“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.”

“I knew you’d find me. I knew it.”

I hug him tighter, not wanting to let go. He’s here now. I’m safe. He places me back on my feet and tries to untangle himself.

“I’m going to have Booker take you home. I need to handle this.”

He motions to someone behind me, and I grab his hoodie to get his attention. If he thinks he’s doing this without me, he’s out of his mind.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not. E’s going to take a look at your head then you’re going back to the clubhouse to wait for me.”

“I’ll let Dr. E do his thing, but I’m coming with you. This is my fight.”

I climb on the back of his bike and cross my arms over my chest in defiance. He stares at me for a long time, but I meet his with an unwavering one of my own. The corners of his lips curl up in a smirk before he climbs on in front of me.

“You got it, Lady Reaper.”

CHAPTER 25

***Gage***

I stare at Super Head, wondering what the fuck I’m going to do with her. The Snakes are easy, but her? She’s a woman. She’s dead, no matter what, but I don’t know if I have it in me to torture her. Maybe I should let Raven loose on her for a while, let her pound her to a pulp. I have her bound to a chair. We’re the only ones in the room, but she’s staring at the wall to her left. Raven filled me in on the sordid details but I can’t, for the life of me, understand why someone would do what she did.