Shades of Love (Mad Jackals Brotherhood MC Book 3) (9 page)

“Fuck! You fucking shot me!” Eli’s voice is incredulous and Mia’s head whips up to see him lying on the ground, the rifle thrown a few feet away from him and his left arm clutching his right shoulder where blood is seeping out.

She looks up to see Ray standing over her, holding his hand out to help her up. “Are you all right? Please tell me you’re okay.” She runs her hands over his chest, looking over him, expecting to see a gaping hole in his beautiful body from Eli’s shotgun.

“I’m fine, Mimi.” He pulls her tightly towards him, kissing her forehead, her head, breathing the scent of her in. “Guess I’m lucky that Eli can’t shoot for shit.” His chuckle is a low rumble in his chest but Mia is still too tense to laugh. “How did the cops know where to find us?”

Mia pulls back and holds up the phone that she’d forgotten about in the scuffle triumphantly.

“That’s my girl.” Ray pulls her towards him again, crushing her against his chest as if he’s afraid it’s the last time he’ll be able to do it. “I guess it was time I paid my dues.” His voice is low in her ear and realization hits Mia at about the time the cop cars pull up. Ray was a criminal. They were going to take him away.

“No.” Her voice is a moan as she grips onto him tightly. “I’m sorry. This isn’t what I wanted to happen. I just wanted him to leave us alone.” She feels the tears in her eyes leaking out and soaking his t-shirt.

“Police! Drop the gun and get down on the ground with your hands up.” The voice comes from one of the officers who have jumped out of the first car. He’s trained a pistol on them and absently Mia thinks to herself that she’s really fed up of having a gun in her face.

She hears the sound as Ray obeys the order, dropping his gun on the floor. But he doesn’t let her go and she keeps a tight hold on him.

“Mia! Mia!” She hears Cassie’s voice calling her, figuring it’s from the cell she ignores it, not wanting to let go of Ray, even for a minute. But her friend’s voice seems to be getting closer and closer. “Mia!”

Mia’s head snaps up and sees Cassie walking towards them purposefully with a uniformed officer in tow, struggling to keep up with her long strides.

“Are you both all right?” She looks between Mia and Ray who just look back at her completely astonished.

“Cass, what the hell are you doing here?” Mia reaches out her hand and pulls Cassie into a hug that almost knocks her friend off balance.

“Marcus got a tip that the Jackals were moving out from some guy called Donnie. Friend of yours?” Cassie looks searchingly at Ray and he nods once. If he’s surprised, he’s not letting it show. “They let me ride along. Then I got your call.” She smiles at Mia. “You called, I came and brought the cavalry.”

Cassie looks over her shoulder at Eli who is being lifted into an ambulance. “You know he’s going to do time.”

Mia nods grimly, watching as the ambulance doors close behind him. “Throw away the key, Cass. He’s crazier than a box of frogs.”

Ray barks a laugh. “Is that your professional opinion?”

“The cops are going to want to take your statements,” Cassie warns.

Mia looks around her at the sheer number of cops and her hold on Ray tightens. “We have to get Ray out of here, Cass. They’ll take him away.”

Ray rests a comforting hand on her shoulder and looks down at her with those intensely blue eyes and shakes his head. “It’s time, Mia. I can’t be on the run from the law for the rest of my life. It’s not right and it wouldn’t be fair to you. I don’t want to live my life looking over my shoulder.” He looks at Cassie, his jaw hardening. “I’m ready.”

Cassie looks between Ray and then Mia frowning at them both like they’ve just lost their minds. “Ray isn’t going anywhere, nowhere permanently, at least. The cops will want you to point some guys out of a line up to confirm that they’re Jackals but, for the moment, that’s it. I’ve already told them you’re willing to testify, but that’ll come later.”

Mia blinks at her friend, her exhausted brain struggling to keep up with what Cassie’s saying. “They’re not going to arrest him? How? I mean, why?”

She looks between her best friend and Ray, wondering what she’s missing. But Cassie’s attention is already focused on Ray. “It wasn’t an easy sell, but the DA agreed to give you full immunity in exchange for your testimony against the Jackals. Told you those security videos were more than just collateral.” She beams at him before squeezing Mia’s shoulders lightly. “I’ll leave you guys alone. I’m guessing you have a lot to talk about.”

Mia watches as her friend walks away from them towards a tall guy in suit. Vaguely she registers that it must be Marcus, the homicide detective and the only man who has ever swept Cassie off of her feet. But Mia can’t focus on that right now, not after everything she’s just heard.

‘Security videos? What’s she talking about, Ray?” Mia looks up at him, frowning.

Ray’s expression changes from confusion to pure joy in a matter of seconds and Mia can’t help but return his smile. “I guess I have a lot to fill you in on.” He pulls her towards him again, encircling her waist and leaning his head down to kiss her gently. “There’s a lot to cover,” he warns her.

“We have time.” She looks up at him adoringly, her lips on fire from his kiss. “I’m not planning on leaving your side anytime soon.”

Epilogue

“Remind me never to have a shower with you again.” Ray eyes her pointedly as she finishes up with her packing.

Mia puts her hands on her hips and returns his stare. “You were the one that said we would be quick, so don’t blame me!”

Ray smiles at her wickedly and she feels her stomach do the somersault it always does when he looks at her that way. “I don’t remember you complaining…either time.” He holds his hand out and she goes to him automatically letting him pull her close to him.

“No complaints here.” She holds her hands up in surrender before rising up on her tiptoes to kiss him deeply. She’s rewarded by a low growl in his throat that does wonderful things to her insides.

“We’re going to be late getting on the road.” The warning in his voice is in stark contrast to the hardness pressed up against her thigh.

“And that’s a problem because…?” She looks up at him from under heavy lidded eyes.

Ray leans back to look at her then, his eyes concerned. “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t want you to feel pressured at all.”

Mia sighs deeply, just stopping short of rolling her eyes at him. It’s a conversation they’ve been over more than once since the Jackals had been charged with a list of felonies longer than your arm. Despite it being Mia’s idea, Ray still needed her reassurance that she wasn’t doing this just for him, that she was doing it for her, too. She needed to get away for a little while just as much as he did.

“I’ve always wanted to travel, to see the world or at least more of it than I have so far. And I want to do it with you. It’s a no brainer.” She shrugs, feeling more relaxed about this decision of hers than she has about anything. “We’re not moving to China! It’s only a couple of months. I can pick up my Master’s when we get back. The shelter will keep my job for me. Did I already say thank you and that you’re amazing for donating that money to them?” She smiles up at him, wondering at how he had managed to turn blood money into money that would be used to heal.

“Once or twice.” Ray smiles down at her. “I’m glad those anonymous donations are such closely guarded secrets.”

Mia shrugs. “Cassie’s never been able to keep a secret from me.” She settles herself against his chest and breathes deeply, feeling content. “I kind of like the idea of having you all to myself for a little while.” She watches as the grin spreads across his face.

“You don’t think you’ll get bored of just you and me on the road?” His tone is light but Mia can see the question in his eyes and it makes her heart clench in her chest. There’s something about knowing that this handsome, brave, perfect man is vulnerable around her.

“I think I’ll manage.” She laughs up at him and watches as the tension seeps out of his features. “We have a lot of time to make up for.”

Ray leans down and covers her mouth with his, kissing her deeply until she feels her knees go weak. “And I intend to take full advantage of that.” His eyes gleam knowingly and Mia can’t help but giggle at the subtext of his words.

Her cell rings, stopping them from going any further and Mia immediately knows it’s Cassie. She and Ray had spent the last few days preparing for their road trip; they’d said their goodbyes to Cassie and her father and even to Donnie, who Ray had finally introduced her to.

He’d smiled at Ray and said, “Now I understand what all the fuss was about.” And the fact that someone as important to Ray as Donnie had given her the seal of approval made Mia feel inordinately pleased.

“Are you guys all ready to hit the road?” Cassie’s voice is quiet in her ear and Mia can hear the emotion behind her voice.

“We’re just about to make a move.” Mia looks around at Ray’s motel room, going through a mental checklist of things she wants to take with her.

“I’ll keep looking out for apartments for you for when you guys get back. You are definitely coming back, right?” Cassie sounds unsure of herself despite the fact that Mia has assured her again and again that she and Ray will be back in town in no time.

“My answer hasn’t changed from the last hundred times you’ve asked me, Cass.” Mia smiles into her phone. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She listens to the sigh that Cassie lets out at her words. “Good. It would be a whole lot of work to scout for a new best friend and with my court schedule at the moment I really don’t have the time.”

Mia chuckles at her friend’s words and then abruptly sobers, knowing why Cassie’s workload has gone even more ballistic than normal. “Any news?” She holds her breath, still prepared to hear the worst even though she knows that the Jackals are safely locked away with bails so high even Warren Buffet would struggle to spring them from jail.

“Apart from the fact that these guys are going to be put away for a very long time and that you and Ray have nothing to worry about, nothing at all.” Cassie reads Mia’s mind and allays her fears.

“Thanks, Cass. I really don’t know what I would do without you.” There’s no trace of irony in Mia’s voice; Cassie saved the day in more ways than one. She engineered Mia and Ray’s reunion as well as making the tough call of sending the details of the Jackals’ dirty dealings to the cops even though Ray had asked her not to. She had done what she thought was right and it turned out to be exactly that.

“You can pay me back in margaritas when you get back.” Mia can almost hear her friend waving away her words of thanks; she’s never been very good at accepting compliments or appreciation.

“Deal. I’ll call you, Cass, and don’t be a stranger, okay? I’ll have my cell with me the whole time. When you need me I’m just at the end of the line.” She wonders if she’s saying the words for Cassie’s benefit or her own. She and Cassie hadn’t been apart from each other for more than a few days since they’d met. They were pretty much inseparable and these couple of months would be a challenge for both of them.

“Make sure that man of yours looks after you, all right? I don’t want to have to kick his butt.” It’s Cassie’s way of saying that she’s going to miss her.

“Love you, too, Cass, and the same goes for that cop of yours. He better realize what he’s got. I’ll call you soon.” After she ends the calls she looks at the cell she’s cradling in her hand, already knowing she’s going to miss her friend.

“Are you all right?” Ray swipes a curl off her face, lifting her cheek so he can look into her eyes.

She smiles as her dark eyes lock with his blue ones. “I’m pretty sure I’m more than all right. I’m with you.” She shrugs as if to say that it’s just that simple, because it was. It had taken Mia a little while to realize, but she’d finally managed to get it through her thick head that she was happier beyond measure with Ray, she always had been. What she had felt for Eli greatly paled into significance next to what they had.

Her face darkens as her mind goes to Eli, stuck in a jail cell along with the other Jackals. She’d visited him once just after he’d been arrested and she’d regretted it immediately. He’d been abusive, said some truly horrible things to her that she’d never thought would come out of his mouth. That just proved how little she’d ever really known him, even when she’d thought they were friends.

Ray had wanted to go with her to see him, but she’d talked him out of it. She knew Ray couldn’t look at him without wanting to kill him for the part he’d played in the death of his mother. She couldn’t blame him for that and she had no intention of putting him through any more pain. He had suffered enough. That was something they were working on together. Mia was helping him deal with the things he had done and, slowly, they were making inroads. His eyes were starting to lose that haunted quality she’d noticed when he reappeared in her life. There was still a long road ahead of them and Mia wasn’t naïve enough to think it would be easy, but after everything they’ve been through together, she knows they can deal with anything.

“Ready?” Ray looks down at her and Mia can tell he’s not just asking if she’s prepared for the trip.

“Ready.” She smiles up at him and knows that she’s ready to go anywhere, do anything for this man and that he feels exactly the same about her.