Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
RAVEN
I spent the next three days in a row at Rory’s with the kids. Zavier and Logan seemed to be rekindling their bromance, since that’s who he’d spent all his time with while I was gone, and Ander happily dropped me off and picked me up again from work, acting like he hadn’t fucked me on the hood of his car.
Once I realized he wasn’t going to make a big deal about it, it made me want to demand why. I was grateful he wasn’t in my face about it, but I was a little confused and wondered if I’d made the entire thing up.
I’d been itching to paint, and since Rory hadn’t needed me today, I’d asked Ander to drop me off at the Pit when lunchtime rolled around and boredom kicked in.
I stood in front of his car in the garage, staring at the hood as I tried to find some trace of evidence that he’d fucked me on it. I’d heard him leave and come back that night, so he might have cleaned it.
“I’m more than happy to bend you over the hood again if you want,” Ander stated from behind me, making me jump. I turned, finding an amused look on his face.
At least it confirmed that I wasn’t crazy and it had happened after all.
“I’m not even thinking about it.”
“Don’t lie to me. You have a tell.”
I frowned, trying to figure out what it was, but giving up. “I’ll bite. How can you tell if I’m lying?”
“Your mouth’s moving,” he teased, opening the passenger door. “If you’re not interested in a trip to pound town with me, I suggest you get in the car so we can be on our way.”
“I don’t want to fuck you again,” I snapped, and the prick chuckled.
“Yeah, Bluebird. You do. I’m all for you playing hard to get though. I like the chase,” he smirked, pissing me off when my body tingled at the thought of that sinful mouth on my pussy.
I scowled and climbed in, clutching my bag to my chest as he shut the door behind me, and I tried hard to think about something else as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine.
He put the radio on, sensing that I wasn’t in the mood for conversation, and when we pulled up at the Pit, he switched the engine off and climbed out of the car with me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, swinging my bag over my shoulder.
“You thought I was going to just leave you here on your own? Your boyfriend would murder me. There’s a lot of crazy people out here,” he answered, snatching my bag from me and ignoring my glare as he started walking ahead.
I jogged to catch up, not being able to help but notice how easy it was now that my shoes weren’t falling apart.
He grabbed the fence where it was cut and held it wide for me to climb through, following as I made my way towards the corner.
A few people lingered, but they didn’t bother us as I yanked my bag away from Ander and placed it on the ground, finding the colors I wanted before getting to work. He pulled a cigarette out and lit it, sitting on the ground further down the wall to keep an eye out, and I hated to admit that I could relax and enjoy painting now that I knew someone was looking out for trouble.
Hours passed, and thankfully, Ander left me alone and I could pretend he wasn’t even here.
It was almost dark when he spoke, his voice sharp. “Incoming.”
I turned, finding my father stumbling towards us, waving his finger like he was scolding me.
“You useless bitch!”
“What did I do?” I scoffed, used to his meltdowns that made zero sense. Drunk rambles were impossible to follow.
“You forgot to pay the bill! The electricity got turned off!” he slurred, trying to shove me, but Ander grabbed my wrist and tugged me behind him with ease.
“Fuck off, you stupid old prick. It’s not her fault you can’t keep the lights on in your own house,” Ander said dryly.
“She’s gotta pay it!”
“Why should she? She’s living with me.”
“The little brat?—”
“Eat shit, dude.”
I was ready to just ignore him, hoping the lack of electricity would make him and his buddies leave so I could go home, but his next words stopped me.
“The mortgage company called. She’s behind on payments for that too. Can’t do shit if they take it from us and sell it.”
“What? We were up to date with payments. I haven’t been gone long enough to be behind,” I said slowly, panic rising inside me. Reid always paid it on time.
Why hadn’t he paid it?
“Fix it. Me and the boys are partying elsewhere tonight, so the lights had better be on when I get home tomorrow,” he shouted, stumbling back across the yard and vanishing out the hole in the fence.
I was already bending down to shove everything back in my bag, hoping it was just Dad being drunk and stupid.
“Where are you going?” Ander asked, taking the bag from me and putting it over his shoulder. Everyone was looking at us now, whispers starting about us losing the house and Dad being a drunk.
No one else could talk, half of them dealt with the same bullshit that I did, but I hated them knowing my business.
I practically dragged Ander out the hole in the fence and towards the car, his hand gripping my bicep to spin me around. My back hit the car and his hips pinned me in place as he spoke, his voice gentle. “Where are we going?”
“We have to go to the house. We?—”
“Why? To check if the lights work? If you want to check the bills or something, we can go to the Thieves and they can find out how far behind it is. When did you pay it last?”
“The electric? Recently. Reid did it. He always pays the mortgage on time too, so I don’t get why it’s behind enough to lose the house.” My voice broke, and he let out a sigh.
“C’mon, I’ll get Cruz to take a look. Your dad might be full of shit and he just wants you home so he can try to get money out of you for booze,” he suggested, calming me slightly.
It was possible, he was a fucking snake after all.
I nodded, and he opened the door for me so I could slide in. He definitely sped a little on the way to Rawson Grove, texting Cruz to let him know we were coming over.
Stone wasn’t happy when he opened the door for us, but he thankfully said Cruz was in the office and didn’t kick us back out.
“You’re racking up a tab with me, Lavaro,” Cruz joked as we entered, giving me his usual friendly smile. “Not you though. You know my services are free for you.”
“Thanks. This is for me though,” I blurted out. “Can you hack into people’s billing accounts? Like, the electric bill and the mortgage?”
He raised an eyebrow, slowly spinning his chair to face the monitors again. “I can. For your house?”
“Yes. Dad said we’re behind and the electricity was cut, but that’s impossible. We’d caught back up on the bills weeks ago, and Reid always pays on time.”
He clicked at the keyboard for a moment, pulling up random things that made zero sense to me, and he frowned as he found what he wanted. “What makes you think the electricity was shut off? It says it’s still on.”
I leaned over his shoulder to see, confused when I realized a new bill hadn’t been sent yet. It was definitely higher usage than normal, but it was still on.
“I bet the idiot overloaded something and it shorted,” Ander offered, and I shrugged.
“Possibly. We can go there and check, right?”
“I think you should let them figure it out themselves.”
“Ander—”
“I can take you if you really want,” he grumbled, crossing his arms. “How far behind on the mortgage are you?”
Cruz pulled up a different screen and typed until he found what he wanted, but I shook my head when I saw the amounts. “That’s old. We only have fifteen grand owing on it. We’re almost paid up.”
He scrolled, glancing up at me. “This is from this month.”
“No, Dad bought it before I was born, and we’ve been making our own payments since he took off. I can tell you right now, we paid more than a few grand off of it. I’m twenty-one, it was almost paid off,” I said as panic kicked in. Ander moved to stand behind me so he could look, and Cruz winced as he scrolled through the payment info.
“Raven, there’s a second mortgage taken out on the house.”
“What? Since when? We never—” My voice died as he pointed to the numbers he was reading, his voice sympathetic.
“Looks like your dad took out a second mortgage on it three weeks ago. Your last payment is saying it was never paid. It’s increased the total amount too since the interest has gone up. They called to let him know it’s behind, but they’re not taking it or anything yet.”
I felt sick. We’d been so close, and now it was destroyed in a matter of seconds.
“Reid handles the accounts, so surely he would’ve seen a spike in the amount due,” I croaked out, staring at the screen. “Why the fuck would Dad do that?”
“He’s a selfish prick and doesn’t give a shit about the debt because you pay his bills,” Ander grumbled, his hand curving around my waist and squeezing gently. “We’ll figure it out, okay?”
“How do I come up with the two grand we’re late on?” I asked, turning to look up at him. “I’ve made some money this week, but?—”
“Like I said, we’ll figure it out.”
“Where’s Reid right now?” I demanded, and Cruz put his hands up.
“I don’t know, call him.”
“Use your computer stalking thingy!”
“Can’t you just call him? He’d answer,” he grumbled, but he was already clicking away on his keyboard again. “His phone’s pinging at Riley’s.”
“Thank you,” I said quickly as I turned and ran into Ander. “Take me to?—”
“I was going to,” he answered, patting Cruz’s shoulder. “Thanks, dude. I owe you.”
“Again,” he reminded us as we left, my feet carrying me quickly outside to the car.
“I can’t lose the house,” I said more to myself than to Ander as he started the car, his hand dropping to my knee.
“You won’t. Let’s sort this out, and I’ll work on a plan to get rid of your dad, okay?”
“Okay,” I repeated, trying to control the worry as Ander took me to Riley’s without question. Both Luna and Riley’s cars were missing from the driveway, and I hoped they weren’t hiding in the garage or something. I didn’t want them knowing we had money problems.
Not that it wasn’t fucking obvious, we were poor as fuck.
I’d barely knocked when the front door opened and Reid stood there, obviously surprised to see me.
“Hey, what’s?—”
I stepped inside, my words coming out in a ramble. “The mortgage is late, and Dad took out a second mortgage and fucked up the debt, and?—”
His hand came out to rest on my shoulder, his voice calm. “Slow down.”
“You didn’t pay the mortgage,” I choked out, something crossing his face before he sighed.
“Rae, why would I pay it?”
“You always pay it! You didn’t pay it on purpose?” I snapped, Ander pushing past us so he could shut the door.
“Maybe don’t give the neighbors entertainment,” he said carefully. “Sit down or something.”
I stared at Reid, anger and hurt swirling inside me. “Why didn’t you pay it?”
“I don’t live there anymore. You kicked me out, which was warranted, but you made it clear we weren’t welcome back. It’s not my responsibility anymore, Raven. It’s yours,” Reid said softly, pity written all over his face. “He took out a second mortgage?”
“Everything we paid off was basically for nothing,” I choked out, realization hitting me right in the chest. Why had I thought someone was handling the bills after I’d kicked them all out?
How could I have been so fucking stupid?
“He fucked everything up,” I bit out, my fingers lacing through my hair and pulling hard with frustration, and I found myself leaning into Reid as he untangled my hands from my hair and pulled me against his chest.
Everything was crumbling, and I had no idea how to fix it.
Reid
I carefully led Raven to the couch and pulled her down onto my lap sideways so I could cradle her to my chest. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
If I could kill anyone in this world, it would be Clint fucking Pierce.
This was the risk we’d always taken to keep the house, and he could’ve even sold it out from under us if he’d wanted. Raven wouldn’t listen though, not being able to think about a life without Josh’s ghost in it.
It was my fault that she hadn’t known to take it over, and I wasn’t even sure if she knew how to make payments. I’d never taught her things like that.
“I’m going to kill him,” she said bitterly, clenching her fists and turning her panic into anger.
“I can kill him if you want,” Ander offered seriously, confusing me slightly when Raven let out a huff of laughter.
“You’ll make it hurt?”
“Absolutely.”
“What do you charge?” she teased, and I didn’t like the soft expression he gave her.
“I’d never charge you. You’re too pretty.”
I expected her to scowl or flip him off, but she just grinned at him. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“When the hell did you two start playing nice?” I asked, a little afraid to ask.
“I’ve learned to tolerate him,” she said with a shrug. I didn’t push her for more information, not since she snuggled into me a little more with a sigh. “I don’t know what to do, Reid.”
“I wish I’d never fucked up. I would’ve been with you when he showed up,” I said quietly, running my fingers through her hair and massaging her scalp.
“They’ve trashed the house,” she said quietly, defeat lining her tone. “Sold what they could and broke the rest. It’s like they never sleep, they just party all the time.”
“If you need somewhere to stay?—”
“She’s fine at my place,” Ander cut in, leaning back against the wall close by and crossing his arms.
“This was your mess to begin with. How come Stefano’s not after you too?” I demanded.
“He doesn’t know I’m here. We have an advantage.”
“What kind of advantage? What the hell are you going to do to the mafia?” I snapped, hating it when Raven got to her feet.
I thought she just hated us fighting about it, so I wasn’t expecting her to defend Ander.
“He’s your friend, right? Why don’t you trust him with this?” she asked as she moved to stand beside Ander to glare at me.
“I don’t trust anyone with you. Why are you defending him?” I asked with a frown, not understanding what the fuck was happening.
“He’s done a lot for me since he came back. I think it’s safe to say he’s only got good intentions towards me.”
“He just wants to fuck you, Raven,” I said dryly, wondering why she was so naive. She knew Ander enough that his bullshit shouldn’t work on her.
“If he only wanted to fuck me, he’d be long gone by now,” she said without hesitation, my stomach twisting.
“What?”
“He’s obviously still here, which means he didn’t just want to fuck me,” she answered slowly, and for a second, I figured she was just trying to get to me by talking shit, but then she added, “Those piercings were like a gateway to heaven.”
“Bluebird, stop bragging. You’ll give me a complex,” Ander chuckled, and I hated when he reached out to toy with the ends of her hair that she let him. “You’re being a bitch.”
“You two are together?” I asked in disbelief, wondering what kind of fucked up nightmare I was in. He was the last person on earth I thought she’d let touch her.
Ander stayed quiet, letting Raven talk. “No. We were in a high speed chase and the adrenaline rush got to me. It was just a spontaneous thing.”
“You were in a high speed chase ?” I asked sharply, standing and moving towards her. “You’re not hurt?”
“You know Ander’s a good driver. He got us home in one piece,” she said firmly, stepping back when I tried to reach for her. “You don’t get to control what I put in my pussy.”
I didn’t want her running from me again, so I shook my head. “I’m not trying to control you. I’m just surprised and a little jealous.”
“Look, if you two are going to have some weird back and forth foreplay and fuck, can you hurry it along?” Ander drawled with amusement, but Raven blinked at me with confusion.
“Jealous?” she finally asked.
“Yes. Just because you hate me right now, doesn’t mean my feelings changed for you. I’m a prick and have to earn back your trust, I know that, but I’m insanely jealous to know you’re curled up at night with someone who isn’t me,” I replied honestly, holding my breath until she rolled her eyes with a small smile.
“You really are a prick. I’m glad you noticed.”
“I promise, I’m working on it.”
She looked like she wanted to say something else about it, but then she blurted out, “Where’s the bathroom?”
“End of the hallway,” I answered, watching her dart off to definitely escape the conversation, and Ander let out a huff of laughter when he heard the door slam.
“She wants your dick, but she’s too stubborn to move past your little spat to ask for it.”
“Don’t talk about her like that,” I warned, making him shrug.
“Why not? It’s the truth. If you want her, you need to back her into a corner and make her forgive you.”
“That’s the opposite of what I should do. She needs space and groveling. I haven’t earned the right to?—”
“Go for it, be the good boy. While you’re groveling and giving her space, I’ll have her bent over my car and squirting all over the hood again. It was hot the first time, in case you were wondering,” he taunted, taking a step towards me and getting in my face. “If you want to know how to tame her, give her a rush and shove your tongue in her cunt. Pretty sure she’d forgive you for being an asshole after that. If she can get over her hatred for me, she can definitely forgive you.”
The thought of him fucking her on his car made me want to punch him. He’d just fucked her out in the open like that?
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Did you just pull over on the side of the road? Anyone could’ve seen you,” I bit out, giving him a light shove.
“Bro, you know I wouldn’t let anyone see her like that,” he answered with annoyance, crossing his arms. “It was in the garage with complete privacy.”
“I told you not to touch her.”
“And then I fucked her when I got home that night. What’s your point?” he asked bluntly, and if it wasn’t for the bathroom door opening down the hallway, I would’ve thrown a fist at him.
He didn’t force her, she obviously wanted it, so I had to bite my tongue to prove I wasn’t trying to control things like she’d accused me of.
She appeared in the doorway, glancing between us with suspicion, but Ander just gave her a bored look in return. “Are you ready to go? We still need to check the house out.”
“The house?” I parroted, making Raven nod.
“Yeah. Dad claimed the electricity was cut, so we went to see if Cruz could check for us. It’s fine, so Dad must have tripped the circuit or something. That’s how we found out about the mortgage.”
“Let me know if you need help?”
“I will.”
I hated this. I should’ve been going with her to check, but I knew it would only make her push me away again. Was I the only one she was still mad with?
“Have you heard from Logan?” I asked carefully, and Ander shot me a look that said I was an idiot. I wanted to punch myself for bringing him up when I noticed Raven’s face fall a fraction as hurt spread across her eyes.
“Heard from? Yes. Spoken to? No,” she said bitterly, and as much as I should’ve been happy about the fact I wasn’t the only one on the outs, it made me feel worse. Zavier would keep her safe, and it seemed like Ander would too, but not having Logan with her made me worry.
I needed to talk to him so we could work together in getting Raven back, but the chance of me punching him was too high still.
Ander was deliberately trying to force me to make a move when he draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. “We’d better go. Good seeing you, Barron.”
She swatted at him, but if she really wanted to get away from him, she could’ve.
I followed them outside and had no choice but to watch Raven climb into his car, my eyes falling to her feet and making me frown.
“New shoes?”
“Yeah. Ander gave them to me,” she grumbled as if she was mad about it, but she couldn’t meet my eyes, telling me she liked it.
I glanced across the car to Ander as he slid behind the wheel, and he gave me a small nod that I returned. I’d been wanting to find her new shoes for so long, so I was grateful that he’d managed to convince her to accept the gift.
“See you later?” I said, sounding more like a question, and Raven smiled.
“Later.”
I stepped back as Ander started the Supra and backed out of the driveway, my chest tight as Raven held my gaze until they were out of view. Demanding she stayed here would’ve just caused another fight, but fuck, I really wished she’d stayed.