Page 43 of Daughters of Chaos

I feel my sister at my side as she whispers in my ear, "Did you see the vein in Viper's forehead when Raptor kissed you?" She starts laughing. "I thought his head was going to explode. Good job, sis," she teases.

My eyes fly wide as I look at her. "I'm only joking," she reassures me. "Guess Daddy Dearest doesn't like his guys poking around his little girl. If he only knew, right?"

I gasp as she winks at me, snapping my head toward Dad to see if he heard her. "Raven."

"Relax. He didn't hear me. He's busy talking with Ol' Grizzly Bear. Besides, he has no right to tell you who you can or can't fuck." My jaw drops as I slap her arm. At least her mood has improved, even if it is at my expense.

Raven links our arms and pulls me toward the door. "Come on, let's get out of here."

Jesse and Reaper are close behind us as we near the parked bikes. I look at the men and then back to the bikes, realizing we'll have to ride back with one of them since our cars and the club vans aren't here. I don't have an issue with that, but Jesse has been glued to Raven's side all night, meaning I'll be stuck riding with Reaper.

I don't mean to panic. It's not like he's done anything to us—other than verbally spar with Raven occasionally—but he's anintimidating man. He looks me over before hopping on his bike, looking both bored and annoyed. There it is again, that feeling of panic.Great.

Lucky for me, Raven seems to sense my discomfort. "Hey, Nix, how about you ride with Jesse? Grim over there is kind of a crazy driver."

She gives my hand a quick squeeze as I shoot her a thankful look. Her hand playfully grabs Jesse's side as she walks over to Reaper's bike. "Don't get too excited, Big Guy," I hear her tell him as she slides on the seat behind him.

Reaper's responding growl makes me glad I'm not riding with him.Thank you, Raven.

Jesse laughs, turning to me with a smile. "Hop on, Red. I won't bite."

I know it's late when someone gently shakes me awake. I fell asleep on the couch next to Raven when we got back. After the meeting, everyone seemed uneasy, and I didn't want to go to bed alone. So, Raven sat with me on the couch with Jesse on her other side, watching TV reruns until we passed out.

That must have been hours ago because I still feel the heavy weight of exhaustion as I squint up at whoever is trying to wake me. My heart stutters when I see Mason.

"You're back," I whisper, rocketing to a sitting position.

"I'm back." He smiles as he grabs my hand.

I let him lead me back to my room, untangling my legs from Raven's as she sleeps soundly on Jesse's chest. Reaper grunts as he shifts in the oversized chair next to the couch. Quietly, Mason and I tiptoe down the hall, closing my door behind us.

I rub the sleep from my eyes as he guides me to the bed. His hair is damp, and his clothes are clean. He smells like his bodywash. Part of me is disappointed that I didn't get to join him in the shower; the rest is curious about the job my dad sent him on. "What time is it?"

He pulls the covers over us, wrapping an arm around my waist as I cuddle into the mattress. "Early morning," he tells me. "Close your eyes, baby girl. Get some sleep. I'm right here with you."

Mason's warm body curls around mine, lulling me into a peaceful state. My questions can wait. Tonight, I'll rest, knowing he's here safe with me.

25

Raven

The afternoon crowd starts to fizzle out, leaving the bar only partially filled. It's the first time I've had a second to slow down all shift. While wiping down the bar, my mind begins to wander.

I can't help but think about the closed-door meeting the MC had the other night. Jesse and the others didn't say much about it, but I want to know what's going on. Especially if it has to do with Dom and his crew. I have to know if the MC thinks more retaliation is imminent.

Jesse elbows my side. "What's on your mind, babe?"

I don't waste my opening. "What did you guys talk about at that meeting the other night? Does Viper think another attack is coming?"

"Damn, not even gonna ease into it, huh?" he counters jokingly.

I square my hips and stare him down. No way is he going to distract me from getting answers. "Not in my nature. So, tell me."

He lets out a long sigh. "Guess it won't hurt to fill you in. We mostly talked about the Bastards' crew and what more we need to do to suss them out."

"And . . . "

Jesse leans against the bar, taking a quick look over his shoulder to see if any patrons are close by. "And Viper's been sending groups out to do recon . . . and other things. We think they're regrouping somewhere because we delivered some heavy blows to their warehouses after the attack on Tweak. It'll probably take them a while to get their shit together, but I doubt they'll just disappear."

---