Page 18 of Daughters of Chaos

We spend so much time talking and getting to know one another I almost can't believe it when I see signs for Phoenix. Time and miles fly by as I peel back the layers that surround Mason 'Raptor' Reilly. The more I learn about him, the more I like him. I only hope the feeling is mutual.

We pull up outside Dad's house sooner than I anticipated. I can't help but want more time with Raptor, but it looks like time is against us, at least for today. The lights are blazing inside the house, and several guys are hanging out in the driveway when we park.

Dad meets us halfway. "Everything go okay?"

Raptor nods. "Smooth sailing the whole time."

"Good. Where are the others?"

I look behind the moving truck, noticing their absence. "They had to pull off to fuel up when we hit the edge of town," Bones tells him.

Dad runs a hand over his face as he nods. He looks tired like he's been running himself ragged since we left. He looks at the truck, then back at me. "Is there anything important you need out of there before we take it to storage?"

I shake my head. "We put what we needed right away in the van."

He gestures to the prospect. "Take the truck to the storage unit. Make sure you lock everything up good." Turning to the rest of the guys, he nods to the two brothers. "Stitch, Tweak, go with him."

Without hesitation, the men do as they're told. As their taillights disappear down the street, the sound of motors coming toward us grows louder. Everyone turns to see Archie and Jesse—with Raven in tow—steering our way. The rare sound of my sister's laughter echoes through the street as they cut their engines.

She climbs off behind Jesse and hands over his helmet. "That was a blast," she tells him.

"Told ya you'd enjoy my ride," he flirts back.

She walks over to where I'm standing next to Raptor. As she passes, Reaper, who's been perched on his bike since we arrived, tracks her movement with a glare. Raven takes notice immediately and sneers back at him. "What the fuck are you looking at, Grim?"

Reaper says nothing as he continues to glare at her. Raven takes it as a challenge and stomps over to him, crossing her arms over her chest. "You mad I had a better time on his bike than I did yours?"

I watch as Reaper eyes her, shaking his head. He still says nothing as he blasts his motor and speeds off down the road, narrowly avoiding my sister. "What the fuck is his problem?" Raven fumes.

Jesse comes up beside her, putting an arm over her shoulders. "He's probably mad he had to pick up the slack while we were gone. He's a moody fucker like that. Don't take it personal, babe."

Raven is still glaring down the road when I turn back to gauge Dad's reaction to what happened. His jaw ticks as he narrows in on the Son of Sorrow, not the one who'd flown off into the darkness, but Jesse with his arm around Rae. He looks less than impressed about that little development.

"J! You and the guys unload the girls' things from the van. Now."

Jesse complies, but only after shooting Raven a wink over his shoulder. Dad keeps a watchful eye on him as Raptor leaves my side to help unload the van. When the guys head inside, Rae and I move to follow them.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Dad's deep voice stops us in our tracks.

We turn, waiting to see what he has to say. His eyes settle on Raven, and he clears his throat. "I talked it over with the guys. There's a job at the bar for you if you want it. Miguel said he and Jesse would be happy to bring you on."

I watch as my sister's face turns from irritated to shocked before she masks it with a neutral expression. She shrugs. "Guess that'd be okay," she tells him, trying to sound bored.

The corners of Dad's mouth quirk. "Great. You can get with Miguel to work out your schedule." When Raven says nothing in return, he continues, "You two should get inside and rest. You had a long day." With that, he leaves us, heading over to where the others are unloading our things.

10

Phoenix

Why is everything so fucking expensive?" Raven curses as she scrolls through rental listings on her laptop.

We've been looking for a place of our own since we got back from New Mexico last week. So far, our luck could be better. The houses in our price range are terrible. They're either run down, in dangerous parts of town, sit next to the sewage department, or look like they're infested with rats. It's going to be a miracle if we find something even slightly reasonable to rent.

Dad has been gracious enough to let us stay here rent-free. He's even offered to let us abandon our house hunt in favor of staying with him at no charge. Raven is fiercely against that idea, and as sweet an offer as it was, we need our own space.

As Raven not-so-delicately put it, "I can't get laid living under your roof."I almost choked when she said that, and Dad turned a concerning shade of green and purple. I thought he was goingto have a stroke. To his credit, he recovered quickly, choosing to drop the discussion and find something to do at the shop. Dad still hasn't looked her in the eye since.

She has a point, though. Neither of us will be able to bring a guy home if we still live under his roof. And who knows what he'd do if he found one of his guys in our beds . . . He didn't seem too thrilled when Jesse and Raven started flirting the night we got back. Every time they've done it since Dad has kept a watchful eye on the son of his MC secretary.

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