Page 7 of Daughters of Chaos

My mouth twitches at the thought of them together. Two wildly different people who fell in love—the rough around the edges biker and my sweet, soft-spoken mother. Talk about opposites attract . . .

When my eyes flit to the other side of the room, they meet Raptor's, and my heart does a backflip.Opposites indeed.

4

Raven

Earlier, I insisted that Nix and I share a room when Viper showed us the two open bedrooms upstairs. Who knows what could happen overnight if they separated us? I had some ideas, and that shit wasn't fucking happening. Not on my watch.

I hear her sleeping soundly next to me, like there's nothing wrong in the world. I'm glad she's so optimistic, but her blind faith in people will bite her in the ass one day. And this group isn't the one I want to teach her that lesson. She may not believe it, but I can tell—these guys are dangerous.

I have plenty of thoughts on what kind of business the two bloodied men were taking care of earlier. Probably somethingshady for theclub.A little errand Daddy Dearest sent them on, roughing up a club debtor or some shit like that.

Fuck, Phoenix, what have we gotten ourselves into?

I turn over, trying and failing to relax. Sleep won't come easy tonight, not in this place. My head flops against the pillow as I heave a long sigh. Kicking the sheets off, I slowly creep out of bed to visit the bathroom and scope out our surroundings. Maybe that's all I need—some reassurance that no one is outside waiting to do something terrible to us.

I'll take a short walk to the bathroom, check things out, and find there's nothing to freak out about. I keep telling myself that as I make my way to the door. I'll see that there's nothing to worry about, then go back and get some rest.

By the time I reach the door, I'm not even the slightest bit convinced that the words are true. When I step into the hallway, what I find makes my blood boil. The hulk of a man who met me at the front door earlier is sitting outside our room—Elias's night watch.

"What the fuck?" I hiss. "They put a guard outside our room?" I don't bother hiding my annoyance. This jerk can have all my venom and then some.

Mr. Moody Broody just stares at me. His permanent scowl is still etched onto his face. "Cat got your tongue, Big Guy? Or do they not let you speak without permission?"

His eyes narrow, and his frown deepens. "VP doesn't trust you."

Big shocker there. The one they call Bear didn't bother hiding his disdain for Nix and me. I know he thinks we're full of shit, trying to rope his boss into some scheme for money or something. I scoff back my reply, "Well, the feeling's mutual."

I start down the hall as my guard shoots out of his seat, blocking my path. "Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Seriously?I gesture toward the bathroom. "I have to pee. That okay with you?"

He tries to level me with another look, which I ignore, and start walking again. I brush past him, now more annoyed than ever. When I turn around, he's right there. "Are you serious? You're following me?"

Again, he stays silent, looking at me with irritation blazing in his eyes.Whatever.I make my way to the bathroom, Grim in tow. When I reach the door, I spin on my heels, jabbing my finger into his hard chest. "If you think for one second you're coming in here with me, you're delusional. Stay out here and listen to me piss while you jerk it or whatever, but don't fucking think about stepping a foot in that room till I'm done."

He rolls his eyes, leaning against the wall. I go inside and take care of business, still fuming about the watchdog. What does Elias think we'll do, rob him blind? Ha, there's nothing in this house worth taking.

I angrily dry my hands and exit the bathroom. It's no surprise when I see Mr. Moody still holding up the wall—no dick in hand, though. Shocker.I was only half-kidding about the jerking-it comment earlier. He seems the type to get off on weird shit like that.

I head back to the bedroom, followed closely by my babysitter. When I reach the room, I make a point to thank my escort for his services, throwing him the bird as a tip. He settles back into the chair, his scowl back on his face as he watches me with aggravation. I throw him a fake smile before closing the door.

Fucking asshole.

I crawl back into bed, wondering why this was so important to my sister. Why did she feel the need to meet our sperm donor? Does she think that we'll all become one big happy family when the results prove that we weren't lying?

Yeah, fat chance of that.

A long sigh leaves my lungs as I turn to look at her. She's so kind and innocent, always seeing the best in people, unlike me. I've never met anyone else who loves as deeply and as freely as Nix except our mother. They were cut from the same cloth. Me? I guess I was forged from whatever hellfire created Elias, my . . . father.

A rush of anger ignites in my stomach again at the thought of him and his gang of degenerates. Every single one of them looks dangerous, especially the one Nix has her eye on.

I have to keep her safe. Iwillkeep her safe.

I look at my sister again as I whisper, "I'll always have your back, Nix. Even if it gets me killed." As the words spill out, something heavy and ominous settles in my stomach.

5

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