“I’m not going anywhere, Raven, but I don’t want you to regret anything later either.”

“This is different. This isn’t a death wish mission. Promise.”

He grips my shoulders with a frown and spins me around, pushing me toward the elevator. He pushes the button and it slides open, the both of us stepping through. “I hope you’re right, Rae, because if you’re not, it’ll only fuck things further.”

“Trust me.” I close my eyes. “It will regardless.”

“Raven.” She opens the door, pulling her robe tighter and the breeze blows through the door. She glances behind me, spotting only Bass and her worried eyes move back to me and the bruising on my face. “Are you okay?”

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

Her eyes pull in, as her head tilts slightly.

“The maid, the one he forced away. It was you.”

Her eyes widen before unmistakable sadness washes over her entire body.

A broken smile finds her lips. “I told you someone rescued me once.”

I swallow. “What did Rolland do with you?”

“He gave me a new home. Hid me away for the remainder of my pregnancy.”

When my brows pull in, she steps outside, moving to the patio chairs.

“What happened?”

“I went into preterm labor when no one was around. I had to call an ambulance.” She looks away. “When we got to the hospital, the nurse said the baby was in distress, so they had to put me under, emergency cesarean.” She licks her lips looking back to me. “When I woke up, the crib beside me was empty, but the chair across the room, it wasn’t.”

Graven.

“Walk away, and she got to live. Stay and she died.”

“You went back to the Bray house after anyway.”

She nods, tears in her eyes. “I hoped maybe I’d see her out, that I could steal her back, but it was like she didn’t exist. I knew Donley had her locked away somewhere. I started to crumble.” She takes a deep breath. “And then Rolland allowed me to move into his home, instead of the front houses.”

My eyes pull in. “The boys.”

She swallows audibly, unable to meet my stare. “They were only months old, so precious. Maybell was there to care for them all day while Ravina was in school, then every second of every day once Ravina was gone, but I always managed to convince her to let me help, but only when Rolland was away.”

“You tried to replace her with them.”

“With him,” she whispers, regretfully admitting.

Captain.

“There was something about him that made me feel a little more whole,” she admits sorrowfully. “He’d look at me with his big eyes, some days blue, some days green, and put his little hands up. Slowly, he came to only want me when he was tired or hungry. Rolland noticed, and I thought he’d be upset, but he wasn’t. He was grateful at least one of his sons felt the love of a mother...” She trails off and suspicion grows in my stomach.

“It wasn’t enough for you,” I guess. “What did you do?”

She takes a deep breath, her eyes hitting mine. “I took him,” she whispers.

Anger twists in my gut, but for some reason, it’s not for her.

“He called me mama, and never once did I whisper the word to him, and still” —tears fall from her eyes— “that’s what he called me.” She sniffles. “We only made it about a month before Rolland showed up at my doorstep. I thought he’d kill me, but he was overcome with emotion by the sight of his son, safe and warm. He showed me mercy. He paid for a year’s worth of therapy where they treated me for postpartum depression, but he made it clear, to come back was to leave in a casket. So I stayed away, and the little boy who lost his mom, lost another. Because I was selfish.”

“The girl,” I rasp, my heart pounding. “Your daughter...”

Her lips tremble, her shuddered inhale cracking. “Alive.”

“Where?”

Her wretched eyes find mine. “You know,” she breathes.

I swallow, looking away as I slowly push to my feet, moving for Bass’s car.

“Raven.” The hesitant tone she uses to call my name has tension wrapping around my shoulders.

I look, but don’t turn around.

“Don’t tell.”

Slowly, I turn to face her.

“You want me to keep a secret for you?”

“Please.” Her eyes fly between mine. “I don’t deserve anything from you, but please.”

“You’re right.” My jaw locks tight as I shake my head. “You don’t deserve anything from me, Maria.”

With that, I spin on my heels and rush for the car. I slide in the front seat, closing my eyes.

It makes sense now why Rolland said he’d only trust Maria with Zoey, because Maria loved her father like a son. He knew she’d love his daughter just as much.

When Bass sighs a few minutes down the road, I open my eyes.

He looks at me suspiciously.

“What?” I snap.

He runs his tongue across his lips, squinting as he looks away. “I’m trying to figure out what just happened.”

“Don’t.”

“Fine,” he huffs. “But you know as well as I do, the last thing this town needs is more secrets—”

“Bass, look out!” I scream, but it’s too late.

A car slams into the side of us, and everything goes black.

The blare of a never-ending horn has my eyes peeling open.

The road is still dark, but lights shine from somewhere.

I start coughing, but the jolt causes an ache in my side, so I clamp my teeth together, clearing my throat the best I can.

“Bass,” I rasp, reaching to the side to feel for him, but I can’t turn my head.

My hand makes contact with his shoulder, so I shake him lightly.

“Bishop, wake up,” I say louder this time, shaking him harder, and finally he groans.

“Wha... fuck, Raven,” he hisses, shifting around in his seat. “My fucking seatbelt’s stuck. You okay?”

“My side and my ribs.” I squeeze my eyes shut.

After a moment, he says, “Not seeing any blood, that’s good.”

The crunch of glass against pavement has both of us going silent.

“Raven,” he whispers. “Can you open the glove box?”

I reach forward, under the airbag, feeling for a handle and tug but it doesn’t open.

“Shit,” Bass hisses, the footsteps growing closer. “Your knife?”

I hold in a groan as I slap my hand against my left pocket.

Bass reaches over, tugging on my jeans until the knife slides up. “Got it,” he says. “Close your eyes.”

My heart is pounding in my chest as I do as he asked, and not a second later, a shadow blocks the light that was creeping through my window, another set of footsteps joining.

“She alive?”

“She’s breathing.”

“Get her out.”

My muscles lock.

Are they fucking kidding me?

I keep my eyes closed, allowing them to pull open my door, push aside the airbag and cut through my seatbelt.