Page 50 of Claimed

“It’s Raven.”

That gets him moving. In the room, I show him the prescription bottle. He immediately starts throwing out directions as he picks her up, heading to the bathroom.

“Go get my bag. I need salt from the kitchen and grab one of the girls to help me.”

I grab the salt and the first girl I see – Super Head. I didn’t want to rush into the bar with E’s bag, so I get that last. Once he has everything he needs, he bans me from the bathroom. I pace the room, praying to God she’ll be okay. This is my fault. She needed me, and I chased her away.Everythingis my fault. I should have just stayed away from her.

Chopper walks into the room with a concerned frown. I should have known he’d realize something’s wrong. The retching sounds start coming from the bathroom.

“What’s going on, Gage?”

I turn to him feeling utterly defeated. “I fucked up, Pop.”

He grabs me, slamming me into the wall. I don’t resist because I deserve much worse.

“What the fuck did you do?”

“I…”

I don’t get anything else out because Chopper slams his fist into my jaw. My head snaps back and bounces off the wall. I grab the back of it and slide down to sit on the floor.

“She better be okay, motherfucker,” he issues a warning.

I watch him sit on the edge of the bed, staring at me, his only son, like he’s about to rip my head off. If Raven dies because of me, I won’t try to stop him.

***Raven***

God, I feel like…like I just slept for ten years. My lids are so heavy, I can’t get them open. My throat is raw, and there’s a nagging pain in my arm. I also have the headache from Hell. It feels like Thor and Mjölnir are playing whack-a-mole on my brain.

“I think she’s waking up,” someone says. A female someone. WhereamI?

“Raven?”

Gage. I turn my head in the direction of his voice and force my eyes open. They stay that way for only a second. After multiple tries, I finally get them to remain open. Gage is leaning over me with a relieved smile. Deena is on the other side of the bed, smiling down at me, too. What…in…the…world?

Then, I remember—bits and pieces really. Gage chasing me out of his office, swiping the bottle of whiskey from the bar…the pills.

Oh, God. I tried to kill myself. I tried to kill myself and I didn’t succeed. Great. One more fuck-up to add to my ever-growing list.

Gage takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Hey, babe.”

“Hey.”

“How do you feel?”

“Sleepy.” Yeah, that’ll happen when you take a whole bottle of sleeping pills. “Can I get some water?”

“I’ll get it,” Deena volunteers.

When she leaves the room, Gage kisses my knuckles again. That’s when I see the IV needle in my arm and realize that’s where the pain’s coming from.

“Why do you keep scaring me?” he asks.

“Iscareyou?”

“I’ve never been afraid of anything in my entire life…until I met you.”

“What are you afraid of?”