Page 91 of Raven

“Exactly,” he whispers and casts his gaze down.

I exhale heavily in frustration. I’m not a parent, and I can’t explain to this kid what he is doing wrong.

I dial Maddy. I know her schedule by heart. She got off her shift an hour ago. I was planning on visiting her tonight, as usual, but there is something I need her to do. Sonny doesn’t listen to anyone like he listens to Maddy.

“Yes?” Her voice instantly calms me down.

Calm. I’m calm. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Maybe?” She sounds playful.

“We have a problem with the kid, and I would like you to talk to him.”

Sonny sulks right away. “Tsk.” When it comes to Maddy, he’s ashamed when he screws up.

“Bring him over,” she says. “Are you coming with him?”

I can hear caution in her voice. When I’m at her place, there’s barely time for anything but sex. Everything besides sex happens on the phone—conversations about the past, Ayana, her father, the Eastside, Sonny. It’s as if there has to be a physical barrier between us to be able to communicate, because when she is around me, my brain turns off, and all I want is to sink my teeth into her, among other things.

“Come,” she says without waiting for my reply. “We’ll both figure out whatever the problem is.”

Just like that, we are both on our way. The little dude is quiet, dragging his feet, occasionally throwing guilty glances at me.

And I’m already anticipating seeing Maddy.

Sonny is becoming her adopted kid. He is spending more and more time with Maddy instead of Kai and Callie. And whenever something happens, a bruised leg or a big secret, though Sonny has a different idea of what those are, he runs to Maddy.

When we get to her bungalow, she lets us in with a smile.

A flash of those beautiful eyes at me, and my mind goes haywire. But we both know nothing is happening between us tonight, and that somehow creates a comfort zone between us.

Sonny sniffs the air at the smell of curry. “That Thai?”

He right away walks to the kitchen island and pokes his nose into the restaurant delivery bags.

Maddy follows him with her eyes.

“Sonny, take a seat,” I say calmly, and he lets go of the bags, hangs his head, and walks to the couch to take a seat.

I stick my hands in my pockets and lean with my back against the kitchen island.

“Now tell Maddy what you did.”

He looks at me from under my brows. “I wanted to go to town.”

“No. That’s not the problem. Tell her what I said to you and what you did afterward.”

He exhales theatrically.

Maddy walks up to me, crosses her arms over her chest, and leans back on the kitchen island, just like me. Her closeness is maddening, considering what usually goes on in this place as soon as I step in.

Sonny starts telling her that I didn’t let him go to town, so he snuck into the boat because he really wanted to see his friends. His speech is long and all over the place, gradually getting all dramatic and fast.

And at this point, I don’t even care. Mostly, I wanted to see Maddy, be here with her and the little dude, and play house or whatever is happening.

“Watch your speech,” she says, and Sonny huffs and chooses words carefully as he talks.

I turn to her and say in a low voice, “I know he is not your problem.”

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