Smokey entered the room. “You look fucking awful.”
“Oh, please, I look a million times better than you,” Carlos said.
There were a few minutes of silence, and Raven, seeming to know what that meant, excused herself.
Carlos wanted to tell her to stay. She had no reason to leave. He didn’t want her out of his sight. Not ever again.
The hospital door was closed.
“How are you?” Smokey asked.
“You killed them, didn’t you?”
Smokey raised a brow.
Carlos looked at him. “Don’t act like you don’t know,” he said. “Raven. You suddenly allowed a young girl to be part of your club.”
“Raven protected me when no one else would. She risked her life to give me the heads up. She earned her patch.”
“But you’re the one who figured out her name.”
Smokey pursed his lips. “I was alerted to a missing person matching Raven’s description. I looked into it, and I put all the details together. She was young. Scared. She needed to be protected, so I answered that missing person’s ad. I set up the meeting and learned everything I needed to know.”
“And you killed them all, made one look like a suicide, the other like a hit.”
“What made you realize I did?” Smokey asked.
“The guy. The crime boss. Found at the bottom of a river, dead. Also the cowardly stepdad, hung. He manipulated a wife and daughter. He had connections to crime bosses. Hanging himself didn’t add up.”
Smokey shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped further into the room. “He admitted to everything. Raven’s mom wasn’t the first wife he’d taken. All of his wives ended up dead, and their daughters always disappeared. The crime boss had taken a shine to Raven. He wanted her, and well, he saw that he got her. Neither Raven nor her mom saw what was coming to them. They deserved someone to take care of them.”
“She can never know,” Carlos said.
“Agreed. Never. Raven will never know our agreement. She will always be club.”
“I might have already gotten her pregnant.”
“Drago told me, and I’ve already gotten her checked out at the hospital. You’ll have the results by tomorrow,” Smokey said. “We’ll handle everything.”
“I’m not going to give her up,” Carlos said. “She is mine.”
“Raven will make that decision for herself,” Smokey said. “Marchetti is still out there.”
“I’ll find him. He’s a fucking piece of shit, but he likes the high life.”
“Right now, our business is concluded, and I’m heading back to Fort Clover. I’m going to take Raven with me.”
“No, you’re not,” Carlos said. “I’m going to keep an eye on her.” He didn’t trust Smokey with her. The man before him might have taken care of her problem, but that didn’t change the fact that Raven had a nasty habit of getting into fights that nearly got her killed.
“She’s not your responsibility.”
“Raven will always be my responsibility. She is mine.”
Smokey snorted. “We’ll see.” He stepped back and opened the hospital door.
Raven was on the other side.
“We’re heading back to the clubhouse. We don’t have your bike, but you can pick one of us to ride with,” Smokey said.
Raven glanced toward Carlos. “Do you want me to … keep an eye on him?”
“Carlos can take care of himself. Your place is back at home.”
She nibbled on her lip. “But the threat is still out there, right?”
“It is.”
“I don’t want to let you down,” Raven said.
Carlos waited as Smokey looked at her, and then he nodded. “You haven’t let me down, Raven.”
Carlos sat up in the bed, ready to reach for his gun as Smokey pulled Raven against him, hugging her.
He’d never seen the two embrace, but this wasn’t romance. This was … a father and daughter? No, he couldn’t think that because if it was, Smokey wouldn’t have agreed with him to take her.
Whatever their relationship, Carlos didn’t like another man touching her.
“We’ll be waiting for you,” Smokey said.
Raven nodded and stepped into the room.
Smokey said his goodbyes, and Carlos felt a little relieved.
He just needed the damn blood work back to know if Raven was pregnant with his kid.
“So you’re sticking around?” Carlos asked.
“I’m going to head back to Fort Clover soon,” Raven said. “You don’t need me anymore, and my cover is blown.”
Carlos patted the bed, and Raven moved toward him, taking a seat. He held out his hand and she took it.
“Or, we can make it official,” Carlos said.
“Official?”
“You become my wife. You can’t deny that you and I have a good thing going here, Raven. I … like you.” He didn’t just like her. He fucking loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. “I think we’d make a good team.”
“After everything I’ve told you, you still … want me?”
“Yeah, I do. Have no doubt about it. I want you. I want every single part of you.” He tightened his hold on her hand and lifted up, not caring that he was hurting.