CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CLOVER
Try as I might to focus on the professor’s lecture, my mind was all over the place. It was a miracle that I’d been getting my class assignments done. Of course, that was only because it kept me from staring out the window replaying the moment I shot Daire in the face with pepper spray.
I couldn’t believe that happened. He’d deserved it though. When I told Raina about it, she’d insisted that I have one of her dad’s mob guys follow me around to watch my back. I didn’t enjoy having a man packing a gun accompanying me everywhere. My life was starting to feel like a bad movie.
Blaze had sent me a text message the night that it happened. All it had said was: This is far from over.
I’d spent the rest of the night in a fitful attempt to sleep. Dark circles had started to form under my eyes. Raina suggested that I drop my summer classes and take them again in the fall after this all blew over. I’d come so far already that I didn’t want to take that route. It would be letting the Angels win.
This time when I left class, I didn’t worry about being stalked through the halls or jumped in the parking lot. A tall, burly man waited outside my classroom. He gave me a nod before falling into step beside me. We didn’t talk, choosing not to engage in fake small talk for the sake of it.
Jericho followed me from class to class, waiting outside each one until I’d finished for the day. He drew a few stares from those who exited the classroom with me after my final class. He wasn’t exactly inconspicuous.
“I’m done now,” I said, turning in the direction of the parking lot. “Do you need to stop anywhere on the way back to the house?”
“Nope.” Jericho was a man of few words.
We walked in awkward silence as we left the building. Instead of driving my own car, which was blue and easy to spot, we’d driven in Raina’s SUV. Hopefully the Angels wouldn’t be watching for that. I hadn’t seen them in a few days. I was torn on how to feel about that.
I suspected that I was deeply disturbed since part of me wanted to see them again. I tried not to talk about it much, although Raina had been asking. Like she knew what I was hiding.
Jericho and I were halfway to the SUV when Cash appeared like a ghost taking form. He seemed to materialize from beside a van, stepping out behind us. It all happened so fast as he grabbed Jericho from behind, putting him in a sleeper hold. My bodyguard was out cold in seconds.
Before I could gather my wits and run for it, Daire emerged from where he’d been lurking next to a beat up Jeep. He placed a hand over my mouth, wrapping his other arm around me. While Cash dragged Jericho in behind the van, Daire pulled me tight against his body.
“Where’s your pepper spray, Angel?” Daire hissed into my ear. “Looks like your buddy there was the wrong choice for this job. I’d never have let anyone get this close to you.”
Daire’s blacked out Audi rolled up beside us with Blaze in the driver’s seat. Daire flung open the back door and shoved me in. Cash quickly joined us. Then we were speeding out of the parking lot, leaving Jericho behind.
“Why are you doing this?” I blurted when Daire removed his hand from my mouth. “Why won’t you let me go?”
Grabbing me by the throat, Daire slammed me back against the seat. “God, you smell good. I almost forgot how fucking good. Did you forget that you belong to us, my sweet? Did you really expect us to forget?”
He choked off my airflow until my face reddened and I thought I might pass out. Once I could breathe again, I gasped, “You guys aren’t good for me. I don’t want to be your obsession.”
Daire’s lips twisted into a menacing grin. “Too late. You made a big mistake by selling us out. Your punishment will be a thing of beauty.”
My pulse pounded at the thought of what they might do to me. This had been a risk I’d known I was taking. Some na?ve part of me had hoped they’d give up on me and move on to a new interest. And yet, deep down inside, I felt relief that they’d come for me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, unwilling to let him see the truth within. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Let me go. You know that Raina and the Gods will come for me.”
“That’s what you think,” Cash chuckled. “They won’t come anywhere near us if they want to keep you safe.”
My eyes flew open. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I’ve already messaged Raina telling her that if they try to come for you, we kill you. As long as they stay away, you live.” Cash waved his phone in my face. “You messed up, Sunshine. Now you have to pay the price.”
I glanced toward Blaze in the front seat. Feeling my stare, he met my gaze through the rearview mirror.
“Don’t expect me to save you.” His tone was sharp and clipped. “I thought we had something, Clover. I thought we were getting somewhere. I guess I’m a damn fool to believe I was anything you wanted. You should know us well enough by now to know that we can’t let a betrayal like this slide.”
“You were though,” I heard myself say. “Something I wanted. That’s why I had to leave. You guys were getting too close. It scared me. I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Please, don’t do this.”
Daire stroked a hand over my hair. He leaned in to smell me before softly kissing the side of my neck. “Save the begging for when you’re tied up getting your ass whipped until it’s raw.”
A whimper lodged in my throat. I’d feared this moment since the night I set them up. I’d known it would come, and I’d done it anyway.
The text alert on my phone went off, muffled by my bag. Daire nodded for me to get it out.
“It’s probably Raina. Tell her to stay away.”
He watched intently as I opened her text. It was a panicked message demanding to know if I was okay. I typed back a reply saying that I was fine and that she needed to leave me with the Angels for now. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt.
“Good girl.” Cash nodded his approval. “It’s really best for everyone this way.”
Raina sent several more texts insisting that she do something to help me. I told her that I’d be okay, and I would call soon. I didn’t truly believe the Angels would kill me. However, I knew that if the Gods or anyone else came after me, someone would get hurt. I didn’t want that. I’d brought this situation on myself. I’d see it through.
My apprehension grew when we arrived at the Angel house. The three of them surrounded me as they ushered me inside. I went along willingly. It wasn’t as if I could fight them off or outrun them. No, that would only make things worse. This had gone far enough.
“I’ve got to admit,” Blaze said as he pushed me through the front door. “I’d hoped you would put up more of a fight.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” I shrugged, relieved to no longer be living in fear or having to watch over my shoulder. “I guess I don’t have much fight left in me.”
Cash snickered. “We’ll see about that.”
They pushed me along to the basement door and down the stairs. That’s when instinct kicked in, making me resist. I jerked to a stop halfway down the stairs, unable to make my feet take another step.
That didn’t stop Cash from picking me up and carrying me the rest of the way. “I’ve been itching to get my hands on you. This is going to be fun.”
“Don’t chain me up,” I begged. “Anything but that. Please.”
While Cash held me in place, Blaze and Daire stripped off my clothes. Even though I knew it was useless, I struggled to make it harder for them. My mind raced with terrifying thoughts of what they had planned for me.
Blaze’s hands glided over my body. His fingers hooked in the waistband of my underwear as he violently ripped the fabric. “I’ve missed you, Rainbow. We are going to have such a good time together.”
He leaned in to kiss my thigh, his hand tightly gripping my knee. Slowly, his hand crept up my leg to brush my pubic hair. A tremble rolled through me, making my body quake. Something told me that my punishment would include a lot more than gentle touches and murmurs of endearment.
My suspicions were confirmed when Daire grabbed my wrist and snapped one of the shackles hanging from the ceiling around it. Cash did the same to the other.
“Come on, guys. There has to be another way to handle this. I think a lot of the problem is poor communication. Let’s talk about it.” My voice rose on a startled yelp as Blaze spanked my ass. Hard.
“There will be time for talking later,” he said. “When you’re too sore and bruised to do anything else.”
Daire disappeared for a minute, returning with a round black device in one hand. It took a moment for my brain to process what I was seeing. He held it up with a maniacal grin.
“Congratulations, Clover. You won’t be going anywhere without us knowing your every move.” He grabbed my left ankle and locked the tracking device into place.
It wasn’t that heavy despite being thick and chunky. I gaped down at the device. “Wow, guys. That’s…messed up.”
“Just be thankful that it’s not inside you. We consulted with the Sinners about our options. Technology doesn’t have a great internal tracker for humans yet. Well, maybe the government does. So you get to wear this instead.” Cash seemed far too satisfied about placing a tracker on me.
It wasn’t as shocking as it might have been if my best friend wasn’t wearing one around her neck. Raina had been collared by the Gods when they’d first targeted her. Although she wouldn’t admit it, I think she’d grown to like it. I stared at the ugly black ankle bracelet. It could be worse. At least it was something I could hide.
“You don’t seem that upset,” Blaze observed. “I’ve gotta say, I’m a little disappointed in your lack of reaction.”
I shrugged, or at least I tried to. It wasn’t really possible with my arms stretched above my head. “Yeah, that sucks for you. I mean, it’s not really that surprising. You’ve been threatening to do it for a while now.”
Blaze didn’t know it but he’d just given me some power in this situation. If a huge reaction was what they wanted, I needed to work damn hard not to give them one.
“You’re right.” He nodded, thoughtfully scratching his lightly stubbled chin. “We should have preserved the element of surprise. Ah well, what can you do? I guess we’ll have to find another way to get some fight out of you.”
Trying to play it cool, I nodded along with him. “All right. Show me what you’ve got.”