Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
RAVEN
W e’d all crashed hard when we got home from the Thieves’ compound on Sunday night, and Monday hadn’t uncovered any more clues to Blake’s whereabouts.
It was now Tuesday morning, and Ander had left to help the Thieves scour through footage, while the rest of us went to work. I was a little stressed about Zavier, I knew he was going to a meeting with the Kings this morning, but I had to remind myself that Slash would keep him safe.
It was unlikely the crews would go to war again, but never impossible.
Ander was a ball of tension, and no amount of sex marathons was calming him. The silence on Dante was starting to get to him, and I knew he needed answers soon or he’d do something stupid.
Reid dropped me off at Rory’s on his and Logan’s way to the community center, and I’d barely walked through the door when Gregory almost bowled me over.
“They’re adopting them all. It’s been approved already. Their house is huge, probably even bigger than this one! They’re building a playground in their backyard and everything!”
“Good morning to you too,” I teased, closing the door behind me. “It’s been approved?”
“Yes! They’re all going to live in Kingslake!” His voice cracked despite his excitement, and I gave him a small smile.
“You got to go to the house and check it out then? Are you happy with it?”
He followed me into the kitchen, nodding. “It’s really nice. They gave me their phone number so I can call them to visit whenever I want. They’re enrolling them in school stuff too. They’re going into the private school system, so they’ll get a really good education. They’re already securing their places in Kingslake Academy too. Even the twins. They’re only three!”
I chuckled at his confusion, giving his shoulder a nudge. “Rich people have to secure their place early. I’ve heard of some people doing it for unborn babies even. It’s a whole different world, dude.”
“Nancy’s getting a pony. She got all excited when she saw photos of horses in her new bedroom, which they all get their own, by the way, and apparently their friends own a riding stable. They can put the pony at the stable and take Nancy there to ride it.”
“That’s nice of them.”
“All of them get swimming lessons, and can pick something they want to do, like sports or art. I thought rich people were mean, but they’re super nice. They’re letting me stay with them this week to help the kids all settle in,” he added, relief filling me.
Knowing all the kids would be safely away from the danger made me feel so much better, and I’d bet money on Rory putting that idea in their heads to make sure Gregory was safely out of harm’s way and to ensure the transition was as stress-free as possible.
“You sure you don’t want to go? Hell, I want to move in with them too,” I joked, his nose scrunching.
“I like it here.”
“I get it. I like it here too,” I replied, glancing around. “Where is everyone?”
“Mostly at work, I think. Rory’s stress cleaning some guy’s room upstairs, me and Frank are watching a movie with Alex, and Lara is with Jade. I’m glad Frank and Lara have nice people to look out for them. Alex is really cool, and I met Harley too. Apparently, they own a bar here?” he questioned.
“Rory’s son’s coming home in two days. He’s Beckett’s twin,” I explained. “And yeah, Harley’s Bar is the most popular bar in town. They serve really good food all day. It’s more like a family diner with booze and pool tables. I’ve been there. They do the best chocolate shakes.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a shake.”
“We’ll have to fix that,” Alex said as he walked into the kitchen from the living room, looking offended. “It should be against the law to not try a shake.”
“How much are they?” he asked hesitantly, but Alex waved a dismissive hand at him. “It’s on the house. You think I’d make Frank’s best friend pay for a shake? I don’t think so. How about you boys finish your movie and then we can go to the bar for lunch? We have good burgers too.”
“We get burgers too?” he asked with surprise, distrust filling his eyes. “Why?”
“They give me free food too. No strings,” I said to ease his anxiety, patting his shoulder. “And he’s not wrong, the burgers are really good.”
“Are you coming with us?” he asked hopefully, and I wasn’t really sure. I was technically here to watch the kids, but it seemed there were no kids here.
“She’s helping me today. Sorry, Greg,” Rory said as she strolled in, a pile of laundry in her arms and her hair tied up in a messy bun.
“Don’t you have staff for that?” I joked, but I was also a little serious. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t really seen staff here at all.
She shook her head, dropping the laundry on the floor as she started grabbing jackets and baby bibs from around the kitchen. “Not anymore. Sarah was our housekeeper and did most of it, but we finally convinced her to retire before Christmas. Bought her a nice little house in Lightning Cove by the beach as a Christmas gift, alongside a retirement paycheck. She wasn’t too happy, she likes being useful, but she’s tired. Had to force it on her.”
“She was your only staff?”
“We’ve had cleaners and chefs, but Lukas and Jensen took care of a lot of the household stuff. We’re looking into hiring people again soon once they’re working full-time.”
“I can clean,” I offered, earning a scowl.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I’ll need you for other things, and then you’ll be studying. I want your sole focus to be on school once that happens.”
“I need money,” I said in a slight panic, making her frown.
“You’ll still do some babysitting for me, but you guys are used to sharing income, right? Logan and Reid are pulling in two full-time incomes, Zavier will be earning good money by then, and your mafia prince is loaded. I think they’d all agree with me that studying is more important for you.”
“I like being independent,” I sighed, and Gregory raised an eyebrow at me.
“Then you need to go to school and get your fancy teacher job.”
Alex laughed, patting his shoulder. “You tell her. Speaking of school, you’d better study hard too.”
I expected Gregory to grumble about it once the novelty wore off, but he was still super excited.
“Oh! Did Rory tell you she hired a tutor for me and Frank? We’re working with him a few days a week to try and catch up to the other kids before school starts after summer break. It’s only a few months away, but we won’t feel so dumb on the first day now.”
“I hope you said thank you.”
“We did. A lot,” he admitted, and Rory disappeared into the living room in search of more dirty clothes, her voice trailing behind her.
“They start lessons in two weeks. We wanted to get Greg’s siblings settled in their new home first so Greg can focus, and it means Frank and Lara can be settled in at Jade’s too.”
“Make sure you work your ass off,” I said quietly, holding Gregory’s gaze. “This is an amazing opportunity.”
“I will if you do,” he sassed, making me huff out a laugh.
“Deal. Go finish your movie and enjoy your lunch. I need to see what Rory wanted me for.”
He scampered off, and Alex watched him go with a small smile. “He’s a good kid. He was a little bit standoffish with me at first, but he’s relaxed now.”
“Has Landon met them yet? Going from being an only child to a big brother to a baby and a twelve-year-old can be rough, especially since I have a feeling that Gregory will be around all the time too,” I pointed out, making him shrug.
“Landon met them the other day. Frank and Greg had a gaming day at our house to get a feel for things, and Landon spent a few hours gaming with them. They seem to be doing okay together. He’s also a grown man though, which helps. I don’t think only child syndrome will hit him. He’s barely home these days anyway.”
“Secret girlfriend?” I teased, amusement flashing in his eyes.
“If Landon had a girlfriend, his mother would know. He’s a momma's boy.”
I didn’t want to burst their bubble that even the kids who were like that had secrets, so I smiled.
“Well, I’m glad they’re getting along.”
Rory wandered out with more laundry, adding it to the pile before scooping it all up and walking towards the hallway again. “Raven, follow me.”
Alex went back to the living room, and I trailed after Rory as she made her way to the laundry room to get some loads on, my eyes scanning the multiple machines.
With fifteen to twenty people always living here, no wonder there were multiple machines.
“What did you need me for today?” I asked, still a little confused since the kids weren’t around.
“Didn’t really have a plan, to be honest. Figured you’d want to be out of the house while the guys were all busy,” she answered as she shoved clothes in the machine. “I have a few things to do today, so you can ride with me.”
“Like what? Please don’t take me to a murder meeting,” I groaned, making her snort.
“Nothing like that. I have to do groceries, drop a car off for a service, and check in with Lex. She’s just purchased a storefront on the edge of Blackwater, and I want to check it out.”
I frowned. “Why did she do that? She runs Wet Dreams, right?”
“She does, but Violet finally decided to retire from stripping, she’s been doing it forever, so Lexi offered her a job managing the girls. Lexi still has to do a lot of paperwork, but she doesn’t need to be at Wet Dreams every night now that Vi is taking over a lot.”
“So, what will Lexi do?”
“Opening a tattoo studio.”
“Lexi does tattoos?” I asked with surprise, and Rory motioned to her arms as she stood straight.
“She did mine in prison when we were cellmates. She does most of ours, but she’s been itching to do it more lately, so Vi’s time of needing a new job worked well. If you ever get tats, go to Lex. She’s good.”
“I can’t afford stuff like that, and I can’t if I’m going to be a teacher.”
“If they don’t hire you because of tattoos, I’ll take them to court,” she scoffed, putting one more load in before walking out of the room. I followed, and she continued. “If you could have any tattoo, what would it be?”
“Probably my brother’s name. I want my tattoos to mean something if I ever get them,” I said, and she chuckled.
“It might start out like that, but then you crave that ink and needle.”
“What was your first tattoo?”
She stopped walking, shrugging her jacket off, and pointing to a tattoo on her shoulder blade. “I got this tattoo not long after I met Skeet.”
“Warrior?” I asked, wondering what the meaning behind it was.
“Yeah. One of the Psychos did it while drinking one night. Probably wasn’t the best idea, but I was seventeen and angry with the world. Shitty dad, no mom, and I felt like I’d survived so many things by then. I had, but so much more was coming. I’m still here though, so I guess I’m a warrior after all.”
“You just let some random guy tattoo you while drunk?”
“Hey, I bet you didn’t have your brain screwed on at seventeen either,” she teased, and I winced.
“No, not really. I was mostly daydreaming about Zavier, to be honest.”
That made her laugh, and she put her jacket back on. “I knew you two would hit it off once you admitted your feelings.”
“The feelings weren’t the issue, it was the guard dogs,” I deadpanned as we moved into the kitchen.
“Alex? We’re heading out. Lock up when you leave,” she called out, not bothering to go into the living room as she walked back along the hallway to the internal garage door.
She grabbed some keys out of a coded box on the wall, my eyes going wide. There were so damn many. It shouldn’t have been a surprise since there were millions of dollars worth of cars in here, but still.
She tossed me a set, making me frown. “I’m driving?”
“I’m dropping Jensen’s Camaro off at the mechanics, so you’ll have to drive mine and follow me or we won’t have a car,” she replied as she put the garage door up and headed towards the Camaro.
“I have to drive by myself? Rory, this car?—”
“You drove it fine last time. I won’t race off on you, promise.”
She climbed into the black Camaro and shut the door, leaving me to scramble towards her red Maserati. I started it and let it warm up since it appeared she was doing the same with Jensen’s car, and once she started backing out, I followed.
Anxiety built in my chest at knowing I was driving more money than I’d ever seen in my entire life, but I was glad that Rory stuck to her word and cruised without taking off ahead.
I tried to relax into my seat, cracking the window a fraction to let the air flow in, and relief filled me when Rory turned into the mechanics and I pulled up out front, waiting for her to join me.
It took her five minutes, and I went to climb out when she started walking towards me, but she shook her head and walked around the car.
I guessed I was driving again.
It wasn’t so bad when I had her in the car with me, and I let her guide me to where Lexi’s new shop was.
There were a lot of shops along here, and the trees and benches along the sidewalk gave it a cute vibe. It looked like a nice place to sit and drink coffee on a sunny day.
Rory pushed the glass door open with a grin, inspecting the room as we stepped inside. “Looks great, Lex.”
Lexi’s head popped up from behind a counter, her blonde hair in a braid down her back, and her face almost free of makeup as she organized things.
“It’s getting there. The renovations are done, it’s mostly just setting things up now. Hey, Raven.”
“Hey,” I said awkwardly, glancing around too. The walls were covered in art, the sleek, black furniture all shiny and new. I could still smell the light scent of paint and sawdust, but I kind of liked it.
“C’mon, check out the stations,” Lexi beamed, ushering us further into the shop where four leather chairs and counters were spaced out in their own sections.
“You found other artists? Or are you just getting ahead of yourself?” Rory joked, and Lexi rolled her eyes.
“I have another artist starting on opening day, and I have a possible apprentice joining soon too. Considering bringing one more qualified artist in too.”
“Can you juggle all of this with Tempest coming home next week?”
“It’s why I haven’t set an opening date just yet. I want to be home a lot for the first few weeks. We’re going to have some girl time.”
“Won’t they want to dive straight into getting their own house again?” I asked carefully, unsure if they even remembered that I was here listening to their conversation.
Lexi sighed, shrugging slightly. “It’s possible, but for now, they’ve both agreed to live at home separately to adjust. Tempest still has a lot of co-dependency issues, so we’re continuing to help her with that when she gets here. They can still see each other and sometimes stay over, but they’re both on individual journeys and have different healing to tackle.”
“You’ll be receiving an apology from Ry at some point,” Rory told me, making me frown.
“Why?”
“Ry is… complicated. He’s super sweet when he’s sober, but he turns into an asshole when not. He was an asshole to you.” My face heated at talking to her about the fact I’d made out with her son and almost let him take my virginity, but she gave me a knowing look. “I don’t condone my kids being pushy towards others, and he knows he freaked you out that night purely to try and start a fight with the guys. He holds a lot of self-blame and hate for his actions, and part of his process to move forward is facing those people to apologize.”
“Oh, he doesn’t?—”
“He does,” she corrected, eyeing me. “You might not want it, but he needs to know you forgive him. Unless you don’t, then I get it, but it’s been recommended that he does this. If you could hear him out, I’d appreciate it.”
“I can do that. He didn’t freak me out that much, and I know he’s a different person when sober. I hope it helps him move on,” I replied slowly, unsure if the guys would love that idea or not, but if it helped Ryder, then it was worth it.
He wasn’t a bad person.
“So, you want to get the first tattoo in here?” Lexi asked, and it took me a second to realize she was talking to me.
“Oh, um, I don’t have the money for that,” I said with embarrassment, earning a look of amusement.
“I wasn’t going to charge you. C’mon, help me christen my new shop by getting some ink. Whatever you want, unless it’s huge.”
Rory raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for my answer.
“I don’t know what I want,” I said quickly, and Rory snorted.
“You just told me earlier you’d get Josh’s name.”
“Yeah, but what font? Style? I don’t know,” I shrugged, and Lexi turned to the front counter, grabbing some folders and bringing them over.
“Here. These are a bunch of different fonts I can do.”
I took it, flipping it open to have a look. I almost dropped it from how nervous I was.
“Be honest, will it hurt?” I asked, and Lexi smirked.
“I’m shoving ink into your skin with a needle. It’s not going to feel like fun. It depends where you want it too.” I pointed to my inner forearm, and she nodded. “That’s a good spot. Most people say it’s not too bad there. Donovan didn’t squeal too much when I did hers.”
“Bitch,” Rory grumbled, crossing her arms. “It’s more like a warm scratch, you’ll be fine.”
I paused on a graffiti font, the colors looking like the paint was dripping slightly. It was similar to how I did my text when I painted.
“This one,” I said as I pointed at it, and Lexi nodded.
“Easy. You wanted the name Josh?”
“Yeah. He was my brother.”
“I’ll sketch it up and see what you think. Keep looking for color schemes if you want.”
She walked over to her booth, and Rory excused herself to take a phone call, leaving me alone to look through the folders while I waited.
Hopefully, I didn’t look like a little bitch and do something dumb like cry.