Page 23
I arch a brow, studying Max’s face for a moment. “Are you suggesting something here, Mobley?”
“No.” He shakes his head and releases a heavy breath. “Just think that is the inevitable end of this thing. He thinks he owns her and when you add in all the trouble she’s caused him this week… he’s going to be on a war path.”
I nod. Nothing he said is surprising but there is something about saying it out loud that makes it hit even harder. “We’ll figure something out.”
“What does that mean?” he asks, turning to study the station in front of us. I shrug.
“I’ll be sure to let you know just as soon as we figure it out.”
He nods, taking a sip of his coffee. “Make sure that you do and I’ll keep an eye on Derek from here as best as I can but it’s probably for the best that Raya doesn’t go anywhere alone. All he needs is a single moment where y’all slip up to grab her.”
“You know, Max, we have done this kind of thing before,” I say with a smirk as I start my bike, the rumble of the engine filling the air. He holds his hands up in surrender, one still holding his coffee cup and the other holding the file but I know he didn’t mean anything by it. Mobley is a control freak just like me and my brothers and it’s probably killing him to not be able to do more for Raya or her son. He also knows that they are safe with us on the compound and I’ll take his words to heart. From now on, if she needs to leave for any reason, she’ll be escorted by at least two of us until we can come up with a better plan.
Glancing back at Max, I nod my goodbye and pull away from the curb, my mind spinning. I need to talk to our President, Storm, at some point today and bring up the idea of sending Raya away from here. I have no fucking clue how we’ll pull it off but I agree with Mobley that it may be her only chance at a real life someday.
Fuck.
I hate that I’m going to have to bring this news to Raya but I won’t have her walking around unaware of the danger she’s in either, no matter how much it might sour her mood. That’s how fucking accidents happen.
When I checked in on them this morning, Joey was running around in the front yard like a wild man, whooping and hollering without a care in the world. Raya was curled up in one of the rocking chairs on the front porch, a cup of coffee in her hand and a smile on her face. She looked like she’d gotten a great night of sleep for the first time in years and I don’t enjoy that fact that I’m about to invade the little piece of serenity she’s found.
As I make my way through the quiet morning streets downtown, I spot Sugared Magnolia and decide that maybe a box of donuts will help me break the news to her. I slip into the right-hand lane and pull down the side street next to the building. There’s an alley in the back where I can park, away from everyone else, so I turn into it, eyeing the red Jeep parked next to a set of metal stairs that leads up to the second floor. Most people don’t know about this entrance and therefor, don’t use it but it’s always unlocked just in case someone does need to come in from the alley. Maybe it belongs to one of the employees but I don’t recognize it as I pull my bike to a stop behind it and shut it down.
When I step inside, the morning rush is in full effect. About three quarters of the tables already have folks sitting at them and two other people are already standing in line at the register. Mila, one of the employees, looks up as the bell above the door rings and offers me a warm smile.
“Hey, D,” she calls as she bustles back and forth, seemingly making three different coffees at once. “You want your usual?”
I shake my head. “Naw, switching it up today.”
“Well, what do you need?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her, stepping into line behind the other two people. “Take care of them, first. I can wait.”
She nods and goes back to the drinks she was already preparing as I pull my phone out of my pocket to check my messages. There’s one from Leigh-Ann begging me to reconsider ending things and I roll my eyes as I pull up her contact info and quickly delete it. Sighing, I shove my phone back into my pocket and glance up to check Mila’s progress. Movement from the stairs that lead up to the second floor from inside the bakery grabs my attention and I watch as a literal ray of sunshine in human form steps out of the little alcove where the stairs are hidden. She steals all my attention in an instant and I can’t bring myself to look away.
She is petite, barely over five feet if she’s lucky with golden skin, golden hair and breathtaking hazel eyes that seem to suck all the air out of the room. I’m mesmerized, unable to pull my gaze away. She says something to Mila as she sneaks around her to grab a Danish out of the display case and Mila laughs, pulling a smile out of her.
Fuck me.
She might just be the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my goddamn life.
The two of them chat quietly, too quietly for me to hear, and I want to plow through the two customers in front of me just so I can be closer to her, hear what her voice sounds like and bask in her presence, in the warmth of her. I have no fucking clue how I know that she radiates warmth but somehow, I just do. It’d be like laying in the grass on a perfect summer day. Like closing your eyes and letting the sun seep into your skin until you fall into that perfect dream like state somewhere between consciousness and sleep where all your problems just fade away. That’s what I imagine it’d be like to be with her, to bask in her presence or to have those gorgeous fucking eyes locked on me.
Mila hands my mystery woman a cup of black coffee and shoos her out from behind the counter. Sunshine laughs, glancing back with a smile that fucking kills me and magically brings me back to life again.
Jesus.
What the fuck is happening to me?
With her treats in hand, Sunshine walks out from behind the counter and I let my eyes trail down her body. She may be small but she’s got curves in all the right places. Curves that make my hands twitch with the insane urge to grip her hips and find out if she’d fit against me he way my traitorous mind keeps insisting she would.
Again, what the fuck is happening to me?
“Dalton?”
I glance up as Mila calls my name, my mind blank. The two customers in front of me are gone and when I glance over at Sunshine again, she’s seated at a table near the back wall, tucked away from everyone else with a book in her hand. Turning back to the counter, I close the distance between Mila and I.
“What’ll it be today, handsome?”
