Page 67 of Deadliest Throne

“You do.” She gives him a sleepy smile. “You always will.”

He’s going to still beat himself up over it no matter what she says. Good.

I can’t promise her I’m going to let this go, but there is another time and place to have that blow out. “I still want my baby,” I growl.

He looks back to me, down to the baby, and smiles. He kisses her little forehead, soft cries spilling from her lips as he hands her over to me.

There have been a few points in my life that altered my universe. The moment I laid eyes on Raven when I vowed to myself that she was mine and I’d kill anyone who tried to take her from me. The moment I first held Andrew in my arms and felt it deep in my soul that he was mine. And now, as I look down at my sweet baby girl, her soft cries slipping away as she shoves her fingers into her mouth and sucks on them.

“She’s perfect.” I don’t even care that my voice cracks.

Travis helps Raven deliver the placenta. She looks like she’s in a little bit of pain, but nowhere near as much as she was in pushing this little angel out.

“You can’t hog her,” Hunter grumbles.

There's a knock at the door, and I look over to see Titus. "Congrats on the baby. I hate to rush anyone, but we need to leave. Boris will be here any moment, and I'd rather not have another shootout and lose more of my men."

“Boris?” Raven asks as Hunter covers her with the blanket.

"The bastard who's on his way to buy you and your sister," I snarl. I'd love nothing more than to stay here and wait so I can kill the fucker myself. But I'm not in a position to take on the Russian mafia right now.

Taylor finds something for Raven to wear as Quinton calls for one of our men to go back and bring a car to the house.

“We need to cut the cord,” Travis says. He goes into the bathroom and comes out with his switchblade. “Don’t worry, I haven’t used it. Still clean from the last time, but I still soaked it in some rubbing alcohol I found in the bathroom,” he informs, handing the knife over to Hunter.

“Me?” he asks.

“Just do it,” I snarl. I’d do it myself, but I don’t want to let Baby Bird go. She’s sleeping now, snuggled in my arms. Where she belongs.

Hunter cuts the cord, and then we’re getting Raven dressed.

"There's clothes over there for her," Raven says. I can tell she wants to cuddle Baby Bird and hold her, but she knows we need to leave.

“What the fuck?” Hunter mutters as he walks over to the side of the room that’s decked out in baby stuff.

“I fucking hate him,” I growl. “I can’t wait until you kill him,” I tell her.

“Me too,” Raven agrees, surprising me. I know she deals with the killing, sometimes it even turns her on, but I never expected, nor wanted her to kill anyone herself. This one... this one is different. She needs this.

After we dress the baby and get her snuggled back into the blanket, Hunter and Travis help Raven to her feet.

“We thought we would make it easier.” Otto and Arcadius step into the room and toss a withered old man onto the ground.

“Doesn’t look like he has much left in him,” Arcadius mutters.

“Here you go, Little Mouse.” Hunter hands her his gun.

Titus steps into the room, the blonde girl cradled in his arms. She’s awake now, but barely. She has a gun in her hand too.

We help Raven move closer to the piece of shit on the floor. She spits on his face and a rush of pride fills me. "How does it feel to know all of this was for nothing? You lose, you worthless waste of skin. I hope you rot in hell."

He makes a groaning noise before breaking out into a fit of coughs.

“I hope you know that I’m going to be free, living the life I want and you no longer have any control over me,” the blonde girl continues where Raven left off. “Die, you fucking bastard.”

The girls aim their guns and give each other a look. Quickly, I leave the room and Quinton places his hands over the baby's ears. Two gunshots ring out almost in perfect unison, making the baby cry out.

“Shhhh,” I soothe her, rocking her as I kiss her forehead. “Everything is okay, Baby Bird. No one will ever hurt you again. I’ve got you.”

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