CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CLOVER
After the guys left, Raina and I cleaned up the kitchen. She muttered about them being lazy shits while sticking the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher.
“I don’t know about your guys,” she said. “But Knight is the only one who’s useful around here. The other two would pay for cleaners and takeout for the rest of their lives if it wasn’t for the two of us.”
I considered her remark thoughtfully. “Actually, they’re not too bad. They tend to clean up after themselves, for the most part. Although none of them do much cooking. Blaze tries to help, but he’s kind of comically useless in the kitchen.”
Raina gave the table a wipe. She paused, a grin lighting up her face. “Well, at least they’re good for one thing, am I right?”
“You’re so bad,” I laughed.
“You know I’m right. Don’t tell me three on one isn’t the best sex you’ve ever had.” She flashed me a saucy wink.
My cheeks warmed at the thought of my three Angels owning me in every way. “No argument here.”
Our conversation took a filthy turn as we compared notes. Our guys would be mortified if they heard the way we talked about them. It may also inflate their egos to ridiculous levels. Once the kitchen had been tidied up, Raina placed an order for dessert. She was hung up on this cheesecake idea. I had to admit, it was the best cheesecake in town.
While we waited for the delivery person to show up, Raina surfed through Netflix. We struggled to agree on something to watch. She wanted something filled with action and some scares while I wanted a feel good watch. I’d had more than enough action lately.
“How about a stand-up comedy special?” she asked. “This guy is supposed to be pretty funny.”
Not recognizing the man on the screen, I shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
We got comfortable on the couch, settling in for some laughs. Eventually, the man on the screen got us both laughing. It felt so good to laugh. I needed that. I even stopped worrying about the guys.
I almost forgot about the cheesecake until the doorbell rang. Raina hopped off the couch to go answer the door while I got up to grab plates and forks from the kitchen. Raina’s startled shriek stopped me in my tracks.
I rounded the corner and hurried to the front door in time to see the delivery guy drop at Raina’s feet. Two masked men appeared as if they’d been lurking in the shadows. They burst into the house with guns in hand. Having a gun suddenly pointed in my face made the blood rush from my head and my mouth go dry.
“What the fuck?” Raina gasped, backstepping toward me. Her hazel eyes were wide, her face pale.
A man wearing a rabbit mask waved his gun at Raina. “On your knees. Right now. Don’t try anything unless you want to end up like the two mobsters outside.”
Oh shit. If the men who were supposed to protect us had been taken out by these guys, we were in serious trouble.
Raina glanced around, searching the room for a weapon. Other than a small lamp in the front sitting room, there was nothing we could use. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the terror within them.
We should have known. These guys had found our house. They had located us on campus. Of course they would find us here too. I’d run right to my best friend and endangered her.
“How?” I squeaked out. “How did you find us?”
The second man wore a beaver mask. He stepped forward to aggressively shove me to the floor. “None of you are nearly as smart as you think you are. Didn’t think to check your vehicles for trackers, did you? We planted them before the fire. Just in case.”
That didn’t answer all of my questions, but it was a start. We fucked up. I didn’t know how we’d overlooked something that should’ve been so obvious.
“Don’t hurt her,” Raina protested, sinking to her knees next to me. “If you do anything to either of us, Desmond Monroe won’t rest until you’re all dead.”
“Is that so?” asked Rabbit Mask. “He’ll have to find us first.”
Even though I couldn’t see his face, the guy in the beaver mask seemed to hesitate. His gun lowered as he shifted from foot to foot. “You’re Desmond Monroe’s kid?”
Raina nodded vigorously. “Damn rights. His one and only. You don’t want to know what he’s done to people who fucked with me in the past.”
The two men exchanged a look. Rabbit Mask was unfazed. “So fucking what? Tie their hands. Hurry up before someone comes home.”
While he stood watch with his gun pointed at the two of us, Beaver Mask hurriedly tied our hands with rope he pulled from a pocket. My pulse pounded as perspiration dotted my forehead. They’d purposely come after us when the guys were away. The room began to spin. My breaths came too fast.
“It’s okay, Clover,” Raina reassured me. “Deep breaths. Don’t pass out on me.”
How she managed to retain such a calm, cool head was beyond me. I guess having a mobster father got one well acquainted with danger at an early age. Her eyes continued to flick around the room as she looked for a way out of this. With our hands now tied behind our backs, I didn’t see that happening.
Beaver Mask pulled Raina to her feet first. Unwilling to go without a fight, Raina slammed her head back into his face. He bellowed in pain, reaching beneath the mask to touch his nose.
“You dumb fucking bitch,” he snarled. “Let’s see how much fight you have when we get you on camera. Save it for the show.”
I didn’t think my heart could race any faster. Now I knew what kind of revenge they had planned. It couldn’t possibly end that way. I’d never been much of a fighter, but I would fight this until my last breath.
They made sure to tie our feet as well. They weren’t taking any chances. When they slapped a thick layer of duct tape over my mouth, I began to hyperventilate.
This couldn’t be happening. I wondered why Raina didn’t seem more frightened. Surely she knew who these guys were and what they planned to do to us. Catching my eye, she subtly glanced toward my ankle.
The tracker. We both wore one. They’d been designed to look like jewelry. Even Havoc’s father hadn’t recognized it for what it was when he tried to bury Raina alive. It was our only hope now. Once the guys got back and discovered we were missing, they would immediately track the devices we both wore. They would come for us.
While the men dragged us to the waiting SUV outside, I caught sight of the two mobsters in the sedan out front. They were slumped over, blood spatter marking the windows. These guys must have taken them by surprise. They planned this well.
I felt awful for those men. Sure, they were mobsters, but they’d been here to act as security. They didn’t deserve to die for this. Even though I knew they’d signed on for the risk, I couldn’t help but feel responsible.
Raina did her best to fight as Rabbit Mask tossed her into the back of the SUV. She squirmed and flailed, trying to break free of his hold. He almost dropped her once. That angered him enough to backhand her across the face.
Her head snapped to one side. Slowly, she turned back to face him, her eyes wild with rage.
“Keep fucking around and I’ll drug the shit out of you.” The man threw her into the SUV, not caring how she landed.
Beaver Mask tossed me in behind her. I landed uncomfortably on Raina’s legs, her foot digging into my neck. I didn’t care about that. I had much bigger concerns.
Like where were our guys? Were they safe? And how much longer until they discovered we were gone?