Page 22 of Filthy Liar

“I’d be by myself though,” he sighed, letting me see his anxiety. “What if?—”

“You’d make friends. If anyone’s mean, I’ll send Noah after them,” I grinned, getting to my feet. “C’mon, let’s go find your room.”

He glanced at Lara before standing, following me into the hallway and looking at all the doors. “I get my own room?”

“Absolutely,” Rory said as she appeared, giving him a smile. “You want the one next to Lara’s?”

Relief filled his face as he nodded, and I followed as Rory showed him his new room.

She was showing him how to work the TV when he glanced over his shoulder at me with a grin, and I swore it was one of the only times he’d ever looked like a kid.

He was more than happy to put on some fresh pajamas from the wardrobe and slide into bed, his eyes glued to the TV as we left him alone to go to sleep.

CHAPTERFIVE

RAVEN

Ifelt like I shouldn’t have been at this meeting. There were a lot of Psychos and Devils here, my eyes catching on other crew jackets too. There were some Satan’s Soldiers members, as well as the Shadow Kings and Reapers of Chaos.

Wasn’t this how crew wars started?

I was a little bit surprised that they were having this meeting in Rory’s basement, but Diesel had explained that most meetings amongst these crews happened here. The security was good, and it was soundproof down here too.

The massive table that took up most of the room was also handy.

Zavier kept an arm around my waist as we moved to stand on the other side of the room, Logan and Reid on my other side acting like my own personal security.

Beckett stood against the wall close by, deep in discussion with Maddox and Zane, while other crew members sat around the table or stood wherever they could as low murmurs went around the room.

Everyone was on edge, and it was likely to get worse by the end of this meeting.

Lukas and Jensen stayed out to keep an ear out for the kids, but everyone else was present, other than Skeeter, who I hadn’t seen since he’d left to deal with Beckett earlier.

Hunter stood from his chair, the room going quiet as the meeting started.

“Our mafia problem wasn’t crew related until now. I think it’s best if we all figure out what the fuck to do about it,” he stated, letting out a sigh. “Dante Ricci killed one of the girls at Wet Dreams tonight, so now they’ve brought the Reapers into this mess. This isn’t just about the mafia coming after Lopez and Raven anymore. It can’t be a coincidence that the girl’s hair was similar to Raven’s either.”

This was the first I’d heard about it, and a shiver ran down my spine.

Was it a message, or had they targeted her because they thought shewasme?

“Kill Lavaro and the Ricci kid. If Stefano wants a war, we’ll give him one,” Zane said in a bored tone, making me scowl.

“This has nothing to do with Ander. He’s a pawn, just like the rest of us.”

“Not a pawn, a puppet. He knows exactly what he’s fucking doing,” Zane shot back, giving me a dirty look. “You know this war isn’t about your pussy, right?”

“Ander’s trying to get away from Stefano! He never asked to be brought into it, he was forced!”

“Abused dogs bite, Raven. The only person that guy is looking out for is himself,” Beckett said as she crossed her arms to eye me. “I get it, your feelings are on the line here, but you need to listen to those who aren’t emotionally invested in the situation. You’re biased, of course you believe him, but it makes you blind.”

“You’re the only person who believed in Zavier,” I pointed out. “Everyone wanted to use him as leverage with his father, and no one trusted him. Son of a monster, right? You fought for him and brought him back home to us because you believed that he wanted nothing to do with Kristoff or the Demons.”

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“Lopez didn’t fucking lie to me,” she snapped, pointing a finger at me. “Your little mafia boyfriend hid his identity for a goddamn reason. He wanted to use it against us and catch us off guard.”

---