Love Betrayal

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Bella

After a few hours, the men come back with Corey safe and well, and I cry in happiness. She runs into my arms when she sees me, and I hold her closely.

“Were you really on the way to your mom’s?” I ask her.

She nods, her hazel eyes filled with sadness. “I was, but only because I got a message from my mom asking me to. Except it wasn’t her at all—it was them.”

I hug her harder, my heart breaking for her. “I’m just glad that you are home safely. Now can you never leave the clubhouse again, please?”

She laughs and wipes away some tears. “I don’t want to upset Julianna while she’s pregnant, but her sister was behind this with Cathy. I don’t know what they are going to do with her.”

River gave me a quick rundown when he first came in, and I can’t imagine how Julianna is feeling right now. Rosalind used to go out for lunches with Julianna, or sometimes come here for dinner and hang out with us all, which was probably her getting information to use to her advantage. It’s why she knew that there was a rift between Corey and her mother. Julianna truly is the rose that came from concrete with her family. She is the only one with true integrity and loyalty.

And Sally? Sally was paid off by Rosalind and set me up. Well, again. That was me. I’m the one who gave Rosalind a tiny in. I allowed her plan to go into action.

“You don’t worry about that,” I tell Corey, pushing hair off her face. “They will figure it all out. Do you want me to run you a bath or something so you can relax?”

She nods. “That sounds great. Did you see where Damon went? I saw him at the warehouse and then he went missing.”

“I think he left,” I say, walking with her to her bathroom. “But I know that he was determined to go and make sure that you were safe. He obviously cares about you. He was still rushing to protect you even with his black eye.”

She grins and sighs dramatically. “I didn’t expect to see him there. I knew River would be...”

“Okay, you better stop smiling now,” I tease, sitting by the tub and turning the water on and checking the temperature. I put the plug in and add some Epsom salts. “I hope now we can get some peace around here, because I don’t think I can take much more.”

“Tell me about it,” she groans, tying her red hair in a knot on top of her head. “I’ve never been in the trunk of a car before, but it was scary. Especially with the tape covering my mouth; it felt like I couldn’t breathe. I felt so claustrophobic.” She pauses. “Did River tell you about Mark?”

I pause and shake my head. “No, what about him?”

She cringes, then tries to backtrack. “Uh, never mind.”

“Corey, tell me,” I demand.

“He was there,” she explains, shifting on her feet. “He was with them. He was in love with Rosalind, but he knew her as Sarah.”

Rosalind was the infamous Sarah? Does that mean that the whole thing was a scam? Maybe he truly thought Sarah was being held hostage, but really it was just Rosalind playing games. How did the cops picking him up here factor into this? Do they have someone up high on their side? I feel sorry that he gave up everything for this Sarah, only to be a pawn in Rosalind’s games.

“You keep using past tense,” I say, realizing why she didn’t want to bring it up. He’s dead. And considering River didn’t tell me about it, he must have done it. “He got plenty of chances,” I say quietly. “You can’t help some people.”

And it’s true. What goes around comes around. He was given chances, even after coming here with a gun and shooting Jeremiah and trying to kill Romeo.

I think River must have been in a good mood that day.

When the bath is filled, I leave her to it, and find River sitting on our bed with his head in his hands, collecting himself.

“Are you okay?” I ask, sitting down next to him.

“Yeah, I’m just glad she was all right,” he replies. “When she wasn’t in the warehouse, inside I was freaking the fuck out. Luckily Jeremiah checked the back of that car. What a fucking stressful day. We trusted Rosalind, let her into our home, and look what she did. I think we need to be more careful about who we trust, whether they are family or not.”

“What’s going to happen to her?” I ask, absently rubbing his back.

“Well, I would have liked her dead, if I’m being honest, but I know Julianna would have been devastated, and she’s pregnant, so we don’t want to upset her. So we’re handing Rosalind over to her father and putting it on him that he’s responsible for anything she does from now on. And Cathy we handed to her son, Andrew.” To his father. “And he and Romeo will decide what to do with her.”

“It’s a hard situation,” I say, wincing. “Like Cathy’s an old evil mastermind. What are you supposed to do with her? Put her in a home with high security or something?”

“She’s not old enough for a home, unless we can prove she has dementia or something. Maybe we can try to get her into a facility on the other side of the country. Or better yet, in another country.”

That makes me laugh. “That sounds like a pretty good idea.”

“Thank you for always being there for not just me, but for everyone else in the club, too,” he says, kissing my cheek. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.”

“You guys are my family now, too,” I say, looking into his beautiful blue eyes. “And just like you’ll do anything for me, I’ll do anything for you. You are the love of my life, River. And I don’t say that lightly.”

“I think you already know you are the love of mine,” he replies, pushing me back onto the bed and lying on top of me, careful to not put all his weight down. “I fucking love you so much, I never knew I could feel this way about anyone.”

I brush the dark hair off his forehead and enjoy the moment of just being in love.

Because what a fucking magical place to be.