Claimed: Death Dealers MC Book 3 (24 page)

Then, the world goes black.

***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.”

“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.”

“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.”

***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.

I should have known it was a woman. The use of the dildo and her freaking out when the nurse touched her were clear signs. Even her drawings. I only realized the figure at the door became more feminine over time, after I saw Super Head on the surveillance video. I was right about one thing though. I’m the reason Raven got hurt.

“How do you think you should die?” I ask her.

“Of old age…sixty years from now.”

Now’s really not the time to be a smart ass, bitch.

“Look at me.”

She slowly turns her head to face me, her eyes unblinking and lifeless.

“Don’t forget who I am. You hurt my woman, took something that was mine. You’ll be lucky if you live through the night.”

She swallows and fear creeps into her eyes. Good. I leave her to stew on that while I check on what the boys are doing with the Snakes. Ace has been blowing up my phone, but Tek sent him a clip from the surveillance video. There’s nothing he can say or do to stop me this time.

My warehouse is a multi-purpose location. Yes, it houses my cars and bikes, but there’s an underground level where I’m able to…conduct sensitive business. That lower level is exactly where we are now. Super Head is in one room, the Snakes in another. I have Raven upstairs, impatiently waiting to get her hands on all of them. Shaking my head, I chuckle at her reaction. She’s something else. If women were allowed in the MC, I would probably patch her in right now. I don’t know if she’s adopting this behavior from me or if it’s been dormant inside her and I’m just bringing it out. Whatever the reason, she keeps proving how perfect she is for me.

I told her I was scared, and I was. Since I met her, she’s scared me more times than I care to count. The entire time we were tracking her down, all I could think about were the things I didn’t do for her, things I should have said but didn’t. I didn’t woo her or whatever the fuck you call it. I didn’t give her the romantic shit she wanted. Fuck, I’ve never even taken her on a date. I’ve told her how much I love her body, how much I love fucking her, but never told her I love her. She’s the only woman who’s ever made me happy. If love means not wanting anyone but her, not being able to see myself living without her, not being able to sleep if she’s not sleeping next to me…if it means jeopardizing my own happiness for hers…cutting out my own heart and giving it to her if she needs it…if that’s what it is then I’m hopelessly in love with her.

If Ellen could see me now.
She warned me I wouldn’t see it coming. Now it’s happened, so that means those flying pigs are not only making snowmen in Hell, but also throwing snowballs at the Devil. I love her. I love her, and it’s time I told her.

After I take care of business.

I walk into the next room and immediately hear the motherfuckers begging for their lives. They better save their breaths. It’s not a matter of
if
they’re going to die but
when
. I see the guys have followed my instructions to a T. The Snakes are both naked, suspended vertically from the ceiling, above pieces of wood shorn to sharp points. One word from me and they’re fucked, literally and figuratively. They also have two blades strapped to their necks. The handles were removed and they were joined by the ends. One points to the neck, the other under the chin. Their heads drop, they’re dead. I cross my arms over my chest and glance from one to the other. From the smell of the place, they’ve already pissed themselves. That’s why there’s a big drain in the middle of the room – to wash away blood and any bodily fluids. We all took our turns knocking them around, so they’re already in pretty bad shape.

“Did you really think you were going to get away with this?” I ask. “Then again, you made a dumb bitch convince you to do it, so you’re obviously dumber bitches.”

“Just call our prez. He’ll tell you it wasn’t us, man.” This comes from the one with the gold teeth. I think Ace called him Ram.

“Ram? That’s your name, right? I already know you were out of town.
But
I hear you had plans for my girl tonight. I told you I’d put a bullet in you if you even thought about touching her. You were warned, so now you’ve forced me to be more creative than a bullet.”

I motion to Razor and Venom with a nod and they loosen the ropes, lowering the Snakes closer to the spikes.

“You won’t get away with this!” the skinny one, Leather, yells.

“Who’s going to stop me?”

I signal to Venom, and with a nefarious grin, he moves to one of his boxes in the corner. He wrangles a snake out of the box and moves toward Leather. The man starts to squirm then probably remembers the spike beneath him and goes still.

“Black snake. Appropriate, right?” Venom says as he stands before the fucker. “Got him all the way from Australia.”

He handles the snake expertly, keeping the fangs in check while the body coils around his arm. I never understood his fascination with the reptiles, but it’s come in handy on many occasions.

“They eat frogs, birds, lizards…other snakes,” he continues. “Again, quite appropriate.”

As he places the snake on the trembling man’s leg, I nod to Razor. He and Motor lower the other bastard closer to the spike. Venom’s snake slithers up Leather’s leg, his forked tongue flicking out. It stops at the hip and heads straight for the man’s dick. Shit. Even I couldn’t have planned this better.

Laughing, I turn to Venom. “Looks like he thinks it’s another snake.”

“A tiny one.” Venom joins me, our laughter mixing with the Snake’s screams.

He begins to jerk around and his head falls forward.
One down, two to go.
I watch the blood running down his neck from where the knife pierced him. Venom retrieves the snake and places him back in the box. I stand in front of Ram, wondering if I should make this quick or not.

“Lower.”

They drop him until the point of the spike is touching his ass.

“Please. Don’t do this,” he begs.

“Yeah. That’s probably what Raven would have said.”

I imagine her lying on that bed as Super Head violated her. I snap my finger and Venom moves to the other box. This time, he comes back with a huge Boa constrictor. Ram starts to squirm, begging us to stop. With a nod, I seal his fate. Venom allows the snake to wrap himself around the terrified man. It slithers up, going straight for the neck. As it coils and starts to squeeze, blood begins to drip down. That’s the knife being forced into his throat. I grab one of the axes leaning on the wall and move toward the ropes. E does the same, taking the other side.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword
. The words tatted on my left arm—that I strangely got from the Bible—echo in my mind. The sound is intensified by the call from the letters on my knuckles. Raven. This is all for her. I signal E and we slash the ropes at the same time. Ram’s scream is short-lived as he’s dead before I can even turn around. The sound of the spike running through his body calms me. It’s almost over.

“New name?” E chuckles. “Gage the Impaler?”

I walk out without a word, heading upstairs to find my woman. She’s riding around in a slow circle on one of the Ninja bikes while Ron gives her instructions. I should have known she wouldn’t be sitting around waiting for me. Spotting me, she stops, kicks down the stand, and shuts off the bike. She hops off, giving me an expectant look.

“Come with me.”

I lead her downstairs to the room I have Super Head in.

“Where are the Snakes?” she asks.

“Not an issue anymore.”

She steps into the room and her manner immediately changes. She’s on the offense, ready to strike. Super Head is watching cautiously. She must have heard the screaming next door and I can see all the scenarios running through her mind. I release the ropes on her wrists and ankles then pull the chair from under her. She falls to the floor but scrambles to her feet and scurries to the back wall.

“She’s all yours, babe.”