I shake my head and step back, crossing my arms. “Why the hell should I believe you? You forced me to jump into a freezing river, and I almost died because of it.”
“Don’t be overdramatic. You didn’t almost die. You got a mild case of hypothermia. And we didn’t make you jump,” Jax says so matter-of-factly.
“You didn’t give me any other choice,” I point out. “It was either jump or end up like those other guys you hauled out to that bridge. And from what Zay said, I’m betting their frozen corpses are beneath that frozen ground surrounding that river.”
He gives me a tolerant look as he braces his hands on the doorframe. “Actually, we did give you another choice. You just didn’t want to take it.”
I glare at him. “That’s because freezing to death sounded way better than being your whore.”
“Sounded. As in the past tense?” he questions, his brow arching. When I make no effort to respond, he thrums his fingers against the doorframe. “Well, regardless of what you didn’t or did want to be, now you’re one of us, so …” He shrugs, lowering his hands to his sides.
“Yeah, no thanks,” I mutter.
“No thanks?” Jax looks livid. “You should be a bit more grateful about this.”
“Why? Because you guys are so awesome?” I question. “You basically kidnapped me today and threatened my life, so why the hell would I want to be friends with you?”
“We’re not offering our friendship.” Zay steps up behind Jax.
Like Hunter and Jax, he’s wearing nicer clothes than he was earlier; wearing a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a red tie hanging loosely around his neck. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a real look at his face without his features being shadowed by a hoodie. Well, besides when he pulled me out of the river and presses his body against mine, but I was really out of it then. I realize that he’s even more gorgeous than I thought. And scary. And intense.
Dangerously gorgeous is probably the best word to describe him.
“We’re offering you protection,” Zay explains, seeming oblivious to my subtle inspection of him. “Something I’m guessing you need since you’re crazy enough to jump off a bridge. And I’m sure that mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble around here. You’re gonna need someone to have your back.”
I growl out in frustration, “I had to jump off the bridge. It was either that, get murdered, or be your whore. The bridge seemed like the best option.”
Zay shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Not every threat means something, princess.”
Hunter and Jax give him a curious look for who the hell knows what reason, but Zay doesn't even so much as a glance in their direction.
“Not in my world,” I tell him. As the words slip from my lips, I tuck my arms against my side as my scars throb. “And don’t call me princess. I’m far from being one.”
Zay’s gaze drops to my side, then he looks up at me, his eyes burrowing into mine. “Where’d those scars come from?”
I smash my lips together. Nope. I’m not talking about this.
Zay narrows his eyes. “You have to answer me. It’s part of our rules.”
I shake my head. “I don’t have to follow your rules, because I’m not part of your stupid circle.”
Zay’s nostrils flare. “God, you’re the most frustrating person I’ve ever met.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I retort, equally as irritated.
Zay glowers at me. “You better be careful, princess, or that mouth of yours is going to end up around—”
“Okay.” Hunter pushes Zay out of the way. “I think you need a timeout.”
Zay’s glare snaps in Hunter’s direction, his chest heaving as he breathes raggedly. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do.”
Hunter gives him a pressing look as he puts a hand on his shoulder. “You need to chill out before you say something you’ll regret.”
Zay grinds his teeth. “Whatever.” He glances at me one final time, our gazes colliding.
Intensity blazes from his eyes and my pulse accelerates, but I refuse to look away.
Finally, he tears his eyes off of me, and reels around, storming out of the room.
Jax starts after him. “I’ll go check on him this time,” he tells Hunter. “You rationalize some sense into her.”
Rationalize some sense into me?
Anger trickles through me, but fizzles a bit when Hunter smiles at me.
“So, I was wrong about October eighth being the start of our friendship. I guess I’m not a psychic after all.” He grins. “Not that I care. I’m kind of glad I was wrong if it means we get to start being friends sooner.”
“Friends?” I question. “I thought the circle was for protection and nothing more.”
“Its main purpose is for protection. The friendship part is just an added bonus.” He winks at me. “Especially when it comes to you.”
I roll my eyes. “I already told you that you and I aren’t gonna be friends. And that was before you guys did all that shit to me earlier … How much time has gone by since I passed out?”
“Only a couple of hours.” He offers his hand to me, not trying to grab me, which I’m thankful for. “Come sit by me for a while. There’re some things I need to explain to you.”
I want to protest, want to yell at him to let me leave, but I have a feeling he won’t help me out of this mansion until I at least hear him out.
I cross my arms. “Fine. But I’m not taking your hand.”
He juts his lip out. “Well, that’s not very fun.”
“Holding my hand isn’t very fun,” I insist. “I suffer from clammy hand syndrome.”
Curiosity sparkles in his eyes. “Is that really a thing or are you telling me bullshit because you think I have cootie?”
I lift a shoulder, struggling not to smile, which is so annoying. I shouldn’t find him amusing. Not after what happened.
I really am crazy.
Grinning, he steps back and motions for me to step out. “Okay, fine. We can pretend I have cooties for now. But eventually, I’ll prove to you that I’m as clean as a whistle.”
“Whistles aren’t clean.” I inch out of the closet and peer around the room, at the hardwood floors and at all the artwork covering the walls.
I’d been in such a rush before I dove into the closet that I hadn’t even noticed the artwork. One in particular draws me in; a painting of what can only be described as a shadow girl hiding in a forest. I can’t see her face, but I can almost feel her pain flowing off the canvas.
“You like art?” Hunter asks as he watches me closely.
I shrug, looking away from the painting. “I don’t really know much about it, but the stuff on your wall seems cool. Or, well, maybe cool’s not the right word …” I waver. “Maybe hauntingly sad and dark.”
A pleased grin tugs at his lips. “I’ll take that as a ‘you like my work.’ ”
My lips part in shock. “You painted these?”
He nods, stepping toward me and stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Which one’s your favorite?”
My gaze magnetizes back to the shadow girl. “I don’t know … Maybe that one.” I rub my lips together, highly aware of him studying me as closely as I’m studying his painting. “She looks sad. I can almost feel it.”
I turn my attention back to him, only to find him staring at me sympathetically.
“Maybe it’s because you’re sad and you see some of yourself in the girl.” He starts to reach for my hand then withdraws, crossing his arms and tucking his hands underneath his armpits. Then his expression turns serious. “Why’d you jump? And please don’t say it was because we made you. Sure, we may have made it seem like you had to, but with how feisty you are, we thought you’d try to run. And we were going to let you do that.”
I frown. “Then what was the point of any of it?”
He shrugs. "What Jax said was true. We need people to respect us around here, and to gain that respect, we took the route of
instilling fear in people. It almost always works. Almost every time we’ve hauled someone to that bridge and threatened them, they’ve nearly pissed themselves and ran away. And they fear us after that. But that almost always used to be an always … until you.” He unfolds his arms then hesitantly tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “Why did you jump when you can’t swim? At least, that’s why I’m assuming you didn’t swim out of the river yourself.”
I lean away from his touch and wrap my arms around myself. He frowns at my offish move but doesn’t comment.
“I tried to tell you guys that I couldn’t swim,” I mutter.
“I know, and I’m sorry we didn’t listen.” He offers me an apologetic smile. “But in our defense, that’s the most common excuse we’ve heard.”
“Well, it wasn’t an excuse.”
“Clearly.” He pauses, eyeing me closely. “How are you feeling anyway? You don’t feel sick or anything, do you?”
I shake my head. “I feel a little tired and irritated with you guys, but other than that, I feel okay.”
“Good. I’m glad you’re okay. And I’m glad that whole shared body heat thing wasn’t a myth.”
“Shared body heat …?”
“That thing Zay did to you in the back seat,” he explains with a pucker between his brows. “What did you think he was doing?”
I lift a shoulder. “Honestly, I thought he was going to rape me.”
His eyes widen. “What?”
I shrug again. “He was yanking off my clothes after he threatened me and proposed I could be you guys’ whore. What else was I supposed to think?”
His expression plummets. “We may be a lot of things, little raven, but we have and never will rape anyone. That’s not who we are.”
“Then who are you?” I wonder, really curious to know the answer.
He smiles and tugs on a strand of my hair. “And that’s what I’m trying to explain to you.” Then he grabs my hand and tows me toward a leather couch.
Deep down, I feel like I should pull away from him, but honestly, I’m really tired of fighting.
Just give up.
I kind of did today when I jumped. For a moment, I had let myself sink to the bottom of that river, and I would’ve stayed there if Zay hadn’t jumped in and pulled me out.
“Why did Zay jump in and save me?” I ask as he plops down on the sofa and pulls me down with him.
“Well, for starters, we didn’t want you to drown. And Zay’s the best swimmer. Plus, he reacted quicker than Jax and I.” He slips his arm around my shoulders. “Also, the moment you jumped off that bridge, you became one of us.”
“You keep saying that, but I still don’t understand why. Honestly, I don’t really understand what you are. I mean, I know you’re called The Raven Three and that you’re like super powerful or something because you’re scary. I know your dad works for Jax’s, who’s also Zay’s uncle and that you’re all like super rich. I was also warned that I should stay away from you. And to not piss you off.”
His lips quirk. “Clearly, that was advice you didn’t take.”
I roll my eyes. “That wasn’t by choice.”
His brow curves upward. “So, you’re saying that, if we hadn’t cornered you in the school, you would’ve just backed off and ignored us? Even if Zay told you to get out of his seat again?” When I hesitate, he grins. “Face it, little raven, you’re a feisty little shit, and if we kept crossing paths, you would’ve mouthed off until we tried to teach you a lesson.”
“Maybe,” I admit. “But in my defense, you’re not the first people that have come after me because I smarted off one too many times.”
“I already assumed that.” His gaze strays to my side, making me too aware that I’m wearing nothing but a shirt and my underwear. “Did those scars get put on you because you smarted off one too many times?”
“Honestly, it was a combination of a lot of things.” I huff out an exasperated breath. “Look, I really don’t want to talk about my scars, so why don’t you tell me why me jumping off this bridge now makes me the fourth member or your … whatever the heck you guys are.”
He glances one more time at my scarred side then focuses on me. “Jumping off that bridge is an initiation into our circle, which we now have to retitle The Raven Four.”
“So, you, Zay, and Jax all jumped off that bridge so you could be part of a group ran by yourself?” I ask dubiously.
He lifts a shoulder, giving a half-shrug. “It was a long time ago when we did it. And really, it kind of started out as a dare that we ended up turning into an initiation. Although, none of us jumped into that water when it was as cold as it was today.” He combs his fingers through my hair and smiles. “You little show off.”
“I’m not a show off,” I promise. “And how has no one else done it before? I mean, I know I’m a bit crazy, but I’m not an anomaly like you all say I am.”
“Um, yeah, you sort of are,” he insists, rotating on the sofa until his leg is pressed against mine. “We gave at least ten guys the opportunity to do what you did today and none of them ever did it.”
“Maybe I was just too stupid to realize I was going to get hypothermia?” I suggest, trying to get him to stop looking at me like he is now.
Like I’m completely fascinating.
“No, you knew what you were getting into. I could see it in your eyes. It just looked like maybe you didn’t care all that much about what happened to you.” He searches my eyes. “Is that what it was?”
I remain indifferent so he won’t be able to see the lie. “Nah, I’m just a thrill seeker.”
His frown deepens. “Fine, I won’t press you for the truth. Yet.” He sits up straight, removing his arm from my shoulders and plastering on a smile. “But whatever the reason you did it, you are now officially one of us.”
“And what if I keep refusing to be part of your circle?” I ask. “What will you do to me?”
“Nothing. And you want to know why? Because you’re not going to refuse.” He laces his fingers through mine and stands up, pulling me up with him. “Not after you hear the benefits.” He pauses, as if waiting for something, then his head bobs back as he lets out a frustrated groan. “Oh, come on, you’ve got to give me something other than silence.”
“Okay… But I’m not sure what you want from me.”
He groans again then looks at me, wetting his lips with his tongue. “Do me a favor and try not to say stuff like that to me, okay? Jax is gonna make up these stupid rules that won’t let me answer that kind of question truthfully. At least not with you.”
Catching on to what he’s saying, I nod. “I’ll never ask it again.”
“Don’t say never, little raven.” He grins impishly.
“Good God,” I groan. “Stop calling me that.”
“But it’s so fitting.” The corners of my lips twitch as I narrow my eyes at him. “Oh come on. Stop giving me that look. Deep down, you know you’re meant to be one of us. Not just because you’re crazy as hell, but because of your name. I mean, it’s like fate brought you to us or something.”
“Yeah, I don’t agree with you.” I pause, wondering something. “Why did you guys end up calling yourselves The Raven Four?”
His eyes sparkle mischievously. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret, but you can’t tell Zay, okay?” He waits for me to nod, then leans in. “When Zay was little, he was really into birds. He would make Jax and I go bird watching with him for like hours every day. It was the most boring thing I’ve ever done, but I did it for him because while Zay and I aren’t technically blood related, he’s my brother in every way that counts.”
“So you named your group The Raven Three because Zay was really into birds?” That’s really the entire story?
“Not completely.” He hesitates. “Zay actually used to have a pet raven.”
“Is that even legal?”
Hunter gives me a really look. “Does Zay seem like the kind of guy that’d care if it wasn’t?”
/>
“Good point.”
He offers me a small smile, but then it fades. “But anyway, Zay had this raven that he called Raven.”
“No way,” I say. “You’re messing with me.”
He looks at me in all seriousness. “I swear I’m not. He named it Raven because his dad told him that giving something a name, or nickname, made them more important to you, and that made you weak, so Zay rarely uses people’s names, or gives people nicknames. And his dad used to—and still does—refer to Zay as Kid. It’s really messed up… But that’s kind of the story of all our lives… But anyway…” He clears his throat, looking a way for a second before glancing back at me. “To make a long story short, Zay’s dad killed his raven on the same day we created our group. Zay was upset, but he wouldn’t admit it. So to honor the bird, we decided to name our group after it.”
So many questions fill up my mind, like why did Zay’s dad kill the raven? And why is Zay calling me princess if he doesn’t give nicknames?
“That’s really messed up.” My heart hurts a little for Zay. “I mean, that his dad killed his bird.”
He offers me a sad smile. “Messed up is what we are, little raven. And I think, deep down, you’re just as messed up as us.”
I want to argue, even though it might be a lie, but then some old clock chimes off the time, making me aware of how late it is.
Crap. I can’t even text my aunt to let her know where I am. Not that she’ll be worried. No, she’ll be irritated that I wasn’t home in time to clean the house, something she makes me do whenever I misbehave like I did this morning … So, yeah, I clean the house a lot.
“I need to get home, like, soon, especially since someone threw my phone out the window.” I narrow my eyes at him, but it’s kind of a playful move.
I’m not sure why I can’t be mad at him. He’s just too smiley and it’s kind of contagious.
“Hey, I didn’t toss out your phone,” he protests with exaggerated offense. “That was all Jax.”
“Yeah? So? I still don’t have a phone.”
Worry creases his face. “Are your aunt and uncle gonna freak out on you for being out so late?”
I chew on my bottom lip. “They might freak out, but not over that.”
The Raven Four: Books 1-2 Page 9
