Born Sinner: Blood Ravens MC

by Vivian Gray

“I don’t think so,” I insist. “Blade, where were you when you were attacked?”

  “By 16th and Main. Why? Does that mean something to you?”

  “I don’t suppose you were collecting on a debt, were you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I was,” he says, looking at me with suspicion and caution. “Now how in the blue hell could you possibly know that?”

  “I told you; my dad told me things. He was grooming me to take over a business I have no interest in taking over. Now tell me: who was the guy you were collecting from?”

  “What makes you think it was a guy?”

  “It’s always a guy,” I reply sardonically, frowning slightly.

  He snorts a laugh at that. “Yeah, I suppose it almost always is. Well yeah, it was a guy. But Maria, I’m not telling you his name.”

  “Why not?” I demand.

  “Because you’re still an Espinoza, and I’m still holding you as my fucking prisoner. You get me?”

  He becomes visibly angry, shaking in a bit of rage towards me. I haven’t seen this anger since the first day of my captivity. It’s still shocking – and just a little hot.

  I take a deep breath before continuing, “I know stuff, Blade,” I say in a low, serious voice, “and I’m going to prove it to you. The guy you were collecting a debt from was Brett Finfer, a small-time dealer who specializes in weed, coke, and ecstasy. I know him because he has been to my house. He has been on my dad’s roster for a long time. And I know that the day you were stabbed – the day you picked me up – my dad had three guys in our house who he instructed to ‘Get that son of a bitch.’ I didn’t know then that it was you; I had no idea he was even after the Blood Ravens. But I have a good idea why.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Blade echoes me. “Why then? What possible reason would he have for coming after me? What did I ever do to him?”

  “That’s just it, Blade. You didn’t do anything to him. Neither did the Blood Ravens. The truth is, you’re just in the way. He wants to expand the Espinoza empire. That’s what he keeps telling me whenever he starts in on me about taking over the business. He wants to be the sole and only distributor in the entire area. And the Blood Ravens are a threat to that.”

  “But what the fuck did we ever do to him?” Blade demands, again flying into a rage. “We were content to live and let live, and leave the Espinozas the fuck alone! The last thing we wanted was all-out war with those sons of bitches. All we want is to keep our own fucking territory. Why all of a sudden? Why come after us now?”

  “I think…” I hesitate again because now we’re out of the realm of what I know and into the universe of speculation. But I have to tell him. This is too important not to tell him. “I think you have a mole on the inside of your organization,” I tell him flatly, trying my best not to enrage him further.

  It doesn’t work.

  “WHAT?!” he screams. “Jesus fucking Christ, Maria, that is a dangerous fucking accusation. You had better have something to back that assertion up, or I’m gonna be pretty goddamn pissed about what you’re implying.”

  “What I’m implying?” I shoot back.

  “You’re saying that one of my brothers in arms, one of my family, is a traitor,” he seethes. “That’s what you’re saying. That is one hell of an accusation to make against people who have been there for me since I was sixteen years old and have been more of a family to me than anyone I’ve ever known, including my own shitty family.”

  “I recognize that,” I say with caution, trying not to inflame the situation any further. “And I don’t know that I’m one hundred percent right. But it makes sense, doesn’t it? How else would my father have known where you were going to be, when you were going to be there, and who you were going to see? I’ve already shown you that I know Brett Finfer. I know stuff, Blade. This isn’t just me idly speculating that maybe my dad has an informant. This is how he fucking works. And I just…” I find myself choking up a bit, and that’s when the truth finally hits me square in the face. “... I just don’t want to see anything happen to you.”

  That truth – that I don’t want anything to happen to Blade – is coupled with another, deeper seated truth: I’m falling for him. I don’t want to say anything to him about it, at least not now, because he’s been holding me in captivity for two weeks. But there’s something between us, I can feel it. And I know, looking into those big brown eyes of his, that he feels it, too.

  “Look,” he says, clearly perturbed by the conversation – and by what I’ve told him. “I gotta… I gotta go. I gotta talk with Crusher about this. See what he wants to do with your… information.”

  “You’re going to tell him about what I said?” I ask, a little nervous. “All of it?” I add with a gulp.

  “All of it,” he replies simply. “If you’re lying, or if you’re being even a little untruthful, you’re in a deep pile of shit, Maria.” Then, his face softens a bit. “But if what you’re telling me turns out to be true, you may have just saved the Blood Ravens. And that will not go unrewarded. If it’s true.”

  “I understand,” I tell him.

  He leaves, and I sit there, thinking about the conversation. I know I’m right, I just know I am. Dad always says I have a nose for the business and for sussing out situations. Well, this situation seems right to me. I know now that, having provided this information to Blade, I can’t go home again. That avenue has closed to me now. I wonder if Dad is even bothering to look for me.

  A few hours later, I awake from a nap with a start. It felt for a moment like there was somebody in my room, someone creeping around, someone standing over me. It was like a shadow, though, so it was probably just a dream. I drag my arms back to stretch awake, and that’s when I realize something that throws me for a loop: my arms are free. Blade has removed the handcuffs, and I’m free.

  The first thing I do is stand up and go to the door. It’s still locked. That was expected. I look around the floor for my clothes, but those are gone, too. I wonder if he just picked them up, or if he actually took them and washed them. I take a whiff of myself, and I realize I smell pretty ripe. I could use a shower.

  I wonder if he’ll let me take one when he gets back. Or maybe he likes keeping me smelly – maybe that’s part of his kink, part of this captivity thing. Whatever the case, I think his releasing me from the restraints means that what I told him was accepted by the MC. Now all I have to do is wait for him to get back.

  Once he does, I get the feeling we’re going to have a wild, wild fucking night.

  Chapter Nine

  Blade

  I don’t know what the fuck is happening to me. A couple of weeks ago, I was just your average guy in an MC, working towards advancing in the ranks. Then, a few guys from a rival gang jump me, and all of a sudden, I’m the babysitter for a cartel princess – the sister of my ex. Only thing is, it turns out that the sister is far and away the better girl, the better informant, and the better lover. All three rolled into one. I can’t explain it. But there’s something about her that I have begun to trust.

  Of course, I can’t let her know that. The last thing I want to do is to let Maria Espinoza know that she’s beginning to grow on me, beginning to mean something to me. Maybe opening up to her yesterday was a mistake. Most of me thinks it was. I mean, what was I thinking, letting myself open up like a little wuss? That’s not what we do. I don’t unburden myself to bitches, least of all a cartel princess with a bit of a mouth on her. Not my style.

  But there’s another part of me, small though it may be, that has me thinking that maybe what I did wasn’t so wrong. In fact, this same part of me thinks what I did was very, very right. I enjoy talking to Maria – more than I ever did to Carmen. And she’s provided some very valuable intel.

  When I go to bring the information she’s given me to Crusher at HQ, he’s not there. Probably out on his own assignment. He does that from time to time. So instead, I head home, only to find Maria asleep in her bed, napping in the middle of the day. I don’
t wake her. Instead, I find the set of handcuff keys in my pocket and gently undo her restraints from behind the bed.

  For some reason, I feel like I can trust her, and besides, I’m locking the door behind me. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, she won’t be even trying to escape. If what she’s told me is even remotely true, there’s not really much of a chance she can ever go home again anyway.

  That evening, I go downstairs to talk again before my regularly scheduled meeting at HQ. She greets me with a big smile, completely unself-conscious now in her nudity. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself,” I answer stupidly.

  “Thanks for taking the cuffs off. You wouldn’t believe how uncomfortable those things are after a while. I take it things went well at your headquarters?”

  “Nothing has happened yet,” I tell her. I don’t want to go into too much detail; just in case she is still plotting something for her father, I want to be ready.

  “Well, have you guys been keeping your eyes on my dad’s cartel?”

  “You know I can’t tell you that. Come on, Maria. Don’t ask me questions like that, okay?”

  “O-okay,” she stammers a little bit.

  I give her a plate of food, something I’d just whipped up: a cheeseburger with chips. She murmurs a “Thanks” and picks up the food with her own hands for the first time in ages.

  “I have to go,” I tell her. “I’ve got a meeting. Do you – do you need some help with that?” I ask sardonically, noting that she seems to be having trouble holding the burger upright.

  She shakes her head. “No, I’m fine. Just lost that muscle memory, I guess. You’ve been feeding me every meal for two weeks now.” She sounds almost nostalgic as she says so, making me wonder if she secretly had been enjoying our little food sessions.

  “Well, anyway,” I say.

  “Anyway,” she answers me back.

  Part of me knows what comes next, but I’m still unprepared for it when it does. She comes across the room to where I’m standing, stands on her tiptoes, and kisses my cheek. It’s a sweet gesture, one that I would never have expected her to do in a million years a couple of weeks ago – yet it feels right. It feels like we’ve been doing this kind of thing, playing house, forever.

  That cements it for me. I’m not thinking clearly about this girl. I have to go to Crusher with the information she’s given me. And he needs to make the decision – because I just can’t.

  ***

  “Okay, you’re going to have to slow down there, Blade,” Crusher says to me. I’ve just brought up what Maria told me, wondering aloud what we should do about it. Crusher remains unconvinced, at least at this point. “Let’s start at the top. What did the bitch say about her father?”

  “Boss,” I say patiently, “this is bigger than her father. This could involve one of our own.”

  “I get that, but I want to go over all your ‘evidence’ again. I need to hear the whole story a second time.”

  I nod and begin going over what Maria told me with him again. “Okay,” I start off, “so, the guy we were collecting from – that I was collecting from – a couple of weeks ago. Brett whatever the fuck his name is.”

  “Yeah, I remember. The day you got stabbed.”

  “Exactly. So, Maria says she remembers him from seeing him at her house – her dad’s house – as a dealer. Says he’s been a part of the Espinoza organization for a long time.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me,” Crusher says thoughtfully. “But then, why was he coming to us looking for a loan?”

  “I think that was part of the setup,” I explain. “See, that same day, there were apparently a group of guys who came by the Espinoza house, right? And Maria distinctly remembers hearing Juan tell them to jump me – the exact words she used were ‘Get that son of a bitch.’”

  “She knows he was after us though?” Crusher asks.

  I shake my head. “No, that’s the thing. She says she had no idea he was after us. But she figures it has something to do with our having a traitor in the organization.”

  Crusher sits back in his chair and lets out a deep, broad sigh. “You know, this could be a setup by the bitch, right?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously. “Don’t you think she might be playing us off each other, trying to drive doubt and suspicion into our ranks?”

  I nod very, very slowly. “I admit, that could be what she’s up to, but something tells me it’s not. I mean, how did the goons know where I was going to be and when I was going to be there?”

  “Well, it could have been a coincidence. After all, that’s kind of how you ended up grabbing Miss Espinoza, isn’t it? Coincidence, I mean.”

  “Yeah, I suppose that’s true… I don’t know, boss. I feel like this might be right. I don’t think that she’d just up and lie about this sort of thing.”

  “Why not?” he asks, a grin coming to his face. “She’s got you, hasn’t she? Been working her pussy magic on you.”

  “What? No, not in the slightest.”

  “Oh, I think she has. I think you got a little thing for your prisoner, Blade. I think you want to believe her, whether or not she’s telling the truth.”

  I don’t say a word in response to this. The truth is, he’s probably right – I do want to believe her. I want to believe that everything she’s saying is true. Partly, this is because I don’t want to see anything bad happen to her, and if she’s lying, bad shit is definitely going to happen to her. But there’s another, more deep-seated reason, too: I like her.

  I feel like I might be falling for her. The fact that I can recognize it should make me instantly suspicious of anything she says. After all, she could be bullshitting me blind, and I would be blind to it because I’m confusing truth with fiction. But Maria doesn’t come across to me as the type of girl to do that. Either she’s really, really good at playing me, or she’s not lying, and there’s something to what she’s told me. Whichever is the actual truth, I realize there’s only one way to get Crusher to listen to her.

  “Come over to my place,” I offer to him. “Talk to her. See what you think. If you think she’s lying, we can dispose of her tonight, if you want. But if you think she’s telling the truth, the way I do, then we may have to do something about it.”

  “Agreed.” Crusher nods. “That’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Look at you, smart guy! You know just what to do in a cooked situation. All right, let’s go see your houseguest. See what she has to say for herself.”

  Suddenly, I realize that I’ve let her out of the handcuffs, and Crusher may not take too kindly to that. It sure won’t look good for me, at any rate. Good thing I still haven’t given Maria her clothes back.

  “I’ll ride on ahead,” I tell him, “and I’ll meet you there whenever you’re ready.”

  To my relief, he answers, “Sounds good. See you in a few, boy.”

  I get on my bike and ride home. The first thing I do is run down the stairs and go into the room. Maria looks like she expects me to take her, but at this moment, fucking her is the furthest thing from my mind.

  “You’ve got to put the cuffs back on Maria,” I say hurriedly. “My boss, Crusher, is on his way here. If he sees that I’ve let you out, he’s gonna have a fucking conniption. Come on.”

  I motion towards the handcuffs, which have been sitting on the floor for the last day or so. I don’t really want to keep her restrained, at least not right now – maybe later – but with Crusher coming over, I don’t really have much of a choice.

  “Why… why did you let me out in the first place?” she asks. “Not that I mind, of course.”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Just put these on now, okay?”

  “Okay, okay. Jesus, when did you get so high-strung?”

  “Crusher is coming over to talk to you,” I say as I place her hands behind the headboard and click the handcuffs shut. “He wants to see how credible your story is for himself. Maria, you haven’t been bullshitting me, have you?”

  “What?” she asks, seemingly horr
ified by what I’ve just said. “No! Blade, I’ve been telling you the truth. At least, as far as I can see it. What did you tell him I told you?”

  “I told him exactly what you told me, no more, no less. I told him about the three guys at your dad’s house and the connection you made to the day I got stabbed. And I told him that you think it means there’s a mole in the Blood Ravens.”

  “Oh, shit, Blade, I don’t—”

  Just as I’m about to ask her what she means by saying that, I hear a rapping at the door, cutting off both her thought and my own.

  It’s Crusher.

  “He’s here,” I say. “Look, it’s going to be fine. Just tell him the truth, and I promise you there isn’t a goddamn thing you have to worry about.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” she says as I head out the door and upstairs to let Crusher in.