Stripped

by A. G. Khaliq

  Lazarus arrived at the penthouse. Maybe my head was just overwhelmed with grief, which was causing me to act on impulse rather than think things through properly.

  But Lazarus was all I had right now.

  “What’s wrong, Raven?” Lazarus breathed.

  “My sister has been kidnapped, Lazarus,” I mumbled.

  “W-What?” Lazarus stumbled, dismayed.

  I took my head into my hands, breaking into fresh tears.

  “I’m sorry, Raven,” Lazarus sympathised timidly.

  “The police came by the house earlier,” I mumbled. “It was Damon who did it.”

  “That bastard!” Lazarus seethed. “He’s supposed to be my best friend.” He trailed off, furrowing his eyebrows because I didn’t respond. He folded his arms, tensing his shoulders.

  “Raven, was there something going on between you and Damon?” he asked calmly.

  I could feel my heart overwhelm with sadness as I thought back to Damon and I sleeping together, and how quickly things had changed between the both of us.

  “I won’t lie to you,” I admitted shakily. “There was.”

  Lazarus let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I’m not even mad,” he replied with a sorrowful expression. “I reckon he was using you to get to me. It’s made me realise what a prick I’ve been. How I never treated you the way you deserved to be treated. I never deserved you. You were bound to move on.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding, Lazarus,” I mumbled, shocked he was taking it so well.

  “But think of it this way,” Lazarus said. “Who really loves you? If I didn’t love you, would I be by your side right now, despite you having an affair? Would the person you were having an affair with be behind bars? It proves a lot, Raven. I love you with all my heart. You’ve opened my eyes, Raven. I can’t live another day without you.”

  I broke into fresh sobs. I had no idea what to say to him, no idea what to reply. All I could do was cry.

  “Lazarus, will you help me?” I pleaded, trembling.

  “Yes, I’ll get my men out looking for her straight away,” he confirmed.

  There was a long silence between us as his eyes burned into mine. I could feel a lump in my throat, and I did my best to swallow it.

  “Hey Lazarus?” I mumbled.

  “Yes, baby?”

  “What about me being the insider to the rival gang?” I asked uneasily.

  “You don’t need to worry about that anymore. I’ll get somebody else to do it. You worry about your sister, and staying calm for our baby in your tummy. There’s no point stressing, babe. It’s not good for the pregnancy.”

  “L-Lazarus?” I stumbled, my chest heaving.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry about the affair,” I wept. “I should have never left your side. I thought you didn’t love me, that’s why I did it…but now I can see how much you care about me. Thank you for helping me. At the end of the day, it’s you that’s here for me right now…not Damon.”

  “It’s okay, baby,” Lazarus soothed me. “Like I said when I saved you from the strip club, I’ll help you with my dying breath.”

  I broke into fresh sobs, my heart feeling like it was about to explode.

  “Don’t cry, baby, I forgive you,” Lazarus whispered. “I love you. I appreciate that you were honest with me.”

  I didn’t know if I should say I love you back to him. I felt so confused by my emotions. My heart was playing tug-of-war. I’d spent so much time with Damon that I didn’t love Lazarus anymore. But I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even if it meant lying to him about my feelings.

  He was all I had, and he was the last chance I had to save my sister.

  I gave him a reassuring smile, doing my best to remain strong for my sister’s sake.

  “Well, remember what I said…” I mumbled. “No more secrets. Remember?”

  Lazarus chuckled. “Yes, I remember. No more secrets.”

  He moved closer to me, bringing his mouth down on mine to kiss me.

  And here I was, back where I started.

  In Lazarus’s embrace.

  damon

  I paced around my cell, screaming and crying as I thought about Raven and the look of betrayal and hurt written all over her face. It etched itself into my memory, and replayed itself over and over like a form of motherfucking torture.

  Of course she was going to believe a cop over me, especially when the evidence had been set up to make me look bad. And after Lazarus, she was bound to have trust issues.

  But I loved her. I fucking loved her, and it hurt me how little faith she had in me. I would be the last person to do this to her. I’d spent all of my time proving that I was different, that I wasn’t an evil monster like the other men she’d had in her damn life.

  And this was screwing with my mind to the point of no fucking return.

  “I didn’t fucking do this shit!” I roared, feeling like I was going crazy. “I bet Lazarus found out about the affair, and he’s trying to get back at me. I bet he planted my DNA in her bedroom to frame me. I’ve never even been in Sophia’s fucking bedroom.”

  I knew it could only be Lazarus who was capable of doing something like this, him being the dirty fucking cop in the Manzellas. And now, he would be using this situation to his advantage, and that made bile swim in my throat to the point it almost poured out all over the damn floor.

  I bet he was with Raven right now, brainwashing her and giving her the wrong idea about me…

  I drew out a deep breath, doing my best to get myself together. Doing my best to see light at the end of the tunnel, and think of ways I could fix this situation and get myself out of this mess.

  I folded my arms, seething, my mind set on vengeance.

  “You’ll pay for this, Lazarus Landucci,” I snarled, my voice dropping to barely above a whisper.

  Vengeance is mine.

  raven

  A FEW DAYS LATER

  * * *

  Lazarus made his way into the penthouse, looking weary and exhausted.

  “Please tell me you have some good news,” I breathed.

  “Actually, yes,” Lazarus sighed. “My men have done a thorough search, and we’ve found Sophia, baby.”

  I clapped my hands to my face in happiness, unable to believe my ears.

  “That’s amazing news! I knew I could rely on you,” I exclaimed. “Thank you so much, baby!”

  Lazarus smiled. “She’s alive and well, thank God. Let me take you to her now.”

  These words gave me the reassurance I needed. I was so relieved that my sister was okay. So damn relieved.

  I nodded towards Lazarus, and followed him out of the apartment, ready to go and see Sophia.

  Lazarus drove me to Sophia. She was sitting on a bed, her arms folded, looking confused as hell at her surroundings.

  “Here she is.” Lazarus smiled.

  “Oh my God, baby, you’re okay!” I sobbed, unable to hold back my tears.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” Sophia frowned, getting up on her feet. “What happened?”

  “You were kidnapped, Sophia,” I mumbled, scratching my arm uneasily.

  Why didn’t she remember?

  “Kidnapped?” Sophia said blankly. “That’s weird, I don’t remember anything from the incident.”

  sophia

  “She was probably drugged up or something,” Lazarus suggested, and Raven broke into fresh sobs. I could feel my heart twist into knots as I watched my sister cry.

  “I’m sorry this happened to you, baby. I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you or keep an eye on you. I’m sorry I lost focus of what’s really important. I’m going to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

  “Don’t be sorry, babe, this wasn’t your fault,” I reassured her, even though I was still in a state of confusion as to what the hell was going on. “You’re my sister. I love you.”

  Raven smiled at me, pulling me in for a hug, and I relaxed underneath her embrace,
feeling at ease.

  “Come on, baby, let’s go home,” Raven sighed.

  “Who found me?” I asked.

  “Lazarus and his men.” Raven smiled. “It was so nice of them, I’ve been out of my mind with worry.”

  Why would Lazarus find me?

  Why was Raven suddenly all over Lazarus again even after how much he hit her?

  Why was she acting like he was a saint?

  This was so weird…and nothing was making any sense to me.

  I decided to shrug it off, and ignore the thoughts polluting my mind. Lazarus left the room, and me and Raven followed suit, ready to go home.

  damon

  I paced around my cell angrily. That was all I’d been doing ever since they banged me up in here. Going out of my mind with worry.

  With the thought of Raven.

  I screamed, getting tired of being locked in this box, when I had so much shit to take care of in the outside world. My patience was wearing too fucking thin.

  “How long is it gonna take my brother to come and release me on bail?” I shouted. “I bet he hasn’t even found out I’m in prison yet.”

  I rolled my eyes angrily, until I heard the intercom boom saying, “Open on forty!”

  The door to my cell opened, and a cop made his way inside. “It’s time for lunch,” he barked. “Get the fuck outta here, and make your way down to the main hall.”

  I rolled my eyes angrily, not in the mood for fucking food. The last thing on my mind right now was eating. But I knew it would be no use getting myself into trouble in here, so I obeyed him with no fuss, and followed him to the main hall.

  I joined the queue for food, dunking mashed potatoes and baked beans onto my plate before taking my tray over to a table where I could sit by myself in peace without anybody fucking bothering me. I didn’t care to speak to anyone, because in my head, I wasn’t going to stay here for long.

  I started shoving the food into my mouth, forcing myself to eat, because I didn’t want to become weak. Before I knew it, another inmate made their way over to me, sitting down at my table uninvited, even though I made it clear I wanted to be left alone.

  “What’s a pretty face like yours doing in jail?” he asked.

  “Got accused of something I didn’t do,” I shot back flatly, not wanting to entertain his dead conversation.

  “Aw, that’s a shame.” He smirked. He looked me up and down with those beady eyes of his, with a predatory regard that made me uncomfortable about my spot. “Your muscles are bulging through that jumpsuit. What do you say, let’s go back to my cell and have some fun?”

  “Sorry, I don’t swing that way,” I cut him off, getting more pissed off by the second.

  “You dare say no to me?” he roared. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  I cracked up, amused that the stupid bastard had the audacity to pipe up to the likes of me. He looked like he couldn’t hurt a fucking fly, let alone someone as well-built as me.

  “Oh yeah?” I jested. “What are you gonna do about it, you ugly prick? I’m so scared.” I laughed again. Hell, if the canteen had this many jokes, then maybe I should chat to the other bastards in here more often.

  The inmate balled his hands into fists, seething.

  “This is what I’m gonna do.” His fist flew to my face, causing my jaw to swing.

  Now I was really fucking pissed off, and my self-control was wearing thin.

  But I had to behave myself…

  I had to fucking behave myself and take the punches like a pussy, or I’d get nailed for bad behavior and I wouldn’t stand a chance of getting out of here…

  “You just made a big mistake, you prick,” I snarled. “Do you have any idea who I am? I’m secretary head in the biggest drug cartel in London.”

  “Doesn’t matter what you are out there, you’re just a prisoner in here,” he sneered. “A nobody like the rest of us, doing time. Status doesn’t mean shit in jail. You don’t scare me.”

  His words struck a blow to my fucking heart, because the crazy thing was…he was right.

  And that screwed my mind up to the point of no fucking return.

  I was a nobody. A fucking nobody.

  And I knew that without Raven…I would feel even more without purpose. Even more alone.

  Even more fucking empty.

  “Please get me out of here soon, big bro…” I murmured.

  raven

  “Thank you so much for all you’ve helped me with the past two days, baby,” I thanked Lazarus as he kissed my mouth.

  “Raven, I need to talk to you about something.” Lazarus pulled away from me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Now that we’ve got your sister back, I’ve proven my love to you,” he said carefully. “And I’m not forcing you to take part in the Mafia anymore. Plus, we have a baby on the way.”

  “What are you getting at?” I asked.

  “Let’s get married next week, babe.” He smiled. “Now we’ve sorted out all our issues and life is going smoothly, why delay the marriage any longer? We’re still engaged after that day at the beach, after all.”

  I drew out a deep breath, my heart hammering against my chest. It took me a while to process what was happening, but it was true. We were already engaged, so why delay it any longer? I needed to forget about Damon. He’d betrayed me. Even though my heart still belonged to Damon…my future was with Lazarus now.

  I needed some stability in my life. Somebody to take care of my child with me, by my side.

  And Damon was in prison for kidnapping my sister.

  It seemed like a rushed decision, but I didn’t care. All I could think about and prioritise was my unborn baby, and what was best for them. I nodded happily at Lazarus in agreement.

  “Let’s do this, baby.” I smiled at him coyly, biting my lip. “Let’s get married.”

  raven

  Me, Lucy, and Sophia made our way into town, ready to do some shopping in preparation for my wedding. I needed to buy a wedding dress, and I was so excited.

  “I still can’t believe you’re getting married, babe!” Lucy exclaimed, shaking her hips from side to side.

  “Neither can I,” Sophia said dryly. She’d been behaving weirdly ever since she found out I was marrying Lazarus, but I decided to ignore it.

  “I’m going to be a bridesmaid,” Lucy sniffed.

  I giggled. “Let’s go shopping for my wedding dress.”

  Lucy nodded, clapping her hands in excitement, and Sophia rolled her eyes.

  We made our way into a wedding dress shop, where there were beautiful gowns on display and hanging off the railings. White lace, light pinks, lilacs, and more. They were all so gorgeous.

  “Go try on some dresses, babe, we’ll wait for you here!” Lucy encouraged.

  I nodded, taking a few off the rails and going to the changing rooms in back. My favorite one was a beautiful white gown, with beautiful floral patterns. It dipped at the cleavage and flattered my waist to make it look slimmer, even though it had already been filling out from the pregnancy. It was perfect, just as I’d imagined my dream wedding dress to be.

  The groom wasn’t the groom I’d planned my dream wedding to have…but I had to keep pushing forward all the same.

  I made my way to the girls, twirling around in the wedding dress, wanting to know what they thought.

  “You look absolutely ravishing, babe!” Lucy clapped her hands. “Lazarus won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

  “Yeah, you look so beautiful!” Sophia exclaimed.

  I giggled. “Thanks, girls. I’m just so happy right now.”

  I went to the till to pay for the dress, and had it wrapped specially in beautiful paper and packaged in gift wrap.

  “Let’s get out of here and go eat some pizza!” Sophia grinned.

  I laughed in response. I probably should watch what I was eating a week before my wedding day because I didn’t want to look bloated, but I loved food too much to care.

&
nbsp; sophia

  Me, Raven, and Lucy got to the food court, ready to have a big meal after an exhausting day. I had been annoyed all day. I was pissed off that Raven was marrying Lazarus, but I didn’t really have much of a say in it. She never listened to a word I said. All I could do was tag along and pretend to be happy for her, when deep down, I was seething that she still wanted to marry such an abusive, manipulative man.

  We found a table, and Lucy and Raven tucked into their food straight away. I was distracted by my own thoughts, and I couldn’t focus on the food. My eyes darted around the room, and suddenly, my heart dropped out of my chest.

  I saw a man standing on the other side of the food court. He was a complete stranger, and I had no idea who he was…but he was wearing blue jeans, paired with a blue Stone Island jacket. There was nothing wrong with his outfit, but I recognized it. I’d seen somebody else wear this exact same outfit before…I was sure Lazarus had the same one.

  And then my face went stone-white in shock, as the extent of what was happening hit me like a ton of bricks. Sweating profusely, my memory suddenly became clear. I could remember everything. Everything to the last fine fucking detail. Lazarus had been wearing this exact same outfit that night.

  It was Lazarus who kidnapped me!

  Oh my God…

  Raven couldn’t marry him. She couldn’t marry such a sick bastard who kidnapped me and then pretended to find me in order to win over her damn heart. I could feel bile swimming in my throat.

  I had to put a stop to this!

  “Guys, can we get out of here? I’m not feeling that hungry anymore.” I swallowed, turning to Lucy and Raven, my eyes watering. I bit my lip, doing my best to stop the tears from spilling even though they were threatening to.

  “You sure, babe?” Raven asked, rubbing her chin, furrowing her eyebrows.