“Do you want me to walk you?”
“Nah, it’s not too far. I can make it.”
“Wear the leather cut,” Smokey said. “It’s time for these fucking bastards to be quaking in their boots.”
Raven laughed.
She knew it was a risk leaving the club and staying in town. Sliding her hands into her leather cut, she pulled it onto her shoulders and sighed. It fit so freaking well. She loved it. Of course, it didn’t do up at the stomach, which was already rounding.
“See, it’s a good look on you.”
Raven slapped him on the shoulder. “Even with the dress?”
“Raven, you’re wearing them with boots. Of course, it’s going to fit.”
Larissa had offered to lend her some sandals, but she had declined as they just hurt her feet. Wearing heels was something she reserved for special occasions or for Carlos. No one else would get that pleasure.
Thinking of Carlos reminded her that she had to go and see him.
She said her goodbyes to Smokey and left the cemetery. In a strange way, she felt … lighter. More put together. She no longer felt alone.
Heading toward Carlos’s home, she liked the walk. It helped to clear her mind.
As she walked down an alley, she heard footsteps fast approaching, but as she turned to look, a blow to the head sent her tumbling forward, and darkness consumed her.
****
Carlos stared at the spare bedroom. He’d been working hard to try to put a nursery together for Raven. This wasn’t the only change he’d made to the house. It was one of many.
There was also the additional closet space for all of Raven’s clothes. That was her spot as well.
He’d been slowly making changes to his home for Raven.
In the garage, there was a place for her bike, and he’d even gone to the extreme of buying her a brand-new selection of tools to work on her bike, if that was what she wanted.
Their lives were meant to be together.
His cell phone rang.
He had no doubt it was Drago again. That persistent fucker wouldn’t leave him alone. When he checked his cell phone, he didn’t recognize the number and canceled the call. He saw at least fifty missed calls from Drago, along with over a dozen messages.
Stalker, much?
Pressing Drago’s number, he expected him to be petty and make him wait to answer, but Drago answered the call on the first ring.
“Oh, hey.”
“Marchetti’s in Fort Clover,” Drago said. “I’m twenty minutes out. I’ve alerted Smokey.”
Carlos tensed up. “He’s here?”
“Yes.”
“How the fuck did he get here?” Carlos asked. He moved out of his nursery and headed toward his bedroom.
As he did, he heard a crash downstairs.
“Carlos, come and see what I’ve got.”
“Shit! Carlos, you stay fucking still. We’ll be there. Hide.”
“I’m not hiding in my own fucking house.” He grabbed his guns, stashing them on his body, and then made his way downstairs.
His front door had been smashed open. The door swayed open and closed from the wind.
That fucking piece of shit. He’d liked that damn door.
“I’ll call Smokey,” Drago said.
Carlos stepped off the last of the steps and looked down the hall. As he did so, true terror gripped him.
Marchetti held Raven. A rope was tied around her neck, and it looked way too tight. She was trying to claw at it.
Marchetti also held a knife in his hands.
Raven looked … awful.
There was vomit down the front of her dress. He caught sight of the leather cut she wore, which told him all he needed to know. Smokey and Raven had cleared the air.
“Ah, I see I finally have your attention. Haven’t you learned from your predecessors? Don’t ever let a cunt distract you from what needs to be done.”
“Let Raven go,” Carlos said. “She is not a part of this.”
“Oh, but you see, she is. She is a big part of this,” Marchetti said. “You brought her into our world.” He tightened his grip on the rope.
Anger filled him, and he held his hands up, trying to show that he was unarmed. If that fucker hurt Raven, he was going to kill him. Obliterate him.
“Stop it,” Carlos said. “She has nothing to do with this. This is all on me, bringing her to the city. That was all my decision because I wanted her. I’m obsessed with her. You’re right. I let a pussy rule me.”
Marchetti loosened the rope. “You hear that, sweetheart, he let pussy rule him. You make him weak.”
Carlos didn’t give a fuck what he called him, just so long as he left Raven alone. She didn’t deserve this.
Marchetti tightened the rope once again.
“Stop!”
“No, I’m not going to stop. You’re going to watch me kill this slut, and you’re going to know the death of the woman you love, and your child.” Marchetti laughed. “Who is the dumbfuck now?”
Carlos ran a hand over his face. He had to protect Raven, but he couldn’t think clearly. Not with her in front of him. Her life on the line.