Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
RAVEN
“R aven?” Rory repeated, snapping me out of my day dreaming.
“Huh?” I asked, glancing between her and Jade at her kitchen table where we’d been sitting to discuss some Heights stuff. It was Thursday, two days after Zavier and Noah had gotten attacked, and as much as I’d slept through most of those couple of days, I was still exhausted.
Between the fire and finding out the bodies were definitely my father, Reid’s mom, and some random guy I’d never heard of before, my brain kept shutting down.
Emotional crashes sucked.
She gave me an amused smile, tilting her head slightly. “I asked if you wanted a coffee? You look like you’re about to fall asleep. If you needed more time, you should’ve said so. We would’ve been fine today.”
“You needed me earlier with the kids,” I protested, sitting up a little straighter.
“Jade could’ve handled them, or I could’ve told Beckett to come and wrangle them since she owes me for bailing her out of that mess the other morning. As you can tell, the kids are quite capable of occupying themselves when the babies go for their nap.”
She wasn’t wrong. Frank and Gregory had taken the kids into the theater room to watch a movie, and we hadn’t heard a peep out of them since.
“Trust me, I want to be here. If I spend another day in that house with nothing to do, I might scream,” I replied, understanding on her face.
“You know you can hang out here without working, right?”
“I know. I like working. It’s good to check in with the kids too. Has Greg been around a lot?” I asked as she stood, moving towards her fancy coffee machine to apparently make me a coffee.
“He has.”
“Have you managed to find his mom yet? She works a lot, but she always comes home,” I explained, and I didn’t miss the small wince on her face. “She’s gone, isn’t she?”
“A body was found in the dumpsters out back of one of the clubs she worked at. Cops identified her yesterday.”
“She’s been missing for ages. How is she only being found now?”
“She wasn’t dumped there until recently. She’s been dead since she went missing, so she was hidden somewhere and then taken to the club to be dumped. It was a past client who killed her, and he thought he could cover it up with his money. Guess what? I have more fucking money,” she said with a shrug, waiting for the machine to finish so she could bring my coffee over and sit back down. “The kids know she’s gone.”
“They didn’t mention it this morning,” I said softly, sipping the scalding liquid.
“I think Greg already knew, and the other kids don’t seem to have had much of a connection with her in the first place. Xena and Nancy were a little upset, but Gregory practically raised the younger ones himself, so they didn’t really know her.”
“Have their older brothers been told? Or Florence? Surely she’s been back for her baby by now,” I asked slowly, the grim look on her face telling me otherwise.
“The police informed the detention center for the boys, yes. Greg went looking for Florence a few days ago and she basically chased him off. He said she was as high as a kite, sleeping in one of the abandoned houses with her boyfriend. We went to check on her but they’d left already,” she sighed. “It’s obvious the Heights police didn’t give a shit about her well-being before their station burned down, but I’ve sent BG after her and the boyfriend. She needs rehab, which I’ll pay for, and her boyfriend needs a fucking prison cell. What kind of twenty-three-year-old is attracted to a fourteen-year-old kid? I can’t believe no one’s done anything about it either. I had a meeting with some of the Heights council members this morning, urging them to push for a new police station. It’s one of the worst neighborhoods for crime, and the government needs to get off its ass and help fund a replacement. Between us and the council, hopefully we can push them. It would’ve been insured, so the fact they haven’t even mentioned rebuilding is ridiculous.”
“What happens to Greg and the kids now then?” I almost didn’t want to ask. I knew Rory was trying to pull back on bringing too many kids in because Lukas and Jensen were both going into new jobs over the next year and wouldn’t be home all the time anymore.
“I sat down with both Greg and Frank last night to discuss it. Those boys have been adults their whole lives, and I wasn’t about to make a decision on their behalf without their input,” she answered, and I loved that about her. Yes, they were kids, but demanding things from them when they’d been responsible for themselves and others for so long was just going to make them resent adults.
Giving them options was really nice of her.
“What did you guys decide on?”
She blew out a breath, motioning to Jade. “Red’s going to take in Frank and Lara. She’s been here a lot lately, and the kids are really loving her. I think it’s because she bribes them with baked goods,” she joked.
“And Greg?”
“We asked around for someone to take them all in, but no one wants seven kids under the age of twelve, with the possibility of a recovering fourteen-year-old addict, and the idea of letting the kids visit the two older boys in juvie. We want to keep the kids together, but it just isn’t possible.” My heart sank, and she studied me for a second before continuing. “In saying that, there’s no way we’ll allow the system to split them up. We’ve decided to foster them ourselves unless someone else steps forward.”
“You will?” I asked with surprise, emotion in my voice. “All of them?”
“All of them,” she confirmed with a nod. “When the boys get out of juvie, they’re welcome to stay with us too. No one else will take them in, they’ll both be adults and the system doesn’t give a fuck about that. Gregory did ask for a request though, which I honestly thought was a bad idea, but he’s insisting on it.”
Jade hummed, resting her elbows on the table to lean forward. “I think the kid’s smart for it.”
“I think he’ll regret it,” Rory said with a sigh, looking at me. “Florence claims she wants nothing to do with Maggie, and Greg has asked if we take her some legal documents, that she will give up her parental rights.”
“That’s good, right? Makes your job easier,” I asked slowly with confusion.
“He wants her to sign them so she can be adopted elsewhere. That boy has been making decisions that even a grown ass adult would struggle with, and he really believes finding her a home away from here is what’s best for her. I’ve told him I’d like him to think about it a little longer, but he really wants her to have a good life. She’s only ten months old, so she’d be adopted easily.”
“He wants to give her up?”
“He wants more for her.”
“You guys can give her that though, right?”
“We can give them a good home, but we’re always so busy. We never intended on having permanent kids here again, especially not younger ones. We’re already in the process of adopting Noah, but he’s seventeen. These kids need parents that can be home all the time, which we can’t,” she said honestly, lowering her voice even more. “Greg said Maggie’s at the age where she won’t remember anything other than the parents who adopt her, and he wished the twins were a little younger so they could have the same chance too.”
My heart broke for the kid, knowing he didn’t say those things lightly.
“What if someone wants to adopt the twins too? Will he let them go?”
“Yes,” I heard from across the room, finding Gregory standing there. I had no idea how long he’d been listening, and I felt guilty for talking about him behind his back. “If some nice mom and dad came along and would take all of them in, I’d let them go. As long as they let me see them.”
“Greg, we talked about this,” Rory sighed, motioning for him to come closer. “There’s been a lot of changes lately, so we can take our time deciding things. There’s no time stamp on you kids being here, okay?”
“There is,” he insisted, looking at me for help. “I’m not ungrateful that you took us all in, but they could have a nice home with a mom and dad, maybe a dog, and grow up in a neighborhood with no gunfire or poverty. Joseph talks about murder and naked girls like it’s normal, and he’s four. If I can find the twins an opportunity to get away from all that before they start to think the same, then I’ll do it. Of course I want them to stay with me, but that’s selfish. Maggie, Sia, and Paul could all thrive if I let them go.”
Rory gave me a look, telling me this had been a large part of the conversation they’d been having on repeat.
“You’re the best big brother ever, I hope you know that,” I replied, uncertainty crossing his face.
“I don’t feel like it by sending them away.”
“You’re putting them before you as always. That’s what a good brother does,” I promised, giving him a smile. “Listen to Rory, though, and think about it. If they get adopted, you can’t just change your mind and demand that they bring them back.”
“I know,” he said with a small nod, glancing at Rory. “Can we have some snacks? Please?”
She grinned, seeming relieved by the change of subject. “Of course. I’m thinking we need pizza for dinner too.”
His face lit up, and I was reminded that he was just a twelve-year-old kid. Rory was giving his childhood back, and I knew if he stuck by her, he’d be fine.
“When’s Noah coming home? Frank and I want to game with him, we have a score to settle,” he said brightly, waiting patiently as Rory got to her feet and started putting together a snack tray for them.
“I’m not sure. He’s staying out of town for a while.” When I gave her a frown, she added, “The Thieves took him to Kensington in the chopper last night. He’s staying with his past foster brother, Ethan. He wasn’t sleeping well here, and I suggested maybe a break would do him some good. He hasn’t seen him since we started fostering him in November.”
“Is it safe there? I thought the gang stuff he was wrapped up in was in Kensington?” I asked with worry, knowing Noah was on edge after the attack. Zavier said the poor kid freaked and had a panic attack.
“The gang was mostly kids stuck under one asshole’s thumb, and he’s been dealt with,” she shrugged, not looking up as she started cutting up a bunch of fruit. “Ethan has some time off from college right now since he’s ahead with his classes, so he was more than happy for him to go and visit. Besides, he and his friends have motorcycles, so Noah will have a blast. They’ve been teaching their girlfriend to ride, so I said as long as they don’t do anything dumb, Noah could learn a little too. He’s surrounded by younger kids most of the time, so some guys more his age would help.”
“You trust this Ethan guy?”
“I don’t really know him, but he used to be in a home with Cruz too. Cruz vouches for him, so that’s good enough for me. I feel better having Noah away from here right now anyway, especially with the issues he’s been having at school.”
Gregory sat in the chair beside me, nudging me. “I heard about your house. I’m sorry. I’m not really sorry about your dad though. He was a prick.”
“Greg,” Rory warned, making me snort.
“Trust me, I’m not sorry about him either.”
She gave me a look of warning too, and Gregory grinned as if we were sharing secrets. He liked being a shit stirrer.
Jade brought up school, and Gregory actually seemed excited about it. Apparently, Rory had enrolled him in classes at Ashburn Valley Middle School, and with Jade taking Frank and Lara in, she was doing the same for Frank.
Gregory talked a mile a minute about it, telling me all about how Rory and Marco had taken the boys to the school to check it out, and they’d already met a few other kids their age that would be in their classes. They needed tutoring to catch them up, but the school was apparently happy with their current result from some test thing they took.
I didn’t see how. Both boys' education was basically non-existent, but they seemed eager to learn, which was all that mattered.
“Have you thought more about school, Raven?” Rory asked lightly, and I cringed.
“Not really. With everything going on, I just don’t think I can. Not to mention, it’s so much money. I really don’t want you paying for it.”
“I have more money than I can possibly ever spend. An education is a good investment,” she said seriously, bringing the platter of food over and handing it to Gregory. “Besides, you’d have to start in the new year, so you have time to prepare. I won’t throw you in the deep end just yet. Take the rest of the year to get prepared, then start in the winter. You’ve got a job here until you start, and if you want to stop and focus on studies for a while, I can hire someone else.”
“It’s so much money,” I repeated, and she smirked.
“It’s only paper with a face on it.”
“Spoken like a true rich person,” I grumbled, glancing at Gregory. “Do you think I’d be a good high school teacher?”
Rory smiled at the fact I’d chosen a path, silently waiting for Gregory’s answer.
“Are you kidding me? You’d be an awesome teacher. Can you be my teacher?” he beamed, getting excited. “High school would be so much better with you. You wouldn’t make me do homework, right?”
I chuckled, sipping my coffee before answering. “You’d better do your homework, you little shit. It would take me four years minimum to get my degree. You’d almost be finished by the time I got qualified. Besides, I kind of want to work in the Heights. You’ll probably go to Ashburn Valley High, right?”
“As long as it’s not the academy, I don’t care where I go,” he stated, getting to his feet and grabbing the food when someone called his name from the hallway. “You’d be a good teacher, I promise. I’ll see you later.”
He wandered off, and I watched him go. His energy had changed, and as much as I hated that he didn’t seem to even acknowledge his own mother’s death, I also understood it.
A lot of us weren’t attached to our parents, I was proof of that. If it wasn’t for the loss of my house, I would’ve thrown a fucking party for the fact my father was finally gone.
“So, is that a yes? Do I start the process of applying for colleges for you?” Rory asked slyly.
“I can start next year? And it’s local?” I asked, nerves filling me at the thought of going back to school, especially without the guys. I could do this without them, I had to.
“I’ll apply for a few in the area. I can pull all your records and do it all for you, you just have to show up. Deal?”
She watched me, waiting for my answer as I thought hard about it. This was an opportunity to make my life better, to give us a stable income and work towards having things like insurance and food without having to ask someone else for the money.
I could be the person that Josh had always promised me I could be.
“Yes. I want to go to college.”
Zavier
The guys and I had spent all day at home while Raven was at Rory’s. I’d been worried about her going back to work already, but she looked like she needed the distraction.
Reid had been pretty quiet since the cops confirmed his mother had been one of the bodies in the fire, but he needed a different type of distraction than Raven.
Ander had randomly had some gym equipment delivered, cramping the living space, but giving us all something to do.
Raven hadn’t minded, so we’d set it all up, and Reid had spent most of the day running.
We all used to work out a lot together, even if it meant going for a run or doing push-ups before bed, but we hadn’t done that in months now.
“He’s going to hurt himself,” Ander murmured from his seat beside mine at the kitchen table, cleaning guns. While Logan and Reid had been killing themselves on the machines, we’d done a small workout earlier before focusing on ways to defend ourselves.
Ander had rounded up a bunch of weapons, and we’d made sure to place a few around the house in hidden spots so we could access them no matter what kind of surprise we had, and the rest we stored in the closet.
He had stuff for molotov cocktails, explosives, and I swore the fucker had grenades too.
Reid was wincing, but he didn’t slow the treadmill. His old injuries acted up on a good day, so when he pushed himself like this, especially after not doing it for so long, it was asking for trouble.
I went to stand to unplug the damn machine, but Logan stood from the weight bench and yanked the emergency cord, earning a dirty look as Reid grabbed the bars to brace himself as the machine slowed.
“The fuck, dude?”
“Do you want to break your fucking leg again? You think we can run from people with you in a fucking wheel chair?” Logan asked bluntly, handing him a bottle of water. “Enough for today. You burned some demons and exhausted yourself. Job done.”
I let them bicker, knowing if anyone was going to make Reid see sense, it was Logan.
Ander’s eyes flicked to the window as a car pulled up out front, his whole body relaxing when Raven climbed out of the passenger seat of Rory’s Maserati. The only way Rory would allow Raven to go to work was if one of them drove her, which I wasn’t going to complain about.
The car didn’t drive away until Raven had walked through the front door, and I was a little bit taken back by the stupid smile on Raven’s face.
“Have a good day?” Ander asked with amusement, thinking the same thing as me.
“Yes, actually,” she grinned, moving towards us and sliding onto my lap without hesitation. “You’re looking at next year’s newest college student.”
“You’re going away to college?” Reid asked sharply, and I gave him a warning look to shut up. If Raven wanted to go to college, I’d murder him for trying to hold her back.
She didn’t seem fazed by his mood though.
“Not away, it will be local. Rory’s been pushing me to find a career path, and you know I like the idea of being a teacher. She’s applying for me to start in the new year.”
“It’s local?” he repeated, his tone changing. “She’s paying for it?”
“Yeah. I’m not a fan of that part, I’m kind of hoping to somehow pay her back for it. College, guys. I’m going to fucking college,” she exclaimed, practically bouncing on my lap.
“That’s awesome, Rae,” Logan grinned, grabbing his sweat towel and wiping his face before walking towards us. “Proud of you.”
She blushed, and I dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Yeah, that’s really good news.”
Reid blew out a breath, limping into the kitchen with his sweat towel and sitting in a chair to rest his body.
“College, huh? To think you fought me tooth and nail to avoid going to high school, and now you’re voluntarily going to college? Who are you and where did Raven go?” he teased, his playful tone making her laugh.
“I’m shit scared of fucking it up. I’m not good at that kind of stuff.”
“You know we’ll help you,” he promised, taking a gulp of his water.
“Please don’t come to me, you’ll fail your assignments,” Logan joked, motioning to me. “Did you even go to high school? Or are you as useless as me?”
I chuckled, resting my chin on Raven’s shoulder. “I was raised on street smarts, not book smarts. I’m more uneducated than the rest of you.”
“Why don’t you go back to school? Get your GED or something?” Raven suggested.
“There’s not really a career I want that requires an education.”
“You’re going to join the Psychos, aren’t you?” she asked, sounding more curious than defeated by the idea, which was an improvement.
Ander continued cleaning the guns, not hiding the fact he was listening though, while the other two bluntly stared at me to wait for an answer.
“Would you be okay with that?” I asked, tightening my hold on her a little. “You know it’s not something I want if it’s going to upset you.”
“I want you to do something you love, Zav. I’ve seen you around the crew, and there’s a different type of air around you when it happens. If you want it, then I want you to have that,” she answered, tilting her head slightly to look at me. “Make it clear to Slash, though, that you’re not stashing their drugs and guns in our house. Please. I don’t want us to be a target any more than we have to be.”
“I can do that. You sure?” I asked, reaching out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, and she took my hand and gave it a squeeze.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I get the chance to do what I’ve always wanted to do, so it’s only fair that you can do the same.”
“Does anyone else have any big announcements to make? Or can I go and shower?” Ander asked dryly, putting his gun back together.
“As long as you let me join you,” Raven said innocently, and Ander practically tossed the rest of the gun parts at me and stood.
“Finish that,” he ordered, grabbing Raven’s hand and tugging her to her feet.
“Yes, boss,” I grunted, my lap feeling cold already.
I wanted to be annoyed, but hearing her giggling in the bathroom a moment later was worth it.
“Man, he moves so fucking fast,” Logan huffed, crossing his arms.
“College,” Reid muttered under his breath, an amused chuckle leaving him. “Never saw that coming.”
“You really going to join the Psychos?” Logan asked me with interest.
“Slash wants me to. Some of the others are on the fence about it, but I think they’re warming up to me. Especially after the shit on Tuesday. I was never against being in a crew, I just didn’t want to be dragged into the Hell’s Demons crew,” I answered, putting the rest of the gun together. “What do you guys think? It affects you too, so I want your input.”
“I’m good if Raven is,” Reid shrugged.
“It would bring in better money,” Logan added, thinking about it for a second. “And you seem happy around the Psychos and Devils.”
“They’re good people,” I murmured, and Reid smiled, sucking in a sharp breath as he stretched his legs out.
“They are. Can one of you guys do me a favor and grab me some ice?”
“Fucking told you,” Logan muttered under his breath as he stood, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer and bringing it over to him. “Gotta take it slow, dude. That leg’s fragile, and you were a miserable cunt in that wheelchair.”
“Was not.”
“Yes, you fucking were. If you put yourself back in that chair, I’m begging Rory to put you in a rehabilitation facility because I refuse to be your nurse again. No one should hold their friends dick so they can pee. I bet you faked the injuries just so I would touch it.”
I chuckled as they argued, my phone ringing and making a bad feeling wash through me when I saw Cruz’s name. I answered, pressing the phone to my ear and moving away from the playful argument.
“Yeah?”
“You’ve got company,” Cruz said, his fingers flying over the keyboard. “A car’s parked a few houses up from yours, and they’ve been there all day. Nothing was really out of the ordinary, but one of them got out for a cigarette and to stretch their legs, which flagged in my system. He’s confirmed to have been seen in Italy with Stefano in the past on old footage.”
“Any idea how many? What car?”
I was so fucking over this. Logan and Reid were throwing banter back and forth, Raven was still giggling with Ander in the bathroom, and I just wanted all the chaos to stop so they could just have one night of fun.
“1980 brown Buick. Seems to be just the two guys. Pretty sure they’re just there to observe, but we can move in on them if you want?”
“I’ll handle it. Thanks for the call.”
“Wait, what do you mean you’ll handle it?” he asked slowly, but I hung up without replying, turning and heading straight into the laundry room, where Ander stashed the stuff to make molotov cocktails.
I grabbed the bottle of liquid and a rag, stalking back through the kitchen and making the guys go quiet.
“Uh, Lopez? Why are you looking crazy? And what the fuck are you doing with that?” Logan asked, hesitation in his voice. It wasn’t like the guys hadn’t seen me do violent shit, I was the son of a psychopath, but it had been a while since I’d snapped.
“Stay inside,” I bit out, walking past them and out the front door, hearing their chairs scraping behind me.
I started shoving the cloth into the bottle, leaving a good amount hanging out, and it wasn’t until I reached the car that it started and the headlights switched on to leave.
Without a word, I grabbed my lighter and lit the cloth, throwing the lit bottle in through the open window.
The air around me whooshed as heat filled it, the men instantly starting to scream and scrambled to get out of the burning car.
“Dude, what the fuck?” Reid demanded as they reached me, one of the men running down the road completely on fire. “Who were they?”
“Mafia,” I answered, the second man tripping and trying to roll on the ground to put the fire out.
People around here weren’t like the ones in the Heights, so within seconds, they were on their porches gawking at what was happening as sirens filled the air.
“Lopez!” Logan barked, trying to get my attention. I hadn’t realized I’d zoned out, my fists clenched so tight that I was surprised I didn’t snap a finger.
“I’m done with these assholes thinking they can scare us into submission,” I threw back, fighting him a little as he started hauling me backwards. “Logan, I swear to fucking?—”
The car exploded, shaking the damn street and sending shrapnel everywhere. Firetrucks and police pulled onto the street a moment later, and I turned to find Ander and Raven standing just inside the front door, towels wrapped around them.
“I left you alone for five fucking minutes, Lopez!” Ander called out, but he was smirking.
“Oh, so now you come and help?” I replied, grinning back.
That was until some cops tackled me to the ground, screaming at me not to resist.