Raven

by Heather Atkinson

  The pain of him leaving her for a whole year returned, so she carried on down the hall to one of the spare rooms. She removed her dressing gown, cast it onto the chair in the corner of the room and gratefully climbed beneath the sheets. Despite all the excitement, she quickly fell asleep.

  Raven didn’t know how long she’d been asleep when she woke with a start, aware of a presence in the room.

  “Aidan?” she said, squinting up at the dark figure looming over her.

  Without a word he picked her up and carried her out of the room and down the hall.

  “For God’s sake,” she said. “Will you stop that?”

  He didn’t reply, tossing her onto the bed in the master bedroom. Hastily he clambered in beside her and pulled her to him. “I want to sleep with my wife.”

  “Do I get a say in it?” she said, struggling against him.

  “No,” he replied before closing his eyes.

  Raven went still and sighed. Despite her abilities she simply wasn’t as strong as Aidan. Besides, his bare skin pressing against her own felt so nice.

  Contented, she fell asleep.

  Raven’s eyes flew open, a gasp falling from her lips. Daylight streamed through the window and the most incredible feeling was engulfing her body. Looking down, she saw her legs were splayed, Aidan’s head between them.

  “What…what…” She couldn’t fight against it any longer and flopped back onto the bed. “Oh God,” she cried.

  Aidan slid up her body, wrapping one arm around her, pulling her against him while kissing her. Her thighs locked around his waist and he pushed inside her.

  He pressed his forehead to hers, gazing into her eyes as he brought her to a climax, both their bodies slick with sweat, the heat burning between them, as it always did.

  When the orgasm eventually relinquished her body, her muscles unfurling, tears filled her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, keeping her close.

  “Never that long again. Never or I swear to God I’ll divorce you.”

  “Never, I promise,” he said, kissing her.

  Raven pushed him onto his back, enjoying his moans as she kissed his chest. She hadn’t held out for as long as she would have liked but her husband was home safely and that was all that mattered.

  By lunchtime they were still in bed, tangled amid the sweaty sheets. Aidan flopped onto his back, breathing hard, Raven resting her head on his chest.

  “Mmmm, so much better,” he murmured.

  “I know,” she said, a contented smile playing on her lips.

  “I’ll never be parted from you for so long again.”

  “If you do I’ll make sure you suffer for it.”

  “Every second I’m not with you is suffering.” He patted her arm. “Onto your front. I want to stroke your feathers.”

  She rolled onto her front, revelling in the feel of his hands massaging her back. The number of times she’d ached for this moment, dreamed about it, waking with tears on her cheeks. He loved her tattoos, it had been the first thing he’d noticed about her and what had drawn him to her all those years ago in that hotel bar in Belize.

  “My little bird,” he whispered in her ear. “Go on, say it,” he added when she remained silent.

  “Fine. My powerful hawk,” she mumbled into the bedclothes.

  “That’s better. So, what’s your plan then to bring down this wanker rival of yours?”

  Once she’d finished outlining her plan, he said, “I don’t like it.”

  “Why not? It’s a good plan and it will work. The ravens gave it to me.”

  “They’re not the ones putting their lives on the line. Have you told One Eye your idea?”

  “I’ve not had chance. The ravens gave it to me and the next thing I knew you were carrying me into the house. Why?”

  “You sure you can trust him?”

  She glared at him over her shoulder. “I’m sure.”

  “I know he saved your life and rescued you from the streets but he could still be behind it, him and his pervy son.”

  “They are not, they’re my family. Besides, what would they have to gain?”

  “I don’t know but right now you can’t afford to trust anyone.”

  “Even you?”

  “I wasn’t including myself in that statement.”

  “Why not? You said not to trust anyone and this all kicks off just before you come back.”

  Raven found herself flipped onto her back, staring up into his handsome, outraged face.

  “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences,” she steadily replied.

  “I would never do anything to hurt you. I thought you knew me better than that.”

  “I do but I was curious to see your reaction. Besides, Jeremy himself told me you’re something to do with all this.”

  “I bloody well am not.”

  “You trained him.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “In Russia. You were training mercenaries and, by all accounts, anyone who wanted to acquire deadly skills. He was one of your pupils, you had to translate for him.” She saw the discomfort in his eyes. If it ever got out what he did for a living he’d be hunted by several different countries.

  “I remember him. I never liked him. I always wondered why he gave me weird looks.” His gaze darkened. “This fucker has to die.”

  “And he will.”

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and threw him onto his back, clambering on top of him before he could rise. “Now little bird needs her hawk.”

  “I dreamed of this every night I was away,” he gasped as she took him inside her, grasping her hips and holding on tight as she moved on top of him.

  She ran her hands down his body, admiring the patchwork of tattoos all over his torso. She spotted a new one on his stomach that hadn’t been there before. However she couldn’t examine it further as the pleasure claimed her, Aidan’s fingers digging into her thighs as he spilled himself inside her. With a cry she flopped down on top of him, breathing hard, her fingers trailing over the raven tattoo on his toned stomach.

  “A new one?” she said as she caught her breath, smiling into his skin when she felt his fingers in her hair.

  “I was missing you, badly. I needed something of you.”

  Raven kissed him as the last of her anger simply melted away.

  Later that afternoon they managed to drag themselves out of bed long enough to get something to eat, both ravenous, Raven preparing baked potatoes with tuna. She would have liked to cook him something more substantial, like a full roast dinner, but as she hadn’t been expecting him she didn’t have the ingredients.

  Raven moved about the kitchen very happily, so glad to be cooking for two again. Her husband was finally home and she was revelling in it.

  “I’ve missed your cooking,” he said, eyes lighting up at the huge plate of food she placed before him.

  “I’ve missed you eating it,” she said before taking the seat opposite him at the table.

  “We’re going to need some weaponry for your plan.”

  “Not a problem.”

  “You have a good arsenal but it might not be enough.”

  “It’s increased since you’ve been away.”

  His lips twitched. “You are so hot.”

  She winked at him.

  After eating, he followed her into the lounge, waiting while she pushed aside the couch, revealing the hatch cut into the floor, similar to the one at One Eye’s. Hers however had an extra security precaution and she pressed her hand against the panel in the top of the hatch, there was a beep and it popped open, Raven pulling the panel aside to reveal a set of stairs. They descended together, Raven unable to repress a smile at Aidan’s stunned look.

  “Your collection has certainly expanded,” he said, surprised by the number of metal cabinets lining the walls. “Last time I was here there were only three cabinets.”

  “I thought it would be wise to ex
pand my stock,” she replied. “Glad I did now.”

  She tapped the code into the keypad on one of the cabinets and the door popped open.

  “Are those hand grenades?” he said, peering inside.

  “Yes.”

  “Why the hell would you need a hand grenade in Leeds?”

  She shrugged. “You never know.”

  “Where are the guns?”

  She closed that cabinet and opened up the one beside it, revealing an array of handguns and rifles.

  “That’s more like it,” he said, taking out a Glock. “First things first, we need to get those neo-Nazi arseholes off your back. We’re not going to be able to move about the city quietly with that lot on our tail.”

  “Agreed but we can’t kill them.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  “I’m not up for mass slaughter thank you. Plus a load of bodies will draw even more police attention. There are better ways to get rid of inconvenient people.”

  “And how’s that?”

  She unlocked another cabinet and gestured inside. “With these.”

  Aidan peeked inside the cabinet and grinned. “Perfect.”

  CHAPTER 18

  First of all they had to discover where Pitbull and his little gang hung out. Raven knew they ran a meth lab but had no idea where. Those places were usually out in the sticks, away from people because of the noise and smells they generated. The successful ones were anyway.

  They set out in the dark blue Land Rover Discovery Aidan had hired on arrival in the country, a vehicle which would be unknown to her enemies.

  Raven found it very nice being driven about for once and having a partner, she was so used to working alone. She and Aidan were buoyed up by going on the hunt together, both grinning as they left behind the moor, joining the main road that would take them into Leeds.

  When Aidan looked at her and winked before turning his attention back to the road, her heart skipped a beat. But that small, paranoid voice inside her couldn’t help but wonder whether he was something to do with all this. She knew he wouldn’t intentionally betray her but his timely arrival after a year away made her suspicious. She didn’t want to suspect her husband but she hadn’t survived this long by going on blind faith. It was important she stay on her guard.

  In Leeds, they drove to a council estate, a very nice one with neatly painted houses and immaculate gardens. However one house ruined this scene of suburban bliss, a stinking eyesore slap bang in the middle of the proud scheme, the house so desperately in need of a paint job that it appeared to be shedding its skin. In one of the upstairs windows hung a large flag displaying a swastika.

  “Idiots,” said Raven. “That symbol has been used all over the world throughout history and it always means something beautiful and mystical, it’s nothing to do with hate, at least it wasn’t until Hitler. That flag is displaying the left hand swastika, which actually represents the Hindu goddess Kali and magic.”

  Aidan sniggered. “You should tell Luke. I’d love to hear what he thinks about that one.” He sat up straighter in his seat when the front door opened. “Is that him?”

  “No, that’s his wife, Britney.”

  “Seriously, that’s a woman?” he said, gaping at the muscle-bound woman with the shaved head strutting down the street with a rottweiler on the end of a leash.

  “Yes,” she replied, lips twitching into a smile.

  “Makes the dog look delicate and feminine. Does anyone else live in the house?”

  “They have a couple of kids but they’re in their late teens.”

  “That pair are breeding? Scary as fuck. How do you want to play this? Knock on the door or wait?”

  “Wait. If anyone else is in the house I don’t want them telling the rest of the gang that we’re coming for them.”

  “We could be waiting a long time.”

  “Impatience was always your downfall,” she said with a fond smile.

  “And patience is your superpower. You could happily wait until the end of time for something you really wanted.”

  “Fortunately for you,” she said, making his smile drop.

  “That year away was a one-off to protect you,” he said, taking her hand. “Besides, I daren’t spend so long away again. You see the mess you get yourself into when I’m not here?”

  “There he is,” she said when Luke walked out of the front door, so glad of his timely appearance, not wanting to get into that conversation with Aidan. The last thing they needed right now was an argument. The sight of the silver bangle still clinging to Luke’s wrist made her smile. Obviously he’d worked out that trying to remove it caused horrible pain.

  They watched him get into a silver Kia, Aidan waiting until he’d reached the end of the street before starting the engine and following. They stayed at a safe distance behind Luke, meandering through the city.

  “Looks like he’s heading out into the countryside,” said Aidan.

  “Let’s hope he’s going to take us where we want to go.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “What do you mean, hmmm?”

  “Seems a bit too easy.”

  “You think he’s rumbled us?”

  “You never know,” she said as they climbed a steep road, leading up into the hills.

  “We can’t carry on following him. He’s going to spot us, this road’s too isolated.”

  “Then it’s fortunate the bracelet I put on him has a tracking device.”

  Aidan veered off down a narrow country road leading to a small village. He pulled into a lay-by and waited while Raven brought up the tracking information on her phone.

  “He’s heading up an unknown road,” she said, frowning at the screen. “Looks to go quite a way up the hill.”

  “Maybe he’s got a sheep fetish?”

  “Finally, he’s stopped. Just over a mile up there,” she said, indicating the road Luke had disappeared up.

  “Any other roads around it?”

  She nodded, swiping at the screen. “There’s a smaller one that runs parallel to it, bisecting it from the east.”

  “Then let’s take that one,” he said, performing a neat u-turn in the middle of the road, heading back the way they’d come then taking the road left, heading up into the hills.

  The road was indeed isolated, they passed no other cars and it became so narrow that if anything had been coming the other way they would have been stuck. Fortunately nothing did.

  Raven kept her eyes glued to her phone, monitoring their progress.

  “Pull in here,” she said, indicating a small lay-by that was just big enough to accommodate their vehicle. “We can walk from here, that way they won’t see us coming.”

  “Perfect,” said Aidan, pulling on the handbrake and throwing off his seatbelt.

  He walked around to the back of the car and opened the boot. He took out the large black bag Raven habitually used to carry her weapons and was about to fling it over his shoulder, until he caught her look and decided to hold it out to her instead.

  “Thank you,” she said, taking it from him.

  Together they walked the rest of the way up the hill, Raven keeping an eye on Luke on her phone, who had stopped moving.

  When they reached the crest of the hill they were careful to keep low, pressing themselves down on the grass, which was cool and damp.

  Raven took a small pair of binoculars out of her pocket and handed them to Aidan.

  “What do you see?” she said.

  “A large cottage in its own land. Two outbuildings. Luke’s car is parked out front. No sign of anyone.”

  “Any animals?”

  “Not that I can see but for all we know he’s got a pack of guard dogs in there.”

  “If they do I’ve got a little gadget to deal with them,” she said, patting her coat pocket.

  “We can’t approach the house head on, the terrain’s far too flat, they’d see us coming.” He went silent, a frown creasing his forehead.

  “What is it?”
r />   “An engine. Someone’s coming.”

  They pressed themselves back down in the grass as a silver car came up the road beside them. Once they heard the car come to a halt they cautiously raised their heads, Aidan raising the binoculars. “Four more skinheads,” he said.

  “What are they doing?”

  “Going inside the cottage.”

  “So that’s half the gang. Where’s the other half?”

  “Maybe they don’t all come up here? It doesn’t take ten men to make meth.”

  “You have a point.”

  “Let’s give it a bit longer, just to make sure.”

  They settled down in the grass to wait, lying on their sides to face each other.

  Aidan stroked her face. “If we weren’t about to attack a gang of skinheads, I’d be taking your clothes off.”

  “This grass is cold and wet.”

  “Alright, I’d be taking down your jeans then. I’d let you keep the top half on.”

  “You’re as romantic as ever.”

  He brushed her lips with his fingers. “And you’re as beautiful as ever.”

  “So I believe.”

  He pulled her closer. “We’ve got time for a quick romp in the grass.”

  “No we don’t,” she said, picking the binoculars back up and turning to look at the cottage, leaving him to sigh beside her.

  “Smoke’s coming from the chimney,” she said. “Looks like they’ve gone to work.”

  “I don’t think anyone else is coming,” he replied, eyes shining with excitement, reaching for the rifle in her bag.

  “Just a minute you,” she said, dragging the bag out of his reach.

  “What?”

  “I want you to remain calm in there. You have a tendency to get carried away.”

  “I do not. Well, maybe a bit,” he admitted when she raised an eyebrow.

  “We are not going in there to kill anyone. We’re only going to make them leave me alone, that’s all. I want you to bear that in mind. Aidan,” she added when he didn’t reply.

  “Fine.”

  “Promise me.”

  His gaze softened. “Promise.”

  “Good boy. Here you go,” she said, handing him the rifle, complete with sniper scope and silencer. They didn’t want the sound of gunshots drawing anyone up here.