Page 31 of Filthy Liar

“Bluebird, don’t be a brat. Accept the house so you have somewhere to live, and we can deal with the rest later,” he said calmly.

“No.”

“Raven,” he bit out, losing his patience.

“I said no, Ander. It’s all of us, or none of us. I don’t care if we live in the fucking cars, as long as we’re all together,” I threw back, giving him a shove. He gritted his teeth against the pain from the bruises, and within seconds he had his hand around my throat and yanked me against him.

“I need you to be safe or I’m going to lose my fucking mind. I can’t deal with Stefano if I’m worried about you all the time. Take the house, lay low, and leave me to handle everything else.”

“Eat shit,” I snapped, grabbing his wrist with both hands to pry him off me, and Zavier must have given him a dirty look because he surprisingly let go.

I flicked what was left of my cigarette in the ashtray on my way back into the house, finding Rory bringing Lara back down the stairs.

“Thank you for the house offer, but I have to decline,” I said firmly, her brow creasing with confusion.

“Why? You don’t want to discuss it with the others first?”

“Is Ander welcome?” I asked, and she eyed me for a second before sighing.

“No, he’s not.”

“Then I appreciate it, but no thank you. We’ll find something else.”

“He needs to go underground. If Stefano knows he’s here and is pissed about it, then it’s only going to draw more trouble your way if he’s with you,” she warned in a low voice, her eyes flicking behind me, telling me Zavier and Ander had joined us.

“Apart from the fact you’ve all forgotten that technically Zavier is the target of Stefano’s wrath, he’s after me too. If one of your guys had a target on their backs, would you make them leave?” I asked Rory, her eyes narrowing.

“No.”

“Exactly. Ander’s family to us, Rory. We’re not going to kick him to the curb just because?—”

“You give me just as many gray hairs as fucking Beckett,” she growled, handing Lara to me. “Why don’t any of you kids listen to me when I’m trying to keep you safe?”

“Infuriating when someone you love doesn’t listen, isn’t it?” Hunter said with amusement as he appeared.

“Fuck off, Rivera. Aren’t you supposed to be working or something?” Rory bit out, but Hunter shrugged.

“Marco has it handled. What’s going on here?”

“Raven won’t accept the house.”

It was obvious this had been a discussion before we’d arrived here because Hunter snorted.

“I told you she won’t. Let Lavaro stay with them. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather know where he is than not.”

She grumbled, running her fingers through her hair before looking at me again. “Fine. If the prick is staying with you, then I don’t want to see any money until the first of the month. This week’s free, understand?”

“Thank you,” Zavier blurted out, not wanting me to argue. “We appreciate it. Where is it?”

“Here in Ashburn. It’s nothing fancy, but we had a kid move out and in with her boyfriend, so it’s available. It’s only one bedroom, but the kitchen’s updated and the heating is good. The gate locks too, so the cars should be safe. I can get the Thieves to install cameras outside if you want,” she offered. “And I’ll make sure there’s another mattress since the only one there right now isn’t big enough for you all. When Logan and Reid get back, I’ll give you the keys to go check it out.”

“I take it there’s no fancy pool or hot tub?” Ander joked, and I swatted him.

“Don’t be greedy.”

“I was just asking.”

Rory rolled her eyes at us before pointing at Ander. “You, come with me. We need to talk.”

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