Rely on Me - Elizabeth Knox Page 0,17
glaring at me.
I take in a deep breath, ‘cause every bone in my body wants to close the distance between us and slam his head into her kitchen island. “I-I don’t understand what’s going on . . .” Riva murmurs softly.
“C’mon, that’s bullshit. You have to know something.” Mugshot grumbles. I look right at him, giving him a warning. He knows better.
“Shut the fuck up before I make you.” I hiss, not likin’ the way he’s speaking to her.
“Yeah, okay. Ace gets shot by fuckin’ Konstantin and is fighting for her life right now and you what? Have the hots for some chick that the Marielitos are after? Don’t we have enough problems?”
“Mugshot,” I’m about to lose it all on him.
“Marco Álvarez-Thompson . . .” Riva says a name, and nothing else.
“Did she just say Álvarez, or am I hearing things?” Mugshot questions.
“Who is that?” I ask her.
She looks up to me and swallows. “He’s married to Taylor.” Riva closes her eyes. “They’re the men I was carrying the baby for when you saw me last.”
“Okay?” I don’t quite understand where she’s going with all this.
“Mammoth, the baby died. It died while it was still inside me, at our 38-week ultrasound. They couldn’t find a heartbeat.”
“Epifano Álvarez is who runs the Marielitos. Is Marco one of his sons?” Mugshot asks me, but hell if I know. I shrug and he starts to tap away on his phone.
“Marco is from Cuba,” Riva says, still lost in shock. “I didn’t know much about him, but I know he and Taylor met when he was on vacation in Cuba.”
“Are you still friends with them?” I ask.
“No. They blame me for losing the baby.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, knowing this couldn’t have been her fault. She isn’t the type who would ever do something negligent.
“They blame me, Mammoth. I don’t know how else to say it. They never even looked at me after we were told the baby died. They weren’t there for me when I had to give birth to a stillborn child. It’s like I was never in their lives . . . and then everything started to happen.”
“Fill in the blanks, Mouse. I’m not a mind reader.”
“My apartment started to get broken into. Nothing was taken, things were just moved around, out of place. Water was left on, or lights, or the pictures being moved to odd locations in the house. Nothing was threatening.”
“Says the woman who had two men try to rape and kill her,” Mugshot says from under his breath.
“I’m warning you, hold your fucking tongue.” I snarl in his direction, starting to head toward him, but Riva’s hand grabs onto mine. I look down at the girl.
“He’s right. Don’t get mad at him for being right. I didn’t feel it was threatening to my life, is what I should’ve said. I thought they were just screwing around, trying to fuck with my head . . . but they knew I was leaving.”
“Leaving?” I question.
She nods. “Yeah, I’m moving to Philadelphia. Partly because of all this.”
“Well, no matter where you go, they’re going to find you.” Mugshot says.
“I don’t know what to do.” Riva comments, running a hand through her hair.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re coming home with me, and I’ll protect you.” I might be feeling bad about not being here for Ace, but I won’t make the same problem with Riva. If I can help her, I will . . . and if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s how she’s going to need our help. Not just mine, but the entire clubs’.
Chapter Nine
Instead of her beauty talk about the strength of her character
~ Michael Bliss
Mammoth
I was able to get Riva back to the clubhouse. Instead of makin’ her sleep in one of the rooms by herself I told her to take my bed, and I’m sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. The sound of my phone vibrating causes me to wake up. Fuck, this buzzing sound is ridiculous. I shoot up out of bed and turn to my bedside table. The first thing I see is that it’s two in the fucking morning, then I realize it’s Demon calling me. He’s the President of the Savannah, Georgia charter for the Royal Bastards.
“Do you know what time it is?” I snarl out. No one ever gets away with waking me up, ever. They call me Mammoth for a reason. It’s ‘cause I’ll trample a motherfucker who tries.
“Yeah and I don’t give a