Chapter 20 Raven
The light from the nightstand lamp casts a shadow on Carver’s face, but it doesn’t hide the hurt in his eyes.
“Why are you afraid of me, Raven?”
“I’m not…” I stop when he growls.
“You just said you were. Don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth. I want to know what you’re thinking. I want to know what I did to make you think I’d ever hurt you.”
He looks at me then—really looks at me—with a mixture of concern and disappointment that twists painfully in my chest like he hates the distance between us but doesn’t know how to cross it.
I swallow hard.
“You want the truth?” My laugh comes out thin and shaky.
He nods once.
I force myself to meet his eyes, even though it feels dangerous. “Fine. I’m honestly not afraid of you; that came out wrong.”
His brow furrows slightly.
“I’m afraid of how you make me feel.”
The words crack open something inside me. Because Carver makes me want reckless things—trust, surrender, permanence. And that terrifies me far more than violence ever could.
Carver steps closer, slow enough that I don’t instinctively retreat. His gaze stays fixed on mine, steady and certain.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Raven.”
My throat tightens.
“I mean it.” His voice drops lower, rough with conviction. “Nobody touches you again. Especially not Tony.”
The way he says Tony’s name makes a chill slide down my spine. Not fear this time—promise.
Carver drags a hand over his jaw and exhales sharply. “My protection starts there. That bastard doesn’t get near you again.”
I stare at him, caught between disbelief and the dangerous warmth spreading through my chest.
“You can’t guarantee that,” I whisper.
“Yes, I can.”
The certainty in his tone steals every argument from my tongue.
He glances toward the hallway before looking back at me. “Finishing packing. You’re staying at the clubhouse until we find him.”
The clubhouse.
The thought should terrify me, but somehow it feels safer than standing in my own apartment waiting for Tony to appear.
“I don’t—”
“You won’t be alone,” Carver says firmly.
A soft voice cuts in from the doorway. “I’ll help her finish.”
Min steps beside me, offering a small, reassuring smile.
Carver nods once. “Good. We leave in twenty minutes.”
Min grabs the pile of t-shirts and folds them. The apartment feels too small tonight, crowded with silence and things left unsaid. I shove another pair of socks into the side pocket just to give my hands something to do.
I feel Min watching me long before she finally speaks.
“You know what happened the night you were attacked. You also know why he’s after you.”
My fingers freeze around my hairbrush.
The words settle heavily between us.
Slowly, I look up. Min has her arms loosely crossed over her chest, her expression calm yet impossibly sharp. She already knows the answer.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mutter.
“Raven.”
Just my name. Soft. Patient. Somehow worse than if she pushed.
I look away first.
Min sighs quietly. “Why haven’t you told Shield?”
A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “Because Shield already told me Tony’s friends gave him an alibi.” I shove my underwear into the bag harder than necessary. “What’s the point? A bunch of men says Tony was somewhere else, and suddenly my word means nothing.”
Min’s brows pull together. “So you decided that for him?”
“That’s how it works.” My chest tightens as I speak. “Most cops don’t believe women. Especially when the guy has people willing to back him up.”
The words taste ugly because they’re true. Because experience has taught me exactly how quickly doubt appears in people’s eyes when a woman speaks up.
Min places her hand on my arm to still me. “Shield isn’t most cops.”
I don’t answer.
“He’s a Demon Dawg first,” she says firmly. “A cop second.”
That makes me look at her.
Min adjusts the clothes inside so they fit better. Her movements are calm, deliberate, like she’s trying to ground me with sheer steadiness.
“When one of our people gets hurt,” she continues, “Shield takes it personally. He protects this club before he protects the badge.”
My throat feels tight again.
“He’ll believe you, Raven.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
The certainty in her voice chips at the wall I’ve spent days building around myself.
I sit heavily on the edge of the bed, staring down at my trembling hands. Tony’s face flashes through my mind—the rage in his eyes, the bruising grip of his fingers, the sound of my own breathing as panic swallowed me whole.
Then another memory surfaces.
Shield sitting across from me earlier, his expression careful but frustrated as he explained the alibi. I’d heard disbelief where maybe there hadn’t been any. Maybe I’d expected betrayal before he even had the chance to choose differently.
Min rests a hand lightly on my shoulder. “You need to trust him.”
Trust.
The word terrifies me almost as much as Tony does.
But Min’s right about one thing: staying silent isn’t protecting me.
I inhale slowly and let the breath out. I’ll tell Shield the truth—at least a part of it. I’ll tell him Tony attacked me. I just won’t tell him why. Maybe it will be enough. My deepest secret feels too dangerous to put in his hands, yet.
The bedroom door creaks open behind me.
I stiffen instantly.
Carver steps inside first, broad shoulders filling the doorway, Shield right behind him. Neither man looks surprised, which means they heard everything.
Heat crawls up my neck.
Min rises quietly from beside the bed, giving Shield a pointed look before moving toward the corner of the room. Carver’s gaze locks onto mine immediately, dark eyes sharp with concern.
Shield shuts the door behind him. “You should know something, Raven.”
His voice is calm, measured. His cop voice. There’s something harder underneath it.
“I don’t believe Tony’s alibi.”
I blink at him.
Shield crosses his arms over his chest. “I told you his friends vouched for him because that’s the official statement.” His jaw tightens. “Doesn’t mean I buy it.”
A flicker of relief tries to break through my fear, but I force it down before it can grow dangerous.
Shield continues, “After our conversation, I started digging into Tony’s record.” His expression darkens. “Found a disturbing number of complaints.”
The room goes still.
“What kind of complaints?” I ask quietly, even though I already know.
“Harassment. Assault. Intimidation.” Shield’s mouth flattens. “Every single report fell apart because witnesses contradicted the victims.”
My stomach twists.
“Tony always has a friend or two backing him up,” Shield says. “Unfortunately, it isn’t always the same friend. He seems to have an endless supply willing to cover for him.”
Carver mutters a curse under his breath.
I wrap my arms around myself tighter.
Shield steps closer, not enough to crowd me, but enough that I can see the anger simmering behind his controlled expression. “So no, Raven. I don’t believe Tony over you.”
The words hit harder than they should. For several seconds, I don’t speak. I can’t. When I realize that I’ve been holding my breath, I release it before gulping in air.
Carver watches me carefully from near the door, his face unreadable except for the tension in his jaw like he’s holding himself back from breaking apart my room.
Shield softens his voice slightly. “Tell me what happened.”
Fear curls low in my stomach. But Min’s words echo in my mind. She said I need to trust him, and more importantly, that I can trust him.
I wet my lips nervously. “Tony is the one who attacked me behind his gym.”
Shield nods once, waiting.
“I cut through the parking lot to see if Min was at the dojo.” My voice sounds thin to my own ears.
Carver’s expression darkens instantly, like he already hates where this story is going.
“I didn’t realize anyone was there until he grabbed me.” My fingers tighten against my sleeves. “I think he had just come out of the gym.”
A muscle jumps in Carver’s cheek.
Shield stays calm. Focused. “Then what?”
“He punched me before shoving me against his car and wrapping his fingers around my throat.” My pulse pounds harder as the memory claws its way back. My throat tightens painfully. “I fought him, but I lost consciousness.”
Silence crashes into the room.
Carver looks ready to kill someone.
His hands flex at his sides, tattoos shifting over tense muscle as he stares at the floor for one dangerous second before dragging his gaze back to me.
“Why did Tony target you?” Shield asks carefully.
Panic spikes instantly at his question. This is where I either tell him my greatest secret or lie to everyone. The thought of Carver realizing I’m a murderer stops me from giving it away.
I look away.
“I—I don’t know.”
The lie tastes terrible.
Shield studies me long enough that I wonder if he can see straight through me.
Before he can press further, I rush to fill the silence. “He approached me at the sandwich shop a few days ago.”
That gets both their attention immediately.
“He what?” Carver’s voice drops into something deadly quiet.
I nod quickly. “I went to pick up lunch for Athena, and he was there. He was standing behind me when I turned to leave. I don’t know how long he was there. He hugged me and whispered in my ear that he was coming for me.” I shudder at the memory.
“Why didn’t you tell Shield all this?” Carver says.
“I didn’t think he would believe me. I had no proof. It was just my word against Tony’s.”
“I do believe you,” Shield says grimly.
I swallow hard and nod. “Thank you.”
Carver steps over before pulling me up from the bed. He wraps his arms around me. I melt into him, and for the first time in years, I feel truly safe. I also feel guilty for holding back.