Page 29 of Filthy Liar

“Can I go too?” Frank asked, seeming to remember his sister at the last second as he glanced at her, and his shoulders dropped. “Never mind.”

Rory studied Frank for a moment before nodding. “I think Raven can help me keep an eye on Lara. Right, Raven?” When Raven agreed, Rory shrugged. “We’ve got her. If you want to go with Reid and Noah, you can. If you wanted Gregory to come hang out today, you could bring him back with you. It’s a nice day, you could hang out in the pool or watch movies.”

“He can come over today?” Frank asked with surprise, scrambling to his feet and flying out of the room, most likely to find his shoes.

“Take someone with you,” Marco said firmly, scrolling on his phone. “And keep a gun in your car.”

“Already have one,” Reid stated, motioning to Zavier. “Lopez can come with me. We’ll drop off Noah, grab cigarettes, then head to the Heights for Greg. Need anything while we’re out?”

“Take Logan, not the mafia bait,” Marco grunted. “Can you go inside Greg’s house to check on his siblings?”

“Will do.”

“I’ll get you a bag of diapers and baby food. Leave it there,” he ordered as he stood and left the room, returning with a large bag of things.

Raven said goodbye to Logan and Reid as they left with the kids, and I glanced between her and Zavier.

“So, what’s the plan today?”

“I’m watching Lara,” Raven said with a frown as if I’d forgotten.

“All day?”

“Just for a few hours,” Rory answered for her, doing something on her phone before looking up at me. “I have a job for you.”

“No offense, but I’m not one of your bitchboys,” I said before sipping my coffee, earning an unamused look in return.

“You’ll be whatever I say you are today, don’t you think?”

My jaw clenched as I bit back my snarky remark, knowing my life was in her hands right now. I had to play along with her bullshit to keep the peace and to prove to Raven that I wasn’t a traitor.

“What do you need?”

“We’ll talk after breakfast,” she said vaguely, abruptly ending the conversation as she turned her attention to Lara to start cleaning the syrup from her fingers and face.

Raven helped her, and Zavier moved to stand beside me.

“What do you think she wants?” he asked quietly, making me shrug as I pulled a cigarette out and motioned in the direction of the back door.

“No idea. C’mon, I need a smoke and for this coffee to kick in.”

Raven

Everyone seemed to vanish from the kitchen, leaving me to help Rory with Lara. I took Lara to the kitchen sink and washed her sticky fingers properly, while Rory cleared the table.

“I have a house for you,” Rory said out of the blue, my head snapping in her direction.

“What?”

“A house. I have one that you can stay in,” she repeated, quirking an eyebrow. “It’s small, but it’s got a roof and hot water. We can find you a bigger one later.”

“How much is rent?”

“No rent. Just look after the place.”

“I’m not living in a house for free,” I said uncomfortably, grabbing the hand towel to dry Lara’s hands.

I could feel Rory’s eyes on me, and when I looked over at her again, she sighed. “Fifty bucks a week rent. Utilities included.”

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