The Raven Four: Books 1-2

by Jessica Sorensen

  “Don’t you dare disrespect her,” she warns Jax then looks at me. “Since these boys have no manners, I guess I’ll just introduce myself. I’m Mable. I used to be their nanny. Now I run their diner. Although, I sometimes still have to keep an eye on them since they clearly haven’t learned any manners yet, even though I’ve tried to teach them many times.”

  I can’t help smiling. “I’m Ravenlee.”

  “Ravenlee,” she muses with a smile. “That’s a really pretty name.”

  “Thanks.” I fiddle with the leather band on my wrist as she momentarily assesses me.

  “So, how did you end up with these hooligans?” she asks curiously as she places some glasses of orange juice in front of everyone.

  I glimpse around at Hunter, Jax, and Zay, all of who are looking at me warily. I wonder what they’d do if I told her the truth. Part of me is curious to find out, to see if she scolds them. But I decide to let them off the hook.

  I flash the guys a grin as I recline back. “I’m new to Honeyton,” I tell her. “And they’re being kind enough to show me the ropes of this lovely little town.”

  She chuckles as she picks up the last plate on her tray. “I like your attempt to bullshit me, Ravenlee, but I’ve known these boys long enough to know the word kind is never applied to them.” She sets the plate down in front of me.

  I glance down at the waffle, eggs, and sausage, my mouth instantly salivating. But, as hungry as I am, I can’t pay for this food.

  “Um, I didn’t order anything,” I tell her, moving to hand her back the plate.

  “I ordered it for you.” Hunter reaches across the table and swats my hand away from the plate before I can pick it up. “If you don’t like what’s on it, we can order you something different. But I think you should at least try the waffle.” He grins at Mable. “Mable makes the best waffles.”

  “I make the best everything,” she quips, scooping up the tray. “I need to go fill in another order. If you guys need anything else, get off your asses and get it yourselves.” She walks off toward the counter.

  “She’s funny,” I remark with a small smile.

  “She is. And kind of crazy,” Hunter replies, picking up a fork. “Which is why we like her so much. Even Jax has a soft spot for her.”

  Jax shakes his head as he shovels a bite of eggs into his mouth, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he looks at me. “We need to get you to take the oath so we can finish our breakfast and get to school.” He scoops up another forkful of eggs. “We’re going to tell you the rules, and afterward, you need to agree to them. Then we’ll give you the task to complete. After that, you’ll officially be part of our circle.”

  “And what if I don’t want to agree with one of the rules or this task?” I question. “Then what?”

  Jax lifts a shoulder while stuffing the forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Then you can get up, walk out of here, and forget your time with us. Although, I stress, if you run your mouth about anything you’ve heard us talk about, we’ll have to punish you.”

  “You don’t need to worry about me talkin’,” I tell him. “I’m not Dixie May. And besides, I’m not much for making friends.”

  He studies me for an unnerving beat. “We’ll see. But, just know what happens if you don’t accept the oath, because I don’t fuck around.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I will punish you if you talk about us with anyone, which just happens to be the first rule of the oath: what happens in the circle, stays in the circle.”

  “That one doesn’t seem so bad,” I inform him, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and trying to ignore the mouthwatering scent of the waffle.

  “So, you’re agreeing to it?” Jax double-checks as he picks up a slice of bacon.

  I nod. “Sure.”

  “Good.” He bites off a chunk of bacon. “Hunter, you’re up.”

  Hunter nods, looking at me. “I’m gonna tell you the next rule, but while I do, eat up.”

  “I’m not hungry,” I lie, my stomach churning in protest.

  “Liar.” He pushes the plate closer to me. “Your stomach’s been grumbling all morning.”

  I resist a sigh. “Look, I appreciate it, but I’m not gonna eat food I can’t pay for.”

  Hunter’s mouth tugs up into a half-grin. “You don’t have to pay for it.”

  I push the plate toward him. “I already told you that I’m not a charity case.”

  “This isn’t charity.” Hunter shoves the plate back at me. “We own the diner, so we eat for free.”

  I tuck my hands to the side, refusing to touch the food. “Yeah, but I don’t own the diner.”

  “Oh, for the love of God, I can’t take this stubbornness anymore,” Zay grumbles then reaches over with his fork and cuts into the waffle.

  I expect him to take a bite, which is why he catches me off guard when he moves the fork toward my lips and stuffs it into my mouth. A protest works its way up my throat, but then the taste of the waffle touches my taste buds and …

  “Holy shit! This is so, so good,” I moan as I chew.

  Smirking, Zay sets the fork down on my plate. “Maybe you should start listening to us more.”

  “She definitely should,” Hunter agrees as he dives into his own waffle. “Which brings us to rule number two: you’re to always listen to what the other circle members have to say, even if you don’t want to hear it.”

  “It doesn’t mean I always have to do what you tell me to do, though, right?” I ask as I reach for the bottle of syrup. “Because I can’t agree to that.”

  Strands of Hunter’s blond hair fall into his eyes as he shakes his head. “Nah. But sometimes you might have to back us up, even if you don’t want to.”

  I consider what he’s saying. Can I do that? I think so … “Okay.”

  Hunter gives me a pleased grin. “Good. Now take another bite of your waffle.”

  “Is this your attempt at being bossy?” I quip with an arch of my brow.

  He grins back at me. “Yeah. How’d I do?”

  I stuff another bite of waffle into my mouth. “Good enough to get me to eat. Although, that might be because these waffles are so freakin’ yummy.”

  He chuckles then shoves a mouthful of waffle into his mouth before glancing at Zay. “You’re up, brother.”

  I twist in the seat to face Zay who’s looking at me with his arms crossed, his jaw working as he chews.

  “Rule number three,” he states. “You will always have our backs, even when you don’t agree with us. But you’ll always support us, even when shit hits the fan, which it will.”

  Again, that doesn’t seem so bad. “All right.”

  A flicker of surprise sparks in his eyes, probably because I’m being agreeable. But the look fades as he goes back to eating.

  “And rule number four and the last rule,” Jax says, drawing my attention to him. “You’ll never stab us in the back. Ever.”

  “Okay.” Again, these rules don’t sound that bad. “Is that it?”

  Jax nods but then wavers. “Well, and the one I set yesterday about everyone remaining friends.”

  “Okay,” I repeat, kinda surprised about how easy the rules are.

  Honestly, with how big of a deal they were making it out to be, I thought they were going to be way more intense.

  Jax nibbles on his lip ring, his gaze dissecting me. “Now, for the task.”

  “Aw, yes, the task,” I remark, stabbing my fork into a sausage. “If this task is anything like the rules, I should be fine with it. Although, I have to say, you guys really overhyped the rules. Seriously, it’s a bit anticlimactic.”

  Jax’s lips slightly twitch, either with annoyance or amusement—I can’t tell. My guess is the latter.

  “The task is simple in theory. Though, I’m a bit doubtful you’ll be able to pull it off,” he taunts, probably trying to get a rise out of me. And it works.

  “I can pull off anything if I want to.” I flash him a cocky grin.

  He b
arely smiles, as if almost pleased with my response. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  “I guess we will,” I reply haughtily. Then I realize he hasn’t even told me what they want me to do. “Wait. What am I supposed to do?”

  Jax’s smirk is all cruelness. “We need you to seduce someone for us.”

  I blink at him. “Come again?”

  His smirk turns even crueler. “There’s a guy named Porter Aversonly. He’s the nephew of one of the bosses of another mafia family. A while ago, our bosses gave us the task of befriending him in order to get some information about his family. However, Porter is a complicated guy.”

  “Which basically means he’s a douchebag,” Hunter says as brushes strands of his hair out of his eyes. “I’ve been trying to make friends with him for a while. I even joined the basketball team that he’s on, but Porter’s too cautious a guy. He’s an asshole for sure, but he also knows to keep his guard up around members of other families.”

  “You’re on the basketball team?” I question, raising my brows as I give him a once-over.

  “What?” he asks with hilarity. “Don’t I look like a jock?”

  I snort a laugh. “Fuck no. And if you did, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

  “Why? You got something against jocks?” he questions with his brow cocked, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

  I shrug, nibbling on my sausage. “I know it’s kinda stereotyping, but from past experiences, jocks are jerks. Plain and simple.”

  “So you try to avoid them,” Hunter scrubs his hand across his jawline musingly. “And yet, you’re sitting here with three of the most dangerous guys in town, one of which may or may not be a psychopath.” He gives a not so subtle nod in Jax’s direction.

  Jax doesn’t remark on Hunter’s comment. He simply focuses on me. “So, do you accept the task? Or are you too afraid?” he taunts. Again, I think he’s trying to get a rise out of me.

  I chew on my bottom lip. “I’m not afraid, but I really doubt I’m going to be able to seduce a jock and get him to spill all his secrets. And what info am I even supposed to be getting from him? I mean, what do your bosses want to know?”

  “They want to know why the Aversonly family has been so fucking quiet,” Zay explains then takes a sip of his orange juice. He winces when he puts the glass back down onto the table and his arm bumps against the corner of the napkin dispenser. I wonder why. “It’s not like any of the families to ever be quiet, so it’s an anomaly.”

  “It’s a warning is what it is,” Hunter mumbles as he pours more syrup onto his waffle. “They’re up to something. Something that’s probably going to fuck the rest of the families in the ass.”

  “This family stuff is sorta confusing,” I interrupt as I grab a napkin from the dispenser. “And wouldn’t my lack of knowledge be a problem when trying to seduce a guy who’s part of this whole mafia families’ thing?

  Hunter shakes his head as he sets the bottle of syrup down on the table. “Porter won’t give a shit about that. All he’s gonna care about is that you’re gorgeous and easy.”

  “But I’m not—” I start to protest, but Jax talks over me.

  “We need to explain more about the families to her,” he says to no one in particular. “We need to take a day to do that … Maybe tomorrow.”

  “But there’s school tomorrow,” I point out, wiping some syrup off my fingers. “And while I’m okay with ditching occasionally, it’ll only be my third day here. And I missed half the day yesterday, thanks to you guys being crazy. And now I’m already tardy this morning.”

  “Both of those things will be excused.” Hunter winks at me then crosses his fingers. “Remember, me and Mrs. M are like this.”

  “Who’s Mrs. M?” I ask in confusion.

  “The secretary you were talking to when the fates finally decided to like me.” Hunter’s smile is as bright as the neon signs hanging around the diner.

  I’m still not sure following him. “Why’d the fates start liking you then?”

  He wets his lips with his tongue then nibbles on his bottom, hesitating. “Because it was the day I met you.”

  Zay releases a loud exhale. “Don’t start with this fate shit again.”

  “No way,” Hunter starts, but Jax talks over him.

  “Both of you don’t start,” he warns then looks at me with his hands overlapped in front of him. “Now, do you accept the terms of the oath or not?”

  I scratch my scars. “It’s not that the task scares me or anything. I just really don’t see myself being able to seduce anyone, let alone some douchebag jock. And I’m not gonna sleep with him. I may be a daredevil with some stuff but prostituting myself is where I draw the line.”

  “Actually, it wouldn’t be prostitution since we’re not paying you,” Hunter points out, and I roll my eyes at him. But he only grins. “And we don’t want you to sleep with him. We just want you to fuck with his head a bit and make him think you’re going to.”

  “I think you’re overestimating my ability to charm someone over,” I stress. “That’s more Dixie May’s thing. I usually rub people the wrong way. You guys should know that already since I managed to piss you all off the first day I met you.”

  “Actually, you just pissed Zay off,” Hunter reminds me. “And honestly, I think he was more shocked at your defiance than pissed off.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Zay mutters as he wipes his fingers off on a napkin. “But I do think she might be able to pull it off with a little bit of training.”

  “Dude, I’m not a dog,” I tell him as I pop a chunk of sausage into my mouth.

  “I’m not saying you are,” Zay replies, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. “But you’re gonna have to learn to be more cooperative if you want this to work.”

  “Why would I want this to work, though?” I question. “I mean, all that’s really in it for me is that I get to become part of you guys’ circle. Which, according to you, offers me protection. But honestly, the only threat I’ve seen so far is you guys.”

  “Which mean, if you’re not in our circle, we’re a threat to you,” Jax stresses as he finishes up the last of his eggs. “Something you should consider before making your decision.”

  “Is that a threat?” I ask, carrying his gaze.

  He shrugs. “You already know enough about us to know that we’re a threat to anyone outside of our circle.”

  True. And that should be enough for me to walk away. In fact, I should just get up now and do that. Forget I ever spent any time with these guys. But I can’t bring myself to do so.

  I try to convince myself that the reason I can’t is because I want to find out if I’ve ever met Zay, if there’s any truth to the dream I had last night. In reality, that’s only part of the reason. The other part has a lot to do with the curiosity of what it would feel like to not be totally alone anymore. Not that I think me and these guys are going to become BFFs, despite what Hunter says. But it might be nice to have someone else in my life, besides my aunt, uncle, and cousin. And these guys seem okay with the whole murder thing, which should be a warning flag, but honestly, so am I.

  Murderer.

  Freak.

  Monster.

  Alone.

  Alone.

  Alone.

  I skim my finger along the inside of my wrist, along the elevated scars. “Even if I agree to try to complete the task, I still don’t think I’m the right kind of girl to seduce a jock.”

  “I can teach you a few things about seducing,” Hunter offers as he shoves his empty plate into the middle of the table. “I’ve been told I can be quite charming.”

  “I’m sure you have,” I agree. “But I think that kind of charm is a gift and can’t be taught.”

  He dismisses me with a flick of his wrist. “You have it in you. You just need the opportunity to explore it a bit.”

  I lift a brow in skepticism. “And you’re gonna help me with that?”

  He gives a nod. “Absolutely.”


  They momentarily fall into silence after that. I’m not sure what they’re waiting for. For me to agree to this task? For me to run out of the diner?

  “So, do you accept the oath?” Jax finally asks, surveying me carefully.

  Every part of my mind screams at me to say no. That I won’t be able to pull it off. That I don’t need to. That I’ve handled being by myself for years and can keep handling it.

  But then I skim my fingers along my scars again, remembering the agony, the emptiness of each passing day, of not wanting to get up, of having nothing. And I’m tired of having nothing. I’m tired of being in pain. I’m tired of being tired.

  Maybe I’m crazy for doing what I’m about to do. I have spent the last several years being told I’m crazy. So, I tell myself I’m just living up to my reputation.

  “All right,” I say. “I accept the oath.”

  They all grin. Even Jax cracks the smallest of a smile.

  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.

  I guess I’m about to find out.

  “But I’m not moving in with you,” I add, just to make sure we’re on the same page.

  No one says anything, but with the looks they give me, I know I’m gonna have a fight on my hands. Not that it matters. Yeah, I may have taken the oath, but I’m not going to rely on these guys for everything nor will I let them take care of me. Sure, it’ll be okay to not have to be totally alone while I’m living in Honeyton, but in the end, I can’t trust someone that much. And plus, I’m always gonna take care of myself.

  “Don’t rely on anyone,” my mom told me only hours before she died. “You’re a strong girl. Always stay that way, okay? You can’t trust people. They’re evil.”

  My parents had said that to me a lot and I’d always nodded, not fully understanding what they meant. But now…

  I understand them more than I wish I did.

  Jax

  “Don’t you feel at all guilty?” Hunter asks me as he slants against the wall of the small office in the diner.

  After Raven agreed to the oath, I wandered back here to check on a couple of things before we head to school and I made Hunter come with me so I can talk to him about the agreement he made with Raven about teaching her how to seduce Porter. I left Zay with Raven, and he’s showing her how to use her new phone, which should be a safe zone for the two of them.