Chapter 156: Rocky Territory
- DEX -
Raya is driving Luciano’s SUV, and the rest of us are all piled in the back. Luci and I are in the backseat sitting on the floor, and his three guys are in the very back.
There wasn’t enough room in the truck and I know Raya isn’t comfortable driving it, so this was the only other option. A bonus is the dark tint on all of the windows. It might look a little suspicious when Raya pulls up to the mill, but as soon as she gets out, it should be fine. I hope. God, I hope. I’m trusting my cousin with my whole world right now. I hope he realizes that.
"Do we even need to hide with how tinted these damn windows are?" I mumble.
"Sometimes you can see silhouettes," Luci replies. "Depends on the light."
It’s so tense in here. Raya isn’t speaking. I know she’s just concentrating on the road, and that the fact she has to drive to this place that she isn’t terribly familiar with is adding to her nerves. They’re sure as hell adding to mine. I’ve never been so nervous in my life, but it’s entirely for her.
"You’re doing great, angel," I tell her, finding an inner reserve of something to offer her.
She doesn’t reply, but she doesn’t have to. I know she heard me.
"I’m happy for you two," Luci says. It’s an odd time for the sentiment, but even with those pitch black eyes of his, I can tell he means it. "I can see it. It’s like your parents and mine. You two have the real thing. It’s beautiful."
I stare at him, the dread in my gut making me unable to respond in the way I typically would. I can’t even thank him. The fact that he sees that relationship and bond between us only makes putting Raya in jeopardy feel all the more wrong.
"Nothing is going to happen to her," he says, repeating the assurance.
"I asked her to marry me," I confess.
Maybe if he knows, he’ll be even more determined to make good on that assurance. Maybe his guys will be more careful. Raya isn’t just anyone. This woman is my future wife. She’s my future everything.
"Congratulations, man," Luci smiles, and it almost looks like the darkness in him softens.
"I didn’t say she said yes."
Raya chuckles from the front seat. It’s stilted and full of tension, but that sound punctures a hole in all the air that I’ve been holding in my lungs without realizing it, and slowly it starts to release until it almost feels like I can breathe normally again. But not quite.
Everything is going to be okay. This is going to work.
"Then did she say no?" Luci asks with a smile like he wants to hear that she did just so he can give me shit about it.
"No," Raya scoffs in the front.
Hearing her voice sends warmth flooding through me. I’m so grateful and proud she’s going to be my wife. If I wasn’t holding a gun in a car full of guys ready to kill at Luci’s word, I might get emotional about it.
"We’re here," Raya says, her tone changing back to the coarse angst it had before. "I see the saw mill."
"Are there vehicles?" Luci asks.
"One. A car."
"The same one from the video?" He asks.
"No, it’s a sedan."
Luci glares at me. He’s got a thought in his mind that he’s not willing to share yet. It must be because Raya is here.
The SUV jolts a little as we enter rocky, uneven territory. I hope it’s not a metaphor for how this is about to go down. We finally come to a stop and park, and Raya takes a deep breath before unbuckling her seat belt.
"I love you, Auraya," I say, the desperation of this moment threatening to choke me.
"I love you too, Alexander," she says with a smile in her voice. "Don’t worry. This is right."
"We’ll be coming in right after you, Raya," Luci says. "You’re a fucking hero, okay?"
"Yeah," she says, chuckling softly. She doesn’t believe it, but Luci’s right.
I want to take her in my arms and kiss her madly. I want to walk in ahead of her, shielding her from whatever the hell awaits in there. The fact that I can’t do either of those things is making me nauseous.
Raya is braver than I am right now. Maybe it’s because she has some control. She is choosing to walk in there whereas I have to stay back and let her.
"See you in a minute," she breathes and then opens the door and gets out. When the door shuts softly behind her, I look at Luci.
"What is it? What are you thinking?"
"Rory’s not here," he says. "And there’s at least two guys."
"How do you know?"
"I just know. It’s a different car. She’s being kept somewhere else, and someone is with her. Two guys. I’m willing to bet on it."
"Who the fuck is doing this?" I grind out. "Are we sure it’s not Lawson? Are you able to find out for sure? What if this doctor who’s treating him is a lying piece of shit?"
"If the doctor’s lying, he’s a dead man. That’s the kind of assurance that keeps most guys honest."
"Can you track Lawson’s phone?"
It’s just a passing thought. I don’t know who else would want to do this. It makes no sense. Sure, Raya is a magnet for crazies, but this is next level. There’s no way someone new just appeared out of nowhere to come after her like this. And Lawson would want revenge against me enough to do something completely insane.
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It has to be him. Today is our father’s funeral. It has to be.
"Lawson’s phone was taken. It would be turned off except for special permission. But my guy can check the last time it pinged a cell tower."
"Can you do that?" I ask, everything in me feeling now like it has to be him. It has to be my brother.
I should have killed him. I thought I had. I thought I fucking had.
