Page 26 of Raven

“I brought some crackers. Do you think you could eat some?” I asked. Otto scrunched up his nose.

“I know, man. But if you don’t eat anything, you’ll have a more miserable time later. And while that wouldn’t usually matter as much, I think you’ll want to be present tomorrow.”

He lifted his eyebrows, sipping the water, and hesitantly reached out for the cracker, nibbling a little. When he’d finished one, he took another sip of water, wiping his mouth when he was done.

“Why?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “Everything go okay with the job?”

“The job went well. But the guys encountered a surprise inside,” I said, chuckling.

“What? How? We planned for everything.”

“Everything but our secret assassin.”

Otto’s mouth dropped open, color returning to his cheeks. “You guys made contact?”

I nodded, moving next to him against the headboard. “Yeah. She came stumbling through a secret door into the room Porter was in. She hit her head on a shelf and passed out when she saw the blood. Rueben carried her out once everything was clear.”

“A she, huh? That makes sense, actually. Is she okay?” he asked, nibbling on another cracker.

Otto and I didn’t often go in on the jobs, our skills were better used on the outside, but there had been an occasion or two when we were all needed or if Porter was out of commission, like when he had mono. So, we didn’t have as much crossover with the assassin, but we’d heard stories of their kills the same as Porter and Rueben.

“Yeah, it was only a minor scrape. Raven can’t handle the sight of blood.”

“Raven.” He smiled, rolling the name around. “I like it. Suits them. Harbinger of death.”

“Well, it gets better.” I nudged his shoulder, eyeing the crackers. He lifted another, eating it as he waited for me to continue. “Raven is Robyn, the girl Porter picked up on the ride-share.”

Otto’s eyes went wide. “No shit. Wait, it wasn’t a con, was it?” he asked, his face falling.

“No. I don’t think so—more like fate. Because, earlier, Rueben met her at the diner and was completely smitten with her. They were walking out, and I bumped into them, and she mistook me for Porter. Apparently, she gave him an ear full before she passed out.” I chuckled, making Otto laugh as well.

“Fate, huh? Okay, I can get on board. Rueben never likes anyone.”

“Exactly, and he’s so far gone, I think he’s microchipped her already. Dude straight up has hearts in his eyes.”

Otto’s jaw dropped again, more of his color returning to his face. He cleared his throat, adjusting his position as he took a drink of water. “Well, damn.”

“We’d invited her to hang out here. None of us were ready to leave her company.”

“Good call,” Otto said, nodding.

“We took her back to her hotel so she could change out of her ‘assassin wear,’ as she put it. We tried to follow her, but she wouldn’t allow it. So she went in—”

“You let her go alone?” Otto blurted, interrupting me. I held my hand up, laughing.

“We gave her a few seconds head start and followed her in. She’s good, though. She caught Porter and me, then called Rueben out, even though he was hiding.” I smiled big, remembering how we’d fallen into that room. “After she reminded us once again she was an assassin, she went into her room to change. There were some tussling sounds, and then a person dressed in black ran from her room.”

“What?” Otto asked, his breathing halting. I patted his leg, reassuring him.

“This will take longer if you keep interrupting me, man.” He closed his eyes, nodding for me to continue as he took a deep breath. “Long story short, the head of Good Meds Pharma has it out for her because she’s gone after the board, saving him for last. When she realized her cover was blown, it gave us the perfect opportunity to invite her to stay with us. So, we packed her up and then came here. She’d sprained her ankle in the fight, so we iced it, fed her, and watched somePhoenix Hospital.”

Otto narrowed his eyes at me. “You put her through that? I’m surprised she didn’t leave.”

“For your information, she’s a Phoenix junkie.” I smiled, liking how that sounded.

“You like that too much,” Otto said, echoing my thoughts. I shrugged, not complaining.

“So, she’s here?” I nodded in confirmation. “And it sounds like… you three like her? What’s that going to mean? How will that work?”

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