Raven

by BE Kelly

  “I wasn’t trying to explain anything, man,” Texas said. “You’re just in a mood this morning.”

  “I’m not in a fucking mood. Hell, I think that I’ve been pretty easy going, all things considered.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Remi questioned. It was one of the things that turned him on most about her. She was fierce and never backed down from anyone or anything.

  “It means that we spent the night together after Tex took off, and you never told me one damn thing about yourself. Hell, when morning came, you couldn’t seem to get out of my bed fast enough, Remi. So, yeah, maybe I sound like I’m accusing you of something. I don’t know what’s up anymore because no one is letting me in on any of your little secrets. Do you know how long it took Tex to tell me about being in prison? And, judging by the way you two are cozier than two peas in a fucking pod, I’m betting you told him whatever your dark secret is that haunts you.” He paused and looked Remi over, knowing he hit his mark from the sadness he saw in her hazel eyes. That was the last thing Jag wanted—to cause her any sadness, but here he was, doing just that.

  “Fuck,” Texas swore. “You have no right to talk to her like that, man.”

  “I have every right because I’m a part of this—whatever it is. Isn’t that what we all agreed on last night? That we were all going to try to make this thing work between us?” Remi crossed the kitchen to stand in front of him. Jag was surprised Tex let her do it.

  “You are,” she whispered. “We are. I was putting up walls, not letting Texas in and he convinced me that it’s alright not to be perfect. God, Jag, I’m far from perfect,” she sobbed.

  “We all are,” Jag offered. He pulled her against his body and kissed the top of her head. “I just want to be a part of this—remember? Whatever this is.”

  Remi sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You are a part of this, Jag,” she promised. Remi cupped his cock and gasped when she found him already hard. “You’re a huge part of this,” she teased. Jag could see her putting her defenses back up and that hurt his damn feelings. How could she completely share herself with Tex and shut him out? Remi was hiding behind sex and that was the last thing he wanted. Sure, he was always up for a good fuck but if they didn’t get down to what had her hiding from him, they’d never get past just falling into bed together. They’d never be more than what they were right now.

  “Don’t,” Jag ordered.

  “Don’t what?” Remi whispered.

  “Don’t hide from him, Honey,” Texas said. She let Texas pin her body between his and Jag’s. “You can tell him what you’ve told me, Baby. Jag won’t judge you; I promise.”

  “He won’t want me if he finds out,” she whispered.

  “Try me,” Jag said. He knew that letting Remi go would be damn near impossible for him at this point, he just wished she knew that.

  “Just give him a chance, Remi,” Tex said. “Let him prove to you that he wants in.” Jag did too. He wanted to be a part of the two of them more than anything. “It’s alright, Honey,” Jag lied. “You can tell me when you’re ready to.” Jag kissed her forehead and turned to leave the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?” Texas asked.

  “I have to get to the hanger,” he said. “Busy day,” he lied. Jag didn’t miss the flash of disappointment in Remi’s hazel eyes. Maybe if he stayed, she’d tell him what she had shared with Tex, but he didn’t want to stand around and hope that would happen. No, this time, he’d be the one to walk out—just as Texas and Remi had done to him. It was time for Jag to start to figure out his shit and putting a little distance between the three of them might be the best way to do that. At least, that was what he’d tell himself.

  Texas

  “Fuck,” Texas growled. He watched Jag run out of there like his ass was on fire and when Remi heard his bike leave the garage, she looked about ready to break down and cry. “He just needs some time, Remi. He’ll be back,” Texas offered. He didn’t know if what he was saying was true or not, but that was all he had to give her—promises that might never be.

  “I get it, this is happening so fast, he just needs a minute. I have to head back to my house to shower and change for work,” Remi said. Tex hated that she was running too, but he had her for longer than he thought he would.

  “You can use my shower,” he offered.

  “No, it’s fine. I need a change of clothes and I should check in on Nena.” Texas gave her the distance she seemed to be needing. She was fidgeting with the dishes and he knew she was just avoiding making eye contact with him.

  “When can I see you again?” he asked. He worried that if he let her walk out of his house, she’d keep on going and he’d never see her again. Sure, he knew where she worked now at least, but he wasn’t a stalker.

  Remi stopped washing the dishes long enough to smile up at him. “I’m not really sure,” she said. Tex felt as if his damn heart was going to stop. He was sure that this was the part where she told him that his time with her was up. What Remi didn’t understand was that he’d fight like hell to have just one more night with her—and to hell with whatever shit Jag had going on.

  “What the fuck, Remi? What the hell do you mean by that?” he asked.

  She set the last dish in the drainer to dry and turned towards him, giving him her full attention. “Don’t get yourself all worked up, Texas. I just meant that I’m going home for a few days with Oryana. Our aunt is sick and she has to have a few tests run. Her daughters will be with her, but someone needs to stay with Anali. Nena and I decided that a trip home would do us both some good.”

  “When do you leave?” he asked. Texas had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer.

  “Tonight,” she admitted. “After work.”

  “Shit, Remi,” he grumbled, swiping his hand down his face. How was he going to tell Jag that Remi up and left? Hell, how was he going to get his best friend to agree to give her a chance if she wasn’t around to do just that? “When the hell were you going to tell us?”

  “Hmm,” she hummed. “Well, let me think.” Remi tapped her finger against her chin as if she was deep in thought and then stared him down as if daring him to question her. “How about never. I don’t owe either of you an explanation of my whereabouts. We’ve slept together twice,” she said. “That hardly qualifies you or Jag to know where I am and what I’m doing. Hell, Jag isn’t even speaking to me right now. How am I supposed to tell him about my trip home if he can’t seem to be in the same room with me?”

  Texas nodded, “I get that,” he said. “You just took me by surprise. When will you be home?”

  “Not sure, really,” Remi said. She took the two steps to close the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. “How about I call you when I’m back in town and we can hook-up?”

  Texas wanted to protest the fact that she was only offering him a hook-up. He wanted more with her. Tex thought they had broken down a few of her barriers last night, but he was obviously wrong. He worried that protesting her word choice or admitting that he wanted more than just a hook-up with her would push Remi to balk at the idea. She seemed determined to keep him and Jag in the casual zone of whatever was happening between them. It sucked, but Tex would take her any way he could get her. Sooner or later, he hoped to tear down her walls and get her to admit that they were becoming more than just a one-night stand. If he had his way, he’d have Remi every fucking night.

  “Fine,” he agreed, not trying to give away his disappointment. “In the meantime, I’ll try to figure out what the hell is up with Jag and try to talk him off whatever ledge he’s on now.”

  “Thanks, Tex,” Remi said. “I have to get going if I don’t want to be late for work. We good here?” she asked. Texas wanted to tell her he wasn’t good with any part of what she had just said, but there wasn’t any way he’d send her off on a bad note. He at least wanted some fighting chance that Remi would call him when she got back into town.

  “Yep,” he lie
d and watched her disappear down the hall to his bedroom. He pulled his cell phone out of his jeans and called Jag. He wasn’t sure Jag would even pick up and when he finally did, Tex knew that his friend was still pissed about their morning.

  “What,” Jag growled into the other end of the cell.

  “Geeze man,” Texas grumbled. “You really need to work on your phone manners.”

  “What do you want Tex? I’m really not in the mood for whatever this is,” Jag warned.

  “We need to talk, face to face,” Texas said.

  “Great,” Jag shot back. “I’ll be home tonight and we can talk then. Or, you can find me at Reckoning later. Either works for me, man.”

  Texas knew that time wasn’t their friend. He worried that if he let Remi go home to New Mexico, things between the three of them might take a turn. Hell, Jag and Remi were already on shaky ground and Texas wanted to fix it—all of it. He didn’t just want to, he needed to. In just two short days, Remi had come to mean something to him and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to let her go. Not now.

  “Tonight will be too late, Jag,” Texas said. “Give me just ten minutes. I’ll even come to you.” Jag’s hanger was at the local airport and about twenty miles out of his way, but what choice did he have? Texas knew that getting Jag to agree to anything when he was in a mood like this, would be nearly impossible. Offering to go to him might be the only way to get him to listen to reason.

  He could hear Jag’s heavy breathing on the other end of the line and he knew his friend was either really pissed or runny a marathon. Texas had a feeling it was his first guess. “Fine,” Jag spat into the phone. “Ten minutes,” he said and ended the call.

  ****

  Texas walked Remi to her car and when she kissed his cheek and told him she’d see him soon; he didn’t believe her for a second. He could see it in her eyes, she had already written him off and was putting all her walls back up. Telling him about losing her daughter and being raised by her grandmother and aunt—that was all for nothing. She had let him in only to shut him completely out again and fuck, it hurt.

  He made it over to the airport in record time, deciding to ditch his truck and take his bike. He always kept a spare suit at the office, in case of an emergency and talking to Jag qualified as a damn emergency. He needed to get Jag’s head screwed on right before he went and fucked up this whole thing with Remi. Jag stuck his head out from the hanger as if he wondered who was showing up, but Tex knew the score. Jag had probably been waiting for him since his phone call. It was who his best friend was—a worrier, an overthinker and sometimes, too damn caring for his own good. It wasn’t like him to treat Remi the way he had that morning. Jag wouldn’t have pushed her away like he had unless something was up. Texas just hoped Jag was in a sharing mood because he didn’t have time to play twenty questions since he was on a tight schedule.

  “Hey man,” Tex shouted. “You here?” He already knew the answer, but he’d play Jag’s game.

  “Yeah,” Jag grumbled from the back of the hanger. “I’m back here.” Texas walked back to meet him and instantly knew that Jag hadn’t cooled down from his earlier tantrum. He was standing next to a big metal desk he kept in the corner, in his make-shift office. Jag didn’t bother with niceties, like actually looking up from the paperwork he was pretending to work on.

  “What’s up?” Texas casually asked.

  “I don’t know. You were the one who called me and insisted we had to talk. So, what’s up, Texas?” Jag asked.

  Tex chuckled and Jag shot him a look that told him he wasn’t amused by the whole scene. “Okay,” Texas said, holding up his hands in defense. “I just wanted to find out what the hell happened this morning. You treated Remi like crap and then ran out of the house like your ass was on fire.”

  “Yeah well, I’m done with being on the outside of whatever it is you two have going on.” Jag set his paperwork down on his desk, giving Tex his full attention and he wished his friend would go back to pretending to be distracted by his flight plans. “What the hell was that this morning?” Jag asked.

  Texas knew that Remi not sharing with him had hurt Jag’s feelings. But he didn’t even give her a chance to come clean. “You beat out of there so fast; you didn’t give Remi or me a chance to explain.”

  “Explain what, exactly?” Jag slumped down into his chair and watched Texas as if expecting an answer to his question.

  “I won’t share Remi’s story. That is for her to tell you and if you had given her a chance, she might have. But, I can tell you that we have a lot in common. Her parents aren’t in the picture and well, you were right. Our girl has been through hell and back.”

  “Hell and back? Like what are we talking about here?” Jag questioned.

  “Not my story to tell, man. I’m just worried she won’t let you in now,” Texas admitted. “I’m worried she won’t let either of us in.”

  “Why the fuck not?” Jag asked.

  “She’s put her walls up and she’s running, man,” Tex growled.

  “Running where?” Jag asked.

  “She said she’s going home, with Nena. Something about her aunt being sick and needing some tests. She and Nena are going back to be with her grandmother.” Jag pushed the papers around on his desk and then stood and cursed.

  “You sure?” Jag asked. “How do you know she’s running and not just going home for a visit as she said?”

  “A feeling, I guess. Fuck, I don’t know,” Texas admitted. “I just know that she was acting differently after you left. I asked her when we’d see her again and she said she wasn’t sure.”

  “All that means is her schedule is up in the air,” Jag defended. “Maybe you’re just reading too much into it.”

  “No,” Texas breathed. “You trust me, Jag?” he asked.

  It was nice that Jag didn’t seem to miss a beat before he answered. “Yes,” Jag agreed. “With my life.”

  “Great,” Texas said. “Then how about you give me a little faith here and help me come up with a fucking plan to keep our girl from running off and shutting us out of her life?”

  “She’s not our girl,” Jag grumbled.

  “You keep telling yourself that, man. Remi’s been our woman since the night she walked into Reckoning, to tell Lyra that she was in danger. You need to get your head out of your ass and give her a chance, man. Give the three of us a fighting chance here, Jag. I’m falling for her and if I had to bet on it—I’d say that you are too.” Texas stared him down as if challenging him to deny it. Jag didn’t. He didn’t need to because Tex could see it in his eyes every time Jag looked at Remi. He was all in where she was concerned.

  “So, how about it, man? Are we going to New Mexico to convince our woman to give us both a chance? I figure you can do some groveling, to get back into Remi’s good graces, and I’ll sit back and enjoy the show. I’m pretty sure she’ll give you some shit before she agrees to forgive you. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jag grumbled. “When does she leave?”

  “Tonight, after work,” Texas said.

  “Fine, we leave in the morning. I have a few things to do today and I’m having the mechanic look at the landing gear. As soon as I get the all-clear, we can take off.” Texas knew that his fist-bumping the air was too much, but he didn’t give a fuck. He was excited about their little trip and if he was right, they’d come back home with their woman just where she belonged—between the two of them.

  Remi

  Remi hated that Oryana wouldn’t let her drive. Her sister had to be exhausted and it was her turn, but Nena refused to give up the driver’s seat. “I took a three-hour nap—I’m good, Nena,” Remi pleaded.

  “You know I get car sick,” Remi,” Nena countered.

  “You haven’t gotten sick in a car since we were eight, Nena.” Her sister flashed her evil grin and Remi knew she was fighting a losing battle. When Nena wanted something, she really knew how to throw down and dig her heels in. They were a
lot alike in that way.

  “Fine,” Remi spat. “Suit yourself, but don’t come crying to me when you’re tired and need a break. You can just drive the whole way there.”

  “Deal,” Nena quickly agreed and Remi wondered if that wasn’t her sister’s plan all along. Oryana giggled, telling her that she had correctly guessed what her twin was up to. “Don’t look like such a sore loser, Remi,” Nena said. Remi didn’t even try to hide her scowl, causing her sister to laugh harder.

  “You have always been a cheater, even when it comes to tricking me into giving you your way,” Remi accused. She crossed her arms over her chest, even making a small “humphing” noise, only making Nena giggle louder.

  “And you’ve always been a sore loser,” Nena accused. “Let’s listen to some music.” Nena didn’t wait for Remi to agree; turning on the radio. They had about ten more hours to drive and Remi worried that this was going to feel like the longest trip of her life.

  “Tell me again why we didn’t fly?” Remi mumbled more to herself than Nena.

  Um, well, because we have no money saved and this was a spur of the moment trip. Still, I feel you, Sis. It’s no picnic being trapped in the car with you for almost seventeen straight hours. You’re quite the sour puss,” Nena accused. She wanted to act put out by her sister’s assessment, but Nena was right. She was acting like a sour puss and that had everything to do with Jag walking away from her that morning, not even giving her a chance to explain what had happened between her and Tex. If he had, she would have told him everything—about her parents and about Aria. But, he so effortlessly shoved her aside and only seemed to care about his own feelings, she was now rethinking everything that had happened between the three of them. Remi needed this trip home, not just to see her family, but to hopefully blow off some steam and figure out her next move with Jag and Texas.

  “Want to talk about it?” Nena asked. “Afterall, we do have like ten hours to kill.”