Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
LOGAN
I woke with a start as a door slammed somewhere in the house, Beckett’s voice reaching me a second later. “Wake up, assholes! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I have a murder appointment in an hour!”
Groaning, I rolled over to check the time, seeing that it was six-thirty in the morning.
“What does your murder appointment have to do with me?” I called back, her head poking into my room not long after.
“Absolutely fucking nothing, but if I have to be awake and functioning, then so does everyone else.”
“I hate you.”
“Hate you too. Feel free to stay somewhere else if you don’t like it,” she replied before leaving me alone again. I tried to go back to sleep, but then my ears caught onto the conversation she was having with Maddox.
“Are you just getting home? Raven needed you for almost three hours?” Maddox grunted as I heard him climb out of bed and walk out of their bedroom.
“We ended up getting stuck helping some kids that tried to steal my car.”
“By help, do you mean bury?”
“I’m not a monster,” she scoffed as they walked past my door. “I just shot at their feet and scared them a little.”
I swung my legs out of bed, moving out to the kitchen to find them sitting at the table.
“You were with Raven?” I asked, earning a dirty look from her in return.
“Yes, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Is she okay?”
“Do you think she’s fucking okay? You three assholes fucked her up. It must be bad if she’s calling me for company at three in the morning,” she deadpanned, making me wince.
“I didn’t?—”
“Yeah, you did. For one, you knocked her up because you were too selfish to be careful. Two, you chose to fight in the hospital with Reid instead of comforting her when she really needed you to. Three, you’re just a rat bastard for making her feel like she was just sex to you, and you’re lucky I even let you crash here. You were so worried about my brother hurting her, but look what you did. You guys are so fucking stupid, you know that?”
My chest ached at the reminder of what had happened, and I hung my head.
“Ease up on him,” Jett grumbled, appearing beside me and dropping an arm around my shoulders in support. “He knows he fucked up. You don’t have to keep reminding him.”
“Sure I do,” she argued, glaring at me. “Stop texting her. I think she knows by now that you’re there if she wants to talk to you. All you’re doing is driving her further away.”
“How can I fix it if she won’t talk to me?” I demanded, and Maddox smirked.
“Trust me, man. Leave her alone and she’ll talk when she’s ready. You’re smothering her, and she’s stubborn, so she’s digging her heels in. Besides, you probably don’t want to be near her until her hormones balance out again, or you might get stabbed.”
“I’m the reason her hormones are all fucked up in the first place. I think if anyone’s getting stabbed then it should be me,” I sighed, the guilt slamming into me harder.
Raven had trusted me to look after her, allowing me to do whatever the hell I’d wanted to do to her body, and I’d ruined everything, all because I hadn’t wrapped my damn dick up.
“Did she at least get home okay?” I asked, and she stared at me for a second before answering.
“She’s at my parents’ house so she can help with the kids.”
“Does she need money or anything? I can help?—”
“Logan, you’ve done enough. She’s making her own money, and the bills are all caught up on temporarily. Stop looking for an excuse to talk to her,” Beckett huffed, motioning to Jett. “Just have some guy time with Jett and pretend you’re having a fun sleepover for a while. If you want Raven back, then do yourself a favor and keep your dick in your pants. Nothing will solidify the fact you only wanted her pussy like sticking your dick in random sluts to make yourself feel better.”
“I don’t want to fuck anyone else,” I said sharply, and Jett patted my back as he stepped away.
“C’mon, have a coffee and we can see if Drake wants to hang out for the day.”
“Lord, help this town,” Beckett muttered before glancing at Maddox. “You’re with me today. The Kings have someone in their basement for me, and I want them buried by lunch.”
“Yes, boss,” Maddox deadpanned, heading to the bedroom to get ready for the day, Beckett trailing after him.
“I know you want to see her, but I think it’s a good thing that she’s at least talking to Beck. She might act like she doesn’t care, but she likes Raven,” Jett said quietly, moving to the coffee machine to make us some.
“I know, but this isn’t just a fight. She lost a baby, Jett. My baby, and I’m not there helping her through it.”
“I still can’t believe you didn’t use protection.”
“You don’t.”
“Beckett is evil incarnate and could scare my sperm back out of her body,” he said seriously. “But she’s also on birth control. Repeat after me. I’m not silly, so I’ll wrap my willy. C’mon, all together now.”
“You’re a prick,” I snapped, but a smile tugged at my lips, and he grinned.
“Never thought I’d be the one giving out safe sex advice. Have you spoken to Lopez or Reid yet?”
My mood dropped again and I sat at the table with a scowl. “No. Don’t even think about inviting Lopez over with Drake.”
Jett placed a coffee in front of me and sat opposite my chair, messing around on his phone as he replied to me.
“I wasn’t going to. You think I want armageddon in my living room? I was just asking because you know you’re overreacting with Lopez.”
I stared at him, frustration filling me. “Overreacting? He got involved with the fucking mafia, which resulted in Raven getting hit by a car. She could’ve fucking died.”
“You mean like the illegal street races you and Reid used to participate in that resulted in Luna getting kidnapped? That could’ve been Raven, you know? Just because Slick had it out for Riley, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have gotten cocky and gone after you guys too.”
“You’re really comparing amateur street racing to the fucking mafia?” I gritted out, Beckett swatting the back of my head as she walked past.
“Lavaro’s races were hardly amateur, as much as it pains me to admit it. That was some serious shit, and all of you could’ve been killed. May I remind you that Reid and Riley almost were fucking killed,” she said bitterly.
“It’s still nowhere near the same level as the fucking mafia. Even you guys don’t fuck with them,” I scoffed, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Put the blame where it’s deserved then. Zavier had zero idea who he was involved with, you know that. He swears he thought it was just Lavaro’s shit he was moving. If you want to be mad, track down Ander and punish him for it. Then you can tell the Ricci family where to find him, so hopefully they go back to Italy and leave the rest of us alone. FYI, we don’t fuck with the mafia because we don’t want to, not because we fear them. They’re terrible team players.”
“Zavier—”
“Zavier’s being hunted right now and could end up dead,” Maddox offered unhelpfully as he joined us, tucking his gun into the back of his pants. “Don’t waste time being mad at him. Go tell him you’re pissed, then move on from it before all you’re left with are regrets.”
“He’s safe in the Thieves’ compound,” I said firmly, and Beckett rolled her eyes as she checked that her gun was loaded before tucking it into her pants like Maddox had.
“He can’t stay locked in there forever. Besides, just because the Thieves can see the mafia coming, doesn’t mean they won’t get in.”
She gave Jett a kiss on her way out the door, Maddox telling Jett not to burn the house down while they were gone.
We finished our coffees and got dressed, then Jett messaged Drake to hang out.
Jett and Drake were becoming good friends to me, but they weren’t my best friends, and they never would be.
No one could replace Reid or Zavier, even if I was pissed at them still, and no one would ever compare to Raven.
It was going to be another long day.
Zavier
I rewound the footage of Raven walking along the street for the millionth time, trying to figure out where the fuck she’d been at three in the morning. The lack of security cameras in the Heights meant I couldn’t track her properly, and it was frustrating.
Anything could happen to her. Had she forgotten about the damn mafia being in town?
She was obviously on their radar now too.
If they took her, I’d trade myself for her instantly. This was my problem, no matter how blindsided I’d been by it.
She shouldn’t have to suffer because of me.
“You’re worse than Stone when Penn leaves the house,” Cruz chuckled as he sat in a chair beside mine at his own computer.
“Where does she go so late?” I muttered, watching the video play again.
“She met up with Beckett last night at three, and she went to Ashburn Valley with her around five-thirty.”
I turned, even more confused. “What was she doing with Beckett? She didn’t go home?”
“Ask Beckett yourself. She’s your bestie, right?” he said dryly, pressing a bunch of computer keys before bringing up a screen of charts.
My eyes caught the name on the corner of the file, making me lean closer. “Clint Pierce? That’s Raven’s dad. What is this?”
“I have all of his files,” Cruz shrugged like that was normal, flicking through a few documents before stopping on some kind of bank statement. “He got his latest welfare check recently.”
“So?”
“Look closer, dumbass,” he huffed, and I ran my eyes over the entire page until I landed on the part that said where he’d recently bought something.
“That’s the gas station in the Heights,” I said slowly, noticing a couple of payments to local places. “What the fuck is he doing in the Heights?”
“I was told to keep an eye on him,” he said vaguely, showing me photos of the prick who made Raven’s life hell. I’d never met the guy, but I’d never hated someone so much in my damn life, other than my own family.
“By who?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you.”
I scowled, glaring at him. “Why not? We need to warn Raven.”
“You need to stay away from her for now until this shit blows over. Going near her will put her in more danger, and you know it,” he stated firmly, his voice softening a fraction. “Raven knows he’s back. She told Beckett this morning that he showed up. I think maybe it’s why Raven’s avoiding the house.”
“Who else knows? Shit, she can’t be on her own. I don’t know him, but I know he treated her like shit as a kid. What if he hurts her?” I demanded, taking the mouse to click on other files.
“I’ll keep an eye on her. If she’s not safe there?—”
“Then I’ll go somewhere else and you can convince her to stay here.”
“I was going to suggest she stays at the Donovan’s for a while,” he said patiently, glancing up as Drake joined us. “You’re up early.”
“I have a date with Logan and Jett,” he grunted, yawning and stretching his arms above his head. “Those fuckers owe me caffeine or something.”
“You’re seeing Logan?” I asked, making him groan.
“Please, don’t put me in the middle. I love you both equally. I feel like a child of divorce.”
“No, you can tell him about Raven’s dad being back. I can’t go near her, but Logan?—”
“Logan would lose his dick if he went anywhere near her,” Cruz interrupted, looking a little annoyed. “I said I’d watch her, so leave it at that. She might be mad at you right now, but Logan really hurt her, dude.”
“He didn’t mean to,” I mumbled, despite being a little pissed at him still. He’d never deliberately hurt her.
“He still hurt her. I promise, I’ll do some digging to make sure she’s okay,” Cruz said, my eyes moving back to my screen.
“Any of you guys seen Reid?”
“He’s brooding and bruised, but he looks okay. I saw him a couple of days ago when I went to see Luna,” Cruz sighed, leaning over to my keyboard to find something, footage of Reid and Riley coming up. They were leaning on their cars in the parking lot at Harley’s Bar, seeming to be having a deep discussion. “See? He’s okay. This was yesterday.”
“I thought he was going to kill Logan at the hospital,” I admitted, not taking my eyes off the screen. “I wish they’d dealt with it after leaving though, then maybe things would’ve been different.”
“She’d still be mad at you.”
“She wouldn’t be alone though. At least the guys would’ve been with her,” I replied, glancing at him. “Please let her know if she’s not safe that she can come here and I’ll leave. Please.”
“I can tell her, but I don’t want her getting mad at me for bringing you up,” he grumbled, moving back to his computer. “Drake can check on Logan, I’ll check on Raven, and I can ask Riley about Reid. Will that make you feel better?”
“Immensely.”
“Good. I have work to do, so you keep being creepy on that computer while Daddy works,” he joked, and I flipped him off. I turned my chair to look at Drake, who looked ready to fall asleep on his feet.
“If he mentions me in a non-murderous kind of way, can you let him know I’d like to talk to him when he’s ready?” I asked, hating that Logan had shut me out now that the initial shock of what had happened had worn off. He’d needed someone to blame, I understood that, so I’d patiently wait for him to get his thoughts together.
Drake’s hand dropped to my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Sure, man. Maybe hang with Cruz and Penn today. Let her fuss over you, you’ll feel better.”
“Yeah, until Stone punches me in the face,” I said dryly. The bastard really needed to work on his insecurities. No one could take Penn from them even if they tried.
She was stupidly in love with them all.
“If he honestly thought you were a threat to our relationship, you wouldn’t be staying under the same roof as our girl,” Cruz answered, not looking at us while he worked. “I suggest you ask Stone or Knox to take you down to the shooting range for some practice. Take Penn, she could use the practice too.”
“She’s not that bad of a shot, is she?”
“Depends on the day, which is the problem. She needs to be consistent. One good day of perfect hits won’t matter if she’s being chased on a bad day.”
“Maybe if you stopped distracting her with your dick, she’d learn,” I chuckled, an amused smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“We can’t help it. The second she starts firing that gun, our dicks get hard.”
I rolled my eyes, but I understood him perfectly. My dick got hard when Raven was shooting shit too.
I didn’t budge from the computer all morning, managing to find a street camera that faced the Donovan mansion. I zoomed in on the image, but all I could see was the gardener mowing the lawn out front, and Lukas returning home from an errand.
The screen went blank, and I jerked as Stone smacked a hand down on the desk beside me. I hadn’t even noticed him walk over to pull the cord from the wall.
“We don’t spy on the Donovans’ house,” he bit out. “We made a deal with them, and you’re breaching it.”
“I’m not spying on them. I’m just trying to see Rae,” I argued, making him snort.
“They won’t care about your reason. Did you even sleep last night? Go shower and find some food,” he ordered, pulling my chair back to hurry me along.
“I need to keep an eye on her,” I protested, getting to my feet anyway.
“She’s inside the house, so you can’t get eyes on her. Seriously, Lopez, you’re acting a little crazy,” he tsked as he stole my vacant chair.
Cruz scoffed. “You’re just as bad as him, bro.”
“Am not,” Stone replied tightly, knowing Cruz was right.
I left them to argue about it while I headed to the room I’d been staying in, grabbing fresh clothes, then wandered towards the bathroom. I slipped into a free shower stall and placed my clothes on the small bench, stripping off and turning the taps on to wait for the water to heat.
The bathroom here was huge. It contained multiple shower stalls, toilets, and a few baths. I’d hate to know what the water bill was like, considering the amount of people who lived here.
For them, it would seem like pennies, but to me, it would be more than I budgeted for all my expenses combined.
Usually, I rushed through my shower to save water, but I took my time here, savoring the steaming water and the unlimited soaps and shampoos.
When I was clean, shaven, and dressed, I tossed my dirty laundry in my room and headed to the kitchen, finding Will sitting at one of the tables. He was nice, and had been with the Thieves for years, but the poor guy had been through a lot in the past year.
“Hey,” he smiled when he noticed me, motioning to the seat opposite him. “Join me.”
“Give me a sec, just grabbing something to eat,” I replied, pulling things out of the fridge to make a sandwich, since I’d missed the cooked breakfast they did every morning. “Have you seen Penn?”
A cringe took over his face, and he cleared his throat. “Uh, no. But since Drake isn’t here, I assume she’s the one copping the brutal fucking in Knox’s room.”
“Most likely,” I chuckled, knowing Knox wouldn’t be interested in anyone else. “How’d your date go the other night?”
“I bailed. I thought I was ready, but I’m not,” he shrugged, having a sip of coffee.
“You’ll be ready one day. Let yourself heal first.”
“I’ve healed. Sandy left seven months ago, and the more I see other people’s relationships, the more I wonder if we were just dating out of convenience. I loved her, but we lacked the passion I see between Penn and the guys. Are they just really lucky, or is it supposed to be like that all the time?”
“If you’ve healed, what’s the problem?”
“I never had to worry about Sandy ratting me out to the cops or anything like that. She was a Thief before she was my girlfriend. If I bring in a stranger, I can’t just bring them here for them to see what’s happening. I can’t exactly tell her she can’t come here because of all the criminal activity,” he replied dryly as I finished making my sandwich, shoving everything back in the fridge.
“Sometimes you just need to take the risk. There’s no shame in taking things slow anyway. There’s no need for her to be in your house until you get to know each other better. Go on dates, spoil her, and you’ll know quickly if she’s a bad person because Stone will run a background check on her anyway,” I joked, carrying my plate towards the table to sit opposite him. “And to answer your other question, I think all soulmate kinds of love are passionate. Sometimes, you just look at someone and know they’re your endgame. I don’t think you and Sandy were together because of convenience. You just weren’t soulmates.”
He was quiet for a moment as I bit into my sandwich, not realizing how hungry I was until my stomach growled with anticipation.
“Is Raven your soulmate?” he finally asked.
“Yes.”
“When did you know? Was it a conversation? An experience together? Sex?”
“The moment I saw her. She didn’t know I existed, but my whole world started to revolve around her. We messed around, but I never had sex with Raven.”
My dick throbbed in my pants at the memory of her coming on my tongue, her fingers tugging on my hair as she begged me to stop.
I’d do anything to have that again.
“I hope I find love like that,” Will sighed, toying with his cup. “Your whole face changes when you talk about her, you know? It’s like a sense of peace washes over you. I know things are shitty right now, but you two will work things out.”
“You think that?” I asked with surprise, and he nodded.
“Yep. From what I’ve gathered, Raven’s just hurt and scared right now. I mean, you have the fucking mafia after you, dude. They ran you guys down. Let her blame you for a while, and don’t hold it against her when she runs to you with an apology later. Losing Logan and Reid at the same time would be rough, so give her time.”
“She has every right to blame me, even if it wasn’t exactly something I knew about. If I'd known those drugs were connected to the mafia, I never would’ve touched them. I just wish she at least had one of the guys to keep her safe,” I mumbled, not bringing up the baby.
Not a lot of people seemed to know about that, and I didn’t want to be the reason word got out.
I finished my food while Will had his coffee, and when he offered to spend some time in the shooting range with me, I didn’t turn it down.