Page 28 of Victorious Vice

“No.”

He opens his eyes and glares at me. “Let me see it, Ray.”

“Jared already told you what it says.”

“I know that. And he already gave me the number, and we’re working on tracing it. But I need to see it. I need to see the words.”

“Why?”

He clenches his hands into fists. “Because I’m already mad as a rabid dog, and I need to use my anger. Seeing that text mightjust give me the extra anger I need to see this motherfucker taken down.”

I walk up to him, run my hands up and down his arms. “Falcon, you’re happy now. You’re out of prison, and you’re with the woman you love. You’re going to be married. Don’t you want to live your life? Just live your life?”

“Of course I do.”

“So do I. Can’t we just?—”

“No, we can’t,” he says. “You’re my sister and I love you. I will protect you no matter what.”

I sigh, take my phone out of my purse, pull up the text, and hand it to Falcon.

His neck and cheeks turn red as he reads it.

Yes, there’s the anger. This is the Falcon who got through prison. The one who ruled his cell block.

He did what he had to do. He got more years tacked onto his sentence because he attacked a man with a shiv. He did it to save his own life, of course. But the shiv was contraband. He shouldn’t have had it in the first place.

He hands my phone back. “You can continue to use this phone, but not to talk about any of this. Use the burner for that.”

“I don’t even know who gave me the burner.”

He frowns. “That’s true. We’ll get you another one.”

“How many phones am I supposed to keep track of?”

He lets out a deep breath. “As many as it takes, Ray.”

I sigh, shove my phone back in my purse. “I suppose Jared already told you aboutthistext.” I hand him the burner.

“He did.”

“So who is texting this burner, anyway? That guy who hijacked my Uber?”

“We’re still looking into that,” Falcon says. “But whoever is doing that doesn’t seem to mean you any harm.”

“They told me I was in danger, and then a couple hours later I got that horrible text.”

“Yeah.” Falcon rakes his fingers through his hair. “Leif, Jared, and I are going to figure this out, Raven.”

“I can help.”

“No. You stay safe. I’m going to get you to the safe house.”

I stomp my foot on the ground. “Damn it, Falcon. How can I get this nonprofit off the ground if I’m not around?”

“Savannah’s going to help. And Robin. I’ve already talked to both of them.”

I blink. “You dragged your fiancée and our sister into this?”

---