We walk down the stairs to where we left Raven, but of course, she’s not where we left her.She never listens.Rushing through the kitchen, we see her standing at the basement doorway, almost like she’s too scared to go alone. I don’t blame her. It’s dark as fuck, plus the most god awful things happened to her down there. Laying my hand on her shoulder, she jumps and screams, but I put my finger over her mouth so she knows it’s me.
“Jesus fucking Christ. You’re going to give me a heart attack.” She jabs me in the shoulder with her finger.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to scare you. Let me go first,” I whisper, walking in front of her.
We walk down the cement stairs, and the temperature definitely drops. I can see fog every time I exhale, and sure, it’s November, but damn, it’s colder down here than outside. Reaching yet another door in this place, Damien shines the flashlight at me.
“I feel like we are about to walk into some kind of setup. No way he told her to come here and there’s not one fucking person in sight. Something feels sketchy here,” I speak low, and Raven’s eyes shoot up to mine.
“He said go back to where it began. That’s here! He has to be here,” she replies, getting louder, and I can tell she’s getting either pissed or scared.Probably both, if I’m being honest.
Before I can turn around to open the door, she pushes through me, grabs the handle, and swings the door open with so much force it hits the wall. Moving behind her, I start feeling across the wall, trying to find the light. My fingertips graze the switch and I flip it as she just keeps walking in blindly. As soon as the lights turn on, we’re all blinded for a second, covering our eyes from the brightness.
“Oh, my God,” she gasps, and that has me slinging my arm down and taking in the sight before me.
What the fuck?! I expected to see my brother here, not him! I glance over at Damien, who’s already looking at me with a questioning glance.
“Marco? What the hell are you doing here? Who did this to you?” she asks, running over to him and falling to her knees.
“Raven? You can’t be here. I’m not sure how I even got here,” he rasps, barely able to speak.
“Naomi has been looking for you,” she says, moving his face side to side to check him over.
Grabbing bolt cutters from the duffle, I rush over and start cutting him loose from the chains. Once his hands are free, Damien hands him a bottle of water, and he gulps it down. Jesus, how long has he been here? Since he helped me clean her bike off the road? After that? This shit makes no goddamn sense.
“I just need to know one fucking thing before I let you leave here alive,” I growl out, gripping his face and forcing him to look at me. “Did you have anything to do with her wreck and almost dying? Or my brother being taken?”
“No, I swear! I’d never hurt Raven or Luis. She’s become like family to me,” he pleads as tears run down his face. “I promise you, Raven. It wasn’t me.” He looks at her, and I can tell he’s telling the truth. She uses her good arm and pulls him against her, holding on to him. Her body winces, and even though I know she won’t admit it, she’s still sore from her wreck. I feel like this game we’re playing keeps getting deeper and deeper.
Me and Damien help walk him up the stairs to the kitchen. Raven comes up after and leans against the stove. The look on her face tells me all I need to know. She’s plotting something and God only knows what that is
“What plan is running through that head of yours, Little Devil? You have trouble written all across your face right now,” I ask, and Damien snickers beside me. The sinister grin she gives me tells me whatever it is we better buckle the fuck up and let Eddie and Zeke know that whatever happens, make it look like an accident.
“I wanna burn it. Set this whole place ablaze and burn it to the ground along with all the memories that go with it,” she says with the most unhinged look on her face.Fuck, maybe that Jameson guy wasn’t so scary after all. I’ve never seen her like this.
“Then let's burn it, baby,” I reply, and Damien cheers, punching the air like that’s the best news he’s gotten all night.
We may have found Marco, but my brother is still out there somewhere, and I won’t rest until we find him.
Chapter 18
Raven
Walking out of the house, Damien and Reyes have Marco’s arms draped over their shoulders, helping him to the car. When they get him into the passenger seat, I grab Reyes by the shoulder and turn him to look at me.
“Is there any gas in the bed of your truck? Any kind of accelerant? The stove is a gas appliance, so I know once I turn it on and let the gas build up so it’ll give us time to get out. All I’ll need is something to cause the actual fire. I just want to make sure it burns all the way down,” I say, placing my hand on my hip.
“You know you scare me sometimes?” he says with a grin, shaking his head as he walks to the back of his truck. “Let’s see what I got.” He looks over the side of the bed, and pulls a gas can out and shakes it.Doesn’t sound like much, but all I need is a little.
“Perfect.” I smile, rubbing my hands together.Let’s burn some shit.Walking back into the house and up to the stove, Iturn all the dials so the gas turns on without actually igniting a flame.
“You know you aren’t pouring this with one hand, right? We can help you,” Damien says, coming up behind me.
“Do you want to help?” I ask, tilting my head a little. “I’m just ready to get rid of this part of my past. Nothing good ever happened here. So maybe burning it down will help the little girl inside of me have some peace,” I say, casting my gaze to the floor.Peace is one thing I’ve never had until three guys barged into my life. Peace, I wouldn’t know what that is if it slapped me in the face.
“Angel, we would help you burn the world down if that’s what you wanted. You could tell us to go gut every person who’s ever wronged you and we wouldn’t even bat an eye,” he confesses, grabbing my chin and making me meet his stare.
“He’s right, Babygirl. Whatever you want, you’ll have. You’d do the same for us, and I don’t even have to ask, because I already know,” Reyes says, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, and I meet his stare from where I am.
