Harlow and Raven were at her side.
She looked at Raven’s hands on her, and she instantly withdrew.
“Are you okay?” Raven asked.
“I’m fine. Just another part of being pregnant I’m not going to miss.” She stepped away from their comforting hands and threw the napkin in the trash. She rubbed at her stomach and back.
“You really should go home and rest,” Harlow said. “I can handle this here.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. You’re hurting, and you’re tired. I love your company. You know this, but I know enough that I can keep this place running smoothly.”
The doctor had advised her to take it easy.
She spent most of her day on her ass, which she hated. Ava had always liked moving around, doing something with her hands. She couldn’t stand sitting around and not accomplishing anything.
When the pain didn’t lessen, she went to her chair, aware of Raven’s gaze following her.
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting down.
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“No. I can get through a day.” She took several deep breaths until the pain abated somewhat.
Ava forced a smile to her face. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For caring.”
Raven nodded. “I … I never wanted to hurt you. The club comes first. I thought … you know what I thought.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ava nodded.
She looked at Raven, wanting to say so many different things to her. Screaming was high on her list, but she settled on silence.
Raven’s arms were folded and as Ava looked at her, really stared at her friend, she realized how vulnerable Raven actually looked.
She wanted to protect her. This was an odd feeling. She continued to rub the base of her back. Forgiveness. Did she truly forgive Raven for everything she’d done? That was a whole lot to give at that moment.
The baby, Smokey, the club, she didn’t want to live her life in fear, but she also didn’t want people to feel constantly guilty when they were around each other.
“Raven,” she said.
The woman turned her head toward her.
Ava was about to say something as the front door was slammed open, the glass breaking from the force of the impact.
Raven was up and Ava watched as she started to fight the first man that came at her.
Three men wearing black masks filled the store.
Ava stood as one came toward her. She held her hands into fists. There was no way she was terrifying. Swollen stomach, probably her entire body as well, threatening this man, but she’d do anything to protect her baby.
Harlow was suddenly there, throwing her foot in the air, taking him off guard as she swiped him in the face.
“Ava, run,” Harlow said.
She wanted to argue, but instead, she took off, trying to go for the office, but she didn’t get far as someone caught her hair, yanking her back.
The impact hitting a hard body winded her, and the pain worsened.
“You’re about to have a lot of fun,” he said, whispering the words against her ear. He wrapped his fingers around her neck and dragged her out of the shop and into the black van waiting for them.
She was thrown into the back and she pushed her hair out of the way, looking up to find Raven unconscious on the floor. There was no sign of Harlow, and fear gripped her at the thought of what could have happened to her friend.
“Raven?”
She crawled to her friend, touching her face, then her neck, feeling for a pulse. When she found one, she nearly cried out with relief. There was no way her friend could be dead.
Fear lodged in her throat as she moved to cradle Raven’s head in her lap. She ran her fingers through the woman’s hair.
“I’ve got you.” She closed her eyes as another bolt of pain worked its way up her spine.
Breathing deeply, she continued to whimper as they went over some potholes. Each jar of the van causing more pain.
She didn’t know how long they’d been driving for before Raven began to wake up.
“Fuck, ouch, fuck,” Raven said, wincing.
Ava stroked her hair. “You’re awake. You’re fine, I hope.”
Raven opened her eyes and she watched as the other woman became aware of her surroundings. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know.”
She didn’t sit up.
Ava stayed, running her fingers through her hair.
“One of them got me good.”
“I was dragged in here,” she said, sniffling. “Harlow’s not here.”
“She’ll be okay,” Raven said.
She sat up with a groan, sitting on the opposite side of the van. “Smokey’s going to kill me for this.”
“Do you know who we’ve been taken by?” Ava asked.
“The Twisted Bastards. They weren’t wearing leather cuts, but they’re the only ones after you and they are pissed at us for shutting down several of their operations.”
“Smokey warned me.”
“You were his top priority.”
“The club comes first.”
Raven laughed. “They all say the club comes first, but we all know they think with their dick.” Raven closed her eyes, frowning. “I don’t mean anything bad by that.”
Ava smiled. “It’s fine.”
“What I meant to say was Smokey loves you. I’m not talking the sweet kind of romance either. I’m talking the full-on die-for-you kind of love. I never thought I’d see him fall hard for a woman. I’m glad he has.”
Ava smiled. “I love him so much. There are times I can’t even think of being without him, and I’m so jealous of the women at the club.”
“He’d get rid of them in a heartbeat if that’s what you wanted.”
“He told me, but he warned me the guys would hate me.”
Raven laughed. “Yeah, they would. They would totally be pissed about it.”
Ava’s hands continued to shake.
“We’ll make it out of here,” Raven said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“I know Smokey. I know the town. He’ll be alerted in no time what happened. Harlow’s involved, so we know Big Dick will be all over it. He has the ability to find anyone. We’ll be fine, Ava. We’ve just got to make it through.”
The truck came to a stop.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Ava said.
“Like what, like charge at them?”
Raven got into a position as if to attack, but Ava reached out.
“Don’t. Don’t make them angry.” She didn’t want Raven to get hurt.
Raven settled down, taking a seat.
Ava breathed a sigh of relief.
They had to get through this.
The truck’s back doors opened, and men rushed in, grabbing them. Raven didn’t fight them, but she struggled in their arms.
Ava didn’t have the energy nor the strength to fight.
The hand holding her was tight, and she gritted her teeth, putting a hand to her stomach as they entered a large warehouse. There were a few boxes in the corner, and Ava tried to figure out where they could be.
The sound of applause made her stop. She turned toward it and saw the man who’d turned her entire world upside down by taking pictures outside of a bank.