Raven: Guarded Hearts Book 3

by Claire Marta

  Colin smirked, enjoying the shock he’d given her as much as he loved seeing her helpless.

  Struggling to stay calm, she picked up her purse and walked towards him. “Where is she?”

  “Safe for now—and she’ll remain that way if you do as you're told.”

  Raven snatched the toy from his hand when he offered it to her. Cradling Angus to her breasts, she squeezed the unicorn tightly, a link between her and her child. “What do you want?”

  Colin nodded at his goons who closed around either side of her, blocking any escape. “You. Now, we’re going for a little drive and you aren’t going to cause me any trouble.”

  Thoughts spiraling with dread, she knew she had to obey. If she fought, it put Willow at risk. Darcy, too, if they had her. She felt sick at the thought of what he might let his men do to her cousin. What he would order them to do. God help them, she knew he was a monster.

  Raven flinched when he curled his fingers around her left biceps, directing her movements. This was her fault for leaving the Citadel. She’d put them all in danger. Made it possible for Colin to reach them.

  “Let Raven go.”

  The familiar steely accented voice came from behind her.

  Cayden.

  Raven almost sagged with relief to see him. He was here. Surely, Killian wouldn’t be far behind him. The Scotsman was more than a man, but there were three against one.

  Colin’s grip on her turned violent, his fingertips biting into the flesh of her arm until she whimpered in pain.

  “Mind your own business,” he told the newcomer with a smile that looked more like a baring of teeth.

  Her ex-husband’s aggression didn’t intimidate Cayden. “Ye’ll be letting the lady go. And the child,” he added.

  Colin cocked his head. “Who the feck do you think you are? She’s my wife. You’re just some guy she’s been banging.”

  How very Colin. He’d been controlling when they were married. Possessive and insanely jealous. Any man who dared to show her kindness automatically had to be her lover. He’d had two men beaten. One had disappeared, never to be seen again. After that, his men had kept their distance, under orders to never speak to her.

  It was on the tip of Raven’s tongue to correct him but she was too frightened of what he might do if she did. They were divorced. The papers were signed and sealed, but he was acting like he still owned her.

  Cayden bridged the distance between them, his emerald gaze assessing. “I will nae warn ye again.”

  A goon to his left went for him but the Scotsman dodged his fist lightning quick. They exchanged blows but it was easy to see Cayden had more training.

  The fight ended with the other man on the ground.

  Focused as he’d been on the first man, he missed the second. Raven called out a warning when she saw him move, but it was too late.

  Latching onto him from behind, Colin’s thug jabbed a syringe into the side of the Scotsman’s neck. With a roar of anger, Cayden shook him off and sent him crashing into the ground. Snarling, he took a step toward them only to sway on the spot, his eyes losing focus.

  He raised a hand to his red hair. A frown furrowed his brow. “Raven?”

  Raven watched helplessly when his knees buckled. He toppled sideways, his hands groping across the grass in her direction before he went still, unconscious but still breathing.

  A sob broke from her throat. “What have you done?”

  Colin jerked her around to face him, his expression hard and unforgiving. “Less than he deserves. If you don’t want me to put a bullet in his head and leave his body for a jogger to find, you’ll start moving.”

  Forced to comply, she was marched away. With only a fleeting glance over her shoulder, she took solace that Cayden had been left unharmed.

  A car and driver were waiting for them at one of the exits. She was urged into the back by Colin, who stripped her purse from her, put her billfold in his pocket, and stuffed everything else in a large metal trash bin. He climbed in beside her. One of his men took the empty seat on the other side of her while the second took the passenger seat in the front.

  Raven checked frantically around, still clutching her daughter’s toy, looking for any signs of her. There was nothing. No other vehicle. “Please Colin,” she pleaded when the vehicle started moving. “Where’s my daughter? Where’s Willow?”

  Her words were met with stony silence. Raven had lived with his moods long enough to recognize them. The man’s quietude was misleading. Beneath it lay rage, not hot like lava but glacially cold. Skin prickling with danger, she bowed her head. She knew what was coming. When Colin’s hold snapped, he would unleash his anger on her.

  God help her when he did.

  They drove for what felt like hours. Watching the scenery pass, she worked out quickly that they were headed for the edge of the city. It took a while for her to recognize where they were going—a remote, rural safehouse owned by his family. They’d been there once before when a rival boss had threatened war. It had just been her and Willow. Colin had stayed to help his father. He’d returned the triumphant hero, claiming her like the spoils of war...

  With the smell of someone else’s perfume still on his skin.

  They pulled to a stop into the driveway of the safehouse, where four more men waited by the front entrance. Colin slid out of his door and yanked her out by her wrist. Raven stumbled, dragged along behind him as he stalked past his goons and went inside. He headed for the stairs, pulling her up with him. She almost fell twice before they reached the largest bedroom.

  Jaysus, no.

  Raking her fingers along his wrist, she tried to get him to release his hold. Panic had her heart pounding and the blood in her veins sounding in her ears.

  Colin hissed, gaze blazing with malice at the red, bleeding scratches she left in his skin. “In, you little bitch.”

  Thrown forward past the threshold of a doorway, Raven fell onto her hands and knees on the carpet. Her daughter’s unicorn went flying, tumbling free.

  Colin was on her so quickly, she had no time to scurry away. Fisting her hair in one hand, he yanked it back, making her eyes water. He slid his other hand inside her top, pushing the cup of her bra down to grope her breast.

  “I’ve bet you’ve missed this, haven’t you, Rae?” He sank his teeth into her shoulder through the material of her T-shirt and dry-humped her arse.

  “Get off me, Colin!” She twisted under him, knowing it was futile. From the pattern of violence she had survived before, he wouldn’t release her until he was done.

  “You’ve always liked it rough,” he taunted, abandoning her breast to flip her onto her back.

  Bringing her knee up, Raven caught him with a glancing blow to the groin. Her effort to defend herself earned her a hard, open-handed slap across the cheek. Desperate, she went for his eyes only to have both her wrists caught and secured in his grip. Using his weight, he pinned her legs so she couldn’t use them as a weapon.

  “You're mine, Raven! You always have been. From the moment I saw you. You might stray, but it’s me you’ll always end up with.” With determined fingers, he worked open the button of her jeans. When his hand slid inside past her cotton panties, Raven broke down in a helpless sob. There was nothing she could do. He’d always used his strength against her. Taken what he wanted.

  Colin groaned in satisfaction, his fingers creeping past the curls that guarded her mound to probe her slit.

  Choking on her tears, Raven screwed her eyes shut, feeling him touch and tease her. Thrusting a digit inside her, he started fucking her with it.

  “How many cocks have you taken since me?” he demanded, his movements becoming more of a stabbing motion. “You could never keep your legs together. Flaunting what’s mine, you dirty whore.”

  “Don’t…, please,” she whispered in a plea, dismayed by the power he had over her and ashamed when he forced her body to respond against her will.

  The hand snaked away, leaving a trail of her wetness
in its wake. Raven’s relief was short-lived. The blow came swift and fast to the side of her jaw, snapping her head to the right. A second found her eye. Numbness followed before the pain rushed in. Colin released her wrists, bringing his other hand into play. She could do nothing but roll into a tight ball to protect her belly and the fragile life within while he punched and kicked the rest of her. Each blow was harder than the last, unleashing all his aggression on her in his fury.

  When he finally stopped beating her, Raven could barely move. Saints preserve her, Colin had gone to town on her. Everything hurt. Every muscle that she possessed, every inch of skin he’d battered and bruised. One of her eyes was so swollen, she couldn’t open it. She licked her lips and winced at the split.

  In the past when he’d struck her, he’d always been careful to do it in places that would be hidden. He no longer cared who saw the abuse he inflicted on her.

  Breathing heavily, he stood over her, his expression devoid of emotion. “Get yourself cleaned up, bitch. You look like a goddamn mess. I have some business to deal with, and then I’ll be back to remind you that you're mine.”

  Knowing better than to reply, Raven held her breath. She didn’t release it until she heard the door close behind him. From his words, this was only the beginning. When he returned, she would face another round of beatings, either before or after he raped her.

  Knowing Colin, it could be either.

  Raven’s good eye settled on the fluffy white unicorn lying abandoned on its side across the room. She wanted to hug it but didn’t want to cover it in blood. It needed to be perfect when she returned it to Willow.

  Clenching her teeth, she fought off fresh tears. Where was Colin keeping her daughter? Was she frightened? Hurt? Were Darcy and Prince with her or had she been taken alone? Everything within Raven screamed to find her child. Hopefully, she was somewhere here in the safehouse. If she could find some clue, it would be easier to locate her and then they could escape.

  Shifting awkwardly with a pained grunt, she managed to turn onto her front. Her attempt to stand was so excruciating, it robbed her of breath. Forced to crawl, she crossed the distance to the bathroom at a snail's pace.

  Using the side of the bathtub, she hauled herself up to sit on the edge, crying out in discomfort from her injuries. Meeting her reflection in the mirror above the sink, Raven barely recognized herself. One puffy eye was fused shut. There was a long, thin cut right above it. A red bruise in the shape of a handprint covered her left cheek and jaw.

  She shakily tugged at the neckline of her T-shirt. Removing it for a self-examination, she studied the bruises, looking for broken skin. There were grip marks along both arms. More littered her shoulders and chest, looking grotesque where they’d already begun to darken.

  Colin had kicked her viciously, repeatedly, with thick-soled leather shoes. Her sides and back felt like they were on fire. She’d need an x-ray to confirm it, but she suspected that at least one rib was cracked.

  Hand moving to her belly, she cradled it with her palm. Raven had been careful to protect it but had it been enough? Yes, she’d been freaked out about the pregnancy at first. Things like this just didn’t happen. The thought of losing her little miracle, though, was desolating.

  If Colin got his way later, the baby would be put at risk again. She couldn’t let that happen. Not a second time.

  She pulled a first aid box from the closet and set to work washing any open wounds, wiping away the oozing blood from her pallid skin, swabbing them with disinfectant, and wrapping them with gauze.

  The rounded tip of the bandage scissors made them impossible to used as a weapon. Finding a metal nail file in the medicine cabinet, Raven slid it into her pocket. Someone hadn’t thought to remove it. Their mistake could be her advantage.

  Finished, she returned the box to where she found it. Retrieving her T-shirt, she eased it back on with a grimace.

  Taking a deep breath, she rose gingerly from her seat and limped into the bedroom. Retrieving Willow’s unicorn Angus, she hobbled to the door. Raven hadn’t heard Colin lock it. He was arrogant enough to think after beating her, she wouldn’t dare to run. Twisting the handle quietly, she edged open the door without a sound. She could hear the murmur of conversation downstairs. Male voices. Colin and his goons.

  Using the wall for support, she slid along it to the next door. The room was empty. Clinging to hope, she moved onto the next. No signs of life showed in that one either. Limping toward the window, she unlatched it, swinging it open a crack to listen intently. Maybe she’d hear Prince.

  There was nothing except the faint sound of leaves stirring in the breeze.

  The house was nestled in wooded hills, rolling ground covered with nothing but trees as far as the eye could see. There was no sign of a puppy. She did catch sight of a squirrel, reminding her of Willow’s fall when Tobias had saved her. Searching the sky in vain for winged men coming to her rescue, she spied a falcon circling lazily overhead. The other birds had been frightened away by its presence.

  Colin’s voice spoke from below. “No, I don’t know where she is.”

  Flinching, Raven took a step to the side, hiding from view.

  “Tell him I’ll find her… No, no—there’ll be no problems.”

  His tone. For once, he sounded scared.

  Flattening herself against the wall, she listened intently. Maybe he’d drop a clue about whom he was talking to. Had he got involved with something or someone far more dangerous than the Irish Mob?

  “My men are out searching for her now. He’ll have her soon. I already have her mother.”

  Willow.

  Jaysus.

  Colin was talking about her daughter. Clutching the unicorn in one hand, Raven covered her mouth with the other, stifling her noise of relief. He didn’t have her.

  Willow was safe. But how had he gotten Angus? She gazed down at the toy, her thoughts swirling furiously. Darcy had to be with her. If they’d returned to where they’d left her, they’d have found Cayden.

  Her excitement was fleeting. He may know Colin had kidnapped her but he wouldn’t know about this place. It could take them weeks to find her.

  By then, it might be too late. A brutal kick, a miscarriage… she could hemorrhage to death and there would be nothing Colin could do to stop it. Telling him about her pregnancy would only bring forth more of his rage. He’d accuse her of lying to him, claiming she couldn’t have a child. There’s no way that he’d allow her to bear another man’s baby. He would swear it would be his or none and see to it, not knowing her body had changed. There was no way he could impregnate her. At least she had that blessing. If he decided to keep her, she would never bear that monster’s child.

  Pushing off the wall, Raven headed for the stairs, praying they led to freedom. First, she’d have to get past the guards. If she could find the car keys, she could take the car. Waiting for dark would be the right option, but Raven knew she didn’t have that luxury. Colin’s threat was fresh in her mind. She needed to get the hell out of there.

  Shuffling her feet, she grimaced every time she made it down a step. Peeking over the banister, she made certain no one was in the hall. She’d been no trouble to Colin’s men when they were married. From the looks of things, they assumed it would be the same way now. Cautiously stepping to the front door, she eased it open and slipped outside.

  He’d expect her to head for home. How far would help be if she turned the other way? The road would eventually lead somewhere. Limping for the car, she checked through the window in hopes someone had left the keys in the ignition.

  “Going somewhere?”

  The familiar voice made every hair on her body rise in dread. Turning, she found Colin behind her. Lips pressed together in a thin white line, he surveyed her with disgust. Ripping away the unicorn, he threw it on the ground, grabbed her arm, and hauled her roughly toward the house.

  Raven fought but her body hurt so damn much. “Let me go, Colin! You can’t keep me here!”


  “I think you need some time in the box.”

  Trooping her through the house, he dragged her into the kitchen. He nodded at the closest man, who moved to the end of the island. Raven observed, open-mouthed, as a hidden switch was flipped and the whole thing slid away, revealing hidden stairs.

  Colin marched her down the steps, shadowed by two of his men. At the bottom was a windowless room with smooth concrete walls lit by a single stark electric bulb that hung from above.

  Raven’s mouth went dry when she saw the metal door set into the cellar floor. It had a heavy bolt on the outside and a handle. One of her ex-husband’s goons opened it, revealing a space beneath filled by a coffin-shaped box.

  “In,” Colin ordered, shoving her forward. The nearest man knelt and flipped up its lid.

  Raven shook her head. “You're mad if you think I’m getting in there.”

  Clicking his fingers, the men obeyed the silent command, grabbing her around the waist and legs. Bucking, writhing, she fought them wildly, adding to the pain of her injuries.

  Forced down, there was nothing she could do when they sealed her in, enshrouding her, entombing her. The lid closed, heavy and thick. Tiny beams of light flooded in through a dozen small air holes. Trapped, she pressed against the sides of the box with her arms and legs and pushed against the lid. What space she had was cramped and claustrophobic. Built large enough to hold a man, it was too snug to allow more than limited movement. She could shift her limbs to ease pressure points but there wasn’t enough room to turn over.

  A creak and a thud came from above. The door in the floor closed, throwing her into sudden darkness with just the thinnest stitch of light outlining the opening in the floor.

  Dread rose in her throat, strangling her, muting her cries of protest that would only have fallen on deaf ears.

  Robbed of sight, her other senses were heightened. Raven listened to their movements, feet testing the strength of the metal door above the coffin.

  “Enjoy your night, my love,” Colin’s voice filtered down to her. “Hopefully, you’ll be in a more submissive mood in the morning.”