Raising Riker (Hells Saints MC)

  Raising Riker

  © 2018 Paula Marinaro

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written consent from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

  Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

  The information in this book is distributed on an “as is” basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

  The characters, locations, and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity or resemblance to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Cover design by Dawn Brundige

  Interior Design by Fancy Pants Formatting

  This book is dedicated to Diana Murphy and Lisa Cullinan -two badass book-loving babes whose friendship, light and love has sustained and nourished me.

  Raine Falling

  Chasing Claire

  Taming Crow

  Saving Glory

  Hallelujah Rising

  Title

  Dedication

  Other Books in this Series

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Also by Paula

  About the Author

  “Hey, brother, isn’t that your woman?” Riker Devlin nodded to the coffee bar across the street where two women who were carrying shopping bags were about to enter the shop.

  “Yeah, it is.” Hallelujah Thomas grinned and automatically looked down at the thick band on the fourth finger of his left hand.

  “You realize you look at that damn thing about a thousand times a day, brother?” Riker shook his head. Hal had been married about three weeks now and in Riker’s mind that was a damn lifetime.

  “Yeah, so what?” Hal scowled at him.

  Riker shrugged. “So nothing, I just… ya know…it’s been a couple of weeks now, brother…”

  “And?”

  “I don’t know man…just seems…”

  “Spit it the fuck out, Riker. Seems what?” Hal growled.

  “Jesus, take it the fuck easy. No disrespect intended, man.” Riker hedged. “Just forget I said anything.”

  Hal crossed his big arms against his chest and waited.

  Riker sighed. “It seems like, you know…one woman?”

  Hal hesitated a minute, then bellowed out loud enough for the people passing by on the sidewalk to turn and stare. “You asking me if I’m bored?”

  While Riker looked on, Hal burst out with a knee- slapping, belly laugh for a good couple of minutes.

  Riker let Hal have his fun for a few more seconds then snarled out. “You laughing at me?”

  Hal wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, man. It’s just that the last thing I ever am, or ever expect to be is bored. Damn, just watching the expressions change on my woman’s face every five seconds keeps me entertained for hours. And this Haiti trip that Valentina is hell-bent on seeing through? My guess is that it’s gonna be a lot of things, but boring ain’t gonna be one of them.”

  “Yeah, guess you got that right, brother.” Riker couldn’t help but grin. “I got three sisters and two brothers. All married with a couple of kids. My mom was married to my dad for forty years before he passed. But honestly, man. I just don’t get it.”

  “Could be you just haven’t met the right woman yet.”

  Now it was Riker’s turn to laugh. “Shit, brother. You sound like my mother.” Then he clapped Hal on the shoulder. “What’d ya say we go buy that fascinating woman of yours a cup of coffee? My guess is that there ain’t a whole lot of espresso bars in wherever the hell it is you’re going.”

  Riker homed in on Gia the minute he entered the shop. It was as if a giant magnet pulled him toward her. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and her head was turned so that he could see the curve of her cheek and the graceful slope of her shoulders. She was wearing a light blue, thin strapped, cotton shirt, and white shorts. Her thick dark hair was pulled off her face in a loose bun. A pair of sunglasses sat perched on the top of Gia’s head and with her free hand she twirled a loose tendril around her fingers. God, she was pretty. Especially when she laughed like she was doing now.

  Riker thought about their one night together often and with a measure of regret—an unusual feeling for him. Gia had been all for the fast and the furious and it made him wonder how long it had been since she’d had a man. Not that Riker hadn’t enjoyed it, but he could have done better and he had planned to. But then Valentina Abruzzi lost her shit and that was the end of that.

  Although Gia and Riker had engaged in some hot sexting after that night, even that had been short-lived. Gia and Valentina’s abduction put an end to that—another reason to hate that asshole, Rooster. Aside from the cowardly act of kidnapping two women and putting them through that kind of damn terror, Riker had no doubt that the whole experience had changed the way Gia looked at things—at him.

  He figured it might be because Rooster had been a member of Prosper’s club—Riker’s club— but he wasn’t sure. There was no way to tell or even figure out a way to ask her about it. Gia had pretty much cut Riker off and that bothered him more than it should. She had a unique way of looking at life, and a quick wit that made him laugh out loud. He had looked forward to getting to know her better. But since the rescue, he had tried texting her a couple of times and she had given him one-word answers. Then she stopped answering him all together. The last time Riker had seen Gia was at Sal Tettorio’s funeral and she had been surrounded by Gianni’s boys. That had made it pretty much impossible to get to her. But even from a distance, the sight of Gia had hit Riker hard in the chest—it was a feeling that he didn’t understand, recognize or even like too much.


  As if pulled by an invisible string, Gia turned to face Riker as he and Hal approached the table.

  “Hey, wife.” Hal bent down and kissed Valentina on the mouth.

  “Hey, husband.” Valentina sighed against his lips.

  Gia looked at Riker and rolled her eyes in a way that made him grin. But when Riker tried to hold her eyes with his, he saw something flash across Gia’s face before her expression went carefully blank.

  Riker Devlin was one hot guy, that was for sure—with his ‘hey, baby’ eyes and rock- hard inked up body. He looked like the poster child for every woman’s dream of the quintessential bad boy. But when Gia Bonzini looked at Riker Devlin now, it was through a different lens. Then again, she looked at everything differently since the kidnapping—nothing screamed re-examine your life like having a gun pointed between your eyes. Besides, their night together hadn’t exactly been earth-shattering. Being with Riker had definitely not lived up to all the hype that the gossip had created.

  Granted, it had been a while since Gia had done the deed and she had been anxious to move things along, but Riker’s performance that night had been pretty ho-hum. After that night, Gia and Riker had entertained themselves with some steamy sexting and that had been off the charts hot. But before that could lead to another shot for the two of them, Gia and Valentina had been kidnapped and almost killed by a biker- gone- bad.

  That had been a traumatic experience —a life event that couldn’t leave a person unchanged. And unfortunately, the kidnapper had worn the Saints colors. So, as a result, every time Gia saw one of Prosper’s boys, she cringed just a little inside. Not that the club had anything to do with the dastardly deed, as a matter of fact, every Saints chapter and their affiliates world-wide were watching and waiting for Rooster to resurface. He would pay for his horrible transgression. But still…it had left its scars.

  If Gia was honest with herself, the waning interest she felt for Riker had more to do with herself than anything else. The attention, admiration and singular focus she received at the beginning of a relationship was always way more satisfying and much more of a turn-on for her than anything that followed. Once the thrill of the chase was gone and the chance of real intimacy set in, Gia became bored and went on to the pursuit of the next new shiny penny. Even as a very young child, Gia had craved attention and affection to a sometimes self-destructive and dangerous degree. Thank goodness Gia had had her cousin, Valentina, as a voice of reason.

  But now things had changed. She had changed and even without Valentina acting as her wingman, Gia had finally begun to see things differently. Because now when Gia looked at Riker, all the attraction and allure and mystique of the whole beautiful bad boy thing flew right out the window, and was replaced by a harsh, hard, cold reality.

  Now when Gia looked at Riker, she saw him for exactly what he was—trouble.

  “I’m going to miss you a lot.” Gia moaned from where she was sprawled out on the bed watching Valentina rifle through the drawers of the dresser.

  Though there had been times over the recent years that the cousins had been separated by distance, it was never easy for them to be apart. Now they were back in Valentina’s former bedroom in the Abruzzi mansion and to Gia’s immense sorrow, Valentina was packing for her goodwill trip back to Haiti. Gia felt as though she had just gotten her cousin back and now she was leaving again. It left Gia with a sad feeling that she just couldn’t shake— one of bereft loneliness and a sense of being left behind.

  Valentina stood on a chair and pulled down the oversized suitcase from the top shelf of the walk-in closet. When she was done, she moved to sit on the bed next to her cousin. Valentina reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind Gia’s ear. “You know you can always come with us.” Valentina said gently.

  Gia sighed. “I honestly wish I could, but that’s a ridiculous thought and we both know it.”

  “No, it isn’t, and I don’t know why you won’t even consider it.” Valentina pouted.

  Then Valentina’s pout became comically exaggerated and she looked at her cousin with arched eyebrows and dramatic hand gestures. “Please?” She begged with hands clasped as if in prayer.

  “Stop!” Gia couldn’t help but laugh. Then she put an arm around her cousin and hugged her warmly. “You know I’m not as nice of a person as you are, Valentina. The whole notion of giving of myself for the greater good is so not my thing. Especially if it involves any type of manual labor! And building both a school house and an orphanage from the ground up in a third world country? That’s definitely going to be a lot of work.” Gia sighed.

  “You know you’re a much nicer person than you ever give yourself credit for, Gia. Someday I hope you’ll see yourself as I see you…giving and loving and kind.”

  The two cousins sat together in silence; the sound from a clock acting as a sad reminder that their time together was growing shorter with each passing moment. To lighten the mood, Valentina teased. “But now that I think of it —you and any kind of physical labor? Definitely not a match!”

  “Are you saying I’m lazy?” Gia pulled away from her cousin, stood up and stared in mock outrage.

  “Nah, I’m just saying that you’re constantly on energy saving mode!”

  “Very funny!” Gia grinned. “Hey, that reminds me. You want me to grab those Doc Martens for you? You know for me they are pure fashion statement, but I bet you could use something substantial like those on the job site.”

  “Yeah. Thanks. That’s a great idea.” Valentina chewed her lip as she looked down at the contents of the open suitcase. “I’m probably forgetting a million things!”

  “No worries, we’ll go back over your list again one more time.” Gia told her. Then she bounced off the bed and scurried out to find the borrowed work boots. She was back in a flash.

  “Do you have any idea how long you’ll be gone?” Gia asked as she stuffed the boots into the big plastic bag that Valentina had laid out.

  Valentina shook her head. “No. I don’t. But Hal told me that there’s a club member who’s really good with blueprints and design. Hal said that this guy…I don’t remember what his name is... built a beautiful house somewhere in the southeast in a place called Havengate. He offered to come down to Port-au-Prince for a couple of weeks and help Hal oversee the construction. So, I hope him being there and lending us that kind of expertise might speed things along. The guy’s married and has a couple of little boys. He’s bringing his family with him. His wife’s name is Melissa. I’ve talked to her on the phone a few times. She really sounds nice and is genuinely interested in the project.”

  “So that’s good, at least you’ll have a friend there for part of the time.” Gia said. “It’s cool that the club’s okay with Hal leaving for a while. I’m surprised though. Doesn’t he have like responsibilities and stuff?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Valentina nodded. “But the Saints are also involved in a bunch of charitable events. Runs, raffles, fund-raisers are all part of what they do to keep the arrangements they have made with the politicians and the judges in the area.”

  “Kind of like the dental clinics that Uncle G had built in the poorer villages in Italy back in the day.” Gia nodded. “Hush money stuff—keeps everyone happy.”

  “I hate to think of it like that, because that is not and has never been what this building project is about. But I can’t deny that Hal going off to donate his time and money on this kind of venture satisfies at least part of the club’s goodwill obligation.”

  “His time. Your money.” Gia huffed.

  “Nope. Our time, our money. Hal’s matching what I donated.” Valentina said with pride. “And the club is throwing in, as well. So, all that put together with what Father Mike has been able to raise, we’ll be able to do a lot. You sure you don’t want to come down and lend a hand? Truthfully, there’s gonna be a lot more to do then just the physical construction and you know how much I’d love to have you with me.”

  “Tempting, but no thanks. I have to
stick around here and figure out what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life.” Gia sighed as she helped Valentina fold the clothes that were piled on the bed. Since her wedding a couple of weeks ago, Valentina had been caught in a whirlwind of activity. She hadn’t had much time to make the transition from her father’s house to Prosper’s lake house—the home that Hal had been staying in. That was just as well because it would have been a pointless move. Hal, Valentina, and Father Mike were leaving for the Caribbean tomorrow and they had no idea how long they would be gone.

  Valentina cocked a hand on her hip and surveyed the contents of the suitcase. “I think I have all the clothes I need, and if I don’t, I’ll just have to improvise.”

  “How about toiletries? Shampoo and stuff?” Gia asked.

  “Yup, I’m pretty sure I’m all set.” Valentina nodded as she went down the list on the sheet of paper she had in front of her. Then she let out a long burst of an infinitely tired sigh. “Damnit!”

  “What’d you forget?” Gia asked her.

  “Tampons. I wanted to bring a few boxes with me.” Valentina frowned as she glanced at the clock. “I’m pretty sure that the drugstore is closed by now, but I think that new market on the corner of West and Second Street should still be open. Will you come with me?”

  “Sure, let’s stop and get some frozen yogurt on the way home.” Gia’s face lit up. Then her brows knit in concentration. “Wait a minute. I brought a huge assortment pack of tampons to Italy with me.”

  “That’ll help. Do you have any left?” Valentina asked as she held up a pair of jeans to add to the growing pile in her suitcase. “Do you think I should take these?”

  “No. Just take the blue denims.” Gia suggested. “White is gonna get dirty too fast and black might be too hot. As far as the tampons go, I have plenty! I went to that wholesale club and bought a package of ninety- six to last me and I never even opened the box. I’ll go get them.”

  Gia scurried off the bed and was out the door before either one of them had time to fully process the implication of what a never opened box of tampons might mean.