Chapter 2

Ravens pov

Chapter Two: A Taste of His Own Medicine

The punching bag didn’t bleed, but I imagined it did.

Sweat dripped from my brow as I slammed my fist into the heavy canvas again, then again, until the chains groaned and the ceiling trembled above me.

My muscles burned, but not enough. Not enough to drown the rage surging in my veins like wildfire.

“Your stance is wide,” came a familiar voice.

“Come correct it, then.”

I turned as Avery,one of our best foot soldiers and my favorite sparring partner,stepped into the ring. Tall, fast, and cocky as hell. Just how I liked my distractions.

He grinned, tossing me a pair of gloves. “Thought you only beat up people for work.”

“I make exceptions when I’m pissed off.”

“That bad, huh?”

“You’ve no idea.”

We touched gloves. I let him land the first hit, just to give him hope. Then I danced backward, eyes locked on his chest. He jabbed, I ducked. He swung, I spun and cracked him across the jaw with a sharp left.

He staggered. “Jesus.”

“Come on, Avery. Don’t make this boring.”

We went again. The rhythm of violence calmed me,until it didn’t. Until every punch started feeling like it was for someone else. My father. My future. That bastard Leon Vitali.

My fist collided with Avery’s ribs. Hard. Too hard. He wheezed.

“Raven,shit, slow down—”

But I didn’t. I saw red.

“Raven!” Sienna’s voice sliced through the haze. She dove between us, shoving me back. “You’re gonna kill him!”

I blinked. Avery was on the floor, coughing, blood dribbling from his lip.

Sienna grabbed my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I ripped off my gloves and threw them down. “He wants me to marry Leon Vitali.”

She froze. Her face twisted. “What?”

“Jack’s brilliant plan for domination. Use me as bait. Marry the Butcher. Bear his child. Then strike.”

Her lips curled in disgust. “That sick bastard. We should kill Leon. End it before it starts.”

I exhaled. “You think I haven’t thought of that?”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Because it won’t fix anything. The alliance would collapse, and Jack would just find another way to use me. Maybe hand me off to someone worse.”

“Worse than Leon Vitali?” she scoffed.

I didn’t answer. Because truthfully, I didn’t know if there was worse.

Sienna crossed her arms. “You’re not a tool, Raven.”

“No,” I said quietly. “I’m the weapon.”

She stared at me, furious. And helpless. And heartbroken.

I walked away before she could say anything else.

I peeled off my soaked tank top, ignoring the sting in my knuckles as I turned on the shower. The water scalded my skin, but it helped. A little.

Under the spray, I let myself feel it,the betrayal, the bitterness, the fury of being handed off like some poisoned gift. I wanted to scream. But I’d been trained never to.

By the time I stepped out, steam clung to the air like a second skin. I grabbed a towel, wiping condensation from the mirror,and stopped cold.

Marco was sitting on my bed.

Black shirt unbuttoned, eyes watching me like a wolf. His usual smirk softened.

“You always break your toys when you’re angry.”

I stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around me. “Did you come to lecture me too?”

“No,” he said, voice low. “I came to see how badly you were unraveling.”

I crossed the room and stood between his knees. “Don’t act like you care.”

He grabbed my hips and pulled me onto his lap. “I don’t act.”

The towel slipped a little.

We didn’t speak after that.

His mouth claimed mine, all heat and desperation. I pressed into him, letting his hands trace the sharp angles of my waist, the curve of my thigh. I needed the fire, the distraction, the lie of control.

Clothes hit the floor. Flesh met flesh.

I let him take me apart because it was easier than falling apart on my own.

After, I lay tangled in sheets and sweat, staring at the ceiling.

Marco’s hand traced lazy circles on my hip. “You know Jack’s right, in his own twisted way.”

I turned to glare at him. “Excuse me?”

“You want out from under him? This marriage might be the only way. Play the game. Get close to Vitali. Then turn it on them both.”

“I’m not sleeping my way to power.”

“You don’t have to,” he said. “Just survive long enough to tip the scales.”

I studied him. Marco wasn’t stupid. And he wasn’t wrong.

But the thought of being someone’s wife,his wife,made my stomach turn.

Night had settled over the estate like a black veil. I slipped away through the back gardens, needing air. Space. Silence.

The path was one I’d walked a hundred times, a hidden trail carved through the woods behind the compound. No guards. No cameras.

Which made it the perfect place for an ambush.

The first blow came from behind,a heavy fist to my shoulder. I stumbled forward, growling.

Six men. All masked. All armed.

Amateurs.

I dropped low, sweeping the legs out from the nearest one, then spun and drove an elbow into the next’s throat. He choked, fell.

One tried to grab me from behind,I slammed my head back into his nose. He howled.

Another cracked a pipe across my ribs. Pain bloomed, white-hot, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t.

A boot connected with my gut. I gasped. Then a punch,square to my nose. I staggered, blood pouring down my lips.

Still, I grinned. “That all you got?”

I drove a knife into one man’s thigh, twisted. He screamed. The others backed off, panting.

Then the tallest one stepped forward, holding a black velvet box.

“This is from our boss,” he said.

He tossed it at my feet.

“Tell Jack his daughter’s cute. Real bite to her.”

And then, like cowards, they fled into the trees.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and picked up the box. Inside, nestled in silk, was a stunning crimson dress. Silk. Strapless. Deadly.

A note lay on top.

I hope you’ll look as lethal in a wedding dress as you did tonight.

—Leon Vitali

I crumpled the note with shaking fingers, fury boiling in my chest. That bastard had sent men to rough me up just to deliver a gift?

He wanted to play games?

Fine.

Let’s play.

I stormed into my father’s office, slamming the door open without knocking.

Jack looked up from his drink, unimpressed. “You’ve come to a decision?”

My pulse pounded. My ribs ached. My lip still bled. The echoes of Sienna’s rage, Marco’s warnings, and Leon’s twisted gift collided inside my skull like gunshots.

I took a breath.

Straightened my spine.

Lifted my chin.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

A slow smile curled across Jack’s face.

“But tell your golden boy something for me,” I added coldly.

Jack raised a brow.

“I’m not the prize he thinks I am.”

And I’m not the pawn he’s expecting.