by JB Salsbury
Losing her once was a pain worse than death. I will not lose her again. I take another step.
“He’s gonna kill her, man.” Blake’s words speak to the raging beast in my head.
My shirt and jeans are soaked in my blood. I fight for consciousness. Blinking hard, I force myself to think clearly. Plans, ideas tumble in my head, heavy as it lists on my shoulders. I’m running out of time. There’s only one option left.
“Fine.” I lower my gun to the ground, then stand, palms forward in surrender. “You win.”
“You too.” Dominick motions to Blake to drop his weapons.
“Jonah?” Blake’s eyes dart from my shoulder to my face, asking the question, Have you lost your mind?
I nod for him to drop his weapons. He shakes his head.
“Do it. He’ll kill her.” I hope my voice sounds desperate.
Blake drops his weapons and gives me a I-hope-you-know-what-you’re-doing look. Me too.
Dominick tries to move past me. I stagger into his path, blocking his way.
“Wait. I just need to say one thing before you go.” My words are a string of slurs.
I shut down my rational thinking. Or what’s left of it. I’m firing on pure instinct. Using the one thing that has yet to fail me. I’m going to fight.
My head drops forward. Weakened from loss of blood, I gather my remaining strength. I’m not looking to beat him, only to buy enough time for Blake to get Raven out of here.
Dominick moves his gun-holding hand around her waist, and digs in his pocket for something. Car keys maybe.
Raven’s sobs tighten my chest, making it hard to swallow.
Hang in there, baby. I have a plan.
“No time for parting words, I’m afraid. If you boys will get the fuck out of my way, my daughter and I—”
“She’s my daughter!”
~*~
Raven
My mom is here. She said I’m her daughter. The ferocity of her words shakes the deepest corner of my soul.
“Milena.” Dominick’s voice sounds bored, but his muscles tense at my back. “What the fuck are you doing here?” He looks between her and Jonah. “You brought them here?” He aims the gun at her. “You stupid, bitch!”
She doesn’t flinch.
“I won’t let you take her.” She steps closer, her back straight, conviction burning in her eyes. “Let her go.”
“And if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?” He shakes with laughter. “Look at you. You’re pathetic and weak.”
“Not anymore.” Her voice is firm, not the slightest tremble. “I’m not that naïve girl anymore.” She pins Dominick with a glare. “Do you remember that night? Twenty-one years ago to this day. Just a few yards from where we’re standing.”
I was born here?
His grip loosens and he leans toward her. “Of course, I remember. You gave her to me then. You didn’t want anything to do with her. Wouldn’t even hold her.”
I twist my neck away from his devastating words. Heartbreak slashes through my body, threatening to drop me to the floor.
“Raven?” My mom’s voice is tender.
Her soft expression contradicts the torture that works behind her dark brown eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I’d lost my parents.” She exhales a quick breath and drops her head. “I couldn’t bear to lose you too. It’s no excuse. I know that now.”
Tears stream down my face as her public apology seeps into my soul.
“You ungrateful bitch, I’ve given you everything. You were nothing when I saved you from your shitty life.” Dominick shouts across the room, throwing his words like weapons.
She sneers in his direction. “I would rather live a thousand lives with nothing than the one I’ve lived with you. You used my fears against me to get what you wanted.” Her voice cracks. “Raven was my baby.” The room reverberates with the emotion behind her words.
Her baby. Warmth blooms in my chest. I stare, shock and amazement freezing my voice.
“But she was never mine, was she? You made that clear from the beginning.”
Goose bumps race over my skin. She was protecting herself. This whole time I thought she hated me.
“I created her—”
“She’s a human being, Dominick. You’re messing with people’s lives. She doesn’t want this.” She takes a step towards us, her shoulders tall and her expression fearless. “Let her go.”
She’s here. Fighting. For me.
Dominick’s gun stays aimed at her. Blake and Jonah stand close, muscles tense, eyes darting.
She lifts her chin in defiance. He’s going to kill her. And she’s willing to die to free me.
I can’t let that happen.
I fight the tears that brim in my eyes. It took strength for her to come here and risk her life. I won’t repay that with fear. I’ve waited my entire life to feel my mom’s love. And now that I have it, I refuse to lose it. We can fight to save each other.
“Your time is up, Milena. And who better to replace you than your own daughter.” He runs the cool metal of his gun down my cheek. “She looks like you. Moves like you.” He grabs a handful of my hair and pulls it, making me cry out. “She probably even fucks like you.”
“Piece of shit!” Jonah’s voice rumbles through the room.
“You stay the fuck out of this, Slade.” Dominick points his gun at my mom.
“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll take good care of her.” He kisses my cheek. I lean away from him. His grip tightens. Gun cocked. “Good-bye, Milena.”
Jonah moves fast. I’m thrown to the floor. My head smacks the hardwood. Pain lances through my skull, and bright stars flash behind my eyes. I struggle to sit up, blinking. Jonah has Dominick on the ground. They push and pull for the gun in a deadly tug-o-war.
Oh, God.
Blake pulls me up. “Baby girl. Let’s go.”
He drags me to the door, hooking my mom around her shoulders, and pushing us out.
“No!” I squirm in his hold. “I’m not leaving him.”
Blake’s biceps tighten. He’s too strong. “Please, Blake. Let me go!”
He drags us down the stairs. Every step escalates my need to run back. I will never give up my fight for Jonah.
“Can’t. I promised—”
“I won’t lose him!” I’m kicking and flailing.
His steps slow.
“I can’t live without him.” I continue to claw at Blake’s arms. I stomp hard on his foot.
“Shit.” A deep groan rumbles from his chest. “He’s going to kill me.” His words are mumbled beneath his breath.
And then I’m free. My will to save Jonah burns in my muscles as I sprint toward the cabin.
I dart into the room. Jonah and Dominick are still locked in a vicious battle. I slide across a slippery pool of Vince’s blood.
There’s commotion, yelling. I look up to see Dominick’s gun pointed at Jonah’s face. I need to move faster.
A gun. I scurry on all fours. Blood covers my hands. Tears blur my vision. I fumble with the weapon. Crawling toward the fight. Jonah locks eyes with mine. His features twist in undiluted panic. Dominick’s arm gets loose. The gun presses below Jonah’s chin. No! The gun slips from my grip, I scramble for it with shaking hands. I get it, raise my hands to aim, and pray I’m not too late.
Pop-Pop-Pop.
Thirty-three
Raven
The room is still. Pain radiates from my arms, seeping into my shoulders. People are yelling, but it sounds as if I’ve got cotton balls in my ears. Muffled and incoherent. White noise rings in my head, along with my hammering heartbeat.
I push myself up. The weight of the gun drops from my hand. Dominick is down. His body still. His chest void of the rise and fall of breath.
Dead. I killed him.
Someone pulls at my arm. They want my attention, but I can’t look away from the morbid scene before me. Out of the corner of my eye I see Jonah. He’s sitting up. Blake is shouting in h
is face, but I can’t hear what he’s saying.
Jonah’s gaze swings to mine. The red blood splattered on his face is a gory contrast to his pallid skin. His eyebrows are low and his face pinched. I watch his mouth move, able to make out the single word. Baby.
My breath hitches. It’s over. I’m free.
As if summoned by my thoughts, he rushes to me and I’m in the safety of his arms. The gentle sway of his body rocks me, and I clutch his blood-soaked shirt. He cups my cheek with his good arm, holding me to him. I feel the pressure of his mouth against the top of my head. His lips move against my scalp, but his words are vibrations. I pull away and watch his lips.
I love you.
A smile tiptoes across my face.
I love you too. My lips move, the cadence of my voice hums in my throat, but I can barely hear it. He pulls me back to his chest.
I can’t force myself to look away from Dominick, his expensive-suited corpse lying in a pool of his own blood, a grim reminder of what I’ve done. What I had to do to save Jonah and my mom. And myself.
I search the recesses of my heart for regret, guilt, horror. Nothing. I’ve just killed my dad, the man responsible for my life. And all I feel is . . . relief.
~*~
Jonah
“You guys okay?” Blake walks up from my truck to the steps of the cabin where Raven and I sit.
As soon as I could, I dragged Raven out of there. It was the only way to get her to stop staring at Dominick’s dead body.
I haven’t left her side, except to run in and clean Dominick’s filthy blood off my face. The makeshift tourniquet I pulled together with a ripped sheet has my head clearing.
“Better. We’re starting to get our hearing back.” I run my lips along the top of Raven’s head, breathing in deep. “You make the call?”
“Yeah. Made it on my way to the truck. They should be here soon.” Standing on the lower step, Blake leans against the banister. “Need anything?”
I give Raven a squeeze. “Baby?”
She shakes her head.
Milena is sitting on a rock nearby, but she keeps her distance, probably not sure how Raven feels about her. What she did tonight redeems her in my book. I owe my entire life to Milena. But ultimately, forgiveness is Raven’s to give.
Minutes tick by before sirens and bright lights descend on us. An ambulance, fire truck, and a handful of police cars pull up to the cabin. Paramedics and cops unload in a hurry until we’re surrounded by uniforms.
“Mr. Slade, I’m Kevin.” One EMT that rushed out from the back of the ambulance meets us on the steps. He pulls back the fabric of my shirt to examine my shoulder. “Can you walk?”
“Yeah. Take care of her head. I’ll wait.” I motion to Raven who is slumped against my good side.
Kevin sidesteps and pulls back Raven’s hair to check out her forehead. “Ma’am, are you injured anywhere else?”
She glares at me, but doesn’t argue. “No. Just the cut on my head.”
A smile pulls at my lips. I look forward to a lifetime of dirty looks from her.
“All right. Mr. Slade, let’s get you into the ambulance and get some IV fluids started. I’ll have Roger come and take care of . . .”
“My wife.” I glare at Kevin. “Make sure Roger knows.”
The sound of Raven’s giggle is better than any pain medication.
“Yes, sir, ‘Assassin’. By the way, great fight tonight.” The eager EMT is a fan. Good to know.
“Yes, it was.” I lock eyes with Raven. “Best fight of my life.”
Kevin puts his hand out to help me up. I’m tired and dizzy from blood loss, but this guy looks like a noodle in scrubs. I shake him off and push to standing. Oh, shit. Gripping the handrail, I squeeze my eyes shut, willing the vertigo away. Raven presses into my side, using her body as support until my head stops spinning.
She walks me down the few steps to the dirt. I pull her in for a hug before we’re dealt with by our assigned EMTs.
The angry mark above her head is no longer bleeding. I run my knuckles down her cheek, grateful that a cut is all they got on her. “Get your head taken care of.” I kiss her longer than I should for the audience we have, but fuck ’em.
A team of EMTs rush into the cabin. Roger scurries up with some kind of a field medical kit and gets to work on Raven’s head.
I drag my body to the ambulance where Kevin asks me to climb inside.
“Mind if you treat me out here?” There’s no way I’m letting Raven out of my sight. It should be comforting being surrounded by cops, but with Dominick’s far reach, I need to stay alert.
“Oh, I don’t—”
I spear Kevin with a glare that has him nodding.
“Yeah, sure thing, ‘Assassin.’ I’ll just pop a stretcher up here.”
“Thanks.”
Kevin moves some equipment to just outside the ambulances back doors. He moves around my shoulder doing some shit. I don’t pay attention, but instead keep my focus on my girl. I pull my eyes away from her to watch them wheel Dominick’s sheet-covered corpse from the cabin. Vince is next. It looks like they’ve got him awake and talking. I should have aimed higher.
A cop with a note pad asks me questions. I answer them until he’s satisfied and walks away. He moves to questioning Raven next. Milena jumps to her side.
“Hey, man. How’s the shoulder?” Blake plops down next to me at the back end of the ambulance.
“It’s all right.” I’m not concerned about my fucking shoulder.
Both Milena and Raven talk and nod as they most likely retell the night’s events. I wish I could hear what they’re saying.
“She’s going to be okay, ya know.”
I don’t take my eyes off my girl. “How do you know that? She just killed someone.”
Blake shrugs. “Cops said they’d been looking for something on Morretti for years. The guy’s operation was locked up tighter than a Royce Gracie shoulder hold. This little situation was the Golden Goose taking a big fat dump right in their laps.”
I don’t say anything, but God, I hope he’s right.
“Guess ole Vinnie started singing like a canary the second they got him conscious. Fucker gave away everything. Even told them he roughed up Guy and stole his cell phone.”
“He roughed up Guy? Is he okay? Wait, does Raven know?” I watch Raven. Her body language is relaxed. They must be finishing up.
“Yeah, he’s good. A few bruises and a gnarly concussion. That’s how they got Raven out of the arena. They sent her a text from Guy’s phone. Fucking assholes. Threatened to kill him if she didn’t cooperate with Candy.”
The name grates on my nerves. “And what about her? They gonna arrest her?”
He leans back, crosses his arms over his chest. “Yup. She’ll go down for kidnapping and whatever else the prosecutor can scrape up.”
I exhale a long breath. Guess keeping Vince alive was a good thing.
“Don’t you let her cry one tear for that dick.” Blake looks to the ambulance that holds Dominick’s body then back to Raven. “She’s a sweet girl, and sweet girls feel shit for shitty people. Don’t let it eat her up inside. She saved your life.”
I turn a glare on my friend. “Yeah, she did. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about your broken promise, ass.”
“Dude, she forced me. I got her out, but she threatened to tell the women of Vegas that I’ve got a needle dick.” He throws his hands up in mock surrender. “I can’t let that happen. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
“How hard is it to keep a fucking promise?”
He shrugs, but has the decency to look embarrassed. “Your girl can be persuasive.”
“Ass.” I chuckle and turn back to Milena and Raven, making a mental note to take it out on him in the octagon once my shoulder heals.
“Milena’s fucking hot as hell.” There’s a smile in his voice.
I glare at him, but can’t help the curl in my lips. “Are you seriously talking about my girl’s
mom? Sick fuck.”
“What? I know hot when I see it, and Milena’s smokin’.” He stands and holds out his hand. “Keys. I’ll follow Milena home in the truck and bring it by in the morning. I’m assuming you’ll be riding down the hill in this.” He motions to the ambulance. “I’d offer to take Raven home, but knowing you, you ain’t letting your girl out of your sight for . . . well, ever.”
I toss him my keys. “Thanks, man.”
He looks away and nods. Guy code for, no problem, you’d do it for me. Fuck yeah, I would.
Blake turns on his heel.
“Hey, B. You keep your dick to yourself around Milena, ya hear?”
He stops, looks to the ground, and shakes his head. He continues walking and turns over his shoulder. “I don’t do chicks with kids, remember?”
I laugh to myself and watch as Raven finishes up. She turns away from the group of police who frantically fill their note pads and heads in my direction. She has a blanket from the EMT wrapped around her shoulders. Her head wound is clean and covered with a butterfly bandage.
Standing, I pull her into my arms. “Hey.” I push the blanket down to kiss her neck at my spot. “You okay?” She curls in tight, just like she always does, as if she was carved from my own form.
“Yeah. I’m great.” The smile in her voice is unmistakable.
“Mr. Slade, it’s about time we get going,” Kevin says from inside the ambulance.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with so we can go home.” I move to help her inside the vehicle.
“Oh, no, she can’t come.” Kevin wags his finger as I one-arm lift Raven into the ambulance. “But if she wants to, she can meet . . . you . . . um . . .”
Raven and I are inside, settled on a stretcher, completely ignoring his rant.
“Well, okay. I guess she can come.” He must finally realize that he’ll be riding in another vehicle before she does. Smart kid.
“Thanks, Kevin.” I pull Raven into my arms and kiss her head. “I appreciate your flexibility.”
Raven’s body jumps with silent laughter as she hides her smile in my chest. I wrap her up tighter, thinking about how close I was to losing this. Losing her.
