Sunshine & Ink

21. Sunni

CHAPTER 21

Sunni

I was thinking about what a damn steamrolling brute Raker was as I walked to the grocery store. He really thought he could just put an announcement of our engagement in the newspaper and that would fix everything.

The way I had almost choked on my cup of tea when I saw that item! I handed it wordlessly to Elise as Willow patted me on the back.

“How do you feel about it?” Elise asked me quietly.

“This gesture is wasted on me,” I said bitterly. “I’m not going to marry him just because he pulled this ridiculous stunt. And what about Leo?” I added quickly.

“What about him?” Elise retorted. “Would he do something like that for you?”

I was thinking darkly about Raker’s methods of reconciliation when the limo pulled up beside me. I got one glimpse of the line of shopping carts and the horrified faces of the other customers, before hard hands shoved a bag over my head and pushed me into the limo.

My arms were immediately around my belly, desperately cradling my baby inside as I was pushed roughly onto a slippery leather seat.

“What—where are you taking me?”

“Don’t worry, you little slut, you won’t get hurt as long as you stay quiet and do your job of getting Raker over here.”

I recognized Elizabeth’s cruel, cultured voice immediately and I tried to calm my breathing, but it was spiraling out of control as I took shallow, hasty gasps, making my head swim with nausea.

“You can take the hood off,” Elizabeth continued, “she’s too big to try to escape anyways.”

“Do you think he’ll go for this?” Command asked.

I felt hard hands, hard bodies beside me, the scent of leather cuts in the air.

The limo must be filled with Righteous brothers.

What was the plan exactly?

How would they trap Raker?

What were they going to do to him?

I tried to force my breathing to slow, but my heartbeat was pounding an ache in my chest.

When we arrived, they dragged me out and ripped off my blindfold, and I heard a rustling beside me. Blinking in the sudden bright sunlight, I turned to see Elizabeth elegantly attired in a pure-white wedding gown.

“White,” she said, her smile feral. “White for a virgin.”

Was this the plan? Trap Raker into marrying her?

There was something almost unbalanced about how she was clutching her flowers, the way her discreet pink lipsticked lips were stretched wide over a bright smile.

“Oh, so you claim,” I said, just to see how far I could push her. “Prove it.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you, whore,” she spat, lunging toward me so hard that Command had to grip her by the arms and pull her back.

“Control yourself, daughter!” he said. “He has to suspect nothing.”

“Why am I here?” I demanded.

I was done feeling powerless in my own life. For my baby’s sake, I had to be brave, and I didn’t like where this was going.

Command only spared me a glance.

“Raker d’Sanguine claims he is not going to go through with this betrothal. But no one fucks over the Righteous without consequences. He will stick to his agreement.”

When one of the Elders emerged from behind a group of the members, I could see what the plan was.

But why on earth was this necessary? Raker had been excited about this marriage, wanted the power it would give him.

“He probably won’t even come for you,” Elizabeth said. Her hands closed convulsively over a small copy of the Holy Words in her hands. “Why would he when you’re all disgusting and gross with some other man’s baby? I am going to make sure he repudiates you,” she continued. “Why would he want anything to do with a bastard child? You’re a whore.”

“Bullshit,” I said coolly. “You’re just jealous because I think you know, deep down, that Raker is going to come and you can’t stand it.”

Her face went red with anger.

“Elizabeth,” her father said warningly as she stalked up to me.

“He’ll give you up!” she cried shrilly. “He’ll come here and see that I’m the one he wants. I’m the one who can give him the life he wants. Not you.”

Was that true? It was true that marriage with me would give Raker absolutely nothing. There was nothing Sunni Twenty-Four could give him.

But I was done showing weakness. I shook my head.

“You know you can’t make Raker do anything he doesn’t want to,” I said warningly.

I didn’t know if Raker wanted to marry me, but I knew in my bones I was done kowtowing to Elizabeth just because I had been a whore.

She and I were jostled to the front of a long aisle.

A stab of cold fear flared inside me as I saw the entire wedding party spread out in front of us.

The afternoon sun slanted across the scene and the whole tableau felt frozen in place. A long green lawn, with guests all waiting motionlessly.

I could see what the plan was now. Force Raker here, without the protection of the Saints, and get him to marry Elizabeth.

There was no doubt this whole thing had been set up between the Elders and the Righteous to keep Raker in line.

I was forced to stand by Elizabeth at the front, looking absolutely ridiculous in my exercise shorts and T-shirt that stretched over my huge belly, while Elizabeth was dressed like this was her dream wedding.

I realized then that perhaps to her it was. Or perhaps she was so far gone in her delusional bubble that she thought she was actually going to marry Raker.

But I knew for sure that he was so damn stubborn there was no way he was going to accept being blackmailed into marrying her.

And there was something she absolutely could not accept in the fact that her father was using me to entice Raker.

Not her perfect wife material self.

We must have been in Righteous territory, and the long strip of green grass and gently tinkling fountain reflected their wealth. My eyes could hardly believe the power that went behind having an entire fountain full of water, dripping luxuriously down from one level to the next.

The Elder who had come to marry Raker and Elizabeth stood beside us. He was a powerful man in his 40s with a massive, muscular head, and his eyes passed by me with cold indifference.

“Do not touch me, whore,” he said.

There was a clear bag with water around his neck demonstrating his status. A decorative bag of water was a clear sign of wealth and power. Elizabeth herself had decorative water in a little vial around her neck, but this Elder’s was very large, with what looked like more than a cup or even two of water.

Greedy bastard , I thought angrily.

To be wasting all this water, while the rest of the region savors every drop. I had always been taught that the Elders were the only source of water.

And here Raker was propping up the same shitass system that would harm his own child, because he was a cruel, hard man who cared for nothing except power.

It was surreal to stand at the altar next to Elizabeth, Elizabeth in a long, elegant white gown, her train arranged in a fan shape behind her, a big satin rosette on her bodice. The dress fit her perfectly, the mermaid shape clinging to her curves.

I was only in my gray tight shorts and a gray T-shirt, but I merely waited.

Elizabeth might have all the money, all the power, all the water, and I might be living in the wrong part of town, in a tiny little apartment above a coffee shop, but I had one thing she didn’t.

Raker’s child

“He’s here,” Command hissed as the sound of Raker’s motorcycle shattered the quiet stillness, and I felt the expectancy of the crowd, a gasping intake of breath.

I had determined to be cool and aloof. This was no concern of mine.

Raker was no concern of mine, despite his engagement announcement.

My life was with Leo now, and the baby we were going to raise together.

But when the dark shadow of his bike came into view and Raker threw his leg over the seat, I felt my insides turn over and heat rush to my pussy as he walked toward the crowd.

How could I marry Leo when Raker could do that to me, without even saying a word? Just the sight of his massive strides, the way I knew that cut would smell mouth-wateringly good, the way his dark eyes were locked on mine, the menace on him that felt like seduction.

I wanted to warn him, but I heard the flick of a knife behind me, and I said nothing. I couldn’t risk my baby’s safety by calling out!

He was so focused on me he wasn’t even looking to the right or the left. I had counted on him noticing the rows of menacing brothers, the knives in their hands.

I had to do something to warn him.

Walking toward us, he was so beautiful. His power took my breath away.

Elizabeth didn’t seem as cool as she had before, the flowers trembling in her arms.

Because flowers required so much water to grow, it was a sign of wealth to carry them at your wedding.

“He is choosing me,” Elizabeth hissed in my ear.

And suddenly I had an idea.

“He will never choose you,” I said, moving closer and deliberately putting one dirty tennis shoe- clad foot on her pure white train. Then I gripped the back of her dress and yanked her down so she was forced to my height. That way I could whisper in her ear with the pretty little diamond earrings.

“ This baby is his .”

For a second her face went a pure-dead white and then she screamed, whipping around to point at Raker.

“Get him now!”

“Shit,” Command said under his breath.

Elizabeth’s face was contorted with fury, and she raised her hand to strike me, the long scarlet claws of her nails curved to dig into me, punish me for daring to be filled by him.

But I wasn’t that same girl anymore.

Not the one who had just taken everything she had dished out.

Instead of cowering, I struck back, hitting her in the wrist, making her yelp in pain. With one hand I gripped her arm, with the other I slapped her as hard as I could across the face.

Elizabeth’s pretty perfect face and lips widened into a big o and she looked shocked as she darted a hand to the angry white mark on her cheek.

Then she sunk like a soufflé to the ground, crying in loud, gulping sobs.

I felt the hard, tight grip of the Elder on my arm.

“Let her go,” Raker shot out across the crowd, and we both froze.

I felt the sharp pinprick of a knife at the back of my throat.

“You will marry Elizabeth,” the Elder said. His hands were strong, gripping me with a fanatical strength. “You will stop this foolishness and be folded again in the embrace of the Elders.”

What was Raker going to do?

I saw the rest of the Saints begin to pour down the highway, but they were too far away, too far to help Raker if he had a hope of getting to me. And what would happen if he tried to fight his way through?

I was just a statusless whore. This Elder could kill me and not expect any reprisals for it.

Raker was smart, had always been smart. He would know it was pointless to try to get to me.

For a moment our eyes met.

Then he turned away, and my stupid betraying heart gave a horrible, gutdeep pang inside me.

No

And Raker took two steps on those long legs to the marble fountain, the luxury water tinkling gently, and he took the heavy basin in his hands and shoved.

The Elder made a deep grunt of pain.

Water splashed across the green lawn and there was a collective intake of breath in the crowd.

“Blasphemy!” the Elder cried.

He relaxed his grip enough for me to take my courage in both hands and wrench out of his grasp.

The Righteous were rushing to the fountains, desperate to save any last drop of water. The cost and waste was stunning, almost incalculable.

Elizabeth’s unhinged shrieking was ear-splitting, and the Elder seemed to suddenly remember his responsibility as he lunged toward me again.

“You caused this, evil one. You are going to pay the price!”

“Fuck you,” I said, ripping one of the floral decorations from the archway, desperate for anything to use as a weapon.

Shit, there was nothing here!

But just as I had knocked out weakly with the ragged edge of the wreath, I heard a sharp pop, and the Elder let out a choking gurgle, clutching at his arm as water and blood streamed down his hands.

Raker had thrown a small, wicked knife, so hard that it had popped his ceremonial water skin and plunged deep into his shoulder.

“Marry us,” Raker said, striding over and seizing my hand.

“No!” I protested, but Raker had the Elder gripped with the other hand.

“I—cannot,” the Elder gasped, his hands clawing desperately at the knife. “Not—a whore.”

Raker dragged the knife down the man’s side, splitting his flesh open.

“Marry us and don’t goddamn talk about my wife that way.”

The Elder’s eyes were liquid pools of agony, and he made a helpless motion in the air.

“Do you, Raker, take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” Raker said, turning dark burning eyes to me. “I promise to guard and protect you, Sunni. All the days of my life.”

“I do not —” I began, trying to yank my hand from his grasp, but it was drowned out by his triumphant bark after my first two words.

“Say it,” he growled at the Elder.

“Man and wife,” the man groaned. “Help. Help!”

Raker kissed me, hard and fierce, my skin feeling like molten gold under his touch, our baby dancing inside me, pressing his tiny toes and feet against my belly, like he wanted to reach out for his father.

My blood pounded in my ears and I wanted to strangle Raker.

I didn’t know if the Elder was more upset about the loss of water or the dagger stuck inside him, but he began to chant, his voice wavering and Raker turned and pulled the knife sideways, digging it cruelly down past flesh and blood.

“Take your worthless carcass back to your cronies and tell them Raker is coming for every goddamn drop of water in this whole county.”

My stomach heaved to the sound of the Elder’s arm being torn apart from the inside out. I hadn’t realized how angry Raker was until the Elder stumbled down and Raker kicked out with his big boots, crushing the man under them and spitting on his body.

The panic pulsed through me as he crawled away.

It would have been foolish to run and besides, my legs were trembling so much I couldn’t have moved anyways.

Raker’s hands were on me, moving the hair from my throat, making sure I hadn’t gotten injured.

The blood had dripped from my neck down to the small of my back, sticky and wet.

“Are you all right? Did they touch you?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I managed to squawk out, my throat still dry with horror at the sight of the lost water, leaking from the shards of the fountain, lost forever into the soil even as the Saints fell on the Righteous. Teacher’s dark braid fell over his shoulder as his knife flashed and Command staggered sideways.

“Come on,” Raker said, one arm around my waist, the other clasping my hand.

“But your men. . .” I began.

“They’re fine. I want to make sure you’re safe.”

I thought he’d take me to his motorcycle but instead he led me to the limo I’d driven in, the same guards I’d seen standing by it lying on the ground with their throats slit.

My own throat closed in fear but I said nothing as he opened the door and gently helped me into the passenger seat, squeezing my hand.

“That’s a good girl, Sunni,” he said, and I shook off the pleasure that slid, hot and wrong, down my skin at his touch.

When he went around to the other side, there was a ring sitting tightly on my finger, an old-gold band with a dusky desert rose.

“How dare you!” I wailed, unable to take my eyes off it.

Goddamn Raker

“You wanted to get married, sweetheart. You’re married now,” he said, yanking hard on the stick shift and jamming his boot down on the gas. Sweat glistened on his forearms and his jaw was like iron.

“Take me back to the apartment!” I cried. “I do not forgive you. I do not trust you!”

His eyes were steely as he looked down at me, the scar stark white on his lips, his dark eyes making him look almost feral.

“You don’t have to forgive me yet, but you’re not going back to that apartment. You will be coming back with me to the Saints Clubhouse where I can keep you and your baby safe.”