by J. M. Walker
Suddenly, the woman charged for me.
Hooking an arm around her waist, I lifted her off her feet and shoved her against the wall. She fought and pushed, screamed and cursed.
“Hold her arms,” I told Tray, holding her still, careful not to break any bones. She may have been tiny but, fuck me, she was strong. “Tell me who the fuck you are. Why are you here?”
“Fuck you,” she spat, glaring at me. She stopped struggling against Tray, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths.
“You see, little girl. My friends already did that. And you stabbed one of them. That doesn’t sit well with me. So there has to be a reason why you’re here.” I cupped her jaw when she didn’t answer and forced her head back. “Tell me what I want to know.”
“They raped me. I was acting out in self-defense.” Her cheeks reddened but she didn’t avert her gaze.
Red hot fury roared through me. “My brothers are into some dark shit but I know for a fact they didn’t rape you.” I dug my fingers into her jaw. “Now tell me why you’re here. I’m not opposed to hitting a woman if she brings it on herself.” I wouldn’t hit her but she didn’t need to know that.
“You can’t rape what’s offered freely,” Tray growled in her ear. “I seem to recall you begging for it like a little slut. It was almost too easy.”
“Fuck you,” she bit out, shoving against him.
Tray only tightened his hold on her arms.
Her hard gaze landed on me. “Just kill me. Do whatever the fuck you want but you’re not getting shit out of me.”
“Did Travis send you?” I asked, ignoring her.
Something flashed behind her eyes. “No.”
I chuckled. “You’re lying. Tell me what he wants.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“Tell me,” I demanded, just as my phone rang. “What?” I barked into the cell.
A deep chuckle sounded in my ear and grated on every last nerve inside of me.
“Did you get my present?” came a rough reply.
“Travis.” My gaze zeroed in on the woman standing in front of me. “What the hell do you want?”
“You see, you have something that belongs to me and I think it’s time I come to collect. I’m a patient man but things aren’t going as planned.” Travis chuckled again. “But this is perfect. Almost too perfect. Catch was stabbed.” His laugh deepened. “I couldn’t have planned this any better myself. Fuck me, I love my life.”
My fingers tightened around my cell. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Ask my present,” he told me.
“Travis,” I yelled. “What the hell do you want?”
His laughter turned dark. “My wife.”
(Eve)
Pacing back and forth, I couldn’t control the anxiety rushing through me. Catch had been rushed to the hospital after Butcher ushered me into Greyson’s room. I didn’t put up a fight, but now that it had been an hour of waiting and not knowing anything, I was going stir-crazy.
Screw it.
Heading to the door, I opened it just as Trixie barreled into me.
“Oh, shit,” she exclaimed. “Sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I am.” I shut the door behind her. “What happened? Is Catch okay? Please tell me something. Greyson and Tray disappeared. I don’t know what’s going on and I’m losing my mind over here. No one is telling me anything.”
“Catch is in surgery. Butcher is at the hospital. I needed …” She took a breath. “That was way too close to home. I had to get away. Butcher told me to come back here and check on you. Are you okay?”
I frowned. “I’m fine. I wasn’t the one who was stabbed.”
“I know.” She took a deep breath. “Butcher told me about Travis.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized Greyson had told the guys. It made sense but it never dawned on me. “I’m …” I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. “Will Catch be okay?” I asked, needing to change the subject off of me.
“He’s in good hands.” Trixie’s eyes shone. “All we can do is wait. Do you know what happened with that woman?”
“No. Greyson and Tray went to confront her but I haven’t heard …” Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded through my abdomen. “Holy.” I fell to my knees. “Shit.”
“Eve,” Trixie cried, dropping in front of me. “What is it?”
“I …” A warm liquid leaked from my body. My eyes widened. I clutched my stomach, staring up at Trixie. “I think … I think my water broke.”
“Shit.” Trixie ran to the bathroom and came back a moment later with some towels. “Let me check you. Can you stand?”
“I think so,” I said, when another sharp pain slammed into me. “God.”
“Okay, let me help you up.” Trixie grabbed my upper arm, pulling me to my feet, and walking me over to the bed. “Lay on your back. I’m going to put a pillow beneath you.”
“Trixie,” my voice wavered. “I’m scared.”
“I know, darlin’. We got this. You got this. I won’t leave your side.” She patted my hand. Rolling me onto my side, she placed a pillow behind me and rolled me back on top of it. “Comfy?”
“For now,” I gritted out just as another searing hot pain hit me.
“Your contractions are coming fast.” Trixie bent my knees, lifting my dress to my hips. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” I nodded quickly. “Please. Just make sure my baby is okay.”
“I will.” She gave my hand a gentle squeeze and took off my panties. “Fuck me, I see the baby’s head.” Her eyes met mine. “This is going to be fast, Eve. Your baby is ready.”
“But I’m not.” I was due soon but that didn’t mean I was expecting it to happen so fast. My heart raced, sweat coating my brow.
“You’re past the dangerous mark. The baby can be born anytime now and be healthy. Your baby is strong, Eve. You are strong. Do you got me?”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Eve,” she snapped. “I said, do you got me?”
My eyes popped open. “Yes. Yes I got you.”
“Good girl.” She pulled in a sharp breath. “Now when I say push, I want you to push with everything you got. Okay?”
“Okay.” Oh, please God let my baby be okay.
“Well, this is perfect timing,” a deep voice came from the doorway. “Looks like I’ll be able to see the birth of my baby after all.”
THIS COULDN’T BE happening. Was life that cruel to play a trick so vile on me? The monster who stood only a few feet away stared me down. I didn’t know what to do but lay there. I couldn’t move with the pain rushing through my abdomen.
“Please,” I whimpered. “My baby.”
Trixie stared wide-eyed between Travis and me. “I have to help her.”
“I’m not stopping you.” He locked the door. “But I’m not leaving, either.”
“Sit behind her,” Trixie demanded.
“What?” I cried. “No. Please no.” I didn’t know him. I didn’t want him near me. If what Greyson said was true, I didn’t give a shit if he was, in fact, my husband. He was an evil bastard, and I didn’t want him anywhere near me or my baby.
“Eve,” Trixie’s voice was firm. “You need to forget who he is. I need his help. This baby is coming fast.”
“I want Greyson,” I sobbed. “He should be here with me.” Not Travis.
Travis ignored me, crawled onto the bed, and sat behind me. “I got you, Marlowe,” he whispered in my ear, pushing me forward.
My eyes burned, my chest racing. It was fucked up in the way he held me so gently. It was fucked up in the way it was him who helped me and not the man I was in love with.
“All right, Eve. I need you to push,” Trixie commanded.
I pushed with everything in me—my stomach tightened, my muscles burned, my breathing became labored.
“What would you do if I told you that this baby isn’t mine?” Travis murmured in my ear while holding m
e against him.
My eyes widened but no words left my lips.
“What would you do if I told you that just before you escaped, you had your period and we haven’t fucked since?” His voice was rough, but low enough for only me to hear.
“The doctor,” I whispered. “He said …”
“He lied. I paid him off.” Travis chuckled, the deep sound rumbling from his chest. “Now push, Marlowe.”
“My name is Eve,” I cried out in frustration, pushing until the pressure in my lower belly subsided.
The sound of a wail slid right into my heart.
“Eve,” Trixie whispered.
I fell back against the man I hated. The man I was supposedly married to but who I just found out wasn’t the father of my baby. Could he be lying? Was he still fucking with me?
“Give her the baby,” Travis demanded, aiming a gun at Trixie.
My eyes widened, my heart jumping to my throat. “Please stop this.” Every inch of me hurt.
“She needs to go to the hospital,” Trixie said, wrapping my baby up in a towel.
“You have all the shit you need here, don’t you? So fix her up. Do your fucking job, Trixie.”
“Travis.” Her mouth pursed into a straight line. “You know I can’t do shit without equipment.”
“Fix her the fuck up,” he repeated. “Now.”
“Meet your son, Eve,” she said, placing him in my arms and glared at Travis. “I’ll clean you up.”
A sob escaped me. “Oh, baby,” I whispered, wishing Greyson could have been here with me.
Trixie had cut the umbilical cord and cleaned me up as best she could. “She still needs to go to the hospital.”
Travis tightened his arm around me. “Now that your job is done,” he said, ignoring her.
Suddenly, a shot rang out.
Trixie fell off the bed, landing on the floor with a thump.
My son cried.
I screamed.
Travis laughed.
(Greyson)
The bone curdling scream tore through me and hit me in the deepest, darkest part of my soul. I didn’t know who made that sound but I didn’t care.
Tray shoved the woman up against the wall. “If I find out that something happened to those we love and you had a hand in it, you will beg for me to kill you.”
The color drained from the woman’s face.
I grabbed his arm and gave my head a small shake.
He pushed her hard, forcing her back on her ass at the abrupt movement.
“Let’s go.” I pulled him forward and shut the door behind us. The woman didn’t even try to fight. She knew she had lost. She knew she had made the biggest mistake of her life by working with the depravity that made up Travis Breault.
Tray locked the door. “What are we going to do with her?”
I didn’t know. “I’ll call Sarge.” The screams started up again. “Fuck.” Everything in me came alive. I knew that voice. I knew the sheer terror hidden behind it. I passed a look at Tray.
“Fuck. I’ll call him. Go get your girl.” Tray already had his phone to his ear as he headed down the stairs.
“Greyson.”
I turned, finding more of my crew coming toward me.
“We heard screaming,”
“I’m itching for blood.”
“It’s been awhile.”
It took everything in me not to tell them to go home to their families, their women, to just leave and let me deal with it. But I couldn’t because I knew that I had needed them. I knew that without my crew, I was nothing. And without Eve, I didn’t exist.
The further we walked down the hall, the louder the screams became when, suddenly, they were cut short. I realized they were coming from my bedroom. Thoughts traveled through me. Dark, dangerous, the epitome of evil that I had tried so hard to ignore. But now I couldn’t.
I signaled for my guys to remain quiet once we reached my door. It didn’t budge when I tried to open it.
Taking a breath, I shoved my body against the door. Once. Twice. And finally, it broke open. I wasn’t sure what we would walk in on but as we charged into the room, my knees almost gave out before me.
Blood. So much fucking blood.
My gaze roamed around the room. I didn’t know what I had walked in on until I saw the bundled heap on the floor.
My heart jumped to my throat. My vision clouded.
“Trixie.” I rushed to her and fell to my knees. “Trixie.” I shook her but she wouldn’t move. Touching the pulse in her neck, a bellowed roar escaped me.
Voices sounded.
Bodies moved.
Eve was nowhere to be found.
“Check my office,” I told my guys. It was connected to my bedroom. It would be the only way Eve could leave this room without being seen. Where the fuck was she? “Check this fucking house. Do not come back to me until you have Eve. Do you understand me?”
More voices but I couldn’t make out what was being said as I held the body in my arms.
“Oh, Trixie.” I cupped her head, holding her against me and rocked back and forth.
“Shit.” Tray appeared at the door. “Fucking fuck.” He clutched his chest, his eyes unmoving as he stared at Trixie.
“Did you call Sarge?” I asked him, my voice rough. “Tray,” I snapped when he didn’t respond.
His gaze flicked to mine.
“Did you call Sarge?” I repeated.
“Yeah,” his voice cracked. “He has his contact tracing the woman’s phone.”
“Have him trace Eve’s phone too,” I demanded. “She couldn’t have gone far.”
Tray glanced at the bed before meeting my gaze.
“I don’t know what happened.” I glanced down at Trixie lying still in my arms.
“Trixie?”
My stomach somersaulted as my eyes popped up, landing on Butcher standing in the doorway.
“No.” He swallowed hard. “She’s not … no. Fucking no.”
And then he wailed.
EVERYTHING INSIDE OF me hurt. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t even know when it was. But I knew that I had lost one of my closest friends. Trixie had been there for me when I needed her most and now she was gone. Thanks to the vile monster sitting in the driver’s seat of the large SUV.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, my throat raw and scratchy.
“Ah.” Travis smiled at me over his shoulder. “You’re awake.”
“Where’s my baby?” I tried sitting up but my muscles were too weak. My arms shook and I flopped back down onto the seat.
“He’s right here. I gave him a couple drops of the whiskey from my flask. Knocked him right out.” Travis’ dark stare met mine in the rearview mirror. “I don’t suggest doing anything stupid.” He flipped the passenger seat visor down.
My eyes widened when I saw in the reflection of the mirror that he had a gun pointed directly at my son. He was lying in a car seat, snuggled in a blanket. He was tiny. So damn tiny, it made me wonder if what Travis had said was actually the truth or not. Because if my son was Grey’s, him being so small would make sense.
“You wouldn’t hurt a baby.” My heart raced, but as I spoke those words, I didn’t know if he would or not.
“No.” His gaze met mine in the mirror again. “As long as you behave, your son will be fine.”
“What do you want?” I asked him, trying to fight back the tears threatening to spill from my very soul.
“You, Marlowe. You’re mine. You will always be mine and you have been mine for a long time now.”
I shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know … I don’t remember anything.”
He chuckled, that dark malicious laugh rumbled through me. “You wouldn’t remember. You were pretty fucked up when I saw you last.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I remember running through the woods—”
“Because I let you escape.” His eyes turned cold. “You think all of this was on a whim? That I didn
’t plan for any of this shit to happen? You falling into Greyson’s arms was just an added bonus. Although, I’m not a fan of him fucking something that belongs to me.”
“Are we actually married? Is he your son? How did we meet?” I threw question after question at him. I needed to know. I needed to understand.
“I guess I can give you some insight into our life together.” He tapped his chin. “It’s not like you’re going anywhere anytime soon.” He chuckled to himself. “We met at a diner in some shady town in the middle of nowhere. You were trying to make ends meet. If you actually read your file, you would know that you had a pretty shitty life.”
“I did read my file but it didn’t give me a lot of information. How do you know about it anyway?”
“Who do you think Sarge’s contact is?” The car slowed to a stop. Travis cut the engine and turned toward me. “I let you play your little game. I let you leave. I let you do everything. It wasn’t because you had a choice. You never had a choice, Marlowe.”
“Eve,” I corrected. “My name is Eve.”
“No.” Travis left the vehicle and opened the back door. Grabbing my ankles, he pulled me toward him.
I whimpered, my muscles protesting at the movement.
“You are Marlowe. You were the perfect victim. Don’t you get it?” He cupped my cheek.
I shoved out of his grip.
Grabbing my jaw, he forced me to look at him, a slice of pain rushing through me at the rough hold he had on me.
“I was your knight in shining armor. I saved you. I threw a fantasy at you and you accepted it with open arms. You would do anything to make a buck. To get out of that shitty job you were in. To get out of your own life, you jumped at the chance to take over someone else’s.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My wife, Eve,” he growled out that name. “You took over the role of my wife.”
(Greyson)
It had been a sound I never wanted to hear again. It would forever haunt my nightmares, taking the place of every shitty thing I had done. The sound of a heart breaking. The sound of a life shattering as the vocal cords were ripped raw by each terrifying scream.