Chapter 27
Venom – A Week Later
I gently bounce my leg as I chew my bottom lip, ignoring the receptionist's eyeing me, or more like eyeing my cut up, while I lean back in my chair, my arms crossed over my chest, my body tense.
Forty-five minutes, that is how long Raya has been in the therapist's office, and I’ve been sitting here impatiently waiting for her to come out.
Being away from her is more than hard, it’s gut-wrenching.
Between Hayden taking her and the trauma she received for four days, to watching her running into a burning building, then being thrown outta the window by a blast, I can’t take being away from her.
Every night she’s in my bed, in my arms, in a daze, not knowing how to move forward, and I had to beg her to get some help. To see if someone who wasn’t an influence in her life could help, just so she doesn’t do something stupid, something I know flitters through her mind often.
Fuck, she was going to stay in the burning building until I told her I would follow.
I sigh as I look at the clock. We haven’t spoken about us, about where we are, or the fact that I’ve claimed her, heck, she doesn’t even realize I’ve moved her in.
Blade has already rented out her apartment to someone else, and the only reaction I’ve had out of her was when I told her Cherri was dead three days ago.
She smiled.
Thankfully, Cherri had no idea Hayden was dead and fell for our plan.
After we found Raya, Viper grabbed Hayden’s phone before getting the prospects to burn the fuckers body and had been pretending to message her and Clara, claiming Raya had managed to escape him and that he had to leave town quickly.
Cherri snuck out of the clubhouse to meet up with ‘Hayden’ with the flash drive that he offered five million for and panicked after she heard about Clara’s death.
Only to find half the brotherhood waiting for her, with me front and center, holding my gun that my girl used to kill my mother at her head, not letting Viper do it because of Lake.
The silly bitch actually turned around to run away, thinking that would save her from my bullet.
Stupid bitch.
She’s now dust, and the flash drive has been wiped as well as her phone, and her room has been gutted. Any evidence she claimed to have hidden in all the messages was false.
Everything has finally settled down, the Hyenas are dead, the kids are all safe, and the women are happy that there’s no more threat.
My girl, however, has shut down. She hasn’t spoken to Ivy, not even snapped at Psycho again after his stupid words.
The brothers have tried to bring it up many times, to his dismay, in the hope of getting a reaction from her, but to no avail.
I’m losing her, I can feel it.
My phone vibrates, and I grab it from my pocket, but silently groan, seeing it’s Psycho.
Think of the fucker, and he shall pop up like an unwanted weed.
He calls once a day, and I don’t answer, just like I haven’t spoken to him in person, instead going through Blade, who understands my hurt over the idiot's words.
I get it, he’s sorry, but fuck, if I had accused him of being the reason Ivy gave birth twenty weeks early, he’d demand my fucking patch with the club. My girl was taken while on a revenge kick that none of us knew about, left her phone, and was tortured and raped repeatedly.
He blamed me for not finding her quickly enough. How do I get over that shit? Fuck, the girls knew about her revenge and said fuck all, my sister said fuck all, messing up yet again… yet, they blamed me for Raya’s trauma.
The call goes to voicemail before my phone buzzes, and I frown, looking at the message.
Psycho:
Either answer me or I’m driving to the therapist's office and confronting you in person, in front of Raya.
Fuck’s sake.
My phone vibrates again, and I scowl as I answer, “Seriously, brother, threatening to show up here?”
Psycho chuckles, “Got you to speak to me though, didn’t it?”
I shake my head with a huff and remind him, “I just need some time.”
“You haven’t spoken to me in a week, Cale, only to Ivy to see how Huddy is after everything, before blocking her out again.
She misses you and Raya, and fuck it, I miss you.
I messed up, I let my anger and the words your sister had said several times come out.
You’re my family, Cale, and the fact that I hurt you fucking hurts me.
You are the best techy I know and are amazing at what you do.
Raya didn’t want you to know what she was doing, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did.
You would have found him, Cale, I know it, and you know it, and I’m sorry,” he sighs, “You can’t ignore me forever and not because I’m your VP and we have to go on runs together, but because you’re my best friend, my family. ”
I don’t say anything. I don’t know what to say, so instead, I lean forward and drop my head.
“How is she doing?” he asks quietly when I don’t say anything, and I look towards the dark brown door Raya went through.
“She’s in with the therapist now, it’s her second session, but so far she still hasn’t spoken to me,” I admit.
“I’m sorry, Cale,” he whispers, and I shake my head.
“It isn’t your fault that she won’t speak, Jax. She’s completed her revenge, did something her father couldn’t, and now, she’s lost,” I admit quietly, not wanting him to blame himself over her quietness despite him being a dickhead.
“I shouldn’t have said it, brother. The number of times I’ve held my tongue from snapping at Ivy, knowing she was worried about her friend, only to repeat those fucking words to you when you had just heard your nephew was missing,” he chokes, and my jaw ticks before a door opening gains my attention and I look to see Raya walk out, her eyes a little red.
Fuck.
She looks my way but tilts her head at me, her eyes looking at the phone to my ear.
“Still, it isn’t your fault,” I mutter as I stand and walk over to Raya, who has paused just shy of the door, and I ask, “You need to book another session with the receptionist, or did Dr. Hans do it?”
“Shit, she’s out?” Psycho confirms, but I don’t answer him as Raya admits, “Dr. Hans arranged one for three days from now,” her sweet voice filling me, the voice I have missed so fucking much.
I nod and say to Psycho, “Brother, get Blade to move church a day earlier.”
“Already on it,” he assures, and Raya’s eyes soften before she moves into me without a word. I quickly wrap my arm around her waist and press my lips against her forehead, not missing a beat.
I hear a sigh from my right, but I ignore the receptionist whose eyes haven’t left me as Raya asks, “Does he still feel guilty?”
Psycho snorts while I hum in confirmation, and she pulls back a little, but I don’t move my arm, so she can’t leave my side.
She raises a brow and confirms, “And you still haven’t spoken to him?”
Hmm, guess my girl has been more with it than she likes to admit.
“I haven’t,” I admit, and she tuts, shaking her pretty little head, making me smile.
“He’s your nephew's father, Cale, your brother, your family. You have to speak to him,” she states, and Psycho encourages, “Yeah, you tell him, Ray,” making her smile, clearly hearing him.
“And you are the love of my life, yet you haven’t spoken to me,” I retort, and Psycho groans, “You had to go there with her, huh, at the therapist's office of all places, and while she was on my side.”
I smirk as Raya narrows her eyes and says, “Psycho, he’ll call you back,” and he laughs before hanging up, not willing to argue with her, knowing her history with men, mainly my fucking balls, and I raise a brow at my beautiful, perfect woman.
Her eye is still a little bruised, she has a little limp and she is still fucking perfect. I was such an idiot over the years.
“Outside,” she says sternly, and I smirk at her spunk, the little spark she used to have whenever we would argue slowly coming through. I nod and guide her towards the door with my arm around her waist, ignoring the receptionist.
“I swear if she keeps looking at you like she wants to eat you, I’m going to strangle her,” Raya threatens quietly, and I grin wide because she likely means every word.
As I approach my bike, which is still in need of a new paint job, I spin Raya around and gently push her against it. She goes willingly before I stand between her legs and cup her cheeks, my thumb gently rubbing against her jaw as we lock eyes.
“I love you, Raya,” I say first before she can snap at me for calling her out the way I did inside, making her mouth part.
“When I told you before the fire, then after the fire, that I loved you, that you were mine, I meant every word. For years I have essentially been your bully,” I give her a lopsided smile making her narrow her eyes as she cutely scrunches up her nose.
I quickly continue as she opens her mouth to snap at me and I state, “I decided to focus on the fact you wouldn’t speak to me or look me in the eye instead of seeing the bigger picture.
I missed the rosy cheeks you’d get when we’d lock eyes or how you’d gently chew your bottom lip trying to decide whether or not to speak to me,” I lean forward a little, “I decided to ignore the hurt you’d have every time you’d see me with another woman.
I accused you of being a patch chaser despite having money, money I now know you don’t touch unless it’s for school because I knew deep down, you were mine, are mine. ”
“And you are mine,” she whispers in return, and I nod as I murmur, “Yeah, kitten, I am yours, always have been, always will be, and after years of running away from my feelings, I’m finally running towards them, I just need you to run to me too.”
“But I’m a killer, Cale,” she whispers, the guilt she’s holding clear as day, and I can finally see what her problem is.