“Raven.”
“What?” I answer brusquely, keeping my back to her.
“Can I talk to you?”
“¿Qué quieres?”
“Por favor…”
“Cinco minutos.” I sigh, continuing to the door. If she wants to talk to me, it will be on the way to my car.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but…I want to apologize to you.”
I stop moving, giving her an extremely unamused side-eye. Really, bitch?
“I know. You have no reason to even give me the time of day, but please…can we go somewhere and talk?”
Maybe I’m a fool or too soft-hearted, but she looks sincere. I haven’t even thought about her since she left, and I realize now she doesn’t affect me the way she used to. Motioning to the car, I tell her to get in. I drive to Millie’s and we sit in a booth at the back. Millie glances between the two of us and gives me an encouraging smile. We both order coffee and I raise a brow at her, waiting for her to speak.
“I guess everyone’s been wondering where I went.”
“Not me.”
She nods in understanding. “After the way I treated you, I don’t blame you.”
“What do you want, Lonnie?”
“I want…I want to let you know I’m not going to interfere with you and Gage. I see how happy you are together, and I’ve accepted that nothing was ever going to happen between me and him.”
“Oh? What made you realize that?”
“He told me. He said if it wasn’t you, it would be someone else. At the time, all it did was make me resent you more.”
She’s staring down into her coffee mug, but I can see the remorse in her expression. I’ve never seen her like this. Could she have really changed this much in a few months?
“And now? What’s changed?”
“I went home…back to Papa’s house. I did a lot of soul-searching. Being back in that house for so long brought back so many memories. It got me wondering how I became a plaything for a bunch of men.”
She raises her face to the ceiling and tries to blink back her tears. “I know Papa is so disappointed in me. That’s not the kind of daughter he raised.” I watch her swipe the tears from her cheeks and take a sip of her coffee before continuing. “What I said to you about not having a sister…I’m sorry. I was also wrong.”
She pulls something from her purse, places it on the table, and slides it toward me. I pick it up and see it’s an old photo. It’s a much younger Lonnie, sitting on our old couch, gazing lovingly at a baby in her arms.
“That’s us,” she explains. “I had this little box with a lock on it that I used to hide my diary and anything I considered valuable. I thought I’d cleaned out the house, but I found it under my bed. That picture was in there.”
I stare down at the image as she talks. I won’t lie, it’s getting to me. What happened to this little girl? How did she turn into the monster I grew up with?
“That was the day Papa brought you home. When I found the picture, memories from that day started coming back to me. I remember being so happy to have a little sister, someone to play with…someone who would look up to me. I was going to teach you everything.”
She sniffles and I look up to see her tears flowing freely. “What happened, Lonnie?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Jealousy. As a child, I didn’t know how much time a baby needed. I felt neglected, I guess, and I blamed you.”
“I can understand that’s how you felt but you got older, smarter. Hell, you tried to kill me for riding on the back of Gage’s bike.”
“I was a bitch. I don’t expect you to forgive me, pero I need you to know I’m working on myself and things will be different from now on. I haven’t even been with any of the guys since I came back.”
“And Gage?” I ask.
“I won’t lie. A part of me will always love him, but like I said, I won’t interfere. I’m actually thinking about moving back to Miami. Do you know what you’re going to do with the house?”
“Not yet. I’ve been holding on to it in case I wanted to move back, too.”
Thinking about it, it may be a good idea to have her living there. She’ll be out of my hair, and I’ll have someone taking care of the house for me.
“You want to move back into Daddy’s house?”
“If it’s okay with you,” she answers hopefully.
“I’ll think about it.”
I slide out of the booth but stop after taking only one step. She seems to be trying; maybe I should, too. I turn to face her, taking a deep breath. Fuck, I hope I don’t regret this. “I’m heading to the mall. Wanna come?”
She smiles, wiping away the remnants of her tears. “I’d love to.”
We drive to the mall in silence. After suffering through a few awkward stops, we have a slightly less awkward lunch. I keep the conversation on ‘safe’ subjects but she’s so eager, it’s not long before I start to relax. Just a little. I’m still suspicious of her having an ulterior motive and after a few more stores, I decide I’ve had enough of her for one day. While walking back to the car, I get a call from Laurelyn. We’re in an underground lot, so the call is choppy. As we’re about to pass a big, black van, a man steps out in front of us, blocking our path – a man I recognize.
“Let me call you back,” I tell Laurelyn and hang up.
I hear movement behind me and turn to see another man. Goldie and Lip Licker. What the hell are these Snakes doing here?
“What’s up, bitch? Remember me?” Goldie asks.
“Vaguely. I do remember Gage promising to put a bullet in your brain.”
He looks around and spreads his arms wide. “I don’t see him around. Do you?”
“Fuck off.” I roll my eyes and try to move past him, but he grabs my hand. I drop my bags and twist out of his grasp, moving into a fighting stance. Lonnie screams as Lip Licker grabs her and tosses her into the back of the van. Fear starts to take hold, but I’ll be damned if I let them take me without a fight. Goldie lunges at me, but I side-step him. When he turns to face me, I give him my left jab.
“You fucking bitch!” he groans as he grabs his nose.
I’m about to kick him in the balls when a scent triggers a memory. Maybe it’s the heightened fear of the situation, but it knocks the wind out of me. Someone steps up behind me and I know, without a doubt, it’s my rapist. There’s no mistaking the scent. I spin around, shock overpowering my fear as I stare into the face of my rapist.
“Can’t you do anything right? Get her in the van.”
Then, the world goes black.
CHAPTER 24
***Gage***
I gave Raven the space I thought she needed. I’ve been working from the clubhouse today, or at least trying to work. She’s been on my mind all day – especially the hurt in her eyes as she left this morning. I picked up the phone to call her a million times but didn’t go through with it. Fuck. I put my computer to sleep and head to the kitchen to find something to eat. One of the Hounds offers to make me something, but I decline. I can’t remember the last time I had a meal Raven didn’t prepare. I make myself a sandwich, grab a Coke, and sit at the bar to eat. E walks in with a few greasy paper bags and drops one on the bar in front of me.
I push away the sandwich and dig into the burger and fries he brought. “Thanks, man.”
“Thought you could use it.”
“Yeah,” I answer distractedly, Raven still invading my thoughts.
“Anything you want to talk to me about?” I turn to him, confused, and he raises a brow. “You know, regarding babies,” he clarifies.
Fuck. “She told you?”
“Yeah, and I’m wondering why I didn’t hear it from you.”
“Is it wrong to want a baby with my woman?”
“No. But it’s a drastic change from not wanting one at all.”
I shrug, not in the mood to discuss it with him. “People change their minds all the time. It’s my prerogative.”
&nbs
p; “Okay, Bobby Brown,” he says with a chuckle.
Booker walks in as I’m finishing my burger, and I wait to see Raven walk in behind him. After a few minutes, I look to Booker.
“Where is she?”
He gives me a puzzled stare and shakes his head. “I wasn’t with her, Prez. Just came back from that job in Atlanta.”
Fuck. I forgot. I grab my phone and dial her number. It rings then goes to voicemail. I try several times before I leave a message. “Raven, this is not the time to ignore me. Call me back.”
I tap my fingers on the bar impatiently until I can’t take it anymore. I call Tek and tell him to get his ass to the clubhouse. He rushes in fifteen minutes later, pulling his laptop out of the messenger bag he’s carrying.
“What’s up, boss?”
“Raven. Find her.”
He taps on the keys until a map pulls up and I see three blinking, red dots. The problem is, they’re in three different locations. That can’t be right. I admit, I became as paranoid as Tek and placed trackers on her for this very purpose.
“What the fuck, Tek?”
E and Booker crowd me as Tek points to the first dot.
“This is her car. It’s in the parking garage at the mall. This,” he points to the second, “is her phone. But this,” he taps on the last one, “is her bracelet. And she’s on the move. If someone took her, they probably did it at the mall then tossed her phone along the way.”
“Fuck!”
If someone fucking grabbed her, he’s going to regret the day the thought entered his mind. Tek taps away at his keyboard and pulls up a video – surveillance cameras from the mall. He also opens facial recognition software, searching the recorded video. One of the Hounds interrupts to tell me the fucker who tried to break into the warehouse wants to talk to me.
“Not now!”
“He says he has a name for you.”
“Booker, deal with it.”
Tek watches the screen until the software finds her. I grind my teeth against each other as I watch the two Snake motherfuckers block her and Lonnie. I fucking knew it!
“Call Ace. Tell him not to expect his boys back home.”
I walk off, but Tek’s voice stops me. “You’ll want to see this, boss.”
I return my attention to the screen and almost swallow my tongue. The motherfucker was right in front of me this entire time. Booker comes back and through his rambling, I hear two words – Black Snakes.
“Call everybody. Anyone who’s on the road, send them in her direction. Get a few guys to the location of her phone, just in case and tell ‘em I’m on my way.”
“Give me your phone, boss,” Tek tells me.
I hand it to him then rush to my room and grab the duffel from the closet. E comes in, a deadly expression on his face. I’m pretty sure it’s nowhere near mine.
“What’s the plan?” he asks.
“I need to find her first. I’ll figure out the rest then.”
I turn to grab a hoodie from the closet and her sketch book catches my eye. I grab it and thumb through the pictures. That’s when I notice the gradual changes in the figure at the door. Another sign I missed.
“Look at that.” I show E the first few drawings then flip to the last one. “See the difference?”
“I do now.”
I drop the book on the bed and it lands on the page with the last thing she drew. It’s us. This time, her wings aren’t closed around her but spread majestically wide. That’s my woman, and I’m getting her back no matter what.
“They’re dead, E.” I turn to him with a murderous glare. “I’m going to kill them all.”
***Raven***
“Mmm…” I groan, trying to open my eyes.
“Raven?”
Is that Lonnie? What the hell? I roll my head, trying to figure out why it’s throbbing.
“Raven, are you okay?”
I open my eyes and see Lonnie sitting across from me. We’re both tied up, bouncing around in the back of a van. It all comes back to me. The mall, the Snakes. I’ve been kidnapped. Sweet baby Jesus.
“Oh, look. The princess is awake.”
I watch my rapist climb into the back of the van, a sneer on my lips. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. It was me.”
Confirmation. I can’t wait for Gage to wipe away that smug grin. “You’re dead. You know that, right? You’re all dead.”
“Who’s going to kill me? Gage? He doesn’t have a clue. I’ve been at the clubhouse every day and neither of you figured it out.”
“Why?” Lonnie asks. “Why would you do that?”
“I did it for you. It was all for you, Lonnie.”
Images from my dreams attack me – being tied to my bed, the knife slicing into my flesh. I remember the pain, the scent of blood, and something sweet and flowery. A sweet and flowery scent I now know to be a mixture of essential oils and lotion, because my rapist is allergic to perfume. I now remember lying in bed and watching as my attacker stood at the door and pulled the mask off. I saw the same face I’m staring at now – Deena. Fucking Deena. She’s gazing at Lonnie like a dog expecting a treat.
“For me?” Lonnie asks in disbelief.
“Of course,” she answers matter-of-factly. “You love him. You said the only reason he wanted her was because she was a virgin. I took care of it.”
“¡Jesucristo!” Lonnie exclaims. “Are you crazy?”
“They were supposed to do it.” She jerks her head toward the men in the front. “They ended up being sent out of town, so I had to improvise.”
“What did you do? Suck their dicks, Super Head?” I ask.
“Something like that.” She grins. “Remember that bike show? You didn’t want to party, but I did. It’s funny the things men will tell you after a few drinks and an orgasm.” She leans forward and continues. “They told me about this new drug they were testing, what it does. I simply offered them some revenge for what you did. We came up with a plan, and that was that. You never moved the spare key from where Lonnie kept it so getting into the house was no problem. I even tipped off the cops. Figured if you thought it was Gage, you’d never want to see him again.”
Guess that backfired. “And now?”
“Lonnie ran off. She was supposed to make her move, but it doesn’t matter. She’s back now, and she can claim what’s hers after we get rid of you. Of course, the boys want to have a little fun with you first.”
“Deena, it’s not too late to stop this,” Lonnie begs. “Just stop the van and let us out.”
Something snaps and she turns angrily to Lonnie. “What do you mean? After a few hours of sisterly bonding, you’re a changed woman?”
“This is wrong.”
Deena pulls a gun from her purse and aims it at my head. “I could just kill her right now. How about that?”
“Deena, don’t!” Lonnie shouts.
“She tried to off herself. Do you know that? We can get rid of her, make it look like a suicide. You can have Gage and it’ll be just like old times. Only you’ll be an old lady. Isn’t that what you want? To be Gage’s old lady?”
The bitch is crazy. And an excellent actress. I can’t believe no one saw it. All the time she was helping me, she was planning to kill me. She’s snapped, and unless Lonnie can talk her down, I’m a dead woman.
“Look.” She reaches into her top and pulls out the pendant on the necklace she’s wearing. “I got it for you. She doesn’t deserve it.”
It’s my necklace. My fucking necklace Gage gave me. I bite my tongue to prevent myself from further angering her. She removes it and places it around Lonnie’s neck.
“He doesn’t love me. He loves Raven.”
I keep my eyes trained on the gun because she’s been waving it around like the mad woman she is.
“Then why hasn’t he claimed her, huh? She’s nothing. He can be all yours.”
“Why do you care?” Lonnie asks. “What do you get out of this?”
“You’re my
best friend. I want you to be happy.”
The hand holding the gun drops and she stares at Lonnie with puppy dog eyes. Bat-shit crazy is what she is. For a moment, I thought she may have wanted Gage for herself, but killing me so Lonnie can have him? That’s a new level of friendship.
“At first, I thought you just wanted to be the prez’s old lady, but when you told me you love him…I decided I wouldn’t be with him anymore. I had to help. I couldn’t let her take him away from you.”
Goldie swears from the driver’s seat and speeds up. He takes a sharp turn and the ride gets bumpy as if we’ve gone off the road. The sound of Harleys echoes throughout the van, and I can’t help but smile. The cavalry is here.
“He’s here,” I taunt Deena. I know it’s not a good idea, but I can’t help it.
“That…that’s impossible,” she stutters and moves to kneel behind the men. “What’s going on?”
“Dealers,” Goldie answers.
I hear a few of the bikes pull away in front of us. Closing my eyes, I pray Gage will get me out of here safely.
“Shit!” Goldie yells and jams on the brakes. The tires blow out and the van swerves. Lonnie and I fall over, slamming into the cold, metal floor. Deena stumbles, drops the gun, and it slides away, hitting the doors. The van slowly comes to a stop, and I hear a gun cock. Looks like the Snakes aren’t going out without a fight.
“Out!”
Razor’s voice is like music to my ears. I struggle to sit up, wanting to get to the gun before Deena can. The doors burst open and I’m met with Reaper’s angry glare. He grabs the gun, sticks it in his waist, and lifts me out of the van. Crow and Motor hop in, Crow grabbing Deena as Motor helps Lonnie out. Gage sits me on his bike, working on the ropes binding me.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Did they touch you?”
“No. I think they hit me on the back of my head, but that’s it.”
When he releases my hands, I throw them around his shoulders. He wraps me in a tight embrace, lifting me off the ground and burying his face in my neck.
“It was Deena. She’s the one who –”
“I know. Fuck, babe. I was so scared I wouldn’t get to you in time.”
Claimed: Death Dealers MC Book 3 Page 23