Chapter 31
RILEY
The drive back into the city feels so much longer than when we were escaping it, but to be fair, while I was racing down the highway, I wasn’t focusing on the time. I was hoping like fuck that the man I love wasn’t about to die in the passenger seat.
Every mile we drive closer toward the city sends me into a spiral. I don’t want to be here, but I need to be. And just like Stone, I need to see this through.
Leaving Cedar Falls, if only for a few days, is one hell of a risk.
Stone is still at the top of the feds’ most-wanted list. There’s still a bounty on his head, and I have no doubt that every asshole with a gun is still searching high and low for him.
That is, every asshole with a gun outside of Cedar Falls.
But with four weeks between sightings, the feds have had no choice but to divert their attention to other pressing situations.
Don’t get me wrong, I can guarantee there’s still a dedicated team spending every waking hour trying to find him, but as long as we’re careful, and immediately head straight back to Cedar Falls while keeping under the radar, we’ll be okay.
Having Ray and Barbara’s support has gone a long way in settling something deep within me.
They’ve become my adoptive family, and from what I can tell, I believe they feel the same.
Apart from Stone, I’ve never had anything even remotely close to that.
Nobody has cared for me the way Barbara does.
Nobody has taken the time to teach me how to cook, teach me how to sew a button, or just care enough to ask me how I’m doing, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
So it came as no surprise that Ray wasn’t completely onboard with us leaving today.
We spoke to them at dinner last night, wanting to be as transparent as possible.
They know exactly who Lux Valen is to us.
They know what role he played in the scars left on my body—what role he had in corrupting Ash—and they know he ensured Stone received a life sentence rotting behind bars.
But more than that, they know exactly what we’ve come to the city to do, and instead of putting up a fight and arguing what a horrible idea this was, they simply nodded, understanding why we need to do this. That doesn’t mean they agree.
Barbara doesn’t want to see us get hurt.
She’s become very attached just as I have become to her, and if, for any reason, neither of us were able to make it back to our new home, it would crush her.
As for Ray, he told us right from the get-go that we weren’t to bring our shit into Cedar Falls, and this is our way of keeping that promise.
Because somehow, if we don’t get to Lux first, he will spend the rest of his life hunting us, and that’s no way to live.
Today, Lux Valen will die.
We sit in a stolen minivan, not wanting to risk driving the Charger into the city and being recognized, especially as we sit outside the old Chinese restaurant, watching and waiting for Lux to return.
We’re being as discreet as possible, watching the restaurant from a little down the street, more than prepared to sit here for as long as it takes.
Though it doesn’t go unnoticed that the pool of Stone’s blood that fell on the sidewalk all those weeks ago is still there.
Kinda gross really, and it speaks volumes about the care the city puts into keeping the streets safe and clean.
Not that the Bone Reapers are going out of their way to report it and bring attention to their little operation here, and I can guarantee nobody else is either.
They won’t risk drawing that kind of attention to themselves.
We came prepared. We’ve got snacks. Water.
Weapons. And yes, I even brought a spare pair of panties, because we all know how I like my cookie properly packaged at all times, and I’m not prepared to put her through the same abuse she went through while on the run.
Underwear is a must. Unless Stone is between my thighs.
And in that case, the only appropriate panties near me are the ones he’s physically torn off with his teeth.
God, he’s such an animal. I absolutely love it.
I’ve had more than my fair share of sexual partners over the past few years. I’m one of those girls who isn’t shy about my fondness of sex. I’ll actively seek it, and most of the time, my chosen partner can get the job done. But nobody has ever taken me the way he does.
Maybe it’s the seven years of deprivation.
He grew a hunger for pussy that can’t possibly be sated, and that’s the kind of man I will never let go of.
And it’s not just that massive cock. It’s his tongue.
His mouth. His skilled fingers. He enjoys getting me off just as much as he likes getting off himself.
When he’s not out in the field, he’s inside of me.
We spend every spare moment making up for lost time, but I have to be honest, a part of me is disappointed in myself.
When all my memories came back, it became apparent that I had been saving myself for Stone.
At seventeen, there was no way he was about to pop that cherry, but I was ready to wait.
I’d already fallen for him, and I knew that he was going to be my first. But after my memories faded away, that part of me went right along with it.
I didn’t even know if I was still a virgin when I had sex for the first time, though it became more than apparent when the guy slammed into me, and it hurt like a fucking bitch.
It wasn’t a great experience, and I can’t even blame him.
That particular clusterfuck was all on me.
I was freshly eighteen and had only been out of the hospital for a few months.
I had an itch and wanted it scratched, so I found the first willing guy, seduced him at a party, and went for gold.
In hindsight, I should have taken my time.
He tore through my virginity, and when I started to bleed, we were both lost for words. It rocked his confidence, and he couldn’t finish the job, then he called me gross for allowing him to fuck me while on my period, not realizing what had really happened.
I regret that moment like a drunk text sent at 2 a.m.
Now that my forgotten memories are back, I wish I hadn’t been so careless with my body. I wish I could have given that part of me to him. Hindsight really is a bitch. Everyone always warns you about karma, but no one ever mentions her younger sister, hindsight.
“What are you overthinking?” Stone asks, his gaze sailing up and down the street for the millionth time today.
It’s after eight in the evening, and we’ve been here since ten.
So far, there’s not been a single sighting of a Bone Reaper, but we didn’t expect it during the day. After dark, that’s different.
I bark a laugh, a smirk pulling at my lips. “Just recalling the moment I lost my virginity without realizing that I was one. It was horrible. Blood everywhere. And fuck, it hurt.”
His eyes widen, and he whips his gaze toward me. “What the fuck, Menace?”
I roll my eyes, realizing he has the wrong idea, and that’s going to need clarification, but before I can elaborate, a car sails down the street and pulls up outside the restaurant, just a few spaces up from us.
“Shit. Is that him?” I ask, sitting up straighter, nervousness sinking heavily into the pit of my stomach.
Stone turns back, having no choice but to drop the whole virginity thing for now. As silence fills the minivan, we watch the car, and Stone discreetly reaches for the gun in the center console.
My hands tremble. The idea of having to face this monster makes me feel sick, but justice needs to be served, and when the car doors open and Lux and one other step out onto the street, the time for justice has finally come.
They move into the Chinese restaurant, glancing up and down the street before entering, and the moment the door closes behind them, Stone starts to make his move. “Go time, baby. You ready for this?”
My eyes widen. “Fuck, now? They only just went in.”
“Now,” he states. “Chances are, others will be coming to join him. We get in, get it done, before that happens. Then, we get the fuck out of there. Understood?”
I let out a shaky breath, and he looks back, watching me through a narrowed gaze. “If you’re not sure about this, you can stay here. Nobody is forcing you to do this.”
“Team, remember? If you get to fuck him up, then I get to fuck him up too.”
“Okay,” he says. “Let’s move.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Glancing in the car’s side mirrors, I check that nobody’s coming before pushing out of the minivan and hurrying onto the street. My knees are shaking with nerves, but with Stone by my side, I know I’m going to be okay.
He grabs a few things out of the back, and within seconds, we’re crossing the road and creeping up on the restaurant. “You sure there’s no one else inside?” I murmur as he clutches my hand, keeping me close.
“We’ve been here all day, Menace. You know there’s no one else in there. Stop second-guessing yourself. You have great natural instincts. Trust them. Trust your gut. And trust me. That’s all you need.”
His confidence begins wearing off on me, and I nod as we approach the main entrance.
He pauses, and before we storm in there to rain hell over Lux Valen, he turns back to me, that pitch-black stare locked onto mine.
“I fucking love you, Menace. The second this is done, I’m taking you back home where we belong, and I’m never letting you out of my sight again.
Anything you want, it’s yours. The whole fucking world will be in your hands. ”
A stupid smile stretches across my lips, and I push up onto my tippy toes to kiss him. “Sounds perfect to me,” I whisper. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d really like to go show this motherfucker once and for all what happens when you fuck with Riley Blackthorne.”
He pauses, his brow arching. “Blackthorne?”