Page 44 of Taming Raptor

And again.

“Please, please answer,” I cried as I could see the lights closing the gap. Anxiety in full force, I was having a hard time breathing.

Right when I tried again, they rammed me from behind and at the speed I was going, I didn’t stand much of a chance. “Shit!”

My ears were filled with the sound of screeching tires as I lost control. My heart hammered and my heartbeat pounded in my ears. Blade chose that moment to answer.

“What’s up?”

He sounded out of breath, but I was unable to answer because my car had gone too far sideways, and it flipped. All I could do was cry “oh god, oh god, oh god” as I clutched the steering wheel for dear life. The side curtain airbags deployed further scaring the shit out of me. When I came to a stop, I sat there unfocused and dazed. My hand fumbled for the release button on my seatbelt as the other found the door handle, but it took several tries and using my shoulder to get it to creak open. I’d used so much force that I fell out of the car.

“Oof!” I groaned.

Bright lights shone in my eyes, blinding me and causing me to wince.

Everything was blurry and I tried to cover my eyes, but I couldn’t make a move without being hit by savage stabs of pain from where my seatbelt had locked tight over my chest. My shoulder ached from trying to get the door open.

Silhouetted in the light was a dark figure that approached. Ignoring the pain, survival instinct kicked in and I scrambled backward in a crab walk but fell back when my hand hit an uneven spot in the ground. On my back, I prepared for what happened to Fiona. I was so scared, I was frozen—unable to move and unable to scream.

When they got close enough that I could hear them, they stopped.

“Consider this a warning. You were supposed to be somewhere last Wednesday. Ring a bell? You should feel fortunate—I wanted to kill you for running your mouth to your fuck boys, but my boss is thinking with his dick. If I were you, I’d get on the phone and reschedule. Mr. Horacio’s not a patient man and you’ve already sorely tested what little he has. You involve those fucking Bastards again and I don’t care what he says—I’ll slit your fucking throat and paint the wall with your blood.” With that, he turned, went back to his SUV, reversed, and went back the way he came.

Obviously, whoever Venom had sent to The Diamond Palace hadn’t been as discreet or incognito as they’d thought.

Head hanging, I rolled to my hands and knees. The roar of a motorcycle filled the night air. It screeched to a stop and boots pounding on pavement sounded. The same boots kicked up rocks and clumps of dirt as they skidded into the ditch I’d landed in.

“Jesus, Sage, are you okay?” Blade’s concerned voice broke through my stupor, and I lifted my head. His worried image was half obscured by the tangled strands of hair that escaped my hastily crafted bun.

“I don’t know,” I croaked.

“What the fuck happened?” he demanded.

Remembering the man’s warning, I lifted my gaze and lied through my teeth. “Deer.”

The look in his squinted eyes told me he didn’t believe me. “Then where’s the fucking prospect?”

A sob escaped me. “I don’t know.”

“Can you ride?” he asked.

Unsure, I still nodded. He got up and went to my car. I could hear him speaking rapidly but quietly on his phone as he went. After climbing in and rummaging around, he crawled back out holding my wallet and my phone. Then he returned and held out a hand. I took it as a lifeline and let him help me to my feet. I was proud that I only swayed slightly.

“I got the important stuff. The guys and I will come back later to get your car. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.” He cast a glance over his shoulder, then back to me. “Not sure if it can be fixed, though.”

“I don’t even care a little bit,” I choked out because I was more worried about where the prospect was. He gave me an assessing stare, then helped me up the slight incline to his bike. That’s when I realized he was only wearing jeans and his untied boots. “You don’t have a shirt on,” I weakly scolded.

“Yeah, you’re lucky I have pants on. I kicked Ruby out of my bed and hauled ass the second you screamed. I’m sorry I didn’t answer.” Though he appeared somber, I knew right away what he’d been doing. It made me feel so damn guilty for ruining his night. He was my go-to for so many years, that I didn’t think before I called him.

In that moment, I worried that maybe I was completely alone.

Blade turned his bike around in the highway and we started down the road. We passed three of the RBMC members as he hit the throttle.

Riding back to the clubhouse, my arms tight around his waist, face pressed to his back, I cried. I’d been doing too much of that and I hated it. It made me angry as hell. It was so unlike me, and I saw it as such a weakness.

He rested a hand on my forearm and lightly squeezed as if he could sense the jumble of emotions running through my mind.

Before I knew it, we were pulling through the gate.

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