Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
RAVEN
I felt like I shouldn’t have been at this meeting. There were a lot of Psychos and Devils here, my eyes catching on other crew jackets too. There were some Satan’s Soldiers members, as well as the Shadow Kings and Reapers of Chaos.
Wasn’t this how crew wars started?
I was a little bit surprised that they were having this meeting in Rory’s basement, but Diesel had explained that most meetings amongst these crews happened here. The security was good, and it was soundproof down here too.
The massive table that took up most of the room was also handy.
Zavier kept an arm around my waist as we moved to stand on the other side of the room, Logan and Reid on my other side acting like my own personal security.
Beckett stood against the wall close by, deep in discussion with Maddox and Zane, while other crew members sat around the table or stood wherever they could as low murmurs went around the room.
Everyone was on edge, and it was likely to get worse by the end of this meeting.
Lukas and Jensen stayed out to keep an ear out for the kids, but everyone else was present, other than Skeeter, who I hadn’t seen since he’d left to deal with Beckett earlier.
Hunter stood from his chair, the room going quiet as the meeting started.
“Our mafia problem wasn’t crew related until now. I think it’s best if we all figure out what the fuck to do about it,” he stated, letting out a sigh. “Dante Ricci killed one of the girls at Wet Dreams tonight, so now they’ve brought the Reapers into this mess. This isn’t just about the mafia coming after Lopez and Raven anymore. It can’t be a coincidence that the girl’s hair was similar to Raven’s either.”
This was the first I’d heard about it, and a shiver ran down my spine.
Was it a message, or had they targeted her because they thought she was me?
“Kill Lavaro and the Ricci kid. If Stefano wants a war, we’ll give him one,” Zane said in a bored tone, making me scowl.
“This has nothing to do with Ander. He’s a pawn, just like the rest of us.”
“Not a pawn, a puppet. He knows exactly what he’s fucking doing,” Zane shot back, giving me a dirty look. “You know this war isn’t about your pussy, right?”
“Ander’s trying to get away from Stefano! He never asked to be brought into it, he was forced!”
“Abused dogs bite, Raven. The only person that guy is looking out for is himself,” Beckett said as she crossed her arms to eye me. “I get it, your feelings are on the line here, but you need to listen to those who aren’t emotionally invested in the situation. You’re biased, of course you believe him, but it makes you blind.”
“You’re the only person who believed in Zavier,” I pointed out. “Everyone wanted to use him as leverage with his father, and no one trusted him. Son of a monster, right? You fought for him and brought him back home to us because you believed that he wanted nothing to do with Kristoff or the Demons.”
“That’s different.”
“How so?”
“Lopez didn’t fucking lie to me,” she snapped, pointing a finger at me. “Your little mafia boyfriend hid his identity for a goddamn reason. He wanted to use it against us and catch us off guard.”
“Enough,” Slash said loud enough to be heard over our argument, both of us turning to look at him. “This is personal to both of you.”
“Not to me,” Beckett scoffed, making him roll his eyes.
“You’ve been wanting a reason to kill that prick since you first found out he was friends with Riley. Trust me, it’s personal, and you’re blinded by your hatred for him. You won’t go after him on some kind of rogue mission, and you’ll do as you’ve been told. You’ve been warned, Beckett. This is not your crew, it’s mine. We work together on things.”
“Someone needs to have the balls to handle him,” she muttered, his eyes narrowing.
“Would you like to be excused?”
“I'm not going anywhere.”
“Then shut the fuck up or you’ll be removed,” he bit out, surprising me a little. Beckett wasn’t their kid in this room, she was just another member of the Psychos.
Zane smirked at her for being scolded, and she threatened him under her breath as Rory stood, eyeing her daughter as she spoke to the whole room.
“I had a meeting tonight with Dante and Ander, which is why we were all at Wet Dreams in the first place. I couldn’t get a good read on Dante, but he was all business when he spoke. He was respectful to me, but it could’ve easily been an act. I don’t believe Lavaro when he claims the murderer wasn’t his brother. To be honest, I think Lavaro believes that Dante didn’t do it, but he’s blinded by loyalty. He thinks Dante wouldn’t turn on him.”
“Why didn’t I know this was happening?” Beckett asked tensely, and I swore she flinched when Rory replied.
“It was none of your business, that’s why. I don’t trust you to handle things our way right now, so I wanted to get to the bottom of things without you there. This wasn’t a meeting to spill threats or blood, it was an adult conversation that you seem incapable of having.”
Zane shifted on his feet and crossed his arms, glaring daggers at Rory on Beckett’s behalf.
He thankfully didn’t pick a fight with her, but my attention left them when Skeeter joined us, shoving Ander ahead of him.
Panic filled me when I realized his hands were bound behind him, and I took in his face, noticing the swelling and bruises instantly. He looked like he’d been interrogated with fists.
“What the fuck?” I asked no one in particular as I went to move towards him, but Skeeter pointed at me.
“Stay. Fucking. There.”
“What did you do to him?” I demanded as I ignored him and kept moving, glaring at Diesel. “You said he was okay!”
Diesel’s face was blank as he held my gaze, and someone grabbed my wrist to haul me back. Zavier gave me a look of warning, but I could tell he was worried too.
“I’m okay, Bluebird,” Ander said, giving me a nod.
“No, you’re?—”
“Do as you’re told and stay put,” he warned, but his eyes were soft and he didn't sound mad.
Rory was watching our exchange, and just as Beckett was starting to look smug about the whole thing, Rory burst her bubble.
“We’ve questioned Lavaro heavily tonight at Wet Dreams while Hendricks and his crew dealt with the murder. Ander’s not the threat, and he’s given us a lot of information on his father and the mafia. He’s got immunity and has no punishment for the things his family have done or continue to do.”
“Why did you fucking hurt him?” I spat, a small smirk tugging at Skeeter’s lips.
“I don’t like him. Had to make sure he was telling the truth.”
He cut the rope from Ander’s wrists and gave him a shove in our direction, people muttering and glaring at Ander as he joined us. Zavier released me, and I flung my arms around Ander, knowing his face wasn’t the only damage from the way he sucked in a sharp breath from my touch.
I went to step back to avoid hurting him more, but he wrapped me in his arms and held on, kissing my cheek. “I’m fine, I promise.”
“This is bullshit!” Beckett snarled, but Skeeter gave her a dark look.
“We talked about this. Stop fighting us on our decisions. I don’t make choices like this lightly, and you know I have good judgment. It’s rare I let people walk away from my interrogations, so you know for a fact he wouldn’t have if I didn’t think we could trust him. I wouldn’t let him in my fucking house, or breathe the same air as you if I thought he was a danger. I trusted you with Lopez, and it paid off. He’s been a good friend to you, and an asset for information when we’ve needed it. Now, you need to trust me with Lavaro.”
“Lavaro’s in with the mafia, Dad. This is so much bigger than the shit with Lopez.”
Skeeter tilted his head, his voice low. “Kristoff Lopez had you kidnapped. Beaten. Threatened with rape. He abused Maddox as a child and wanted to go to war with us over him losing his little toy when we saved him. Trust me, Zavier’s only alive right now because you gave him a chance to prove that he was nothing like his father. I’d bet my damn life on the fact that I’m right about Ander right now.”
That seemed to calm her slightly, and she nodded to end the conversation.
“Ander?” Skeeter called, making Ander release me enough so he could glance over his shoulder. “Don’t make me look like a fucking liar to my daughter, or you know death would be a mercy by the time I’m done with you.”
Ander nodded, moving me closer to the guys to shield me a little more as they returned to their meeting.
It was difficult to focus as Ander moved behind me, his arms around me from behind as he paid attention to the rest of the room. I wanted to check his injuries, but with the way Rory kept looking in our direction, I knew she was making sure we were listening.
“Isn’t there footage of him, Hendricks? Surely that’s proof enough if he was in the hallway where the private rooms are,” one of the Devils asked, Archer Hendricks looking ready to explode as he clenched his jaw.
I’d seen enough of these crews on TV to know who was in charge, so I knew Archer led the Reapers, Rory’s uncle, Axel Leary, led the Soldiers, and Rage Evans led the Kings.
I also recognized Sniper, who was Rage’s right hand man that led the Kings MC club further north.
“Whoever was working with him deleted the footage. We can only see Dante leaving through the front door.”
“There was too much blood,” Ander said, resting his chin on top of my head. “Your guys would’ve stopped him from leaving if he had blood on him.”
“He might have gotten changed into fresh clothes.”
“I think everyone in this room has killed someone before. You get blood everywhere, Hendricks. He would’ve had to shower to get it off his skin with the way the girl was left. None of the girls saw him in the hallway either.”
“You need to face it, Lavaro. Your brother?—”
“Show me proper proof and I’ll believe you,” Ander said calmly.
“The note literally has his name on it!”
“I know his handwriting, and that wasn’t his. Dante’s supposed to be in Italy running things for Stefano while he’s here in the States. Stefano sending one of his guys in to kill someone and put the blame on Dante, means you guys will target him and he’ll have to return home. Stefano’s onto us, he burned my house down to let me know he’s aware of me being here too, so fuck knows what he’s doing to Dante right now. You don’t know Dante, but I do. Stefano pulled us into line with violence and fear. That’s not how you keep people loyal.”
Axel tapped his fingers on the table in thought, eyeing Ander. “What if he has something over Dante’s head? He’d do his father’s bidding out of fear, right?”
“Dante’s not that scared kid anymore.”
“No, but right now, Dante’s alone in his father’s organization. If what you say is true and you think Stefano has him, that means Dante is currently in survival mode. I think we can all agree that people will do anything to keep themselves breathing in that kind of situation.”
“I need to get to him and find out what’s happening. If Dante’s been lying to me, then I’ll kill him myself,” Ander gritted out, his body tense.
“No, if we allow you to get to the bottom of this, then you’ll hand him over for us to deal with,” Slash cut in. “Deal?”
Ander tightened his hold on me a fraction, but his voice was firm. “Deal.”
“D can show you guys to your rooms, you’re not needed for anymore of this,” Slash stated as Diesel stood. “Lock Lavaro in one. I’m not having him free-roaming the house while we sleep.”
“He stays with us,” I growled, earning a look of amusement from Diesel.
“You really want to be locked in a room all night with him? We won’t unlock the door until we’re awake tomorrow.”
“I’m sure.”
“You’ll need to drag another mattress in if they’re all sleeping in there,” Slash said to Diesel, who nodded, motioning for us to follow.
Most people glared at us as we walked past, but it hurt a little when Beckett refused to look at me.
I guessed she was pissed at me.
Once upstairs on the main floor, Diesel let out a light laugh. “Well, that went better than expected.”
“That was good?” Reid grunted, taking my hand as if he was worried we’d be separated.
“Our meetings can end in gunfire at times. No one was shot, it’s a win,” he said seriously, leading us upstairs to the bedrooms.
Zavier helped him bring a mattress from one room into ours, and Diesel rolled his eyes when Logan started pulling the one off the bed to put beside it.
“Remember to keep the noise down. Don’t traumatize the kids.”
I had zero plans on getting laid, so I nodded. “Understood.”
He made sure we had enough bathroom supplies and our things for the night, then he said good night and locked us in, the latch sounding loud in the quiet room.
Ander finally let the discomfort show on his face as he blew out a breath, pressing a hand to his ribs.
“Ten minutes with Skeet feels like hours. Don’t piss him off.”
“Show me,” I said as I reached out to pull his shirt up, helping him get it over his head so I could inspect him better. He was definitely bruising, and my eyes widened when I realized there was a bandage on his pec.
“Skeet’s a knife guy,” Ander chuckled, peeling the corner back to show me. “It’s clean and stitched.”
“He fucking cut you?”
“Nothing makes a person babble like a knife,” he replied dryly, fixing the bandage again.
“Jesus, man,” Zavier murmured as he moved behind Ander to look at his back, reaching out to touch him. Ander flinched slightly but let him inspect his injuries while Logan and Reid made the bed.
I was so exhausted and couldn’t wait to go to sleep.
Zavier
Ander was hurting so much more than he was telling Raven, but I wasn’t going to call him out for it and worry her. She curled up on one of the mattresses with Logan and Reid while Ander took a shower, and I figured now was a good time to talk without her there.
Ander glanced at me from under the spray as I stepped into the steaming room, frowning at him when I noticed his soaked bandage.
“You’re supposed to keep that dry, dude.”
“My muscles hurt like a bitch. Trust me, this is worth it,” he replied, flicking his eyes to the door. “Raven okay?”
“The guys have her,” I nodded, resting my butt against the sink and watching him. “You want to tell me how bad it actually is now she can’t hear you?”
“It’s just deep bruising. My ribs are killing me, but not like they do when they’re broken, which is good. I’ll know in a day or two if anything is bad.”
“You can’t lift your arms properly,” I deadpanned.
“You get punched repeatedly by Skeeter Maddox and try lifting your arms. My body is screaming at me,” he grunted, scowling as he dropped the shampoo.
“I’ve got it.”
“Do not get in this shower with me.”
“Bite me,” I replied as I stripped down to my boxers and stepped inside the shower, grabbing the shampoo and squirting some into my hands. “Turn around.”
“This is pushing the friendship a little.”
“So we can rub dicks through Raven’s pussy and ass, but me washing your hair is a hard limit?” I joked, making him roll his eyes as he turned. I was careful not to press too hard as I massaged the shampoo into his scalp, his voice soft when he spoke.
“It’s not Dante.”
“I want to believe you, but it’s hard.”
“I wouldn’t let?—”
“Rinse,” I instructed, waiting for him to turn his back to the water so he could get the shampoo out. “I believe that you’re telling the truth about him, but I’m worried he’s playing you.”
I went to grab the body wash and he stopped me with a huff. “I can wash myself, but thanks.”
“Bet you’d let Raven wash you.”
“I like Raven’s hands on my naked body. Yours? Not so much,” he chuckled, and since he had it handled, I stepped back out and grabbed a towel to start drying myself.
He finished up and stepped out, taking a towel from me and trying to dry himself in the least painful way possible, giving me a look of defeat when he struggled to dry his hair.
I didn’t say anything as I took the towel and rubbed it over his hair gently, not expecting him to hug me.
“So you didn’t want to share a shower with me because it was weird, but you can put your dick on my leg and snuggle?” I grumbled, hugging him back.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For still trusting me. I thought I’d lost you guys this time for sure. When Raven?—”
“If it wasn’t for the fact I saw how freaked you were when you realized Dante had Raven, I probably wouldn’t trust you right now,” I said so he knew just how close to losing us he really had been. “Reid and Logan are on the fence, but you’re family. They want to make sure you’re safe. Raven’s a little hot and cold, so don’t push her, please. She’s freaked out right now about you because you’re hurt, but don’t think she’s okay with you.”
He winced. “I know. I was a little surprised that she didn’t vote to kill me, to be honest.”
“Raven has big feelings for you,” I said quietly, helping him peel off the wet bandage as I started rummaging in the cupboards for a fresh one. “You hurt her, but she still wants you.”
He was silent as I made sure his wound was dry before I put the new bandage on it, and he put on the clean pair of boxers that Reid had let him use. He was the only smart one with bags here out of us guys.
“Do you think I fucked up my chances with her by lying?” he finally asked as I kicked my wet boxers off and dried the rest of myself, securing the towel around my middle.
“No. I think you have a lot to prove though.”
We walked back into the bedroom and Logan raised an eyebrow. “Do you two have something to tell us?”
“Sorry, bro. I’m leaving you for Lavaro,” I grinned, helping myself to Reid’s bag for some boxers.
Logan huffed with fake outrage, but he got to his feet to throw his arms around me, almost making me trip as I tried putting the boxers on.
“Don’t leave me! I promise I’ll be good!”
“Get off me,” I laughed, shoving him and managing to get the boxers on properly, lifting my chin towards the bed. “Lost your spot.”
Logan frowned and turned, finding Ander carefully lowering himself on the mattress beside Raven as she fussed over him.
“I’m not even mad,” he said with a shrug, nudging me. “I guess you and me can snuggle tonight instead.”
“Sure,” I said as I rolled my eyes, finding the remote to put a movie on, before turning the lights off and getting under the blanket beside Ander, leaving Logan to climb in on the end.
Raven curled against Ander, her voice a whisper. “I thought they were going to kill you when you walked into that room.”
“I thought Skeet was going to kill me for sure,” he replied, and I glared at the back of his head when he leaned closer to kiss her forehead. He wasn’t supposed to push her.
She didn’t seem to mind though, her fingers curling around the back of his neck so she could toy with his hair.
“If you two are going to fuck and make up, at least let Logan join and make up with him too,” Reid mumbled tiredly from the pillow, his eyes closed.
“Reid—” Logan started, but I sighed.
“No fighting tonight. We’re all tired, emotionally fried, and it’s late. No one’s fucking.”
“Oh,” Raven said before she could stop herself, and Reid chuckled as he banded his arm around her from behind.
“Go to sleep, babe. We can discuss this in the morning.”
She grumbled, turning her attention to the TV instead, but it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.