Page 78 of Peaceful Chaos

I make a show of taking in his battered body. "I'm not trying to be an asshole. You don't have the training to go up against Damien, and we shouldn’t have left you guys here without more support."

Marks swipes his hand in front of him like he's wiping away the argument we're about to have. "I'm trying to warn you that Grant is becoming a threat."

"Do you think he's really working for Damien now?" Lucien asks, all of his earlier humor disappears.

Marks shakes his head. "No, but I don't think he's working to help any of you anymore either."

"Shit," I breathe out.

"Indeed, so I need you to stop torturing would-be kidnappers and let me help you," he implores.

A sense of doom comes over me. This threat is almost more frightening than the one imposed by Damien, because I don't think I can kill my way out of it. "Why would you help us?" I ask Marks. "I thought he was your best friend."

I didn't register how tired he looks until now. There's a weariness that goes far beyond a few sleepless nights sitting by a hospital bed. This kind of exhaustion can only come from life knocking you around and being forced to pick yourself up over and over.

"I thought so too, but I don't think I know who he's becoming. Worse, I'm not sure I like him."

* * *

Classes drag the next day.I struggle more than normal to pay attention to what my professors are saying. Every few minutes I find myself reaching for my phone to check the security cameras at the gym.

Contrary to what Lucien thought last night, Jenna didn’t wake up in a few hours. She still hadn’t come too when we left for school this morning. Now we’re waiting for her to come around so we can have a chat.

Jen had the foresight to have the remaining beer tested so we knew exactly what substance we were dealing with and she could be confident in how she cared for Jenna. Turns out her hired thugs dumped enough GHB in the pitcher to kill all the women. The bitch is lucky she didn't drink more than a swallow. Not that I care, but I would like to get answers from her without using a Ouija Board.

I have to keep reminding myself that Raven didn't drink any of the spiked beer, because every time I imagine her in Jenna's place I feel rage like I've never felt before. That's saying something for me since rage was pretty much the only emotion I allowed myself to feel prior to Raven.

When we finally walk off campus after our last class I'm a little alarmed to find Javier waiting for us. There's always someone else to drive us to and from campus, because running Chaos is more than a full-time job. Add on his duties keeping us out of Damien's clutches, and I'm surprised he finds time to sleep.

"Why do I feel like this is an omen of some kind," Lucien says as we climb into the back of the SUV.

"Probably because despite the idiotic things that fall out of your mouth on a regular basis you aren't actually stupid," Javier fires back.

We wait for him to explain, but he starts the vehicle and pulls into traffic. Once he's merged onto the highway, my patience is worn thin. "You came to pick us up yourself, so I assume whatever you have to talk to us about is time sensitive. Or did you feel like going out for a drive?"

Javier glances up in the mirror and catches my eyes for a moment. "I started moving your money around today. Set up different shell companies and buried it so deep even the best forensic accountants won't be able to find it. It made me curious about Raven and Lucien's trust funds."

He pauses and his gaze flickers back to the mirror and lands on Raven and Lucien. "I hope you are okay with that, but I couldn't stop wondering why Angela Blackthorne's family would leave the two of you such large sums of money when she isn't your biological mother."

"Huh," Lucien grunts and leans back against the seat. "I never really thought about it. What did you find?"

"Several things, actually. Adoption papers for starters. Legally, you are both Angela's children. The records list Damien as your father and Angela as your adoptive mother. It seems her parents gave you the money because to them you were their grandchildren."

Lucien shrugs. "I barely remember them, but they were nice enough. I don't see that this changes anything, other than I feel less guilty that they left us the money."

"I dug a little deeper and found several off shore accounts in Raven's name. There are hundreds of millions spread among several accounts," he states and waits for us to connect the dots.

Raven's eyes widen. "What? Why would I have that kind of money."

Lucien balls his fists. "You don't. Or at least you aren't meant to keep it. Damien used to say that the best way to hide assets was in the name of someone you can control."

Javier smirks. "See, not stupid."

"Why not Angela then?" Raven asks, ignoring Javier taunting Lucien.

"It looks like that's exactly who he used to hide the money at one point, but she went away for a long period of time about seven or eight years ago, and then the money was transferred into accounts in your name," he answers Raven.

Raven and Lucien exchange a look. "That's around when I was twelve. The last trip we took; I remember Angela trying to get us to go out sightseeing with her. She never really did anything with us, but—" She rubs the center of her forehead like it will help bring forward a memory.

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