It had to be love.
He figured it was an obsession, which seemed a lot easier for him to handle than love.
Obsession, he could do something about. Love was a whole different ball game. He couldn’t handle love. Not now. Probably not ever, but when it came to Raven, he was willing to give it a go.
His hands were still cuffed, and Paolo smirked. “Oh, you picked the right answer. It looks like your whore is going to get to watch you be beaten to death.”
Paolo came at him, and Carlos was no fool. He used the bastard’s momentum against him, pushing him out of the way and landing a blow to his inner leg with the back of his foot. Paolo gasped, falling to the floor, but he got back up.
After that, Paolo got in some shots as Carlos no longer had the advantage. He was able to get some hits in, but with his hands tied together, all he could do was defend himself, which was better than nothing.
He heard Raven screaming. Begging for Paolo to come to her. To get her. To fuck with her. To mess her up.
Carlos wouldn’t allow her. This was his fight. No one else was going to protect Raven, but he would. She had him now. There was no backing down.
At some point, Paolo had put on some brass knuckles, and Carlos knew he had to fight harder.
He got punched in the face four times, and just as Paolo was about to land the fifth blow, the door to the warehouse where Paolo had taken them opened, and Carlos saw Smokey. He saw the Hell’s Bastards MC swarming in, and he knew they would help take care of Raven. He still had to deal with Marchetti, and he would.
Drago was with them, and he came to him first.
“Fuck me, you look bad,” Drago said, finally releasing his hands.
“I bet I’m still better looking than you.” Carlos coughed and wiped his hand across his mouth. There was blood.
Raven was suddenly in front of him, cupping his face, but seeming to do it gently. She stared into his eyes. “You’re a fucking idiot,” she said.
“I won’t ever let anyone hurt you.”
“This is my job, asshole. I had to protect you.”
“No, Raven, you’ve done all of your protecting. You don’t need to do it anymore. It’s now up to me to take care of you.”
She shook her head, but he saw the tears in her eyes.
“I’m looking sexy right now, aren’t I?” he asked.
“We’ve got Paolo,” Drago said, interrupting him.
Carlos got to his feet, even though every single part of his body was on fire. He was fucking hurting, but he wouldn’t show weakness to these men, or to Raven. She needed someone strong.
Hunter and Ugly Beast held Paolo in their hands.
“You think I’m the only one who wants your crown?” Paolo asked. “They wanted me to rule. To end the fucking MC you seem to be so obsessed about. More will take my place. You will never be a true leader. You’re nothing. A piece of shit.”
He kept on spewing his filth and hatred, and Carlos had heard enough. Drago handed him the blade, and Carlos took it, slashing it across Paolo’s face.
Paolo’s hands went to his neck. His eyes wide.
Hunter and Ugly Beast let him go.
He fell to the floor. Carlos didn’t move, not until he saw that the blood had drained out of him completely and that Paolo was no longer alive.
Chapter Fourteen
Carlos had no choice but to stay in a hospital bed, on Drago’s orders. Paolo had broken a few of his ribs and cut him up a little too good with those brass knuckles. He detested hospitals.
The only consolation he got was that Raven was close to him. She was curled up on the sofa right in his line of vision.
“You keep staring. It’s creepy.”
“You look beautiful.”
“I should be the one bleeding and messed up in that bed,” she said. “I’ve done it before. I could have taken it. Paolo was a coward.”
Carlos tutted. “Not a chance. Your days of taking beatings are over.”
“No, they’re not. I will do whatever I have to for the club. My life is with them, and if it means taking a beating, I will.”
He wasn’t going to fight her right now. She could think he would let her back to the club, but he never would. Raven was now his. He had to protect her. To help her cherish her life once again.
“How did they know?” Carlos asked.
“When we were attacked in the alley, I was able to put a single call out to them, but that was it. I didn’t even know if the call was still active, but if it was, it was long enough for them to find out where we were. They came for us.”