Page 24 of Daughters of Chaos

When I turn my attention back to my dad, he approaches me slowly. The look he's wearing is indecipherable. Is it pain, fear, anger? I can't tell. "Please be more careful," he says. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

His gaze lands on Raven. "Either of you."

True to her nature, Raven responds with a heavy eye roll, but she holds her tongue. "We'll be careful. I promise," I tell him with a small smile.

Accepting that, he nods, clearing his throat as he turns for the door. Worry flashes on his face, and it looks like he's about to say something else. As soon as the worry appears, he masks it and leaves the room. For a moment outside, he pauses, looking back at me and Raven. He's concerned about more than just my clumsiness; that much is certain.

His eyes find Raven's, and for a second, something passes between them. Some sort of understanding that I can't fathom. Then, he disappears. "What was that about?" I wonder aloud.

Raven's eyes widen too much to be innocent as she shrugs. "No clue." I don't buy it. She knows something. I can feel it.

"Let's get these hazards out of here before you break a leg," she teases, moving to pick up one of the boxes. There's something forced in her voice. It's not like her to keep things from me, but I know she is. She and Dad know something I don't. It's something bad enough to put fear in his eyes and silence my sister—a difficult task on its own. Whatever it is, whatever they're hiding from me, I'll figure it out one way or another.

13

Raven

The feeling of freedom I got from moving out of the MC stronghold was unbelievable. I'd never felt more claustrophobic or antsy in my life than I was constantly being watched by burly men all the time. Some may call it a dream come true to have those good-looking men surrounding them day and night. I'd call it fucking annoying.

Sure, they were all nice to look at for the most part, especially Jesse and Raptor. Yeah, those two are eye candy from miles away. Hell, even Bear, with his "I'm king asshole"attitude, and Reaper, with his "One wrong look and I'll gut you"thing he has going on, are attractive.

It wasn't the view I hated; it was the suffocating tension that never went away, the looming feeling of danger lurking around every corner. It only seemed to get worse the longer we stayed. By the time we finally moved out, it seemed to have reached an all-time high.

When Nix tripped over one of her boxes and fell, the reaction from Viper and Bear told me all I needed to know—they were expecting something to come crashing down on the MC. Something big. Something dangerous. I hoped whatever it was didn't follow us to our new place.

The feeling from that day never really went away. Not after Viper gave me that silent message as he left the room that day.Stay alert. Stay safe.

That message is the reason I haven't read more into the conditions surrounding our new living arrangement. I know it's no coincidence that the house we rented just happened to pop up when it did. It's too nice and too cheap to be some random gift from the universe; the MC had something to do with it. There's no way that place magically became available right next door to the club's treasurer overnight.

With Raptor right next door, the club could easily have eyes on us. Usually, that would piss me off, but knowing there's someone out there that shakes Viper to his core dulls that reflex. The idea that someonefriendlyis watching out for us—for Nix—gives me a small token of comfort.

When my phone buzzes in my pocket, I swipe the screen and read the text from Phoenix. Since she started school again, she's kept me updated between classes, telling me all about the campus and how excited she is to be back. It's one of the few things keeping me sane with everything that's been going on. Knowing she's safe and happy is my number one concern.

I send her a quick reply before getting back to work. This place is shockingly busy for a hole-in-the-wall bar. Each day, businessis steady from about eleven o'clock on, and the tips are very generous. I never thought I'd find a little slice of joy in this place when Nix convinced me to stay, but here I am, enjoying the hell out of this bar and the guys I work with.

Jesse hip-checks me as I finish cleaning a round of glasses. I glare back at him playfully as the doors open, bringing in another group of customers. Jesse looks over to greet them, and his smile falls. Something's wrong. I turn to the group that walked in—five men wearing MC cuts, but not cuts of the Sons of Sorrow.

A rival gang? That can't be good.

The leader of the pack eyes Jesse before surveying the rest of the place. When he sees me, he stops. His beady orbs trickle slowly down my body as his lips curl into a disgusting smirk. "Didn't know you started recruiting females, J. Nice touch," the dickhead tells Jesse, his eyes still glued to me.

"Get outta here, Dom," Jesse replies rigidly.

Domignores Jesse and moves closer to the bar, closer to me. "What's your name, sexy?"

His roaming eyes make my blood boil. "Go fuck yourself." My words drip with venom as the jackass and his misfits fill the room with howls of laughter.

"Now, that's quite a name," Dom finally says. "I bet you're a wild one, ain'tcha." A lethal sneer is my only reply.

As if my hatred only turns him on, Dom licks his lips. "Mmm, I like 'em wild." His insinuation has me seconds from unleashing hell on this bastard. I'm about to jump over the bar and set Rebel Raven free on this fucker when Jesse moves in front of me, blocking my path to the soon-to-be-dead Dom.

"We have an agreement. Nothing goes down on home turf. Both clubs swore to it." Jesse's words grab my attention.What the fuck?

Dom feigns innocence. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, brother. We're just here for some drinks." He shifts to stare at me, still partially blocked by Jesse. "And the view."

Jesse studies the group for a moment before nodding to Archie, who's joined us from the kitchen. Archie fills five glasses and slides them to the men.

"Sixty bucks," Jesse tells Dom coldly.

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