Page 28 of Daughters of Chaos

His eyes find mine when I look back up. "I think you're hot and sexy and beautiful." My eyes widen as he continues, "I also think you're smart and funny and kind. Being around you makes me feel . . . good for the first time in a long time."

The hand that's still holding mine tightens as my breath leaves my lungs. Before I know it, I'm leaning closer, our lips inches away as he does the same. Just when we're about to connect—when I'm about to finally feel the sensation of his mouth on mine—the front door bursts open.

We jump apart to find Raven staring wide-eyed at us from the living room. "Oh, sorry to interrupt." Raptor stands up and starts gathering his things as Raven shoots me an apologetic look.

"I should get going," he says, clearing his throat. "Thanks for dinner."

"Yeah, no problem. Thanks for fixing the breaker." I walk with him to the door, sad to see him leave so soon.

Outside, he turns to me with a look of longing. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," I tell him as I watch him walk across the yard to his house. I lean my forehead against the door as I seal it shut, hearing footsteps grow closer.

"I am so sorry," my sister tells me.

"It's okay."

She hip-checks me and playfully replies, "So, working out a little handyman fantasy?"

I gape at her only to see her eyebrows wiggle. "No! He was fixing a breaker. The microwave fried it."

"Mmm, the old 'hot guy fixes his neighbor's appliance' bit. I like it," she teases.

"Shut up." My mouth twitches as I try not to laugh.

"Maybe we need a sign. Ya know, like a hair tie on the door or a magnet. Something to sayGet lost for an hour. That way, we don't have any repeats of tonight." She shoots me another sympathetic look as the last sentence rolls off her tongue.

"That's not a bad idea. I'd hate to walk in on you and Jesse in a compromising situation."

Raven's laughter fills the room, and I know I can't stay upset with her no matter how close that kiss came to becoming real. I feel my mouth curl up as I imagine how it would have felt.

My sister eyes me with a soft but serious look. "You really like him, don't you?"

I nod, knowing my smile will give me away. "Yeah, I really do."

She's quiet for a moment as a solemn look comes across her face. "Just be careful, okay? Take things slow."

"I will," I tell her, knowing full well that it's a lie.

16

Raven

It's been two weeks since the incident with Dom and his cronies. He hasn't shown back up at the bar since, luckily, but I'm still on edge, waiting for him or one of his guys to waltz through the door every time I'm there. Jesse says there's nothing to worry about, that Dom and his band of assholes were probably bored and trying to rile us up for fun. I'm not so sure.

If I need to keep a lookout for that jackass, I want to know what I'm dealing with. I need to know what kind of shit the club is into, and Jesse is my key to discovering that information.

Things are pretty slow at the bar right now. So slow that when Archie told Jesse that Viper and Bear were sending him on a run with one of the other guys, Jesse didn't bat an eye. I've heardsome of the others say similar things before—that they were 'going on a run'—and even though I have a pretty good idea what that means, I still want confirmation.

After Archie disappears, I ask Jesse, "So, what exactly happens when Viper sends the guys out on arunanyway?"

My question takes him by surprise, but he quickly schools his face into its usual playful smirk. "Ah, ya know, Prez has us grab stuff for the shop and whatnot—pick up orders for the businesses, take care of whatever needs taken care of. That's all."

There it is. The club businesses."Mmmm, and whatbusinessare you talking about exactly?"

Jes opens his mouth to reply, but I cut him off. "And don't tell me 'The bar, the auto shop, and the moving and storage company.' I know those are the legit fronts Viper has to shield his other shit. I'm not stupid, Jesse. There's something else going on behind the scenes."

For the first time since I met him, Jesse looks genuinely worried. He knows I'm connecting the dots, especially since the run-in with Dom. The look on his face makes me think that he may actually confess something to me. But that look is short-lived.

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