Chapter Five
Raven
This is what I get for being a sucker for a pretty face.
And Hades was a really fucking pretty face, damn him.
His black buzz cut, steel gray eyes that saw too much, a chiseled jaw bracketing a straight nose and a full, kissable mouth.
The memory of his words telling me I was a survivor played through my mind all night long.
Like most of the Steel Demons he was more action than emotion, but yesterday he’d been more gentle than gruff, more encouraging than annoyed.
It was a mindfuck on top of a mindfuck of a day.
But it was him begging me to let him help me—and being sincere about it—that stuck with me.
What he didn’t know and what my brother didn’t know was that they’d be helping me again.
That part would come out soon enough, but first I hit the shower and dressed so fucking early that I didn’t hear a peep on the other side of the door.
I spent nearly an hour staring out the window, mulling over Hades’ words and my past. He was right that it wasn’t completely in the past anymore, which meant I needed to figure my shit out. Quickly.
Hades said he wanted me to think about it, but I knew he wouldn’t give me too long, not with my safety potentially at risk. So after another thirty minutes of staring at cars rushing by on the highway, I made up my mind.
The last time I went through this, I was a na?ve teenager with a bad attitude and a big ass chip on my shoulder, and I was alone. This time I’d have my brother and his brothers, the entire Steel Demons MC. This time I could face it, and if I couldn’t, they could.
With determined steps, I forced myself to walk down the stairs and through the clubhouse until I stood outside the office.
Slate would be in there, he always was and he was the man I needed at the moment.
I raised my hand, knocking as I opened the door.
“Oh shit. Sorry.” I looked away from Emma straddling Slate in his office chair, making out like horny teenagers. “I’ll come back later.”
“No, don’t,” Emma insisted. “You interrupted at just the right moment,” she offered with a slow smile, her cheeks flushed.
“Right’s not the word I’d use,” Slate grumbled, adjusting himself when she slid from his lap.
“Ash starts coding camp today and we just came to say goodbye.”
“Why she needs to learn to code at a camp when I’m her dad, I have no fucking clue.”
She laughed. “So she doesn’t become a grouchy fucker like you, babe.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and waved to me as she left the room.
The room fell silent for a few seconds before Slate turned to me with a smile. “What can I do for you, Raven?”
Okay, it’s now or never. “Remember how we met?”
His smile faded and he gave a sharp nod. “Not exactly easy to forget.”
“Right.” I shook my head and told him about Katya. “Before she died, she gave me this. She said people were hunting her and she trusted me to help.” I handed him the flash drive, my hand shook like crazy. “Just look and you’ll get it.”
He took the drive and shoved it into a small laptop that looked a lot like mine.
After a few minutes he nodded, seemingly relieved.
“No viruses, that’s good.” He plugged it into his computer and pulled the files up on big screens.
File after file he read under his breath, his eyes growing bigger by the second. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah,” I sighed and pointed to the folder labeled ‘PROPERTY RETRIEVAL’.
Slate clicked on it, eyes darting across each photo until he landed on my face. “Fuck,” he groaned and then frowned. “Who the fuck is Daisy?”
I looked away. “That was the name he gave me.”
“Motherfucker,” he growled.
“Yeah,” I sighed, nodding. “I don’t think they know where I am, but the fact that I’m on that list doesn’t bode well for me, especially considering what happened to Katya.”
Slate pressed his thumbs into his eyes and sighed heavily. When he looked up at me, his eyes were filled with sympathy. “I can’t keep this from the MC, Raven.”
“I know and I’m not asking you to. Macy told Falcon and Hades, not the truth but they know it’s something. Hades convinced me it was better to loop you in early, and I wanted to give you this first so that the guys all have time to digest this.”
There it was, fucking sympathy again. He must’ve sensed my frustration because the look vanished and he nodded. “Go have some breakfast. I’ll do the rest and let you know when I need you.”
“Yeah, okay. Thanks, Slate.” I left the office and went to fill my plate with more food than I planned to eat and sat staring at it until Macy’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Don’t hate me. You hate me, don’t you?” She took the seat right beside me and stared at my face too closely. “I didn’t give away any details,” she rushed on. “I just couldn’t stand them thinking you let some asshole lure you into a life of drugs and dumbassery.”
My lips twitched. “Dumbassery?”
“Yeah. I mean it’s one thing if it was true, but the truth is different. It’s worse and it’s not fair to let that story persist.” She reached out and laid her hand over mine. “Don’t hate me.”
“I don’t hate you, Mace.” I told her about my conversation with Hades last night. “He convinced me to talk to the MC and let them help.”
Her expression brightened. “That’s good. It’ll be hard talking about this again and if you want me there to hold your hand or just be support, say the word.”
“Thanks, but I think I need to do this on my own.” I didn’t know why but it felt like something I should do.
“Well, the offer stands.” She glanced over my shoulder and her eyes widened. “I think you’re being summoned.”
I looked behind me and saw Hades standing with his arms crossed and his eyes on me. He didn’t have to say anything else.
I stood and piled a slice of toast with eggs and bacon, shoving it into my mouth despite my lack of appetite. “I’ll see you later.” My legs were surprisingly steady as I walked towards Hades.
“You good?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know but this has to be done either way, right?”
“I guess. Come on, badass.”
That put a small smile on my lips, and it gave me the strength I needed to walk inside that office and bare my secrets. I looked at Slate and he nodded before turning to the room.
“Viktor Kozlov is the owner and chief operating officer of Elite Connections, a charitable organization that’s a front for his human trafficking operation.
It’s an international network that spans at least twenty countries and it’s hidden behind shell companies for the purposes of money laundering.
” Slate shook his head and tapped a button to bring up the file where my photo was.
“What the fuck?” Falcon stood, his eyes wide and wild.
I nodded, averting my gaze as I spoke. “I was nineteen and looking for a job. I met this guy who told me about a job cleaning houses for rich people and I jumped on it, which was a horrible fucking mistake.” I swallowed hard and closed my eyes because I couldn’t bear to look at any of them while I spoke.
“I passed out on my first day of work and when I woke up, I was chained to a wall with about nine other girls. There was an… auction but Viktor kept me as his and for three years I never left his side. Well,” I hesitated.
“I ran away twice but I never got far until you guys rescued me.”
“What?” My brother flipped out again. “You all knew about this?”
“It was a small rescue operation,” Diesel said, his voice deep and cold. “The information was given to us by a friend and we moved quickly, that’s what matters. The rest was Raven’s story to tell.” His eyes met mine and he gave me a short nod.
I looked up at the photo of me from what felt like a million years ago and sighed.
I wasn’t that girl, not anymore. “Katya was a member of a support group I run at the community center, and she gave me this USB. She told me she was being hunted. At first, I thought she had an abusive boyfriend, but she came and spoke to me after a meeting and told me she’d been trafficked.
I assumed she escaped an organization similar to the one that took me and they wanted her back.
When I looked at the information she gave me, I realized it was the same people who took me.
Now, I think they were looking for the information she took.
” My hands were damp and cold, and I shoved them in my pockets and finally met the gazes of the men who were now in this with me. “I’m worried they’ll realize I’m here.”
“Why?” The question came from Hades.
“I don’t know, honestly. But knowing what they’re like, they’ll probably check out anyone Katya had been in contact with.
I might have changed my appearance but knowing they’re still looking for me…
If they see my photo, then they’ll know it’s me…
I’m scared.” Admitting it out loud made me nauseous but there was the truth, laid bare.
“I agree,” Diesel’s voice boomed from the back of the room. “We need around-the-clock protection for Raven until Viktor is behind bars or in the ground.”
“I’ll do it.” Hades never took his eyes off me.
“I’ll do it,” Falcon insisted as I knew he would. “She’s my sister.”
“You’re too emotional,” Diesel insisted, his gaze focused on my brother. “Raven won’t listen to you anyway. Hades can handle it. Right?”
He stood, chest puffed out and shoulders broad, taking up as much room as possible. “Damn right I can.” He turned to my brother and said, “If not you, me. I won’t let anything happen to her.” His gaze flicked to mine. “I promise you that.”
I nodded.
“You better not,” Falcon responded, finally giving up the fight.
I knew I was safe with Hades. He saw me as a sister, and he’d protect me like I was his own.