Page 31 of Born a Queen

Chapter Eighteen

Raina didn't know how they did it, but suddenly Cass and Noah were standing in front of her, their body language protective. Cass’s arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her eyes were narrowed on Mateo.

"Who the fuck are you and why the fuck are you touching my friend?" she demanded without missing a beat.

Mateo didn't even look at her. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Raina once since downing Darcy, who was still picking himself up off the floor, a dazed expression plastered on his face.

"You got here faster than I thought you would," Raina noted, her gaze on Mateo. She still didn't entirely trust him not to throw her into a table. He looked really pissed.

"I always know where you are, chica. Every step of the way. Everywhere you go. I'm never far away." His words could be taken as either comforting or as a threat. Raina didn't want to take them either way.

When Cass didn’t immediately get an answer to her question, she got right in Mateo’s face and growled, "Were you the reason she had to leave university so suddenly two years ago?"

Both Mateo's and Raina's eyes snapped to Cass. How on earth had she made that leap in logic? She was correct, but she shouldn't know.

"What exactly did my parents tell you?" Raina asked.

Cass looked guilty. "They told me some stuff."

At Raina's horrified expression, Cass quickly tried to reassure her, "After you disappeared, I wouldn’t leave them alone. I couldn't accept the explanation that you ran off to go travelling. It wasn't like you to not contact your family or friends."

Raina realized that Cass had been hurt by the idea that her best friend had abandoned her. Over the past few years, Raina had struggled with her feelings over leaving her friends and family. She felt sad, angry, guilty. But ultimately, she had also realized that she had no choice. At the time, it was the only path she could've taken.

Raina leaned over and hugged Cass. She held her and said in her ear, "I'm so sorry that I had to leave you without an explanation and sorry that my parents told you. You shouldn't have been burdened with that."

Cass shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I was threatening to go to the FBI. I told your parents that I would tell the authorities that they'd kidnapped their own daughter and that they were keeping her locked up in the barn if they didn't tell me what really happened to you. I didn't give them much choice."

Raina burst out laughing. It was just like Cass to get overinvolved. But Raina felt good knowing that her best friend had her back. Raina would've done the same for Cass, had Cass suddenly disappeared off the face of the planet.

"We’re going." Mateo grabbed Raina's arm and started pulling her away from her friends.

"Wait!" Cass leapt forward and grabbed Mateo's arm, trying to hold him in place. He glared down at her hand and then up into her face. Cass instantly let him go, as though reading her own death in his eyes. Raina didn't think that he would murder her friends, but he sure gave the impression that he could and would do it without batting an eye.

"It's okay," Raina said reaching out for her friend. When she saw Noah’s concerned expression, she reached out to squeeze his arm as well. "Really, it's fine. I need to talk to Mateo anyway. You two go ahead and have a good time, I'll see you later. Maybe tomorrow."

Raina glanced at Mateo to see if she’d told the truth. His eyes told her that she absolutely would not be seeing her two friends the next day… maybe never. She had to fight back tears. Was this it? Was he going to drag her away from her family and friends once more? And the man wondered why she didn't want anything to do with him. He was an asshole. He might be an attractive asshole, but that was no excuse for assholiness.

Raina hugged Cass and Noah goodbye. Noah’s hug was much shorter than Cass’s as Mateo dragged her from the other man's arms with a hand on her neck. He didn't say a word to her friends, just pulled her away and strode through the bar toward the exit.

It was then that Raina finally noticed his backup. Though they were Latino mobsters and should’ve been out of place in a country bar, they somehow managed to blend into their environment. Raina supposed it was part of the job. Don't get noticed until it was time to get noticed.

The cool air slapped her in the face as they stepped outside and she paused to breathe deeply, taking it into her lungs and cleansing the tension of the past few minutes. Mateo pulled her down the wooden steps of the bar, dragging her toward a black SUV with tinted windows. There were two SUVs to accommodate all of his men. She guessed she should be flattered. It took a whole contingent of highly skilled gangsters to pick up one small woman.

As they reached the SUV, Raina finally managed to tug her hand away from his. She stood with her hands on her hips and her chin jutted out. "What the hell was that?"

Mateo didn't miss a beat. He stopped, turned, grabbed her around the waist, picked her up and hauled her into the side of the SUV. He had a hand at her back to stop her from slamming too hard into the metal, but there was enough force that she got his point. He wasn't happy with her. She probably should've kept her mouth shut. Still, what the hell?

"You didn't have to beat up Darcy like that," she snapped, his anger making her even angrier.

"Don't you ever say another man's name to me again," he snarled, pointing a finger in her face.

Raina's mouth dropped open. Mateo had his moments, had shown her before that he had a temper, but this was the first time he wasn't acting the picture of reason. He was demanding that she never say a man's name to him? How did a person do that? Was she supposed to avoid interacting with men forever? She figured that was about the only way that she would never speak another man's name.

"That's ridiculous," she said, somewhat unnecessarily since everyone in the vicinity knew that it was ridiculous.

"You let him touch you. You let them both touch you. You. Are. Mine." He emphasized each of the last three words by smacking his hand into the vehicle next to her head. She blinked up at him in surprise. Her heart was hammering in her chest. A combination of fear and lust sent her adrenaline soaring. "The only man that gets to touch you is me. Remember that. Because the next man that touches you does not get the allowances that these men did. The next man who touches you dies."

Before she could respond, before she could tell him that he was being ridiculous, he yanked her up the vehicle until her feet were dangling off the ground and he swooped in for a life altering kiss.

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