“I’m sorry for accusing Marco of all this shit. I assume it was all part of the plan, to make everything look like he did it, but still, I shouldn’t have doubted him,” I say, and she nods while Raven rubs her arms soothingly.
As we walk back into the kitchen out of earshot, Reyes hands me a plate and leans against the counter.
“Talked to Zeke, told him everything that went down tonight. He’s going to talk to Eddie and see if they can’t figure this shit out. They are pulling all the contacts they know because if he told her to go back to where it all started, we’re missing something. She’s missing something,” he breathes out, and starts pacing the floor.
“I know, and I don’t want her to go dark and have to think back on her past. We need to figure this shit out before we ask her to think back to all the shit they put her through,” I reply, finishing my sandwich.
“I’m going to need them to work harder. Surely they can track Luis’s phone. Maybe Bret has it? I know he texted you, but how’d he get your number?” he asks, coming to stand beside me.
“There are so many unanswered questions. He’s pulling too many people we care about into this, and for what? He wanted Raven, now he thinks she’s dead. I’m not seeing the full picture,” I reply, looking into the living room and watching as Raven sits there with Naomi watching the doc.
“I’m not sure. Nothing else gets to touch her. Period. She’s done with all that bullshit,” he seethes, taking the dishes and putting them in the sink.
He’s right. She’s been through so much, and I’m tired of seeing her hurt because of her past. Done. After all this shit is done, I’ll make sure anyone who ever touched her is dead. Her mom included. What mother puts their daughter in that kind of position? Not one that deserves to still walk on the same ground my girl does.
Chapter 20
Raven
I had to walk away from all of it. I’m glad we found Marco, but that just means Luis is out there still dealing with whatever the fuck Bret is dishing out. Seeing Marco all bruised and beat up, triggered something, and I’m not sure I’m ready to see Luis if he looks even close to that. I will lose all of my shit. So I came to take a hot ass shower, the melt your skin off kind. Just as I drop my towel, the bedroom door swings open. I half expect to see the guys, but it’s Naomi who’s standing in the doorway.
“Can we go somewhere?” she says, walking further into the room.
“Anywhere you want to go, babe, I’m down,” I reply, walking to my dresser and grabbing clothes.
“Doc gave Marco meds to sleep. I know the guys are here and that he’ll be safe here regardless. I just want to sneak out, me and you, kind of like old times. I need to just take a beat,” she says, sitting on my bed as I finish getting clothes on. This is nothingnew for us. We’re best friends, so of course we’ve seen each other naked way too many times to count.
“Sneak out?” I chuckle. “Like away from the guys?” I raise a brow at her.
“Yes! Just me, you, and some alcohol. I see you retreating into yourself and I won’t let it happen. So, get your cute ass out that door.” She stands and walks over to the double doors, opening them both. Laughing, I grab my phone and wallet from my nightstand, following her as we both walk out the doors and onto the balcony.It’s one place I used to sit and let my mind wander, but now I can’t let my mind wander too far.
Tiptoeing down the stairs, past the side of the house to the driveway, we’re both laughing as we take off running to her Challenger. I slide into the passenger seat and she starts the car and pulls down the driveway.
“Why does this make me feel like we’re teenagers again?” I chuckle, and look over at her as she pulls through the gates.
“It does, huh? Eddie would get so mad, but he was always tracking us. He really thought we didn’t know.” She laughs, speeding off down the road.
“I don’t know how great our sneaking tactics are these days, guess we will see,” I reply, and turn on the radio.
“With your guys, I’m surprised you don’t have a tracker implant yet.” She looks at me and raises her brow.
“God, please don’t give them ideas. I’m sure they’d be down to do that,” I reply, and shake my head.After this, they just might do some shit like that.
“You know we can’t go to our normal spots here, right?” she says, and I put my hand under my chin, thinking about somewhere we could go.
“Umm, we could always go to the town over. They always have those small country bars.” I shrug, and she nods her head.
“Yes, bitch! Get completely out of our element.” She laughs, getting on the interstate. Pulling up my music, I scroll through and play DJ.
An hour later, we’re pulling into some little hole in the wall bar called Mud Riders. A huge neon sign under the name makes it stand out.I take a deep breath, and we both get out of the car.Here’s to one more scare for the guys.The parking lot is full, so maybe this is the best spot in this town.
“You ready?” Naomi asks, rounding the front of the car and grabbing my arm.
“As I’ll ever be, babe.” I chuckle, and we make our way to the building.
We walk through the door and there are people everywhere. Men in Wranglers, women in tight-fitted dresses or jeans. I definitely feel out of place here. Like, the way we dress screams, ‘we aren’t from here.’ Stopping, I take in the scene. There are pool tables, a mechanical bull, and finally, I spot the bar. Naomi drags me with her, grabbing the last two bar stools and sitting down.
“What can I get you girls tonight?” the bartender asks, coming up to us.
