CHAPTER NINE
DECLAN
The asshole put his hands on my woman. I couldn’t wait to make him and his friends pay.
Pacing back and forth in the Ravens dungeon, I flash a wicked grin at Glenn and his pathetic friends as my boots move across the plastic covered cement floor.
“Meridea, introduce us. I’d like to know who my brothers and I are killing.”
Seven men sit before us bound to steel chairs.
Meridea steps forward. “You have Setty, Josh, Ralph, two other guys I don’t know. Glenn’s cousin Monty and Glenn himself.”
“Thank you for the introduction, baby.” I smirk.
I turn to the men, drawing my switchblade and letting the metal gleam under the dim light.
“Since we’re all getting acquainted, let me introduce the people who’ll be sending you to hell.
That’s Joey ‘Bruiser,’ Mickey ‘Mack Truck’—don’t let his size fool you; he’s a genius hacker.
Cory ‘Mouth. Yeah, he talks a lot, but he’s got a mean right hook.
Vaughn ‘Vault,’ our treasurer. The big guy, Bruno, and you’ve got Hassle, our president, and my best friend since we were kids.
And finally, me. I’m Declan King, vice president of the Ravens MC.
But in the dungeon and on the road, I go by Brutal.
Welcome to Blue Haven—my family’s town.”
I point my switchblade at Glenn. “When Meridea walked into my bar, she was jumpy. I knew she was running from someone. I was drawn to her. This guy.” I point at myself.
“A man who doesn’t do relationships. She’s a remarkable woman.
All she wants to do is live a quiet life and travel the world.
And oh yeah, pay off her student loan debt.
She told me you said she didn’t have to work two jobs anymore.
She only needed to work one to pay off her loans.
And you? You didn’t even offer to pay them off, even when you claimed to love her. ”
Glenn snarls. “If she would’ve minded her business, I would’ve paid them off once we completed our deal.”
I lean in. “I took care of her debt last week. She doesn’t need that shit hanging over her head. With the mechanics business you owned, you could’ve taken over her payments at least. You piece of shit.” I slam my knife into his shoulder.
“I spoke to my friend Dillon Magarelli. He and his brother Dominic, the Governor of New Jersey, are going to bring down those corrupt senators. The Ravens and the mafia might deal in the gray, but kidnapping women and forcing them into sex trafficking is definitely not something we allow. Your little operation has been brought to President Chandler’s attention too. ”
Glenn’s eyes widen. “You have no idea what you’re doing. People will die. You stepped in the wrong shit.”
“Did you hear what I said? I mentioned the mafia and the president. I know a lot of the right people. And they are going to dismantle your sex-trafficking ring. I guarantee it.”
I grab onto Glenn’s hand. “You smacked my woman around.” It isn’t a question. It’s a statement.
“You don’t hit women,” I say calmly.
“No—wait, what are you doing?” Glenn stammers.
“I’m cutting your hands off,” I say, my voice calm and controlled as I slide the blade through his flesh.
“Ah, fuck!” Glenn screams, his face pale as blood spurts from the stump where his hand used to be.
After I cut off his hands, Hassle bandages his wrists to stop Glenn from bleeding out.
“Monty, you have a weird hate for my woman. You pointed a gun at her head.” I pick up a Glock from the nearby stainless-steel table and whack him in the head several times.
“Fuck her and fuck you,” He bites out.
Monty’s probably the toughest out of Glen’s little group.
“I’m going to send you to Dillon’s wife, Sierra’s, torture chamber. Meridea and the rest of the mafia wives are going to skin you alive. Then chop you up into tiny pieces.”
“Really?” Meridea shrieks with excitement as she steps closer.
“Yes,” I reply.
She kisses my cheek before glaring at Monty. “I can’t wait to make you pay for all the mean looks and little scary things you said to me while in my presence. I didn’t feel safe in my own home.”
My lips press against her temple. “If anyone in my circle ever makes you feel creeped out. Let me know.”
Her gaze scans the room. “Your brothers are the best. They took care of me while you were unconscious. I feel safe here.”
“You will always feel safe with us,” Hassle adds.
“Glenn, I have to thank you for being a total asshole. Meridea fell into my clutches. I have no plans of ever letting her go. In a couple of weeks, we’ll find out that we’re having a baby.”
Meridea tugs on my arm. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” I grin.
“Declan, Declan,” Meridea’s soft hands shove at my shoulder, her voice urgent.
“Wake up,” she insists.
Groaning, I open my eyes, meeting her fiery gaze. “Go back to sleep, darlin’,” I mumble, letting my eyes drift shut again.
“No, Declan,” she snaps, her tone sharp. “Explain this to me!”
Reluctantly, I open my eyes again, blinking in the dim light. “Explain what?”
“This!” She thrusts her left hand in front of my face, the eight-carat princess-cut diamond glinting on her ring finger.
I sit up, resting my head against the headboard, and grin. “What’s there to explain? I told you—you’ll be my wife.”
Her eyes narrow. “Declan, you can’t be serious. And what about this?”
She gestures toward the positive pregnancy test sitting on the nightstand. “That’s not mine.”
“Oh, baby, but it is,” I say, my grin widening. “I might’ve collected a sample with a urine collector in the middle of the night. My buddy Rocco told me that’s how he found out his wife was pregnant.”
Her jaw drops. “Rocco? As in Rocco, the mafia boss from Philly? Ryah’s husband?”
“That’s the one,” I reply with a chuckle.
Meridea shakes her head in disbelief, though a smile tugs at her lips.
She’d hit it off with the mafia wives during that wild day at Sierra’s torture chamber in Newark, New Jersey.
Rocco’s wife, Ryah, had been there too. Now, they were all planning to visit Blue Haven this week to help Meridea with design ideas for her boutique and bakery.
“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” I continue, pulling her closer. “We’re getting married at the end of the month, and in roughly eight months, we’ll welcome our little bundle of joy.”
She presses her forehead against mine, her expression softening. “What am I going to do with you?”
Wrapping my arms around her, I murmur, “Nothing, darlin’. Just keep being who you are—my beautiful fiancée and the soon-to-be mother of our child.”
She giggles, the sound like music to my ears. “You’re lucky I love you, Declan.”
“I know,” I say, kissing her forehead. “And I love you too, Meridea.”