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He seemed to consider whether or not to answer before saying, “We were. She was never in love with Desmond. She was always my partner in crime. Until you killed her.”
His tone grew darker with that last sentence. Shit. If he loved that stupid bitch, this might be about more than unseating my father from his place of power in the crime circuit. This might be a lover’s revenge.
I wondered what that was like. To have someone love you so deeply that they would do anything for you. Even kill.
“She deserved it,” I spat, anger rising up inside me. “I only wish I could have made her suffer first.”
Maverick nodded to one of the men sitting beside me. The man smacked me across the face, making my ears ring. I tasted blood.
“I can see why Christian was drawn to you. Really. He always did love women who never knew when to shut their fucking mouths. Not another word out of you, or we’ll put you in the trunk.” Turning his back dismissively to me, Maverick stared straight ahead.
I hated him. More than I’d ever hated anyone. Including Daire, and that was really saying a lot.
We drove for a solid hour. Maybe longer. We left the city behind, passing farmland and forests. When we finally stopped, we were in the middle of nowhere.
I was dragged from the car by the two men in the back. Maverick joined us, leading the way into a thick thatch of trees. The pretentious bastard had worn an expensive suit to kill me.
Nobody and nothing could be seen for miles in any direction. The driver followed, pausing to grab a shovel from the trunk first. They led me to a place where a shallow grave had already been dug. Inside was a poorly constructed box just big enough to hold me.
My heart pounded in my ears. This was it. This was the end. I’d always known there was a chance it would end like this. Now that the time had come, I was terrified. More scared than I’d ever been.
A desperate part of me wanted to beg. I knew how men like Maverick worked. He would love that, but it wouldn’t save me. Trying to fight back tears, I quaked in the tight hold of my captors.
Maverick approached me, running a hand along my cheek. Then he grabbed my chin in a bruising grip, forcing me to meet his gaze. “While you’re gasping for every last breath, I hope you regret ever getting involved with my son. More importantly, I hope you suffer for what you did to Nikki.”
“Havoc is twice the man you’ll ever be,” I hissed, my voice shaking. “He deserves so much better than you.”
Maverick grabbed me from his two goons and roughly shoved me down into the box. I didn’t go without a fight. I swung wildly with both fists, successfully punching him in the face. I even went so far as to rake my fingernails over his eye. It wasn’t enough. Maverick used sheer determination and greater strength to force me down into the box.
I flailed about as he and the driver threw the lid down on top of me. The thud of dirt being thrown on top was loud and bone chilling. Knowing that panic would make my air run out sooner, I tried to calm my pounding heart and heaving lungs. It was next to impossible.
Tears streamed from my eyes, sliding down the sides of my face into my hair. After several minutes of dirt being piled on top of the box, it grew unbearably quiet. They were gone. I was alone.
My hand went to the collar locked around my throat. Maverick either hadn’t noticed it or he’d had no idea there was a tracker in the collar. Maybe I had a chance after all.
But why would the Gods bother to track me now? I’d walked out on them. I’d left them behind. They owed me nothing.
CHAPTER THIRTY
KNIGHT
“Fuck no. I’m not begging Raina’s forgiveness. I know that I fucked up, Havoc, but you’re expecting too much.” Gage stormed around the kitchen, slamming cupboard doors as he grabbed a glass and poured a drink.
After drinking himself into oblivion the previous night, he’d started his day with a coffee. Now he was back on the liquor. Gage wasn’t handling Raina’s abuse at the hands of the Angels and her following departure well.
“I didn’t say you should beg her forgiveness,” Havoc shot back, his voice hard. “I said that maybe you should go talk to her. None of this would have happened if you didn’t let Jet con you into a stupid fucking bet.”
Gage poured his glass full of tequila. Then he drank it down like it was water. Jesus Christ, he was out of control.
“Talk to her?” Gage repeated. “And say what? Raina doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say. Let her go, Havoc. It’s better for everyone that way.”
“Better for you, you mean. Because then you don’t have to look at her and feel like a piece of shit.” Havoc shot out of his chair so fast it tipped over, crashing against the floor.
His hands clenched into fists. I braced myself in case I needed to stop these assholes from killing each other. This conversation had been going on since we all came downstairs this morning.
It felt wrong without Raina here. Different. Her absence had created a noticeable emptiness. We all felt it. It had never felt like something was missing before Raina came into our lives. Now it was all I could feel around me.
“Let’s just cool it before anyone says or does something they can’t take back. We’re all tired and stressed out. Turning on each other won’t help anything.” I stood at the island, buttering some toast. My appetite was non-existent.
