Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ANDER
I wasn’t sure what the cops’ problem was. It wasn’t like the pricks Zavier burned to a crisp were good people.
Maybe they’d just been pissed that I’d jumped in and beat the ever loving shit out of two of them, I wasn’t sure.
“Good news, the Molotov cocktails work,” I deadpanned as I laid across a bench in my cell, making Zavier snort from where he stood in the other corner.
“No shit?”
“You could’ve waited two more seconds, you know? I was just about to come,” I grumbled, staring up at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry, should I have asked them if they’d like refreshments first before I started the barbecue?” he asked sarcastically, moving towards me and swatting my legs. I moved so my feet were on the bench and my knees in the air, giving him room to sit down.
“If you wanted to pour gasoline down their throats first, I wouldn’t have complained.”
“Do you think Raven’s pissed with me?”
“Nah. Unlike me, she got to come,” I joked, sitting up and leaning back against the cold wall. “How long do you think they’ll hold us?”
We’d definitely been in here for hours already, but no one had stopped to talk to us.
“Well, I blew up a car with two people in it, and you beat up two cops. I’d say a while,” he chuckled, holding his fist out for me to bump. “It’s been too long since we’ve had that kind of fun.”
“You need to stop hanging around Beckett, her crazy is rubbing off on you,” I warned, making him roll his eyes.
“You’re the one who likes to blow shit up, remember?”
“Hey, I’ve only blown a few things up,” I chuckled.
“Can you not confess to more crimes?” Slash asked dryly as he appeared on the other side of the bars.
“Come to bail us out?” Zavier asked, two seconds before a cop appeared and unlocked the cell, motioning for Slash to get inside.
“Not exactly,” he replied as he was locked in the cell too, making me raise an eyebrow.
“What did you do?”
“Stopped my girl from getting arrested,” he smirked, leaning his back against the wall.
“How did that get you arrested then?”
“Easy. I knocked out the cop before she could,” he shrugged, glancing around the cell. “So, do you come here much?”
Zavier let out a snort of amusement, and I gave him a nudge. “You told your new boss the good news yet?”
“I haven’t had the time. Blowing up cars, remember?” he responded.
“Allegedly,” Slash pointed out. “Don’t talk without a fucking lawyer. Rory’s called one, you’ll be out by lunch tomorrow. What good news?”
I groaned, knowing Raven was probably freaking out. “We’ll be in here all night? Have you seen Raven?”
“Yeah, you’re not moving tonight. We could maybe bullshit our way through something for Lopez by paying off some witnesses, but you beat up two cops in front of a bunch of other cops. You’re a little tricky. Raven and the guys are crashing at Beckett’s tonight just in case,” he explained, his eyes moving to Zavier. “You have something to tell me?”
“After tonight, Raven might change her mind,” he grumbled, but he let out a sigh and sat up straighter. “You still have a jacket for me?”
A slow smirk spread across Slash’s face, his eyes flicking between both of us. “Raven?”
“Didn’t you hear? Rory’s sending her to college next year. Raven’s feeling like we should all chase our dreams, and she knows there’s nothing I want more out of life than prison cells and gunfire,” Zavier deadpanned.
“Short-term holidays.”
“Tell that to Yoyo. I don’t think he’s been out more than a month at a time in his entire life. His jacket turned into a life sentence,” I mumbled, Slash’s eyes narrowing.
“How do you know Yoyo?”
“I don’t. I was originally placed here to stalk you assholes, remember? I did my research,” I replied.
“You and I need a talk when we’re out, Lavaro. What dirt do you have on people?”
“Other than you guys? Oh, loads. Information is currency, you know that.”
“Any that might be useful to me?”
“It will cost you,” I yawned, his eyes narrowing.
“You’re living in a house I pay for, breathing because we let you, and you’ll be out of this cell because of me. You beat up two cops, remember?”
“Allegedly,” I threw back, and I swore the vein in his temple was going to explode.
“Please don’t get us both killed in this small room,” Zavier sighed, lifting his chin at Slash. “So? What do I have to do to wear the jacket? Initiation? Some kind of weird test?”
“You took a bullet for Noah, among many other things you’ve done for us. You’ve proven your loyalty,” Slash promised, glaring at a cop that walked past the cell. “When these fuckers let us out, I’ll go and get it for you and we’ll throw a welcome party.”
“Am I invited?” I taunted, earning a tight smile in return.
“Of course. Every party needs a pinata.”
“You know what, Zav? I think you should join the Reapers or something instead,” I huffed, and Zavier gave me a dirty look.
“That’s a great idea. Then I can help run Wet Dreams and be around naked women all the time. Raven would love that.”
“Hendricks wouldn’t let him anyway. If it came down to war, he knows Zavier would side with Beckett,” Slash stated, moving to sit on the bench opposite us. “You two boys might as well get some rest. They’re not going to release you before sun up.”
“Sounds good to me,” Zavier said with a yawn, having no problem moving to the floor and sprawling out.
I laid back down on the bench, deciding to take a nap too, then Slash spoke again. “If you hadn’t pissed so many people off, you’d probably fit right in, Lavaro. There’s no way Beckett could ever wear the same jacket as you though.”
“I’d rather join the Devils. Their boss is nicer,” I grinned, hearing him mutter under his breath about me being a punk.
I didn’t think I’d get a lot of sleep, but I woke up to someone unlocking the cell, motioning for us to leave with a pissed off look on their face.
“Privileged little pricks,” the guy mumbled as we walked past, his face paling when Slash stopped to glare down at him. Zavier and I kept walking to the front desk, and I wasn’t at all surprised to find Raven waiting for us with Beckett.
“I’m not apologizing,” I said instantly to Raven, taking the pen to sign the paperwork that the woman behind the desk shoved at me.
“Good. The pigs deserved it for tackling Zav like that. Isn’t that unnecessary force?” she asked Beckett, who scoffed.
“The dude made a fire bomb. No, it wasn’t seen as unnecessary.”
The woman behind the desk muttered her agreement, shoving paperwork at Zavier too.
“Allegedly,” Slash said from behind us, snatching some papers from her and scribbling his signature without even really looking at the paper. “Where’s Rory?”
“Outside talking to BG. Congratulations, Dad. Our family are the latest donors for the upgrades here at our very own Ashburn Valley Police Department, and you have pledged to donate to the rebuild of the Hawthorne Heights Police Department if the government will approve it,” Beckett said dryly, making him raise an eyebrow.
“That’s nice of us.”
“They would’ve settled for one department, but apparently a fire bomb and assault and battery cost more when combined.”
“Noted,” he said flatly, grabbing his things from the tray as the woman handed it to him, giving him more paperwork to sign to say he’d gotten everything back.
We did the same with our things, and Slash clapped a hand on Zavier’s shoulder as we walked out the door. “Stop by the Shed on the way home. I’ll have that jacket waiting for you.”
Raven barely reacted, but Beckett grinned. “You’re finally saying yes to him?”
“Only if Raven’s okay with it,” Zavier said firmly, dropping an arm around her shoulders. “I need your pure honesty right now. Once I’m in, that’s it.”
“I know. You’ve been wanting this more than you tell me, Zav. Just don’t bring work home with you, and I’ll be fine,” she answered, looking over at Slash. “Keep him safe.”
“I intend on it,” he smiled, motioning to Rory as she glanced our way. “Hey, Killer. Lopez finally wants that jacket.”
“It’s about time,” she chuckled, and BG grumbled something about that being a terrible idea as he walked back inside, leaving us alone.
“Don’t you guys have to vote or something?” I asked, not understanding how Slash could just make him a member, but Rory leaned back against her car, eyeing me.
“Slash wouldn’t have asked unless he had the crew’s approval first. We voted ages ago whether he should be invited in. It only cemented our choice this week when he risked his life for us.”
“Please don’t make a habit of that,” Raven said seriously, glancing at her phone. “There’s some fights on at the Pit tonight, if you want to go? Unless you’re needed at the Shed.”
Zavier glanced at Slash, who shook his head. “We have some fights of our own tonight, but Harley’s got the bar, and Diesel’s on the door playing security. We don’t need you tonight unless there’s an emergency. Follow us to the Shed, get your jacket, and wear that shit around the Heights tonight. People need to know you’re a Bloody Psycho now.”
I could tell Zavier was stupidly excited, despite keeping it off his face. He’d been wanting this for so long, holding back to save Raven from more stress.
Everyone started moving towards the cars, but I took Raven’s hand to slow her steps as Zavier walked ahead with Beckett.
“It’s okay to be scared for him, Bluebird,” I said quietly, her hand tightening in mine.
“He has to come home to me. I know things can go wrong, but I’m sick of living in a constant state of fear. He really wants this, and I know I’m the reason he’s been holding back,” she mumbled, glancing back at Rory and Slash as they climbed into her car. “I know they’ll do their best to keep him safe, but asking them to promise me he’ll always come home to me isn’t fair. It also won’t keep him in one piece, just because someone said he will be.”
“If you ever need to let go of some of the worry, feel free to take it out on me,” I chuckled, leaning down to give her a quick kiss.
“So kind of you,” she deadpanned, her face softening. “You guys are okay? They didn’t rough you up in there or anything?”
“Nah, we didn’t really see anyone until Slash was shoved in the cell too.”
“Have you slept?”
“Without your snoring, I slept like a baby,” I teased, earning a swat to the arm as she let my hand go.
“I don’t snore.”
“You do,” Zavier said as we reached him, a grin on his face. “Like a freight train.”
“But it’s a cute little freight train,” I added, and Beckett rolled her eyes.
“Felons in the back, girls up front.”
“Who’s driving then?” I asked dryly, and she flipped me off.
“Me, obviously.”
“You’re the biggest felon out of all of us. You literally got charged with murder,” I grumbled, and she flipped me off.
“Me? I’m a contributing member to society. I simply took the trash out.”
We climbed in the back so Raven could fix the seat and get in the front, and Beckett headed in the direction of the Shed.
Raven
The Shed had been dead quiet when we arrived since it was only nine in the morning. Watching Slash hand the Psychos jacket over to Zavier made me realize exactly how badly he’d been wanting to be a part of them.
The skull on the logo seemed to stare at me as he slid it on and turned around to show us, the new black leather creaking from the movement.
“Hey, we’ve got his back,” Beckett murmured, nudging my shoulder and drawing my attention away from him.
“It’s the only reason I’m okay with this.”
“I won’t lie to you and say he’ll never get hurt, it happens often, but we like breathing around here, so I can promise you we’ll do everything in our power to keep him alive.”
I turned back to him, his face lit up as he talked to Slash, and I knew I’d definitely made the right choice.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this happy,” I said absently, and Beckett snorted.
“I can guarantee he was happier the first time he fucked you. He’s been wanting you forever, the crew came second to that.”
“How comforting,” I said dryly, giving her the side-eye. “Does this mean he has to fight in the cage?”
She shook her head, crossing her arms. “We don’t force anyone into the cage unless they deserve it. Chances are high he’ll want to though. There’s a rush that comes with taking that jacket off and stepping into the cage to represent the crew.”
“I understand that, I love going to the Pit and proving I’m not all talk,” I smiled, trying to mentally shake off the nerves. “This is a good thing for him. I’m glad we’re all finding our place in life.”
“I had my bets on Logan becoming a male stripper, so now I need to figure out what other path he’ll take since he’s with you,” she sighed, acting like I’d inconvenienced her.
“He wants to help people. I think Diesel’s going to find him something at the community center when it’s up and running,” I replied, motioning to Ander as he talked to Rory. “Ander’s not likely to do much else other than what he’s doing now, and Reid will do something great too once he’s not babying us.”
“He’d be good at the center too. He has respect from the locals, but he also has a sense of authority around him. People would go to him for problems, I think,” Beckett nodded, pulling out a cigarette to light it.
I heard cars outside, recognizing the sound of Reid’s. We’d taken the Challenger and Supra to Beckett’s last night to make sure they were safe, and since Logan’s was still here to be repaired, it only left the house as a target.
Thankfully, that had lasted the night with no attacks.
Maddox and Jett both walked in the door with Reid and Logan, being their escort for the drive over, and Logan let out a wolf whistle when he saw Zavier.
“Looking good, baby! There’s no way that hottie is my bestie!”
Zavier grinned, doing a little turn and holding his arms out. “You like?”
“Love,” Logan corrected, practically jumping on him to give him a hug. “Congratulations, dude.”
Beckett sighed, blowing smoke in my face. “Their bromance really is so sweet that it’s sickening.”
I snickered as Jett jumped on them too, all three of them ending up in a tangle of limbs on the ground as Slash just shook his head and smiled.
“There’s something wrong with them,” Maddox grumbled as he appeared beside us, sliding his arms around Beckett from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. “Nothing eventful happened?”
“Nope. Hopefully Zavier’s stunt last night will show them that we’re not playing,” Beckett answered, and I cringed a little at the reminder.
I could still smell burning flesh, and I really hoped the mess had been cleared up at home. One of the windows had shattered from the blast, so Rory had organized someone to fix it while we were at Beckett’s.
“Where are you guys going today?” Maddox asked, and it took me a second to realize he was talking to me.
“Oh, we’re heading to the Pit later. There’s some fights on, and Slash wants Zavier to show off his jacket or something,” I replied, his eyes sliding to Zavier.
“Be careful. I don’t think the mafia give a fuck about the jacket, so they could still attack you. Keep a weapon on you at all times, preferably a knife and a gun. You won’t be bothered by the cops as much now that jacket’s in your home, but if you have problems, call my parents. Mom likes going after them for harassment, and they usually leave her alone because of it.”
“Zavier being a Psycho doesn’t give the rest of us immunity.”
He faced me, dropping an arm around Beckett’s shoulders instead. “Yeah, it does. Zavier is now part of us, which means his family is protected under us by default. If the cops pull any of you over and bother you, call. If someone’s giving you trouble, call. You have the right to let people know not to fuck with you, okay?”
“What happens if you guys do come and help? Do we pay you or something?”
He smiled, shaking his head a little as if I was an idiot. “Family means family, Raven. End of story. Like it or not, but you’re one of us now. Besides, you’re technically family anyway since you’re dating my cousin.”
“You almost said that without cringing this time. Good for you,” I joked, and he flipped me off.
“Remember that I know how to kill someone and make the body vanish.”
“Not this one, I like her,” Beckett said as she elbowed him in the ribs.
“I like this one more than the others too,” Maddox grunted, and I knew he was talking about Zane without having to ask. He’d never hidden his dislike for their friendship.
I jumped as arms slid around me, but I relaxed when Reid chuckled in my ear. “Sorry, baby. Got the delinquents out of lock-up without a problem?”
“It scares me how much money can talk when it comes to the law,” I muttered, turning and giving him a kiss. “How’s your leg?”
“Full of regret and bad choices,” he said seriously. He’d managed to rest it at Beckett’s by lying back on the couch and gaming with Logan and Jett most of the night. Beckett had surrounded it with ice packs while calling him an idiot.
It had been nice hanging out with Beckett, and she’d tried explaining what it was like every time Maddox or herself had been hauled into a cell overnight. With both of them serving prison time, I figured she knew what she was talking about.
The guys had been safer in that cell than we’d been on the outside, and stressing did nothing. She told me stories about her trip to prison, and it was interesting to hear what it was actually like on the inside.
I wasn’t at all surprised to know Rory was a bit of a legend in there, but I was surprised to find out Lexi had been at the top of the food chain. She seemed so sweet and quiet, but Beckett said the stories she’d heard were way different.
Some of their prison buddies were still locked up in there all these years later, and they’d helped Beckett for her stay too.
“What do you think, baby?” Zavier asked, his voice a little unsure as he approached. I couldn’t lie, he looked hot, even if it scared the hell out of me to see him in it.
“Keep it on later when we go to bed,” I said with a smirk, relief filling his face at my playful answer.
“Sold. I think this is the nicest piece of clothing I’ve ever owned,” he scoffed, admiring the leather sleeves.
I hesitated before reaching out to touch it, a small smile on my face. “It’s really nice, Zav.”
He grinned, grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from Reid to give me a kiss.
“You want to go show me off? It’s like scary dog privileges, right?”
“Always knew he was a good boy,” Maddox muttered, but he clapped him on the shoulder in silent congratulations before walking off.
“Do you guys need an escort home?” Beckett asked, but I shook my head.
“We’ll head to yours for the Supra, then go home to check on the house.”
“It’s been checked, Skeet and Hunter made sure this morning, and the Thieves have had security running all night too.”
“Thanks. We’ll see you later.”
“Sure thing. Raven? Head on a swivel,” she warned, giving the guys the same look before walking after Maddox.
“Did I hear you say we need to pick up my car?” Ander asked with narrowed eyes, his shoulders loosening when I replied.
“I didn’t want to leave it at the house. I know you’ve let me drive it in the past, so I figured I’d take it to Beckett’s where it was safe.”
“You didn’t let Logan drive it?” he asked slowly, and Logan scoffed, jumping on his back.
“Hey! I’ve driven it before and I drove it really good!”
“Emergency situations don’t count.”
“I think the risk of the mafia damaging it sounds like an emergency,” Logan huffed as he slid off him, checking his phone. “Drake said we’re good to head home. He’s got his system working again for now, so he’ll tell us if anything goes haywire to give us a heads up.”
“Fingers crossed that doesn’t happen,” Zavier replied, and we all said goodbye to Rory and Slash before heading outside to the car.