Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
RAVEN
L ogan slung my bags over his shoulders as he led us into Beckett’s house, where we found her waiting in the kitchen with her arms crossed. Maddox appeared to be scratching serial numbers off a few handguns at the table near her, his eyes flicking up to us to acknowledge we were there, but he returned his attention to the task in front of him without a word.
Beckett’s eyes skimmed over us before she spoke, her voice cold. “What the fuck did he do?”
“Who?” I asked, a little surprised when she stalked towards me and gave me a shove. My back hit the wall and I used what little energy I had to shove her back. The food we’d eaten on the way here had just put me in a food coma, and now I was really tired. “The fuck was that for?”
“Don’t play games with me. You’re here needing somewhere to stay and missing a member of the Raven’s Pussy Lover’s Committee , which means that fucker finally screwed you over like I said he would. What the fuck did Lavaro do? Other than mess up your face,” she demanded, staring me down.
“He didn’t touch me,” I said sharply, pissed at him but not wanting him to take the blame for my injuries.
“Don’t cover for him.”
“I’m not.”
“Back off, Donovan. She was kidnapped,” Zavier said as he stepped between us, his hand going back to take mine.
“Please don’t tell me it was the mafia prince,” Maddox grunted, giving us a dirty look like it was our fault when we didn’t reply. “Great. I just lost fifty bucks.”
“You bet on Raven being fucking kidnapped?” Reid growled, but Beckett rolled her eyes.
“No, we bet on Dante not being the good boy Ander said he was. Dante kidnapped you and smacked you around?” she asked, making a sound of annoyance when Zavier didn't move from in front of me. “I’m not talking to you. Move.”
“Are you going to stop throwing your attitude around?” Zavier asked dryly.
“Absolutely not. Move. This is why people think she’s weak. She can handle herself, so let her fucking prove it,” she huffed, watching me as I stepped around him to face her properly. “Tell me what happened.”
I hesitated, knowing this could start a war that I wasn’t sure I wanted. I’d wanted nothing more than to see Ander’s downfall, but that was before I grew feelings for him.
“He lied about some things, and I don’t want you running off to shoot him. This is my problem to deal with,” I finally said, and I was pretty sure she crossed her arms to stop herself from shoving me again.
“Big surprise, he’s a liar. Tell me what he lied about or I’m going to go and shoot him anyway.”
My gaze slid to Zavier and he gave me a nod of encouragement.
“He had nothing to do with Dante taking me. He hadn’t told Dante that I was seeing multiple people, and Dante witnessed me and Reid kissing when he left today. So, he thought he was doing Ander a favor and took me so they could deal out my punishment for cheating.”
“Get to the big fat liar part so I can say I told you so,” she deadpanned. Maddox chuckled but didn’t say anything as he continued scratching at the guns, and I winced.
“Dante’s protective of Ander because he’s Ander’s older brother.”
Maddox’s eyes shot up to me as if he hadn’t heard me right, and Beckett let out a humourless laugh.
“I fucking told you so. He’s been scheming this whole time, and you all fell for it. I want it on record that I was the only one who?—”
“Ander’s trying to get away from Stefano. Apparently, Stefano showed up here when Ander was twelve and killed his mom and sister before taking him back to Italy. He’s not loyal to Stefano.”
“He lied, Raven. He’s been slinking around like a snake for years, sucking my sister into his bullshit, and now has you trying to defend the fact that he’s a mafia prince and didn’t tell us. People who lie do it for a reason.”
“Can you let me handle this please?” I asked exasperatedly, needing to figure out what to do that didn’t involve straight up murder.
“This isn’t about you and your relationship. He’s a danger to my family, which means he’s my problem,” she said firmly, pulling her phone from her pocket. “I’m bringing Mom into it.”
It shouldn’t have, but it made me feel better to know Beckett wasn’t about to tear the town apart looking for him.
Logan steered me to the bedroom so we could put my bags down and have a second of peace, and I didn’t hesitate to lean into him when he opened his arms for a hug.
He was gentle, being mindful of any hidden damage under my clothes.
“Do you need some ice or something for your face?” he asked, lifting a hand to cup my cheek as he inspected me. He’d barely taken his eyes off me since I’d gotten out of the Supra, so there wasn’t anything new for him to see.
“No, it’s not that bad.”
“Baby, any mark on you is bad,” he murmured, his thumb stroking my cheek as he tightened his other arm around me. I fought the wince as my ribs burned, but he read me easily as always and released me. “Let me look.”
I was a little curious myself, so I nodded and pulled my hoodie off, his eyes lingering on my pebbled nipples through my shirt for a second before he reached out to lift the bottom of it up enough to inspect my ribs and back.
“You’re bruising along here. There’s redness all over your back too,” he said softly as he trailed a finger carefully across my side to my lower back.
“The redness is probably carpet burn. That’s on Reid,” I said dryly. “The bruise is probably from when Dante shoved me against his car or into the trunk.”
He looked amused about the carpet burn, but he didn’t voice it.
“Does it hurt to breathe?”
“No, my ribs aren’t broken or anything. He mostly hit my face,” I grumbled, letting him look at my other side without argument.
Someone walked in and I looked over to find Reid in the doorway, his eyes already on the area that Logan was looking at.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone,” Reid said after a moment, not lifting his eyes from my ribs as Logan ran his fingers across them.
“I’m glad you did. What if he’d kicked the door down and killed you?” I asked as he shut the door and stepped closer, nudging Logan out of the way as he squatted in front of me and tugged my pants down without asking.
I swatted at him and tried to put them back in place, but he leaned forward and kissed a bruise on my thigh, stopping my protesting. When I didn’t say anything, he moved higher and kissed my hip.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to keep you safe,” he whispered against my stomach as he moved to his knees and hugged me. My fingers threaded through his hair affectionately, hating that he was blaming himself.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I promised you that I’d keep you safe a long time ago, and so far, I’ve done a shitty job at doing it. I know you want your space, but can we please live together again so I know you’re okay? This distance is killing me,” he replied as he looked up at me, and I glanced over at Logan, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for my answer.
“I want to go home, but Dad?—”
“We’ll deal with him later. Right now, I think we need to find a temporary rental. Even if it’s a small one,” Reid suggested, and I nodded.
“All of us?”
“All of us,” he confirmed, getting to his feet and pulling me against him. “We stick together.”
My phone buzzed and Reid bent down to take it from my pocket to hand it to me as he fixed my pants.
Ander: Message me when you want to talk. Don’t go back to our house.
I frowned, showing the guys the message. “He doesn’t want me to go back?”
“Good,” Reid muttered under his breath, but Logan matched my frown.
“That’s weird. Why isn’t he begging you to go back?”
“I’m not sure, and right now, I don’t care to find out,” I sighed, pocketing my phone again so I could pretend he didn’t exist.
I had a quick shower while the guys waited in the bedroom for me, and then we headed back out to the kitchen together just as Rory showed up. I expected her to go off on a rant like Beckett had, but she had other conversations in mind.
“I’m sorry to throw more shit at you when it’s obvious you’re dealing with enough, but we think we might have found one of the men who killed your brother. I got a call on my way over from a connection of mine who was looking into things for me.”
I wanted to throw up. I couldn’t handle this on top of Ander’s bullshit, but this was what I’d been waiting for.
“Do you have a photo?” I asked slowly, and she studied me for a moment before pulling her phone from her pocket.
“You sure you want to do this right now? We can meet up tomorrow for this if it’s easier.”
“No, I want to know now.”
“Okay. It’s your call. Is this him?” she asked, turning her phone to face me and making me flinch back automatically as I recognized the man who’d killed my brother. “I take that as a yes?”
“Is he alive?”
“He’s currently serving twenty in Fairview Prison for second degree murder. Looks like a bar fight went wrong, and with his history of gang activity and violence, they made an example out of him,” she offered, her voice softening. “It happened six months after your brother’s murder, so he’s almost served half his sentence already.”
“Do you think he learned his lesson?” I asked weakly, making her snort.
“Doubtful. Our connections in there have heard rumors of him trying to get the gang back together. He’s got a list of people he’s going after too, but no one’s heard him say your name, so I don’t think he’s worried about some girl he traumatized years ago. I tried to convince the Reapers to move to the Heights to claim the territory, but they shut that down fast. They have too many businesses around the docks and Ashburn, so it makes sense for them to stay here.”
“Why hasn’t someone claimed the Heights already? The Hell’s Demons had it before our time, but no one’s made a move to claim it since,” Logan asked as he moved to stand next to me for silent comfort. “Cops turn a blind eye and pray everyone takes themselves out most of the time, so it’s the perfect place to open dodgy businesses.”
“Too much work,” Beckett said with a shrug, moving to sit on Maddox’s lap now that he was done playing with his guns. “We control the streets, and it’s too hard to clean up the Heights. Not to mention there’s no money there. Sure, the drug trade could have some clients, but a lot of people exchange favors and stolen goods for it there. Crews aren’t interested in that shit, we like money.”
“So nothing is stopping some thug from getting out of prison and claiming it?” he asked dryly, and Rory grinned.
“Oh, trust me. I’ll stop it. The last thing we need is some idiot trying to make waves around here. Team players only, and pricks like that don’t play well with others.”
“Could you have a meeting with him to find out?” I asked weakly, and Beckett rolled her eyes.
“Men like that will only lie and think of themselves, a meeting would be pointless. Speaking of liars, can we discuss Lavaro now and talk about how right I was?”
“I want to hear about it, yes,” Rory said, putting her hand up to silence Beckett when she opened her mouth to answer. “Not from you, from Raven.”
Beckett’s mouth shut as she glared at her mother, but she didn’t argue.
Rory listened intently as I explained everything in detail from Reid leaving the house until we got here, and I was a little bit surprised when she didn’t fly off the handle and threaten to go after Ander herself.
She hadn’t even spoken before Beckett scoffed. “You’re going to let the bastard live, aren’t you?”
“Right now, yes. We need facts.”
“Who told you to say that?”
Rory muttered under her breath for a moment before speaking loud enough for us to hear her. “Slash and Diesel. They think he might be of value to us.”
“Or he’s the reason we all get killed!”
“If you think Ander Lavaro is capable of that, then you might as well take that Psychos jacket off and go find a desk job,” Rory snapped, smacking her hand down on the table. “If there’s a chance that Ander can get us important information that helps us take down Stefano, then we need to utilize that.”
“I called you because I thought you’d be on my side,” Beckett bit out, but I could tell she was feeling a little emotionally bruised from being scolded.
“We wait,” Rory replied firmly. “Right now, I have two kids in the hospital that need my attention. Unless there’s an immediate threat?—”
“Raven got kidnapped!”
“And the guy you want me to go and murder helped rescue her. Lopez,” she said as she turned to face Zavier, her eyes narrowed. “Do you think Ander’s acting and he’s a threat right now?”
He seemed surprised by her question, but he shook his head. “No. He freaked when Dante said he had a surprise for him. Had a bad feeling that Raven was in trouble when she didn’t answer the phone and he tore off to make sure she was okay. Waved a gun in Dante’s face for hurting her too. They could’ve killed me and Raven right there or handed us over to Stefano, but Ander gave Raven his keys so we could leave. He never lets anyone drive his car.”
“I doubt he’s kicking doors in to mass murder you all then,” she shrugged, pointing at me. “We’ll talk about your little murderer issue later since right now he’s not going anywhere. Frank and Lara won’t be coming home until tomorrow, and Frank has asked if you’ll be there. Think it’s his way of asking you to be, so feel free to stay tomorrow night if you want.”
“They’re okay?” I asked hopefully, her mouth twisting into a scowl.
“Frank’s black and blue under his clothes and claims he hasn’t eaten in days. Lara has a broken arm and a concussion. We’ve put them in a private room together, which has calmed Frank down. The kid was a mess when they took his sister away for x-rays.”
“They can definitely stay with you?” Reid asked with relief.
“Yes. Paperwork is all handled. You did the right thing, even if you feel guilty about it,” she promised, pulling her phone out to send a text before looking at me again. “Rest tonight and we’ll talk tomorrow once Frank and Lara go to bed, okay?”
I nodded, worried that once she left that Beckett would flip out and go on a solo mission of murder, but she acted like the conversation never even happened as she excused herself to call someone the second her mom was gone.
Maddox gave me an amused look when he noticed me relax. “She’s plotting.”
“How do you know?”
He didn’t look happy about it as he replied, worry spearing me in the chest.
“She called Evans. She only calls him when there’s murder or mayhem to organize.”
I wasn’t sure about who worried me more. Dante Ricci, or Zane fucking Evans.
My money was almost going on Zane because if he got involved, then the Shadow Kings crew would get involved.
I was pretty sure that Rory didn’t have control over them, even if they were technically family.
Logan
It was way too squishy in the bed. I had no idea how Zavier managed to sleep, considering he was almost falling off the edge, and even Reid napped on and off from the other side. Raven slept solid all night and barely moved from her spot between me and Reid, yesterday's events catching up to her.
I had no idea what to do about Ander, and right now, my entire focus was on Raven as she nuzzled into my chest.
It was daylight outside, but I wasn’t going to risk waking her by moving. She needed the sleep, and I was enjoying this way too much.
“We need to find somewhere to stay that has a bigger bed,” Reid whispered, breaking the silence.
“I think we need to keep it simple and lay low until the mafia leave. No point buying nice things if we have to keep moving. It’s not practical. Besides, Rae was upset and needed comfort last night. Things might be different when she wakes up, and we can’t assume she even wants this to be a regular thing. Me and her haven’t patched everything up properly yet.”
“You will,” Reid answered, pressing a kiss to Raven’s shoulder before pulling away to get out of bed. “I’m going to go shower and see what we can do for breakfast.”
He left quietly to avoid waking Raven, and I hesitated before lifting a hand to brush her hair from her face. The bruises looked awful, and I hated that I couldn’t take her discomfort away.
I winced when her eyes flickered open and she caught me toying with her hair, a small smile tugging at her mouth. “Good morning, creep.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled and pulled my hand away, but she snuggled into me more.
“It’s okay. I like the way you creep on me.”
I had no idea what that meant, but she seemed to be enjoying my touch, so I went back to stroking her hair as a contented sigh left her.
The bed shifted behind me, and I rolled my eyes when Zavier’s arm banded around me, his voice full of teasing. “Aw, we’re snuggling?”
“Get your morning wood off me,” I grumbled, thankful when he climbed over us to spoon Raven instead. A pang of envy hit me as he nuzzled into her neck and tickled her with kisses, his eyes meeting mine curiously as if wondering why the fuck I wasn’t all over her too.
I’d promised her we’d build trust first, so I wasn’t about to blow that.
“I’m going to make coffee,” I said as I went to roll out of bed, but Raven’s leg hooked over my waist to stop me.
“Can we snuggle a little longer?” she asked softly, her hand reaching out to cup my cheek affectionately, and if I’d been standing, her simple touch would’ve brought me to my damn knees.
“I always want to snuggle a little longer,” I promised, risking it by kissing her forehead before curling into her again.
None of us spoke, silently repairing our damage with touch, but the spell was broken when Reid walked in with an ashen look on his face.
“Have you guys checked your phones this morning?”
“What happened?” Raven asked as she sat up, already climbing over me to grab hers.
“I think Stefano found Ander.”
Raven’s fingers flew frantically over the buttons on her phone, pulling up a news article about gang violence, and right at the top was a photo of Ander’s house fully ablaze.
“Or Beckett got to him,” I said under my breath, earning a dirty look from Zavier.
“Beckett wouldn’t do that.”
“It’s exactly something she’d do,” Reid sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do about it.”
Raven was already trying to call Ander, her anger for him forgotten as the panic took hold. Regardless of his lies, he didn’t deserve to burn to death in his home.
The phone rang out, so she tried again. On the third attempt, a message came through.
Ander: I’m okay. Can’t talk.
“What does he mean he can’t talk?” Raven scowled, making Zavier wince.
“He’s around people that he can’t openly discuss things in front of, or he’s hiding and it’s not safe to make noise. The good news is that he’s alive. I know it’s difficult to trust him right now, but he’ll call when he can.”
“Beckett can give us answers then,” she replied bluntly, moving too fast for us to grab her as she sprung out of bed and left the room.
“Shit,” I muttered as we followed, and I almost tripped myself as I pulled my sweats on as I walked.
“What the fuck did you do?” Raven bit out as she marched into the kitchen ahead of us, my nerves growing when I realized Beckett was sitting at the table with Maddox and Zane.
Zane’s emotionless gaze ran over Raven, and I knew he was probably sizing her up for a body bag, not checking her out.
Reid was tense, but he knew better than to start a fight with him. We didn’t need that on top of our current issues.
Zavier’s mouth twisted into a scowl but he didn’t say anything either, knowing exactly what happened when Zane got his hands on you.
Beckett eyed Raven for a second before shrugging. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Did you burn down Ander’s house?”
“Unfortunately, no. Someone beat me to it,” she said dryly, amusement flashing in her eyes.
“You had something to do with it!” Raven snapped, moving forward and swinging her fist out, but Maddox was thankfully ready for it and snagged her bicep, hauling her back before she could punch Beckett.
I knew Raven was super pissed if she was taking swings at someone like Beckett.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re in love with that lying mafia prince or not,” Maddox said sharply, getting to his feet and giving her a shove back to add more distance between the girls. “But you’ll watch yourself under this roof.”
“Is this one a plaything, or do you genuinely like her?” Zane asked Beckett, sounding curious.
“She’s a friend,” Beckett answered bluntly, knowing where the conversation was going. “Do not maim her.”
“Are you finally going to let me maim Lopez then?”
“Also friend.”
“I preferred it when you didn’t fucking have any of those,” Zane grunted, his lip lifting in a sneer as Raven glared at him. “Keep glaring at me and your guardian hellhound over here won’t save you.”
“Did you just call me a dog?” Beckett asked as she sipped her coffee.
“If I wanted to call you a dog, I’d just call you a dog. Guardian angel didn’t suit you,” he deadpanned. “This bitch tried to swing at you. You’re just going to let that shit slide?”
“It’s like a proud mommy moment. I’ve been trying to get her to be more violent for weeks,” she joked, but she gave Raven the side-eye. “Don’t do it again though.”
“Promise you had nothing to do with it,” Raven demanded, some of the anger leaving her.
“I didn’t go after your snake of a boyfriend, no. Working on it though,” she replied, making me groan.
“Can you leave it alone?”
“I could, but I won’t,” she said sweetly, getting to her feet. “I assume since you’re so worried about Ander that you’ll be going to find him? Don’t even think about bringing him back here. He’s not welcome.”
I took Raven’s elbow and pulled her closer just in case, and Zane chuckled darkly. “If you think I wouldn’t go through you or your buddies to get to her, you have another thing coming, Donahue. Get her out of here before I prove it.”
I wasn’t dumb enough to pick a fight with him, he’d destroy me, so I pulled Raven behind me as I headed back to the bedroom, leaving Reid and Zavier to deal with it.
Irritation radiated out of Raven as I shut the door behind us. “We can’t just?—”
“Beckett’s a monster when she wants to be, but she’s not a liar. If she said it wasn’t her, then it wasn’t,” I cut in, grabbing some clothes out of her bag to push at her. “Get dressed.”
“Where are we going?”
“Nowhere yet. I have a feeling Ander will tell us soon though,” I replied, knowing she’d want to see him in person.
Was it smart? No. The chance of him betraying us now we knew the truth was strong, but I had to trust that his feelings for Raven were genuine.
Her body relaxed from my words. “You’ll take me to him?”
“When he says it’s safe to, yes. If it wasn’t Beckett’s doing, then Stefano was most likely the one to burn the house down. Which means he either thought we were in there, or he’s aware of Ander’s involvement and is sending him a message. We have to be extra vigilant, so if I tell you to do something, can you not fight me on it?” I asked, not wanting to boss her around, but needing to know she was safe.
“Keep me in the loop and don’t hide things from me. If you hear something, tell me,” she said as she tugged her shirt off to put her bra and a tank on, my eyes refusing to leave her body. She wouldn’t have stripped in front of me unless she was okay with me looking. If she’d asked, of course I would've looked away.
“I can do that,” I promised, my eyes dropping lower as she kicked her shorts off and grabbed her cargo pants, taking her time to shimmy into them. “I really want to tear those back off you and fuck your cunt with my tongue.”
“Maybe later,” she said with a grin, stepping closer and standing on tiptoe to give me a quick kiss. She didn’t say anything, but I heard her words all the same.
We’d be okay.