Chapter Ten
Hades
Those Russian motherfuckers. There was no goddamn doubt in my mind those assholes were sent by Viktor Kozlov.
She hid it well, but the way Raven flinched when that asshole called her Daisy had my protective instincts firing on all cylinders.
My hands balled into fists, and I was ready to lay both of them out, but they were playing the long game.
They wanted to get in her head and make her do something stupid, or worse, reckless.
They were in her head, which meant it was up to me to make sure she didn’t go the stupid or reckless route.
I gripped the handlebars so fucking tight my knuckles were white the whole ride back to the clubhouse. I kept my promise, taking the long way back but not to give Raven more time outside, this time it was to make sure we weren’t being followed.
We weren’t. Thank fuck.
My whole fucking body was wound tight when I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, hitting the brakes a little too hard.
I waited with my jaw clenched for Raven to get off the bike, and when she did, I finally let myself relax, but only for a moment.
I swung my leg off the bike, carefully removing Raven’s helmet before I grabbed her hand and tugged her inside. To safety.
“That was close,” she finally whispered. She tried for amusement but the way she clutched my hand told me she was still shaken. Good, she should be.
“It was too fucking close,” I growled. My anger and worry mixed together until it was a thick concoction of furious biker. “We’re going to the safe house.” The moment I heard that one fucking word, Daisy, I knew it was true.
“What?” Her eyes went wide with shock as if she couldn’t believe this was the outcome. “That’s not necessary.”
“The fuck it isn’t,” I roared a hell of a lot louder than I needed to. “You do remember what just happened, right?”
She yanked her hand from mine and stepped back like she was just betrayed. “It was one little run-in,” she shot back, but she wrapped both arms around her midsection. Betrayed by her own body.
“Yeah?” I stepped close, leaned down until we were face to face. “And your blood didn’t run cold when he called you Daisy?”
She flinched again and I fucking hated myself for it, but yeah, I was trying to prove a point. “Of course I did!” She shoved at my chest. “But that doesn’t mean we need to let them scare me into hiding!”
“Raven,” I growled low enough that only she could hear me, even though I felt the eyes of some of my brothers and their old ladies watching us.
“Hades,” she growled back, somehow injecting annoyance into that one sound.
“This isn’t up for discussion. You agreed, remember?” I smiled but it wasn’t a real smile, it was just acknowledgement that I had her cornered.
“Yeah, of course I fuckin’ remember, but that’s because I was operating under the mistaken assumption that you’d be reasonable.” She crossed her arms as if she needed to put some distance between us.
“This is me being reasonable.” I smacked my palm against my chest. “If I wasn’t, you’d be tossed over my shoulder kicking and screaming while I whisked you away.”
Her eyes darkened and goddammit, my cock noticed and he liked that look. A lot. Down boy. “I am not a piece of property to be moved around.”
“Goddamn right you’re not.” I risked my life by reaching out to touch her in this angry state, but she didn’t pull away and she didn’t knee me in the balls, so I took it as a win. “You’re my friend and Falcon’s sister and I promised I wouldn’t let shit happen to you and I take that seriously.”
She just glared at me.
“Look, I know you’re scared and you’re wanting to take back some control, but you know yourself that you don’t mess with Russian mobsters. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me and I say we’re heading to the safe house.”
She shook her head and glared right into my eyes. “Fuck. That.”
I took a step back and smiled. “Guess we’ll do it the hard way, then.”
Confusion flashed for a few seconds before her expression shifted to disbelief. “You wouldn’t.”
I shrugged. “The Russians found us.” I said the words just loud enough that the music seemed to fade into the background as the room fell silent. “They intercepted us as we were leaving lunch. Called her by her name,” I said. “Her other name.”
Her eyes narrowed and her jaw was clenched tight, the only other sign of her anger was the red staining her cheeks and neck. “Asshole,” she mouthed the words to me.
“You did this.” I turned to Falcon first on one side of the room and then Diesel on the other. “We’re going to the safe house.”
“Damn right you are,” Falcon agreed in an angry grunt.
“It’s for the best,” Diesel answered with a short nod and a look of sympathy in his eyes because he knew, as we all did, Raven wouldn’t make it easy.
“What the fuck, guys?” She looked around the room, her eyes held a world of hurt and betrayal. “This is… bullshit.”
I knew that look. She felt ganged up on, like she was on her own. It was the same way I felt when I got kicked out of the Army.
Her brother was the first to move. Falcon was on his feet and in her face in seconds. “It’s not bullshit,” he shouted back. “It’s the best way to keep you safe. Don’t argue with me.”
“Fuck you, Falcon!” She pushed him away. “This is my life and I get some say.”
“No the fuck you don’t,” he growled. “You think I wanna find your body one day, slit from throat down? You think I want these assholes to get their hands on you?” He shook his head. “No. Keeping you at the safe house is the only way to keep you alive.”
The siblings were both red in the face, chests heaving.
I stepped between them with my back to my best friend before resting my hands on Raven’s shoulders.
“This isn’t up for discussion, Raven. I’m sorry that you feel like we’re taking your voice but…
” I stopped at the look of hurt burning in her eyes.
“That guy knew who you were and that sure as shit was not an accidental run-in.” I gave her a moment to let those words sink in.
She shook her head, still unwilling to give up the fight. “That doesn’t mean we need to take off to the middle of nowhere.”
I tried another tactic because I understood where she was coming from.
Raven was a fighter, a survivor, but this wasn’t just about her.
“Do you want to risk them attacking the clubhouse to get to you? What about everyone here? You want to put them at risk?” It was a low goddamn blow, and I damn well knew it, but she needed to hear the truth and that was it.
“Dick,” she grumbled and shook off my touch.
She glared at me so hard I swear to fuck I felt an icy sliver crawl up my spine.
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll be ready to go in fifteen.
” She glared at me again and then Falcon, and then the rest of the men who would back me up, earning her wrath all in the name of keeping her safe. Then she stomped off.
Pissed off but compliant wasn’t how I wanted it, but all I cared about was keeping her safe. Raven wouldn’t admit it, not ever, but she was scared. I saw the fear in her eyes when that asshole called her Daisy, and I saw the way all the color drained from her skin.
“She’s scared and she’ll never say that shit, but I’ll make sure she’s fine,” I said to Diesel and Falcon.
“I know you will,” Diesel acknowledged. “Let us know if you need anything.”
“I will.”
***
Riding home to pack a bag gave me time to adjust to the reality of being in close quarters with Raven for the foreseeable future.
I reminded myself it was for her own damn good.
I needed to remind my dick too, because no matter the seriousness of what was going on, the thought of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with Raven was far too appealing.
When I got back to the clubhouse, one of our prospects, Fang, took my bag. “Me and Danny are going to the cabin now, taking all your shit so we don’t draw attention,” he explained.
“Thanks.”
He nodded and took off towards the van that probably held food and drinks, toiletries, and whatever else the girls thought we’d need.
“Hey,” Falcon called out. “Take care of her. She’s strong but she’s not as tough as she would have the world believe. Keep her close. I trust you.” His gaze locked on mine, and I knew what it cost him to say those words.
Falcon and Raven never had an easy life. Their folks bailed early and it was just the two of them, so trust didn’t come easy. I’d earned it through years of loyal friendship, and I didn’t take that shit lightly.
Except the part where I wanted to claim his sister as mine.
“I’ll take care of her, brother.”
He nodded. “I’m gonna go say bye.”
“Protect your balls,” I called out, knowing Raven had thirty minutes to build up a good cloud of anger.
He flipped me off.
I told myself everything was going to be okay, but when Slate approached me with a serious expression, doubts crept in. “What’s up?”
He held up a phone. “Gimme yours and take this. It’s clean and not registered to anybody. Use this to call us and receive messages.”
I handed him my phone, knowing he’d keep it safe. “What’s going on?”
“Just being safe,” he answered easily. Too fuckin’ easily if you asked me. “We got three different safe houses ready just to make sure you’re safe. Been digging into Kozlov and bribery is his go-to move, by any means necessary so I ain’t taking no fucking precautions.”
I nodded even though I didn’t know what the fuck that meant and I didn’t ask because my focus was on the road ahead, the enemies behind us, and long days and nights alone.
With Raven.