Damned If I Do

Chapter 28

I emerge from the water on the other side of the tunnel. "Rafe?" I look around for him. "Rafe!" I call out again with a panic laced tone. I frantically splash around in the water trying to find him. It feels like minutes, but truly it's only been seconds before I feel his arms wrap around my waist as he pops up out of the water. "You nearly gave me a heart attack." I shove at his chest. "Relax, baby. I'm fine." He gives me a sexy smile. Oh, the things this man does to me. Asshole. "Let's go find everyone, we've made them wait long enough." He chuckles and reaches for my hand.

We make our way to the shoreline and begin to walk along the dark, narrow path, brushing up against the rocky wall. "Do you have another flare?" I ask as I notice the one I'm holding seems to be dying out. "Uh, yeah." Rafe says as he reaches in his back pocket. He lights it just as we hear talking in the distance. "That must be them." Rafe says. "No shit." I smile as we continue on. "Look who finally made it." JJ says looking at Rafe, completely ignoring the fact that I'm there as well. My dad looks at Rafe and I with pure disgust. I didn't really think about how my appearance would look once we reunited with everyone. I'm assuming it looks like I just got fucked against the cave wall. "Why don't you guys go ahead the rest of the way, we'll only be a minute." My dad says and everyone begins to continue on the trail.

I open my mouth to speak as I catch my dad's eyes shift down to the massive rock on my left hand. "No." My dad speaks. "No?" I question. "Did he ask anyone's permission? Because he definitely doesn't have my blessing." My dad looks Rafe in the eyes as he continues talking to me. I can feel Rafe tense behind me. "He doesn't need to." I defend Rafe. "He isn't good for you, Lexi. He's a fucking Cameron." My dad shouts. I step up to my "father". "You have no say. I'm an adult. You've been absent my entire fucking life. The only consistent thing I've had has been my feelings for Rafe." I argue. "You're being a foolish child. You're making a huge mistake. He's a piece of shit just like his old man." My dad's nostrils flare as he talks. I feel Rafe approaching. "We're not going in here together. Me or him." My dad demands an answer.

"Him." Without a hesitation, the answer flows too easily out of my mouth. I grab Rafe's hand. My dad looks at me in disbelief. "I don't want to hurt you, Lex, but you're not going in there with him." My dad stares me down. "Move." Rafe orders my dad. "Excuse me? Who the hell who do you think you are?" My dad scoffs as he stands tall, stepping up to Rafe. "I'm the man Lexi chose. Now, move." Rafe smiles in my dad's face. My dad reaches around to the waistband of the back of his pants, struggling to pull something out. Gun. Instinctively, I reach behind Rafe, pulling his gun out of his waistband. Rafe gives me a quick what the fuck look just as my dad points his gun at Rafe's head.

I mimic his motion by pointing Rafe's gun at my dad's head. "Lexi." Rafe pleads in a whisper. "Put the fucking gun down, Michael." I order. I am not fucking around. "Alexis." My dad speaks like he's actually surprised this is happening. "I'm not playing around. You have until I count to three." I say pressing the gun into my dad's temple. His eyes flicker between me and Rafe, his jaw twitches. "I just- I can't accept this." My dad looks at me before inching his finger closer to the trigger. "I swear to fucking God." I yell. Rafe's eyes lock with mine. He mouths the words "I love you."

Over my dead body will I let anything happen to the man of my dreams. I've just only got him back after the worst heartache of my life. He's mine, forever, this time. I kick my dad in the nuts with as much force as I can muster out. He drops his gun and doubles over in pain. "If you ever-fucking ever!" I can't finish. Rafe rushes to pick up the gun my dad had dropped. I give him a confused look. "He's never going to let this go, Lex. He's never going to accept this. Us." Rafe says disappointedly. I look between my dad and Rafe. "Fucking bitch." My dad calls out. "What did you call her?" Rafe asks protectively. "I said you're a fucking bitch. Just like your whore mother. I should have killed you when I had the chance. Honestly. I would've been rich... famous even!" My dad yells at me through gritted teeth.

I look to Rafe, who's already staring back at me, searching my eyes for an answer. I audibly gulp. "You know, when I thought you were dead, I was so happy with that. Such a disappointment to find your heart was still beating and you were still breathing." I kneel down beside the sorry excuse of a man, pointing the gun on the spot directly between his eyes. "Do it, Lex, or so help me God when I get up I'm killing both of you. That's a promi-." I don't give him the chance to finish his sentence before pulling the trigger. I just killed MY dad in cold blood. I've killed two people in less than twenty hours, and I don't even feel guilty. What is happening to me?

"Lexi." Rafe says as he approaches me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I'm fine." I assure him. "Do you want a minute?" He asks with a concerned tone, as he begins to pepper my neck with soft kisses. "No. Let's go claim what's ours and finally get out of this horrible fucking place." I spin around in his arms to face him, placing the most gentle of kisses to his lips. "It'll be okay." He smiles against my lips before pulling back slowly. "Will it?" I ask, my mind racing with everything that has happened since being here. "Of course. You don't have to go through anything alone anymore. I mean it." He says as he places his hands on each of my cheeks, looking down at me. "I love you." I smile, for the first time since being here feeling completely safe. "I love you, too." He says as he reaches his hand out for me. Once our fingers interlock I'm overcome with a sense of freedom, pride, and I feel almost like I'm invincible.

He guides me down the stone path, not much further from where we left my dad's dead body to rot. "There's light up ahead." He says with excitement as we continue to tread on. "Oh my God." I say with my mouth gaping open as we approach the others and the most amazing sight I've ever seen, well, second to Rafe Cameron on his knees for me. Gold is sparkling for what seems like miles against the cave walls. Gold in every possible form there could be. Jewelry, coins, bars, you name it. We fucking did it. We found El Dorado.