Chapter 17

Raven

A nother night has passed, and I'm doing my best not to freak out, but it's hard.

What if the guys can't find me? What if they already did, tried to get to me, and my father's men killed them?

No, no I can't think that way. I need to be positive. My men wouldn't go down easily. They're coming for me, I can feel it in my soul.

I'm sitting on the windowsill bench, watching the rain when I feel Baby Bird kick, pulling my attention away from the window. I place my hand over the spot and smile. "It's okay, baby girl," I tell her, rubbing my belly. "We're going to be okay."

Thunder crashes outside, making me jump. My attention is brought back to the window as the rain beats down against the glass hard. It's been storming since last night.

If I were back home, I'd be lying in bed or curled up on the couch listening to the sounds of the rain against the roof. It relaxes me, settles something inside me.

Right now, it does nothing but fill me with unease.

"Raven?" Dynika's voice calls from the door. The lights above us flicker and both of us look up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I sigh. It's a lie, and I can tell she knows it too.

"How's the baby?" she asks, smiling as she steps inside the room and closes the door behind her.

"Good." I laugh. "I think she's getting bored in there."

"You're due soon, right?" Dynika takes a seat on the chair next to the window as I adjust myself on the bench.

"I'm due next month."

"That's exciting." Her eyes light up. "Are you nervous about being a new mom?"

We talked a little bit yesterday, but I didn't feel like going deep into my life story, seeing how I just found out I had a sister. After having some time to process, I feel like I can trust her.

I might not have revealed much about my life, but Dynika told me every little detail about hers.

Each new thing I learned broke my heart. Like the fact that she grew up on her grandparent's farm. They passed away before Dynika was born, and it was left to her mom in the will.

Her mom sold everything worth any money to feed her addiction and was too high to take care of the place properly, so by the time Dynika was old enough to understand what was going on, the house was run down and being foreclosed on.

She said they lived far away from any town, so she never left the farm. Her mom would get rides with random guys, leaving her alone for hours and then coming back with a little bit of food. It was only ever enough to just keep them alive. My heart fucking broke. She lived like that until she was sixteen.

Until our monster of a father came and took her. No wonder she didn't put up a fight.

"I'm not exactly a new mom," I let her know. "I have a son, Andrew. He's a few months old." Tears fill my eyes as I think about my sweet boy. I know he's well taken care of, I just miss him so damn much.

"A few months." Her brows furrow. "I might not know much about the real world, but I know from Gray's Anatomy that you can't have more than one baby at a time. And it takes nine months to grow one. Something is not adding up."

I can't help but laugh. "Andrew is adopted. My boyfriend, Quinton, his sister is his birth mother. She..." I sigh. "She was like your mom."

"Oh." Her eyes widen. "And she gave you her son?"

"No," I say, feeling a little defensive. "She sold me her son."

"Oh." She gives me a sad smile. "I'm glad you got him. I'm glad he'll never have to live with the hurt and pain like I did."

"Dynika," I say softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She brightens up. "It's fine. It's kind of all I knew, you know? I didn't expect anything else. So, tell me more about your guys."

"They were my best friends before they became more." I smile, leaning back onto the bench. "I knew as soon as I met them, they were mine. And as I got older, those feelings grew. I was in love with them for years before anything happened. And I knew they wanted me too. But they never tried anything."

"Why not?" she asks. "If you love each other, why not just be together."

"You would think that." I laugh. "But I didn't know about the darker side of their lives. To me, they were my best guy friends, my everything. I thought they worked at a car garage. Little did I know, they were the leaders of the crew that ran our little town."

"Bad boys." She nods, smiling. "I like them too."

"Something we have in common, then." I grin and her whole face lights up like I gave her amazing news.

"Yes! I bet we have more in common."

We spend the rest of the morning talking about little things like TV shows, songs, and movies. It's nice not to focus on the heavy stuff, and it's what I needed as a distraction.

That is until someone barges into my room.

Dynika jumps to her feet, standing in front of me. "What do you want?" she growls.

"I'm not here for you," the tall, bald guy in a black suit says. "He wants to see her." He points to me, and my stomach drops.

I don't want to see him. I've been more than okay with the fact that no one but Dynika has been by.

"I'm coming too." She juts her chin out.

"No. You're not. He wants her, alone," he says, storming over to us.

Dynika puts her hands out. "You're going to have to go through me first."

He snarls and backhands her across the face. My eyes widen, and I gasp, trying to get to my feet, but I'm too slow.

Dynika makes an angry noise, clutching her cheek. She grabs a book from the shelf and hits him upside the head with it. He lets out a grunt, but it doesn't do much. He grabs her by the arm and throws her on my bed.

"Leave her alone!" I scream, panic filling me.

"Do not test me, you stupid bitch!" he snarls at her. "I might not be able to kill you, but I'll do much worse."

"And I'll chop your tiny dick off!" she screams back.

"Dynika, please, stop. I don't want you to get hurt. I'll be back. He's not going to hurt me; if he was, he wouldn't have me held up in a place like this."

Her eyes flash with fear. "You don't know him like I do," her voice lowers with each word that passes her lips.

"I'll be okay." I try to sound convincing when I don't believe my own words.

"Come on." The guy grabs my arms and pulls me toward the door. I go willingly, not wanting to risk doing something that could hurt the baby. But I'm making a mental note to tell the guys to chop his fucking hands off before they kill him.

"You don't have to be so fucking rough," I grumble. "I'm going willingly."

"Great, another fucking brat," he mutters.

"My boyfriend thinks it's hot." I shrug.

He shoots me a dark look, and I give him a toothy grin.

Leading me through the massive mansion, I struggle to keep up. "Listen, buddy. I'm kinda carrying a watermelon in my shirt. I'm not exactly in the position to be rushing."

"Good thing we're here." We stop in front of a door, and he raises his hand to knock.

"Come in," a deep raspy voice calls out, followed by a coughing fit.

Baldy opens the door and pushes me inside before closing it behind me.

I stumble in, momentarily taken off guard. Looking around, I see I'm in an office. My eyes fall to the desk and there he is.

"Raven," he says my name, and all I can do is stare.

This is the man that so many people fear? The man that kills, causes mayhem and leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. The man who's been after me for years, who sold me to a monster.

He looks... weak, fragile. He sits behind the massive oak desk, an oxygen mask over his face.

He might not have died, but he sure does look like he's one cough away from croaking. The idea fucking thrills me.

"Sit," he demands, pointing a shaky finger to the chair.

As I get closer, I see he's aged, and not well. His blonde hair is thinning, almost missing in patches. His eyes have dark circles under them, making him look like a ghost.

His body is thin, frail. How could anyone fear this man? Maybe once upon a time, but now? He's a fucking joke.

"Well, long time no see, Pops," I greet, taking the seat in front of him. "Wanna tell me why I'm here? A little dramatic with the way you came and got me, though. You know, a phone call would have worked just as good."

"Enough," he barks. "You will learn some respect."

"Or what, you're going to beat it into me?" I laugh. Raven, shut the fuck up. You don't know what this fucker is capable of.

"Maybe not me, but my men would." He gives me a slimy smile.

"Saw on the news you died. Clearly that's a lie. Sadly."

He glares at me, nostrils flaring. "I wanted the world to think I was dead. No one pays attention to the dead. And for the things I have planned, it's better no one thinks to look my way."

"Let me guess, you're gonna take over the world?" I joke.

"You make jokes, but you don't know what I'm capable of."

"I know the world thinks you're some billionaire CEO who donates to charities. But I know that's all a front. You're evil. As evil as they come. It's why mom wanted me far, far away from you."

"Your mother is a spineless bitch. She didn't care about the money, the power. She could have had everything!" he yells. "And she threw it all away."

Anger fuels my veins. "My mother is a brave, strong woman. You're a sick fucker who thought he could rent his kid out to his nasty old friends. Found out the hard way that you sold me. Not very fatherly, is it? Good thing he's dead and gone. My men made sure of it."

"Your men," he chuckles. "Nothing but little boys trying to act like men."

"Boys you haven't been able to find. Boys who've bested you for years. Boys who've kept me hidden, safe and cared for." I raise a brow.

"Enough." He waves me off. "I don't want to look at your face longer than I have to. I just wanted to see your face when I give you the news of your new fate."

"And what's that? You're going to sell me off to some man, keep my baby until she's old enough and then sell her too?"

"No," he chuckles. "Not at all. I can't keep any child. As you can see, I'm in no shape for that. I have bigger things to worry about getting put into place before I pass. Yes, you and your baby will be sold off along with your sister. You all just so happen to be the payment my business partners want. And you can be their problem now."

"What do you mean?" my brows furrow. "You went through all this for nothing? You spent years trying to find me, why?"

"Because your bitch of a mother tried to best me. She took my property! And the person I sold you to was on my ass for what belonged to him. When I found out he died, I knew I could take you back and get a better deal. And I did. Hope you know Russian." He laughs like he told the funniest joke. "Because you're leaving tonight."

"No," I whisper. "You can't do that."

Fear. Real, pure terror fills me. Fuck, fuck! If they take me somewhere now, how will the guys find me? I can't leave. God, this can't be happening.

"I can, and I have." He stands up and walks over to me slowly. "You've been nothing but a pain in my ass from the moment you were born. Why couldn't you have been a boy? I could have left everything to you." He sighs, shaking his head. He reaches down and grabs a handful of my hair. I scream out in pain as he gets in my face. "What I got was a stupid whore who's only good for opening her legs. You are worth nothing. You will never be anything but a bargaining chip. And now that I've finally found you, I will die happy knowing I've brought you and your stupid little boys down to their knees."

"Fuck you!" I yell before spitting in his face.

He's fast, his hand cracks against my face in a flash. My cheek stings, tears filling my eyes.

"You stupid bitch," he chuckles, wiping his face. "I can't wait to tell them their little Raven is gone before I put a bullet between their eyes. To see the looks on their faces when they realize they're too late. You see, they're looking for you, Raven, but they can't find you. No one ever will."

I'm shaking, trying to hold back tears. I won't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"Edward!" he shouts.

The door opens, and my father lets go of my hair, pushing me back. "Take her back to her room. Make sure she and Dynika are ready to go to their new homes tonight."

"Yes, sir."

Edward grabs my arm and yanks me to my feet.

I say nothing as I silently stumble my way back to my room. I want to scream, to cry, to fight back. God! Why is this happening to me?

Come on, guys, please find me. Please, find me before it's too late.