Page 121 of Coveted By Cupid

My enforcer looks at me with a tortured expression. “Can I kill him?”

“No. He’s mine to finish, but you can help,” I say, walking into the restaurant.

Oaks puts his finger and thumb between his lips, whistling loud enough to bring order to the room.

“Strap up!” he shouts. “Psyche and Romy may be in trouble. Surround the funeral home perimeter and don’t let anyone leave.”

The crew jumps into motion, following me out front where the hogs are parked along the curb.

I’m revving my bike before my ass is seated, peeling up the road with my brothers riding beside me.

Hang on, Butterfly. I’m coming for you.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

VANESSA

The elevator dings open on the basement level of the funeral home. A dim, cinder-block hallway leads to a lit doorway at the end of the corridor.

This would scare the shit out of me if I wasn’t standing beside my gun-wielding ex. I’d trade Boden for a zombie corpse or a poltergeist if I could. They would be less terrifying than the situation I find myself in.

Boden gently nudges me out of the elevator, motioning with his gun down the hall. “She’s this way.”

Trembling, I put one foot in front of the other as I head for the room at the end of the long passage. Boden walks behind me, cutting off anyway of me escaping. He may no longer be pointing the gun at me, but the threat is still there.

When I enter the well-lit room, I’m immediately hit with the pungent smell of chemicals. I cover my nose with my palm, breathing through my mouth. I turn to my right and freeze.

There in the center of the large rectangular room, Romy lies on a metal mortuary table. She’s strapped down to the table with bungee cords, her wrists and ankles tied, and a cloth gag in her mouth. She lifts her head as much as she can when she hears me enter the room. Her red-rimmed eyes land on me as she cries through the gag.

My feet fly across the room to her side. “Romy! Oh, my God. It’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here.”

When I reach for her restraints, a hand clamps down over mine, stopping me.

My eyes shoot upward, locking with Riley’s.

“Nu-uh-uh,” she says, wagging a finger in my face with her free hand. “She stays restrained.”

Enraged at this bitch having the nerve to touch me, I flick her hand off me with my wrist. “The hell she does. She has nothing to do with any of this. You want me? You got me. Let Romy go.”

Boden approaches my side, wrapping his arm around me. “I told you I wouldn’t hurt her as long as you behaved. We can’t untie her. She could run back to the bikers. Someone will eventually come looking for her, but by then, you and I will be gone.”

“And me,” Riley says bitingly, glaring at Boden for leaving her out of the equation.

My ex says nothing to her, focusing on me. “Your friend will be fine. But we need to leave before someone notices you’re gone.”

No, I can’t leave for a second location. The odds of being found are drastically less. I need to stall, to give Cupid or any of his brothers time to notice I’m missing. My phone is on me. Cipher could easily track me here. However, if Boden or Riley notice my cell is on me, I could lose any chance of the Royal Bastards finding me.

Whatever I do, I can’t leave the funeral home.

My mind runs through a dozen situations that could keep me here, but I continually return to the same one.

Going with it, I turn in Boden’s arms to face him and affectionately place my palms on his chest like a lover would. I force myself to look sad, gazing at him with earnest eyes.

“Boden, you promised. You promised no more Riley or anyone like her,” I say in a pained voice. I even squeeze out a tear for dramatic effect. “Are you breaking another promise to me?”

As I had hoped, Boden pales, stricken with fear of losing me again. “No, Vanessa Baby. I’m keeping my word. It’s you and me from here on out.”

“Boden!” Riley shouts at him across the mortuary table where Romy lies watching the entire exchange with anxious doe eyes. “After everything I’ve done to help you get Vanessa back, you can’t seriously be considering leaving me behind.”