Haven Barker
Ruby Higgens
The list continues with more well-known names, all women who are important to the club members.
Staring at the last two names, my heart clenches deep in my chest.
Penelope Porter.
Raven Porter.
The last names they’ve found make me dizzy as I read them over. Our mother’s last name. Not any of the last names the waves of foster parents tried to force onto us, but the very source of who we really are.
Those two names are effectively forgotten, with their bodies discovered by the appropriate authorities. No one should be aware of these names.
Last night, I was distracted by everyone’s drink demands to notice what I’d been given. Right now, it’s just me all alone in my head. Not exactly the best combo.
“Penelope?” Raven sits up, the exhaustion falling from her eyes as she hears my panicked breathing. Sliding from her bed, she’s in front of me in a matter of seconds. Her hands squeeze my arms, all in hopes of grounding me. “Breathe with me.”
As a teenager, I was prone to panic attacks. With the stress of moving home to home, meeting people who didn’t have good intentions, I’ve always been on edge. I thought I had grown out of this childish behavior after coming here.
“I knew Judge was already stressed, but I didn’t want to add to it.” The excuse leaves me as I clutch the paper, my fingers trembling. “He’s going to be mad. I… I didn’t even think about it.”
Her grip digs deeper into me, the pain aching. Repeating her demand, I try to steady my breathing. Matching mine with hers, I’m left pinching my eyes shut.
Everyonein the club has been stressed, and at night, it’s been nice to find a little relief. The one time I try to enjoy myself, to forget, all of this goes down.
She interrupts my attempt to apologize. Her presence floods my mind, but I gradually find calm.
Raven relaxes, but her frown remains.
“Now, repeat after me. I did nothing wrong.”
“But—” Raven growls, and I wince. “I did nothing wrong.”
I don’t believe the words, but saying them has reassured her a little bit. She releases me, leaving my body sore and aching. She’s too intense for her own good.
As my pulse steadies, my eyes fall to my hands.
“Now… You want to tell me what the hell this is all about?” She shakes her head. “You don’t want to make Judge upset, that I get. But what about everything else?”
Right. Details are helpful. It’s not normal for me to just have a panic attack on a random morning.
I tell her about Diesel and his shop, about the note I was handed while the two of us were busy. Spilling word-vomit all over her, I’m left panting.
“What if… what if this is their demand? If we go talk to this guy, maybe they’ll leave the club alone.” Trying to sound hopeful, it’s squashed with Raven’s curse as she grabs the paper from my fingers.
“You think a sex trafficker wants all of these women just to talk?” She glares at the names, her scowl growing deeper. “Come on. You can’t be serious.”
I’ve never been the type to have to think about problem-solving. It’s pathetic thinking about it now, but whenever there’s been a bump in the road, there’s always been someone standing in front of me to take on the hard parts.
Raven protected me through our teenage years, letting me hide in her shadow while she used her fists to take care of the problems. After that, we met Judge.
“I don’t want Judge to get hurt.” Muttering the truth, my cheeks warm. “I don’t want any of them to, I mean.”
She lets out a soft sigh, her face relaxing as she folds it back up. “Well, stop blaming yourself. Honestly, they were going to do something, anyway. Destiny is enough proof behind their retaliation. She’ll blame herself too, so try not to say anything to her.”
Destiny, right. Poor woman was one of many Hammer and Warden let free when Ripper took Haven to save Trouble.
