“It’ll be okay. Trust… me.”
So I do.
Once I’ve woken Kane and we’re outside, I hear the crash of a window shattering.Goddammit! It’s the only signal I get before I’m on the ground, and the manor that has stood partially vacant and stoic on this barely touched island goes up in black smoke and blue flames.
Chapter Fourteen
Maverick Harrington
There are flames reaching, racing to meet the dawning indigo sky barely being disrupted by hues of neon orange and fuchsia, as I search through motherfucking night vision binoculars for Raven. I’ve never been so fucking angry or worried in my goddamn life. That’s a lie; this cuts too fucking close to the day we came home to find Raven kidnapped and Kronos drugged in the snow. Except this time, she went on her own volitionwithouttelling any of us. The second she’s in my arms again, I am going to discipline the fuck out of her. When we get home, I’m going to chain her up, edge her, and torture her for fucking days until she’s a crying, snot-covered, whimpering mess at my feet. There will be no mercy.
And that… is a promise.
The fake goatee and mustache I’m wearing, coupled with the oversized waterproof fisherman jacket, bib pants, and fucking rubber boots keep me warm against the brittle wind. I’m the only one Kane hasn’t met or seen. For that reason alone I was sent as a fuckin’ goon in disguise to get Raven and Sabrina back. There’s a captain driving the fucking boat, but he’s not much of a talker, and I’m too fucking busy seething.
I keep scanning the grounds where there’s a dock and the fishing boat and its captain. It’s not hard to imagine Aleksi somehow procured all of this through extortion and financial means. We float closer to the dock. The captain docks, and I stay unmoving, searching for my fucking hellcat. I know she was the cause of the billowing black plumes overhead. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. It’s got Raven written all over it.
“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…” I mutter under my breath, getting more anxious by the minute.
Then I see her, and I let out a fucking breath of relief and aggravation. She’s just happily bouncing along through the trees, a satisfied smile on her face. Guilty, guilty, girl. Yeah, I’m gonna fucking toywith her for days. She’s wearing a little black beanie with a furball on top that swiftly bounces with each of her carefully placed steps. She walks uncaringly, proud of herself as snow falls around her. She stops for a moment to catch a snowflake in the palm of her hand, smiling down at it, and my heart squeezes because even though I am so incredibly angry, I love the fuck out of her.
Goddamnit. I’m an entire black fucking hole of seething mixed emotions swirling before chaos.
I race off the boat, onto the dock, her eyes widening in both excitement and fear when I catch up to her. Fuck, do I love that. I grab her by the arms and clutch her to me. Kissing her hard, the pressure in my chest finally recedes to a bearable ache. I shove one hand into her hair by the back of her head with trembling fingers and make her look up at me. “Do you know what you did?”
Sweet honey eyes peer up at me, snowflakes falling on her lashes, little puffs of fog escaping her. She is so unearthly beautiful, especially now that she hasn’t been sick in days, finally keeping her food down, finally in the clear. “I… h-helped.”
“You put yourself in danger in an almostunforgivableway, Siren.”
Her brows scrunch together and she frowns. “She… n-needed mm…me.”
“We had no idea of the outcome of this. There was no way to get to you. There was—”
“Sheneededme,” she states firmly again, and I can’t bear it.
“This isn’t the time to fuck around, Raven. You’re growing alifeinside of you, and even if Sabrina needed you,Ineed you more.Ilove you more. You and this child are theonlythings that keep me from going fucking insane. How dare you leave me in the dark like that again?” I choke out. “With no way to get to you immediately?”
It’s like she finally realizes the severity of what she’s just done, and those big brown eyes well up with big fat tears, and now I’m crying, too, because the thought of losing her is more than I can bear. “I’m sorry!”
“I am so fucking angry and relieved that you’re okay. But if youeverpull this shit again—” I stumble over my words and sigh, letting her go. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. You have Jonas literally puking his guts out back at the estate because he’s so sick with worry, and Damon is losing his goddamn mind. What you did was unfair andselfish.” I shake my head at my wife. “Any other time. Any other time, would I have been proud of you for whatever it is you pulled up there, which I’m sure was a Molotov Cocktail”—she looks away with guilt—“ but Raven… ourchildis in your tummy. You broke our trust with your fuckin’ shenanigans all for what? Huh?”
“Mavie…” she sniffs, but I shake my head at her.
“Let’s go get on the fucking boat so I can hide you before they get down from the wreckage looking for help.” I wipe my tears away and we stride to the goddamn boat. The captain just stares at us as I take her to the helm and stow her away. She grabs my hand before I go back out on the deck to wait for Sabrina and that fuckhead. But I can't look at her. “Not now. I can’t right now.”
She lets go.
It takes another thirty minutes before I see Sabrina and Kane making their way down, and I call out to them in the best English accent I can muster. The same one Damon does when he impersonates his father. Sabrina eyes me, a small smile creeping on her face, attempting not to laugh at my getup. I give her a side glare. Yeah, I'm not too happy with her, either.
“Oh, thank God you’re here, mate,” Kane says, sounding like a fucking weasel. Nevertheless, I keep my face neutral.
“Saw the flames and thought we should come by just in case. Glad to see you’re okay. We don’t have much room, but we can get you back to shore. Is there anyone else?”
Kane shakes his head. “No, the staff leaves before nightfall and doesn’t come back until after sunrise. I need to get back to the mainland and let them know there will be no work for them for the foreseeable future.”
I dip my chin in his direction. While I feel bad Sabrina was gonna be completely alone with this fucker, my anger for Siren wanes a bit but not enough. Not when she holds something so precious to me in her womb. It may not be my biological child, but it’s mine nonetheless. A gift from her. I can’t think about it or I'll hurl. I hand them some blankets, then untie us from the dock. Captain Greg, or Eugene, whatever the fuck his name is, begins our journey back to land. I sit with them; the chill of the ocean air blowing around me cools me down.
When we dock once more and there’s finally a signal, I let Kane use the burner phone Aleksi gave me. He steps away and calls whomever he needs to. Sabrina has her phone in her hands but doesn’t make an attempt to call anyone.
