Page 108 of Peaceful Chaos

True Family

Sin

Strong arms slipunder mine and pull me back to my feet. Lucien holds me tight, and I don't fight against him, even though I generally hate being touched by anyone except Raven.

"You've been fighting your entire life, don't stop now," he says close to my ear.

"I'm tired, Luce."

He gives me a tight squeeze, then holds me back so he can look into my eyes. "I know you are. So am I, but we're almost free. That's what you've always wanted."

"It was what I wanted." My throat is tight, and my voice sounds strained. "Now, all I want is your sister. I want her to be safe and happy."

Lucien slaps me on the back. "She needs you for that. Not just to fight tonight, but to fight the invisible battles still ahead. You do not quit. Do you hear me?"

Hearing him say that Raven needs me and her say she loves me manages to quiet the persistent voice telling me I'm worthless. I can't be worthless if she needs me. I nod. "For her. I can fight for her."

We climb into the van, and Lucien hands Raven a small duffle bag. "There are some sweats in there. I figured you wouldn't want to wear that any longer than you had to." He waves his hand around gesturing to the shirt she's wearing over her lingerie.

She pulls the pants on under David's shirt, then turns her back to us while she puts on the sports bra her brother was thoughtful enough to pack, along with a t-shirt.

"There are shoes in there too." He really did think of everything. It's yet another thing I didn't think to do for her.

He jabs his finger at me. "Don't."

I hold my hands in front of me. "I didn't say anything." I'm not surprised he's picking up on my train of thought though. Other than Raven, no one knows me better than Lucien.

"You're going to use this to beat yourself up, but I'm not going to let you. Little bird is my sister, and taking care of her is my job."

"She's my wife."

"You both love me. You can find something else to fight about later," Raven snaps.

Lucien ruffles her hair, which only manages to irritate her further. I know what he's doing. Distracting me from the cycle of panic and flashbacks I was having earlier. It's working though. These moments where it's just us as a family make all the fucked up shit I've survived bearable.

"You said you'd tell us what happened in the van," I remind Lucien. Now that I'm not in the middle of a panic attack, I need to focus on the next task. Having all the info helps. I'm not walking into another cluster fuck like that.

"I'll get to that. But first," he points at David's face. "Why is he the only one bleeding?"

I roll my eyes. "I punched him in the face."

Lucien grunts. "Good. Stupid fuck put us in this position because he thought traveling in the open with his daughter without backup was a wise idea."

David nods and winces when the movement reminds him I likely broke his nose. "You're right. I'm sure Natalie is going to do much worse when she gets a hold of me."

Lucien turns back to me, continuing with the explanation he promised. "You aren't going to believe this shit." He shakes his head as though he can't even believe what he's about to tell us, and he experienced it. "Angela called."

"The fuck?" I blurt out. She's always been a cold and distant woman. Or at least that's what we assumed until Holbrook said Damien has pretty much kept her captive like he did to Raven and Lucien's mom.

"She managed to get a hold of Damien's phone. He's got Jenna's baby like we thought. He started crying, and the distraction was enough for her to slip his phone into her pocket. She only had a minute to give me the ping with their location and tell us how many men he has with him."

"Why is she there?" Raven asks.

"I think Damien is using her as a nanny. That complicates things a little." He sighs. He was serious earlier when he said he was tired too.

"There are three innocents in the crosshairs. We're going to have to be careful," I state. Not like its news to anyone. None of us want to be responsible for the death of a baby or a little girl, and Angela doesn't deserve to die either.

"How many men does he have?" I ask.

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