking them behind my back. Our bodies were almost pressed together. A hot flush crept into my cheeks, and I realized I was breathing harder.
“I didn't say you could take off your panties,” Rafe growled. “Those are the kinds of decisions that free people make. And you're not free, are you, Jewel?”
“No,” I whispered, my wrists aching slightly behind my back. I felt my pulse pounding against my skin. My swollen clit throbbed as though it was reaching out to him.
“That's right,” he agreed. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. “Who do you belong to?”
“You,” I said immediately.
I felt a twinge of delicious agony as his hands twisted my wrists harder behind me. My back arched, bringing my breasts forward to press against his shirt. “Say it,” he insisted.
“I belong to you,” I said.
“Goddamn right you do,” he nodded. “Now turn around.”
Rafe released my wrists and I turned around, my buttocks grazing the front of his jeans. He lowered himself behind me and I felt his fingertips slide into the sides of my panties, slowly sliding them down my legs. The muscles in my thighs and calves trembled.
“Crawl onto the bed,” Rafe demanded.
I did as he said, the thousand-dollar bills crinkling under my palms and knees. I arched my back, presenting myself to him like an animal in heat.
I heard him unzip his jeans and felt him climb onto the bed behind me. He mounted me, laying his hands on my shoulders. I felt his cock push into my pussy and I cried out, my entire body shaking.
“You are mine,” he hissed, slamming himself into me.
“Oh God, Rafe, yes, I'm yours,” I gasped. “I'm yours...”
I hung my head down, my hair in my face as he kept pushing into me. He reached his hand around me to stroke my clit. A series of orgasms rocked my body like a chain of volcanos erupting inside of me, the lava filling every corner of me until I felt like I would explode. His hand moved to seize my hair, pulling my head back and to the side so Rafe could see my face as he took me.
By the time I felt Rafe's climax jetting against my G-spot, I was trembling and could barely keep myself on all fours.
I sank to my belly on top of the cash and rolled over onto my side. Rafe collapsed next to me and we held each other tightly, the bills rustling beneath us with every movement.
“I love you, Jewel,” he whispered roughly, “And I love you, whatever your name is going be,” he said as he caressed my belly.
“Sidney,” I said. “I was thinking Sidney seemed like a good choice, whether it ends up being a boy or a girl.”
I felt him smile against my shoulder. “I like it.”
I thought about the barn next to the house with the bullet holes in the side, and wondered what kinds of animals we might decide to raise in it. I thought about the fields behind the house that had grown fallow, and wondered what we'd choose to grow there together.
But I never wondered whether Rafe and I would have a long and wonderful life together.
That I knew for sure.
THE END
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HE MEANT TO BREAK MY BODY. INSTEAD, HE BROKE MY HEART.
I knew from the moment I walked in that this place was not meant for me.
I was clean; this place was filthy.
I was fair; this place was dark.
But maybe I was sick of living a safe life.
Maybe I was sick of every little thing fitting together just so.
I was sick of being perfect and whole.
I wanted to be broken.
In this dark and pungent hell, I found the man to do the job.
He took me into his arms and broke me –
Over, and over, and over again.
When it was finished, I picked up the pieces of myself that remained, and I left.
But things never end that easily.
I didn’t know it then, but when I ran, I took something with me.
Something I never wanted…
Something I never asked for…
The baby of the man who’d owned me.
Now, my unborn child and I are helpless pawns in some sick and twisted game.
People are being hurt, killed.
I can’t stand to watch anymore.
All I can do is cry, and plead, and beg.
All I can say are three little words: