Page 66 of Claymore
“She’s mine. She’s my fucking lady and a strong one at that. You better tell your damn boyfriend that we’re coming for the Rebels necks, Ella. It won’t be long now before they’re all lying dead in a ditch somewhere. I wouldn’t wanna see you in there with them,” he muttered.
“You can’t do this. You won’t ever win, Ray. Don’t you see that? You keep trying to fix all of the broken things in your life, but they keep getting worse. I don’t know why you even care about me after what you did to our family. Why even come see me at all?” I blurted, gritting my teeth.
“Because, despite what shit you think you know, Mom and Dad had it coming. You’re the only family I have. I ain’t wanna lose that, but if you’re gonna force my hand, I’m just gonna have to kill you too,” he said softly.
“This will end, Ray. It will—”
My stomach turned and the room around me spun at a violent pace. I caught a glimpse of Ray’s sly smile, the one that always rattled my bones whenever I saw it. There was an eerie calmness about him that always made me think we could salvage our relationship, but he never failed to remind me that it was all just an act.
“Feeling a little sleepy there, Ella?”
“What the fuck did you do?” I asked, following his gaze down to the glass in my hand.
“Nighty night, baby sis. It was nice chatting with you. Give Claymore my best, or not. I don’t really fucking care,” he said.
His cackle melted away, the image of him distorted as my eyes struggled to stay open, and the world around me slowly faded to black.
***
My head pounded as my eyes struggled to open. It felt like someone was drilling into my skull, rattling my brain with every movement. My eyelids were heavy, my mouth dry, and I had no idea where I was. I sat back, feeling two warm arms press against my shoulders and when I looked over, I saw his face there.
“Claymore?”
“Ella, oh my God. You’re okay. You’re okay,” he said, squeezing me tightly.
My eyes finally adjusted to the low lighting in the bar. The tables were wiped clean, chairs stacked on top of them. The jukebox had been switched off and there wasn’t a customer in sight. I looked around, wondering how long I’d been there. I heard Archer’s slightly muffled voice in the distance and when I looked over, he had his arms crossed over his chest while he chatted with the manager.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Ella. One minute you were back at the clubhouse with Archer, the next I was getting a call from him saying you were missing. I nearly sent a search party out for you, but that’s when I got the call from the bartender. I was the only name on your recent call list that answered,” he explained.
“Hallie…”
“What about Hallie?”
“The call. She called, she needed me. I came, then Ray—”
“Then Ray what?” he asked, his eyes wide.
“He was here, Claymore. He came to see me.”
Archer walked over to the booth, pressing his lips together, concerned.
“Ray was here? Ella…”
“Claymore, let’s get her out of here. Don’t press her on this now. Until she rests up, she probably won’t be able to fill us in on all of the details.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Ella, we’re gonna take you back now, okay? Can you walk?”
“I-I think so.” I stuttered, watching Claymore slide out of the booth.
He outstretched his hand, and I took it, getting up, but the second I stood up straight I nearly fell over.
“I got you.”
Claymore lifted me up, carrying me outside to his bike. He slid me to the front of it, pulling my curls back so he could get my helmet on. I stared out into the dark night, noticing that there wasn’t a single car out on the street. When I looked up at the sky, I spotted a few streams of orange cutting through the indigo blue.What the hell happened to me?
Every second of my encounter with Ray slowly flooded back as Claymore gripped his bike handles, tearing through the streets back to the clubhouse. The place had been a chaotic mess when we returned, everyone crowding around us trying to see if I was all right. I could barely process any of it with how exhausted I was, but Claymore managed to keep them at bay. He carried me up to the guest bedroom, helping me out of my boots and jeans before he got me tucked up in bed.
