Perhaps it was the words, or maybe the attitude, or the fact that Griffin had been holding himself back all day. But Griffin was launching himself on top of Enzo before he could enact any of his practiced self-control.
He had Enzo pinned under him, his elbow digging into his neck, his other covering the man’s mouth. He used his weight to press him into the ground.
“Griffin, she needs help being warmed up, and she won’t be happy if you hurt him.” Julian’s voice was edged in warning and exhaustion.
“Leave,” Griffin growled, releasing Enzo and getting off of him. He made no attempt to help him up.
Enzo’s long, bright copper hair was stuck up in all directions. When he got to his feet, he brushed it back. “If she dies. It will be your fault.” He offered Raven one last simpering look before storming from the room.
Griffin deadbolted the door before going to the bed. He removed his shirt and pants, choosing just his boxers, and slid onto the other side of the sleeping Raven. Julian pushed forward until Raven was wedged between them.
Her skin was noticeably cool even through the sleep gown.
Griffin wrapped an arm around her, his hand stroking her side, and attempted to warm her.
Julian watched with his dark impenetrable eyes. “Have you heard anything of Jayce and Sparrow?”
Griffin breathed out heavily through his nose. “No, she is in contact with Drago. I know that Jayce and Sparrow are safe, but I am not sure what exactly that entails.”
Julian wrapped himself around Raven, and Griffin stiffened at the memory of Julian strangling her in his sleep, still raw and fresh, but he didn’t move. He chose instead to remain diligent.
Griffin watched as Raven slept, his mind flashing back to the first time he had ever heard of her. Except back then, he hadn’t known her name.
Just that he would need to keep her safe.
Six Years Ago – Violencia
Nine years in a country that wasn’t his own. Forced to pretend, to be someone he wasn’t.
Griffin paced a hidden space inside of a Facility. A labyrinth within the walls. A room with a single pallet and a desk with papers strewn across it. Griffin leaned against the very back of the room, his eyes on the two possible entrances.
“I can hear them,” Oleks whispered on his right. “Are you sure we can trust them?”
Griffin offered the slightest shake of his head, but it was clear while the Griffin gang had continued to rescue countless victims, he wasn’t enacting change.
However, the Factions were. They were growing exponentially, and Griffin needed a connection to them.
Which was why he was here now. To meet the leader of the Brutality Faction. Viktor had set up this meeting and when Griffin and Oleks had come to the Facility, a teenager had been there to greet them. Next he knew, they were whisked through the walls of the Facility and left in this room to wait.
The door to their left pushed open. Griffin hardened his shoulders, his hand going to the blade in his pocket. He wasn’t sure this was the right move. But he had been living off his instincts long enough at this point to trust them.
After all, the Griffin gang and the Factions had a mutual enemy.
The newcomer stepped into the room and Griffin fell back against the wall. “You?”
Ana smiled at him, baring her teeth. She had traded the slip she wore before for long black sleeves and pants. “Yes.” Her eyes flashed to Oleks in annoyance. “You brought him? I was hoping you would whisk him away as you did the others, though I suppose it’s not usually men you save.”
Griffin opened his mouth to speak, shock flashing through him, but then he shut it.
“Now tell me, what is your favorite bird? I guess I already know the answer though.” She raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t even bother to go by a different name here, did you?”
Griffin stiffened, his eyes flashing anxiously to Oleks. “Oleks, leave us, please.”
A wrinkle formed on Oleks’s brow, his attention whipping back and forth, but he didn’t argue, slinking out of the room.
Ana stepped further inside once Oleks was gone, her attention on the desk, on the papers there. She picked one up. “This is my sister’s hiding space, so we can’t stay too long. But I wanted to take you somewhere no one would find us.”
“Your sister?”
