Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
RAVEN
“W e should’ve picked a scary one. Don’t girls freak out and cuddle you?” Ander joked, his arm dropping possessively around my shoulders as we all walked towards the food trucks at the drive-in.
“You’d just end up with Logan on your lap,” Reid said seriously, motioning to me. “Raven usually has to protect him from the scary monster.”
“Hey! That was one time!” Logan threw back, defending himself. “Those Japanese horror films are on a whole different level.”
“Not enough to scare Raven,” Reid grinned, laughing as Logan put him in a headlock.
“At least I’m not scared of brussel sprouts, unlike you.”
“They’re not scary, they’re disgusting. Get off me, dude.”
They kept wrestling, but Zavier and Ander didn’t slow for them. They kept walking with me to get food. We had the right priorities.
“It’s on me,” Ander said seriously, pressing a kiss to my temple. “What do you want?”
“Popcorn and a soda,” I answered, running my eyes over the menu board. “And maybe some candies?”
“No maybe about it,” Zavier said, leaning on the truck to watch the area around us.
All the guys were on edge. Our afternoon fuck-fest and nap had done nothing other than seem to stress everyone out more.
Ander’s worry about Stefano’s silence was on everyone’s minds, so I wasn’t surprised that Zavier was playing bodyguard.
“What will the guys want?” Ander sighed, sparing them a glance to see them still fucking around further behind us.
“Popcorn and sodas. If you guys want to stop for burgers later, then don’t eat too much here,” I answered, letting him order for us.
I studied Zavier while we waited, his shoulders tense.
“What is it?” I asked, knowing something was bothering him.
“I don’t know yet. Stick close tonight, I have a bad feeling,” he murmured, not dropping his eyes to me as he reached out to take my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“You guys too. Technically, you’re the one he wants, Zav.”
“I know. We’ll all stick together, promise.” He looked down at me, giving me a small smile. “I’m surprised you're walking.”
“Would you shut up?” I whisper-yelled, knowing it was loud enough for people close by to hear from the way Ander snickered. The guy who owned the truck definitely heard if Ander did.
“You won’t be by the end of the night,” Zavier continued as if I’d said nothing, and I scowled as I pulled my hand from his.
“You’ll be in the corner watching from time-out if you’re not careful, Lopez.”
“Sounds horrible,” he deadpanned. Of course, I’d threatened the wrong guy with that.
Watching wasn’t going to be a chore for him.
“You won’t get to come,” I blurted out, my face heating as he grinned, the truck owner choking from somewhere inside.
“Smooth, Rae,” Ander said with amusement, pulling cash out of his pocket to hand to the guy.
Logan appeared to grab his food and drink, side-eyeing me. “Did I just hear you say?—”
“Shut up or you’ll be in time-out too,” I snapped, snatching my popcorn and drink, intending on stalking off ahead, but Reid hooked an arm around my neck to stop me.
“No running off. We can punish them later.”
“We? Kiss ass,” Logan muttered, giving him the stink eye.
We all walked back to the car together, much to my annoyance, but it was difficult to stay mad when I could hear their commentary behind me as Reid and I walked ahead.
“That ass puts all the other asses to shame,” Logan sighed, and I knew he was completely full of shit because I didn’t even really have an ass.
I’d definitely been putting weight on, we’d been eating a lot more lately, but it wasn’t enough to give me a dump-truck ass or anything.
“Should’ve made her wear a shirt with our faces on it so people know she’s taken,” Zavier added thoughtfully.
“They’ll know when I wave a gun in their faces,” Ander said under his breath, and I had to shove some popcorn in my mouth to hide my smile.
“Dib’s being in the back with Rae,” Logan said the second we got back to the car, and Reid glared at him.
“She’s in the front with me. It’s my car.”
“If you two fight about this, I’m not going to wait for you to throw punches before I shoot you both,” Ander warned, tilting his head at me. “Where do you want to sit, Bluebird? You pick a spot and the guys can get over it.”
“I’m happy to sit in the back. Toss a fucking coin for all I care,” I shrugged, picking at the popcorn. “I’m just here for this shit. It’s been ages since I had good popcorn.”
Ander raised an eyebrow at the guys, and they all seemed to have a silent conversation for a second before Logan and Zavier put their hands up to sit in the front.
Ander opened the door so I could slide into the middle of the back seat, leaving him and Reid to sit on either side of me.
Logan fiddled with the radio to tune into the audio for the movie, while Zavier continued scanning our surroundings. I wanted him to be able to relax and watch the movie too, but I knew that was unlikely.
The movie we’d picked was a romantic comedy, and we spent most of it in hysterics while choking on popcorn.
“I need to pee,” I grumbled, the soda sitting heavy in my bladder. “Let me out.”
“Will you be okay alone?” Reid asked, frowning a little.
“It’s right there. You can watch me walk in,” I said dryly, nudging him. “I’m seriously going to piss my pants, dude.”
He grumbled about me calling him dude, but told Zavier to climb out so they could put the seat forward to let me out, and I made my way over to the toilet block and quickly slipped inside to pee. Only one stall was free, so I locked myself inside to relieve myself, halting as I stepped out to wash my hands to find some guy blocking the door and Stefano fucking Ricci waiting for me by the sink.
I’d seen enough photos of him from news articles by now to know his face anywhere.
“Raven, we finally meet,” Stefano said cheerfully, his accent strong.
“What do you want?” I asked, making his mouth quirk into a smirk.
“Straight to the point, I like that. I want to make a deal with you.”
“Not interested.” I forced myself to move to the sink to wash my hands, trying not to look affected. Inside, I was freaking the fuck out. He could probably hear my damn heart beating out of my chest.
He tsked, tilting his head in the same way Ander did when he was curious about something.
“This deal will keep you and your friends alive.”
“All of them?” I scoffed, his silence telling me everything I needed to know. “Look, whatever your issue with Zavier is?—”
“He knows things that could be very bad if they get out. Surely, you know the danger that can cause a person. That little town of yours is pretty tight-lipped about things, no?”
“We live by the code of minding our own business, yes. Whatever you think Zav knows, he doesn’t. He had no idea about you until you had us run down. Even if he did, we mind our own business. Your business has nothing to do with us.”
“I want Zavier and that bastard son of mine. Logan and Reid are none of my concern, and neither are you.”
“Not interested,” I repeated, turning to leave but the guy at the door blocked me. The distinctive click of a gun being loaded sounded behind me, just as the barrel was pressed to the back of my head.
“See, this isn’t a negotiation or optional. You’ll bring them to me or all five of you pay the price. Understand?” he said calmly, pressing a little harder to make his point.
“I won’t hand them over to you,” I spat, trying to keep it together but my hand started shaking slightly. Especially when he stepped up behind me so his front was flush with my back.
“I see why Andre likes you. You’re a little spitfire. Women who can’t do as they’re told in our world don’t last long. I don’t care if he wants to bend the Lopez kid over behind closed doors, but he will not embarrass our family by betraying us for a man.”
Confusion hit me, my voice quiet. “You think he’s with Zavier?”
“Why else would he protect him and turn on me? His father? You’re probably just a cover-up so he can hide in the closet,” he growled.
“He’s not into guys, and that’s what family does. We protect each other,” I replied before wincing, knowing I’d said the wrong thing when he gripped my hair in his fist.
“The only family that boy has is me!”
“What about Dante? You set him up at Wet Dreams, right? You killed that girl and tried to make everyone go after Dante so he’d return home,” I threw back. “Where is he? Ander’s adamant that you’ve done something to him.”
I stumbled forward as he shoved my face down on the counter, leaning down to speak in my ear.
“You tell that traitorous son of mine that next time I won’t leave you breathing. My men will run a train through you before I chain you up in the yard and stone you to death. If he doesn’t call me by midnight tonight to agree to come to me with Zavier, you’ll regret it, Raven Pierce,” he answered sharply, releasing me long enough for me to turn around, then he slammed the butt of the gun into my face, pain blooming across my temple and head.
My vision dimmed as I reached for the sink, missing it and landing on the ground. My ears rang, and it took me a moment to realize I’d blacked out for a few seconds as I forced myself to sit up, glancing around the now empty room.
I winced as I pressed my fingers to my eyebrow, finding blood on my fingertips. My head was pounding as I grabbed the sink to pull myself up, peeking at my reflection in the mirror to find blood streaked down my face from a cut on my eyebrow.
My hands were shaking, and instant terror hit me.
What if Stefano went to the car after leaving me? Had he already found Ander and Zavier?
I managed to make my legs work as I stumbled out into the cool evening air, making a beeline for the car.
“Don’t be dead, don’t be dead,” I repeated under my breath as I approached, the driver’s door opening as Logan jumped out and practically ran around the car to me to take my face in his hands.
“You guys are okay?” I choked out, trying to look past him at the car to see the others, but he was blocking my view.
“Are we okay? You’re the one that’s bleeding. What the fuck happened?” he demanded, my panic increasing. He didn’t want me to see the car, had it been a massacre?
Logan didn’t have blood on him, so that can’t have been it, but I was being irrational.
Another door slammed shut and Ander appeared, tears of relief filling my eyes.
“Who fucking did that to you?” he bit out, grabbing my chin a little harder than necessary to inspect my face, tugging me away from Logan. “I barely took my eyes off the bathroom. Are they still in there?”
“We need to go,” I insisted, grabbing his arm. “Please.”
“Who. Hurt. You?” he repeated bluntly, but he knew. I could see it all over his face, he was just hoping he was wrong.
“Stefano’s here,” I whispered, his eyes snapping to the bathroom. “Well, he was. I think he’s gone. Can we talk in the car on the way home?”
“Let her get in the car,” Zavier scowled, coming to my rescue. “People are looking.”
“Fucking let them,” Ander snarled, spinning around with every intention on stalking off to shoot someone, but Zavier grabbed his arm firmly to stop him.
“Raven wants to leave, so get back in the fucking car so we can figure this out together.”
Ander was so tense that I thought he was going to knock Zavier out, but he forced himself to relax after a second, sliding his arm around my back.
“Let’s go, Bluebird.”
Reid took my hand and helped me into the back, holding both hands on his lap as they continued to shake.
“Hey, did he touch you?”
I knew what he meant, and I shook my head. “No. He held a gun to my head and threatened me, then pistol whipped me when I didn’t agree to what he wanted. I think I blacked out for a second because when I got my bearings, he was gone.”
Ander sat on my other side, Zavier and Logan climbing in the front so we could leave. The car started instantly, and Logan backed out of our spot and headed to the gate without a backwards glance.
“Tell me everything he said to you. What did he want?” Ander asked calmly, but I could tell he was struggling to keep it together.
“He wants me to convince you and Zav to go to him. He said if he doesn’t hear from you by midnight, I’ll regret it. He seems to think you’re protecting Zav because he’s your boyfriend or something.”
He was already reaching for his phone, and I snatched it from him before he could do something stupid, like call Stefano.
“Raven—” he gritted out, his eyes blazing with anger.
“Whatever you want to do, stop. We need to get home and figure this out,” I answered, pocketing his phone. “You’re not running off to play the hero, Ander.”
“Let me call my guys so they can check out the house before we get there. For all we know, he’s already waiting to ambush us,” he growled, shoving his hand into my pocket to take it back.
“How do you know they’re not working for him and backstabbing you? They’re mafia, right?” Zavier asked seriously, his phone in hand as he texted rapidly. “Also, don’t head straight home. Go to the Shed.”
“Why?” I asked, not liking that idea in the slightest. The last thing the Psychos wanted was us bringing this to their door.
“You need that cut looked at, and Beckett said Jade’s there tonight. Unless you want to go into the hospital, you’ll be seeing Jade,” he said in a non-negotiable tone, and I shook my head.
“Um, no thank you. I don’t want to owe them. It’s not that bad, is it?”
“You need it cleaned and we don’t have the right shit at the house,” Reid murmured, reaching up to push my hair out of the way to try and get a good look at it, holding his phone light up to see better. “Yeah, you need some butterfly stitches at least.”
“We can’t just walk in and ask to use their doctor for free,” I argued.
“Sure we can. I know Beckett isn’t too happy about the whole Ander being alive thing, but she likes you, Raven. Even if she didn’t, there’s no way Rory wouldn’t want to make sure you’re okay. We can update her on what happened as they clean you up,” Zavier explained, his face in his phone. “They’re expecting us, so it’s not like we’re showing up unannounced.”
“It gives my guys time to go over the house with a fine tooth comb too,” Ander offered, his phone lighting up with a response from whoever he texted. “They’re en route. They’ll check the place for bugs and explosives while they’re at it. And to answer your question earlier, Lopez, my guys might be mafia, but only because I put them there. They’ve never been loyal to Stefano.”
“You put spies in?” Zavier asked with surprise.
“Yep. They’ll tell me when they’re done and it’s safe to go home.”
“To the Shed then, I guess,” Logan sighed, flicking his gaze to me in the mirror and waiting for me to nod. He would’ve taken me to the hospital instead if I’d asked.
* * *
The Shed was thumping with music when we arrived, and we’d barely parked before Rory stalked outside. I swatted Ander’s hand away when he tried to help me out of the car, my senses on high alert.
I couldn’t look weak here, I had to stand on my own feet.
Rory grabbed my chin a little harder than I’d been expecting, tilting my face towards the light on the front of the building to inspect me. Her jaw was tight, and something settled in my chest at how pissed off she looked.
I’d never had a parent get mad on my behalf before, let alone try to keep me safe. This was new, and I was getting way too used to having people who cared.
“Come inside. Jade’s in the office patching up Maddox, so she’ll help you after that,” she said as she released me, making Logan frown.
“Is he okay?”
“My son is claiming he’s fine, but I’m pretty sure he broke his hand,” she chuckled. “We had some new guys show up tonight, and one said some shit about Beckett. As you can imagine, it didn’t end too well.”
“I’m surprised the guy’s walking then.”
“I didn’t say that,” Rory answered, giving Logan the side-eye.
We took that as an answer that the guy was dead, and we dropped the conversation. I didn’t want to know, and I definitely didn’t want to get involved.
We followed her inside, the crowd moving out of our way to avoid Rory’s wrath. I looked over at the cage, a little surprised to see Skeeter fighting some guy. The cage was covered in blood, and I wasn’t sure if it was from Maddox’s fight, or Skeeter’s latest victim. There was no way his opponent was getting out alive.
Skeeter looked like a machine as he pummeled his fists into the man, the crowd cheering from the violence.
“The guy had friends,” Rory shrugged, answering my silent question of what the man did to piss Skeeter off, and I nodded so she knew I’d heard her, but I didn’t ask for more information.
She opened the office door and ushered us inside, making sure it was shut behind us before speaking. “Lopez, hit me with it. Your message was cryptic.”
I didn’t know where to look. I didn’t want to look like I was snooping, and Maddox quirked an eyebrow at me from his spot on the desk where a red-headed woman stood in front of him, bandaging his hand. He was only wearing shorts, his lip cut and blood all over his chest.
“You really need to relax more. Sit down, you look like you’re going to pass out.”
My eyes flicked to Rory and she motioned to another desk. “Sit while we talk.”
I did as she told me, lifting myself onto the large wooden desk.
“Raven can explain what happened. We didn’t see it,” Zavier sighed, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms.
All eyes went to me, and I winced. “We were at the drive-in, and we parked right by the bathroom. Since the guys had a direct line of sight to it, I wandered in alone to do my business, but when I stepped out of the stall, Stefano and one of his men were waiting.”
“Why didn’t they kill you?” Maddox asked.
“They wanted to use me as a messenger. If I could get Ander and Zavier to call him by midnight to agree to meet with him, then the rest of us were safe.”
“And if they don’t sacrifice themselves?” Rory asked dryly.
“He said I’d be sorry. And that he’d get his guys to run a train through me before they stone me to death,” I muttered, Ander’s eyes narrowing.
“You skipped over that earlier.”
“Does it matter?”
“Stefano threatened to have you gang raped and murdered. Yes, it matters,” he bit out, raking a hand through his hair. “Did he mention Dante?”
“I asked about him, but he didn’t tell me anything. It was at that point his patience ran out and he threatened me, then knocked me out. I think I hit a nerve when I said we’re your family, and that we know the incident at Wet Dreams wasn’t Dante.”
“If Dante was dead, he would’ve bragged about it,” Ander mused, seeming to relax.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not hurt though, right?” Reid asked, making him cringe.
“Stefano doesn’t handle betrayal well, especially not from his heir. He’s definitely being punished. Hopefully, he just thinks Dante was here to talk me into following orders, and not that Dante has also turned on him. If that’s the case, he’ll smack him around a little as punishment for leaving Italy, then send him on a plane home.”
“No offense, but I don’t give a fuck about your brother right now,” Rory said flatly, her eyes on me. “You have no idea what he meant about you being sorry? Could it just be the rape and murder?”
“I honestly don’t know. He didn’t like me telling him I wasn’t interested in his deal, and when he pistol whipped me, I blacked out for a second. He was gone when I came to,” I mumbled, glancing towards the door as it opened and Beckett wandered in with Skeeter.
He was covered in sweat and blood, his chest heaving as he assessed us.
“What’s going on in here?”
“Line up for Red. Raven’s next,” Rory warned, motioning to the red-headed woman. “Raven, this is Jade. She’s Harley and Alex’s wife. If you need medical patch jobs, she’s your girl.”
Jade glanced over her shoulder with a warm smile, and I was pretty sure I’d seen her at Harley’s Bar before.
“Landon’s mom, right?” I asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“You’re friends with my son?”
“No. I’ve just met him a couple of times at the track and the bar. He’s nice,” I shrugged, her shoulders visibly relaxing.
“Yeah, he’s a good kid. I feel like I’ve barely seen him lately. If he’s not working, he’s been out with friends.”
“At least you know your kid isn’t out committing murder or some other felony. Most of mine come home with problems I have to fix,” Rory grumbled, giving Beckett a dirty look.
Beckett grinned, not at all bothered by her mother calling her out. “I get it from you.”
“You get it from Skeet,” she corrected with amusement. “We have bigger problems than you right now though. Stefano’s making moves.”
Skeeter grunted, his eyes on me. “He hit you?”
“Pistol whipped. Didn’t like me telling him no,” I replied, reaching up to touch the cut. “That shit hurts.”
“Toughen up, Princess,” Beckett joked, moving closer to sit beside me.
“Not all of us like getting beat up, Donovan.”
“That’s why you gotta swing first. Knock them out before they can knock you out.”
“Noted.”
Maddox hopped off the desk, Beckett’s eyes instantly raking over him.
“You’re up,” Jade said to me, motioning to Maddox’s vacated spot, and I slid off the desk I was on and moved over to the other one.
“I don’t get why your man’s too chicken shit to just hand himself over to his daddy to keep you safe,” Beckett said randomly, lighting a cigarette.
“Why didn’t you hand Maddox over to the Demons when they came after everyone?” I replied bluntly, her eyes snapping to mine.
“That’s different.”
“How so? They only went to war with you guys because of Maddox, right? You could’ve stopped a lot of problems if you’d just sacrificed him.”
Beckett stood, and I was pretty sure she was going to come over and punch me, but Maddox grabbed the back of her neck and hauled her back like she was a rag doll.
“Sit the fuck down. She’s right, you know? Things might have been a lot different if you’d done that.”
“You’re fucking family!”
“He’s her family,” he answered, pointing at me. “Are you looking at the same person as me? She was cornered in a bathroom by the fucking mafia, and she didn’t turn on them to save herself. She could have if she really wanted to, and you know it. Just because you don’t like Lavaro, and I don’t either quite frankly, that doesn’t mean she can’t.”
“Let your sister go,” Skeeter scolded, both of them giving him a dirty look for the sister comment. “But he’s right, Beck. Besides, Zavier was your little pet too. You’d be happy for Raven to just hand Lopez over?”
“Not a pet,” Zavier grumbled.
Maddox snorted his disagreement, and I zoned them out as Jade sighed and got to work on my cut, cleaning it and applying butterfly stitches.
Exhaustion filled me, and I must have sucked at hiding it because Jade gave me a knowing look. “The adrenaline crash will suck. Is that your only injury? I can see some older bruises. Do you need me to look at something else?”
“The bruises are fine, I just got roughed up by a mafia prince a few days ago. Thanks for looking at the cut though. What do I owe you? I’m happy to pay you for your time.”
She shook her head, taking a step back to admire her handy work. “Don’t be silly. You’re family.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“If you’re family to Rory, then you’re family to me,” she replied, leaning in as if telling me a secret. “How did you make her like you? She’s a bitch when she wants to be.”
“I heard that, Red,” Rory called out, but she was smiling. “Do I need to take you guys home? I can check the house for danger.”
“Already checked. My guys have been there and made sure nothing was out of place,” Ander replied. “I’ve asked the Thieves to keep an eye on the outside, so we shouldn’t get any surprises.”
She didn’t seem convinced, but she nodded slowly. “Fine. Call me if there’s a problem. I assume you aren’t sticking around for the fights?”
“I’d like to get Raven home,” Reid said before I could decline, and I was thankful that they all seemed ready to leave. I was too tired for this shit. “But thank you for helping her.”
“Any time,” Rory replied, pulling her phone out to text, my phone dinging a second later. “I’ve sent you Jade’s number. Save it and call her if you need help. She can probably come to you if she’s not too busy.”
I glanced at Jade to make sure that was okay, and she grinned. “Seriously, it’s fine. I don’t really do much else since the guys and Landon handle the bar. I’m home a lot.”
“I appreciate it,” I smiled, getting to my feet.
Slash poked his head in, a scowl on his face. “Are you guys just going to have a mother’s meeting in here? Skeet, clean up and get back to the cage. Beck, you’re up next. Killer?—”
“Calm down, bossman. We’re getting there,” Rory said dryly, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t sass me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she chuckled, taking one last look at me before leaving the room.
Skeeter walked over to Jade to get cleaned up, and I happily let Logan take my hand as we all made our way out into the room of people.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Beckett said from beside me, her voice low. “If anything goes bump in the night, fucking call me.”
“I will,” I said, watching her walk towards the cage with Maddox in tow.
I had no idea why he’d stood up for Ander, but I appreciated him calling her on her bullshit. I didn’t particularly want her to beat me up if I’d kept arguing.
Diesel was insanely busy at the bar, but I gave him a little wave so he knew I was okay, earning a nod in return. Rory could fill him in on everything when they got home.
I nodded off in the car on the short ride home, waking up to Logan nudging me. Once I was out of the car, he scooped me up bridal style and carried me inside, and I wasn’t going to argue. I just wanted to go to sleep.
I was pretty sure I was asleep before he'd even undressed me and tucked me in.
My phone ringing a few hours later jolted me awake, and I could hear the seriousness in Zavier’s voice as he handed it to me.
“It’s Beckett.”
Beckett wouldn’t call at one o’clock in the morning unless something was wrong, and I quickly answered it and put it on speaker.
“What’s wrong?”
“I hope the mafia prince is worth it,” she said bluntly, a sinking feeling starting in my stomach when I heard sirens in the background.
“What happened?”
She was quiet for a second, her voice softening a fraction with pity.
“Your house is on fire.”