Twisted Games of Revenge (Sinners of Ravens Hollow #3)

Chapter 13

Entering The Raven’s Nest, I am hit with the familiar smell of alcohol and the sight of Sloane sitting at a table with a tumbler in front of her. For a second, I think she looks sad, not like her normal tough self, but then she looks up and her normal resting bitch face falls into place, making me smile.

I’m dying to tell her everything that happened tonight and am still a little hyped up from my standoff with Alessandro. That man needs to learn that good things come to boys who wait. I know it’s cruel making him wait, but I also know when I allow him to dominate my body again, the control will shift, and I’m not ready for that. I need to keep something over him.

“Another delivery came for you. I might have to start charging you a holding fee if this keeps up.” Sloane laughs light-heartedly.

“I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow, I promise. Then whatever they want to send to me can go to my place.” I get a flutter at the thought. My very own place again. It might not be fancy like Sloane’s newly renovated apartment, but I don’t care, because it’s mine and no one can tell me what to do there.

“How did the dinner go?” she asks over her shoulder as I follow her into the back to her office. I wave at Sally as I go past.

“Surprisingly well. Well, kind of. The dinner part was uneventful, except for Ricky and Maddox being there as well. Ahh, the way they look at me kills me every time. I feel like the worst person ever.”

She gives me a sideways look. “Breakups are hard for everyone. They’ll get over it.” She opens her office door and lets us in.

I slump down on the velvet couch, and she hands me a box. “That’s just it, I don’t want them to get over me. I’m still in love with them. When I thought Alessandro was really looking for someone to replace me already, I was crushed. I just want this shit dealt with so I can work out what I really want without all the turbulence, you know.”

She nods, and I can see she really does understand.

“Are you okay?” I ask, wondering what happened while I was out tonight.

She fakes a smile. “Fine,” she lies.

I raise a brow, informing her I can see through her bullshit, but I will leave it for now. She clearly doesn’t want to discuss whatever is upsetting her.

“I’d be careful opening that box, it came from one of Enzo’s goons,” she adds, watching me.

“Yeah, I know. Enzo said he dropped off my payment.” I take out Alessandro’s knife and slice open the lid. When I see what’s inside, I swear my heart nearly stops.

“Oh, shit, sis.”

It’s more cash than I have ever seen in my life. “Fuck. When he said he was going to take care of me for helping him, I never expected it would be… I don’t know what to say. This is a fuck load of money. Is this what my ma was getting, is this why she was risking her life? And girls like Pia? This is so insane.” My wide eyes rise to meet hers. She shakes her head, as much in disbelief as me.

“There is something else in the box as well.” With a quick movement, she reaches in and retrieves a car fob, feeling the smooth surface in her palm.

I stand in a rush, scared my dinner is about to come up. “Oh my God, Sloane, I feel sick. I can’t accept any of this.” I pace her office, my mind racing. This is getting out of hand.

“I don’t think you have a choice. If you want to keep up the charade, you kind of need to look the part, and he needs to believe you’re one hundred percent on board. That means accepting whatever form of payment he decided. Lucky you, it’s a shit ton of cash and a fancy new car.”

I stare at the box, not sure what to do. “I don’t want his fucking dirty money he got by murdering or trafficking innocent unsuspecting girls.”

“Yeah, and we’re going to put a stop to it, but you need to play the part, sis. We both know there are way too many dirty pigs in this town to turn him in. He would be released within the day and every witness involved would be found months later at the bottom of the Ravens Hollow dam. I get what you’re saying, accepting all this feels wrong, but when we take him down, you can give it all to charity or whatever will let you sleep at night.”

I stare back at her, knowing she’s one hundred percent right. The thing that kills me the most is the wondering if I’m becoming more and more like my poor unsuspecting ma every day. Did she start out with good intentions then get corrupted by the money, or was she just as bad as Enzo and Valentina right from the start?

“Let’s go check out your new wheels.” I walk with her out the side entrance of the club and out to the back parking lot, a chill coming over me. This side alley gives me the creeps. The only thing that makes me feel slightly better is knowing Onyx is close behind us. He’s never far away from Sloane. I haven’t had the chance to ask her why she needs a bodyguard, but she just gets on with her day and he follows her around like it’s normal, so I guess I have to act like it is as well.

I flinch when I make it to the lot and see Ricky leaning up against his Jeep at the far end of the lot. “For fuck’s sake,” I utter under my breath. I have had enough Moretti to deal with tonight. I move across the lot quickly. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” he snaps, looking over Sloane and Onyx who have followed behind me.

“Ricky.” Sloane smiles at him, but her tone is not impressed. She has a way of sending a warning without saying anything more than a name.

“Give us a sec,” I tell her, not sure what Ricky wants, but I know I can’t keep on avoiding him forever. If I’m going to keep up this act, I need him on my side. Even more than that, I need him not to look at me the way he is right now.

“I’ll leave you to check out your new car alone,” Sloane mutters, throwing me the key. The fob goes off, and I see the taillights of a red Maserati Levante light up. Oh my God.

Ricky watches me walk around the vehicle, checking it out. It’s beautiful, my papa would have loved it.

“Whose car?” he asks.

“Mine.” I sigh. “I’ll give you two guesses who gifted it to me.”

“Enzo.” He lets out a low growl, then motions with his finger for me to come toward him. “I need to talk to you,” he says when I don’t move. The problem is maybe I don’t want to hear what he has to say. I know how much I hurt him, I can see it every time he looks at me.

With reluctance, I nod in agreement and start moving toward him. With a gentle push, he opens the back door of his car. “Get in.”

Wondering what he’s up to, I rest a hand on my hip, feeling a mix of confusion and irritation. “Why?”

As he leans in closer, I can feel his warm breath tickling my ear. “So no one can hear our conversation. If Enzo bought you that car, it’s bugged for sure.”

“Oh.” I glance back at my new car, believing him. I know Enzo likes to bug shit to watch over the boys, and what better way to control his son’s new girlfriend than to know everywhere she goes and what she’s saying. What Ricky doesn’t know is his car is also bugged by us.

I hop up into his car, and he joins me, closing the door once the two of us are in the back together. Alone in a confined space that smells like him, I can’t help but inhale his scent. Something about it makes me feel like I’ve come home.

“You know that’s a one-hundred-thousand-dollar car!” he snaps.

I nervously bite down on my lip. “No, but I’m not surprised either with what he wants me to do.”

“I saw the way he was talking to you. You’re under his thumb already, aren’t you?”

I blink back at him, not sure how much I should say. “Ricky, you guys wouldn’t help me. I wasn’t waiting around for you to do something. That man has taken too much from me already.”

Dropping his head, he lets out a heavy sigh. “I never wanted anything more, until you came along. You made me want you. Made me see a future for the first time that wasn’t filled with the fucked-up shit we have to deal with every day. Then you just left.” I hear his heartbreak. It’s devastating.

I want to fall apart hearing his hurt, but I know I have to be strong for both of us. “Ricky, I’m sorry. What we had was fun, but we both knew it couldn’t go anywhere. I can’t love you,” I whisper the last part with a sob wracking through my chest, my body betraying me. I do love him.

His hands fly to my face, grabbing me so I’m forced to look right into his sad eyes. “I don’t believe you,” he seethes, a wave of anger coming over him I haven’t seen before.

My chest heaves with fresh pain. “Please,” I beg of him. I need him not to make this harder than it already is. I can see how broken up he is, and it’s killing me. “Please, Ricky. I’m so sorry, I never wanted to hurt you. But it’s over.”

I notice the glistening unshed tears in his eyes. He’s devastated.

I inhale, trying desperately to suck in a breath when I feel like my heart’s about to stop there is so much pain radiating through me. Hurt them to save them, it’s the only way, I remind myself, trying to stay strong. But after what his papa said tonight, I don’t even know if I have to stay away from him. Enzo knows Alessandro likes to share his girlfriends. He’s expecting me to be okay with it. Since I’m now fake-dating him, does that give me a loophole as Vivian, meaning I can see Ricky as well?

“You might be able to lie to yourself, to the boys, but you can’t lie to me. I fucking know you, Harley. Better than you know yourself.”

My eyes plead with him to understand I’m doing this for them. To save them from Enzo.

“I never thought someone I loved so deeply could hurt me the way you have, but I guess I should have known better.” He releases my face, and I feel him distancing himself from me.

I stare back at him, not able to utter one damn word, because if I do, it will be I love you, Ricky . And that would destroy everything. He has to believe this is real or none of this works and everything I have sacrificed already will be for nothing.

“Nothing, you have nothing to say back to me,” he snaps.

My eyes fill with tears, and I bite the inside of my lip, willing them to fuck off. You’re stronger than this, Harley. Remember why you’re doing this. But before I can stop myself, I grab his face, pulling him toward me in an earth-shattering kiss. I fucking love him with everything I have, and my kiss tells him exactly that.

His kiss is hungry, his tongue exploring every corner of my mouth. Our bodies move together as I shift one leg over his lap, straddling him to feel his hard body pressing against mine. His hands coming to my waist, he holds me close, and I know that’s what he needs as well.

Eventually we pull back from each other, our chests heaving as we both gasp for air. Our foreheads touch gently, creating a moment of intimacy we both know is more real than I can admit.

“I knew it was bullshit right from the start. You can’t lie to me, baby doll.” His lips find mine once more, warm and soft, and I melt into him. His presence is all I need this evening; he’s my comfort, my strength, my everything in this moment when my world feels so unsure. When I know I’m digging myself into a deeper hole by the second with Enzo. Ricky can distract me and remind me there is still so much to fight for at the same time.

I can feel his hard cock beneath me as I rock my hips, craving the sensation of him against my throbbing clit. Wanting so desperately to have more. His hands explore my body, gently caressing my breasts, while his lips trace a path down my neck. Everything about his touch is perfection. He’s right, he knows me so damn well.

Feeling the fabric against my thighs, I push my short dress up and over my ass, getting it out of the way. “Ricky, I need you.”

“Not as much as I need you, baby doll.” His hand slips between my thighs, cupping my pussy through my thong. He traces his fingers over the soaking silk fabric, before shoving my thong out of the way completely and sinking two thick fingers inside of me.

I cry out, my body so worked up with all the tension of the last few nights I could combust from this alone. He curls his fingers in the way he knows drives me fucking wild, and I take hold of the steamy car window, trying to find something to stabilize me. What he’s doing feels like heaven, and in seconds I’m closing my eyes, getting lost in the moment with him.

His lips are back on mine, and hurried desperate kisses turn rough as we both lose control. I’m so frantic for him I’m shaking. With trembling hands, I reach for his belt, unbuckling it and zipping down his fly. He moves down a little lower in the seat so I can pull his massive cock free. He’s impossibly hard, and I take great pleasure in wrapping my fingers around him and stroking him. “I need you to fuck me. Please, Ricky.”

His lips turn up into a menacing grin. This is us at our best. Leaving all the shit behind and just fucking raw and dirty, not giving two shits that we’re in a biker club parking lot. His windows are tinted enough that I don’t care. And right now, the only thing I need is to feel him stretch me.

He removes his fingers from my pussy and takes his cock from my hand, lining himself up with my entrance. I smirk back at him then impale myself on his cock, moaning out into the car as he fills me.

His eyes lock with mine, and my heart flutters in fear, because I know this is it. I will never be able to walk away from this man.

His fingers bite into my ass as he assists me in rocking over him in the confined space, my moans filling the car. He palms my tits through the fabric of my dress. Pulling one free through the low V, his head drops to my chest, and he sucks a nipple into his mouth.

“Oh, fuck, yes,” I cry as a flutter runs through me, and I feel a fresh wave of arousal coating his cock. I ride him, slipping up and down over his cock repeatedly, the sensation building a frenzy within my body. “Ricky,” I warn him, knowing I’m getting close.

“Yes, baby doll.” It’s all he says, and the two of us fall apart, climaxing together.

I lean my forehead against his and close my eyes, trying to get my breathing under control. I shouldn’t have done that, but I don’t regret it for a second. I needed him every bit as much as he wanted me.

“Come home with me, baby.” His pretty blue eyes plead with me to agree, and for a second, I wish I could. But then the hormone-induced haze starts to fade, and I know I can’t.

“Not tonight.” I roll off him, needing to create some space between us. Pulling my dress back into place and adjusting my wig so it’s sitting on straight again, I rest on the leather seat beside him, not sure what to do or say next. I find his hand and lace my fingers with his, still needing to have some contact with him. “Enzo can never find out who I am. He will destroy you all.” I glance at him, fear creeping in.

His face hardens, and I know the intimate moment we just shared is over. “He won’t, we took care of it.”

“What do you mean you took care of it?”

“He thinks you’re dead because of us.”

I nod my understanding. I knew it was them, even when they were furious with me, they had the sense to fake my death so no one else could find me. They’re overprotective assholes, but even I can’t deny they can be useful at times. “Ricky, help me destroy him.”

“I want to help you, baby doll. I won’t let you pull away from me again. But you need to fix things with Maddox first, he took you leaving worse than Alessandro and me. He’s angry in a way I have never seen before, I think you broke him.”

I sigh, already knowing what he is saying is true. I could see it in his eyes. “Okay,” I agree, though I’m not sure how. “You think he will accept sexual favors as an apology this time?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood that got real somber, real fast. The image of the first time the three of us hooked up in their kitchen flashes through my head.

“Not this time, Harley. You did a real number on him. I’ve never seen him like this.”

I nod my understanding, feeling the weight of my actions bearing down on my shoulders. I knew it would be worse with Maddox; he risked everything for me, and I made promises to him I shouldn’t have. And now I have to fix the mess I created.