Page 109 of Claimed

“What’s the plan?” he asks.

“I need to find her first. I’ll figure out the rest then.”

I turn to grab a hoodie from the closet and her sketch book catches my eye. I grab it and thumb through the pictures. That’s when I notice the gradual changes in the figure at the door. Another sign I missed.

“Look at that.” I show E the first few drawings then flip to the last one. “See the difference?”

“I do now.”

I drop the book on the bed and it lands on the page with the last thing she drew. It’s us. This time, her wings aren’t closed around her but spread majestically wide. That’s my woman, and I’m getting her back no matter what.

“They’re dead, E.” I turn to him with a murderous glare. “I’m going to kill them all.”

***Raven***

“Mmm…” I groan, trying to open my eyes.

“Raven?”

Is that Lonnie? What the hell?I roll my head, trying to figure out why it’s throbbing.

“Raven, are you okay?”

I open my eyes and see Lonnie sitting across from me. We’re both tied up, bouncing around in the back of a van. It all comes back to me. The mall, the Snakes.I’ve been kidnapped. Sweet baby Jesus.

“Oh, look. The princess is awake.”

I watch my rapist climb into the back of the van, a sneer on my lips. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was me.”

Confirmation. I can’t wait for Gage to wipe away that smug grin. “You’re dead. You know that, right? You’re all dead.”

“Who’s going to kill me? Gage? He doesn’t have a clue. I’ve been at the clubhouse every day and neither of you figured it out.”

“Why?” Lonnie asks. “Why would you do that?”

“I did it for you. It was all for you, Lonnie.”

Images from my dreams attack me – being tied to my bed, the knife slicing into my flesh. I remember the pain, the scent of blood, and something sweet and flowery. A sweet and flowery scent I now know to be a mixture of essential oils and lotion, because my rapist is allergic to perfume. I now remember lying in bed and watching as my attacker stood at the door and pulled the mask off. I saw the same face I’m staring at now – Deena.Fucking Deena. She’s gazing at Lonnie like a dog expecting a treat.

“For me?” Lonnie asks in disbelief.

“Of course,” she answers matter-of-factly. “You love him. You said the only reason he wanted her was because she was a virgin. I took care of it.”

“¡Jesucristo!” Lonnie exclaims. “Are you crazy?”

“They were supposed to do it.” She jerks her head toward the men in the front. “They ended up being sent out of town, so I had to improvise.”

“What did you do? Suck their dicks,SuperHead?” I ask.

“Something like that.” She grins. “Remember that bike show? You didn’t want to party, but I did. It’s funny the things men will tell you after a few drinks and an orgasm.” She leans forward and continues. “They told me about this new drug they were testing, what it does. I simply offered them some revenge for what you did. We came up with a plan, and that was that. You never moved the spare key from where Lonnie kept it so getting into the house was no problem. I even tipped off the cops. Figured if you thought it was Gage, you’d never want to see him again.”

Guess that backfired. “And now?”

“Lonnie ran off. She was supposed to make her move, but it doesn’t matter. She’s back now, and she can claim what’s hers after we get rid of you. Of course, the boys want to have a little fun with you first.”

“Deena, it’s not too late to stop this,” Lonnie begs. “Just stop the van and let us out.”