Page 8

8

Raven

I t's way too fucking early for this shit. The sun is barely out. What the hell!

I curse under my breath as I get ready for the long trip to Albuquerque. Why the fuck did Elias have to send the MC with us? We could have taken care of things on our own, but nooo, Daddy Dearest wants us to take an entourage.

This blows .

After gathering my things, I head downstairs to find Phoenix, Raptor, Jesse, and the prospects chatting in the kitchen. At least they didn't assign Reaper to this mission. If he were tagging along, I'd probably end up strangling him.

Jesse sees me and plasters a shit-eating grin on his face. He saunters up to me, reaching his arm around my shoulders. "Well, good morning, beautiful. Glad you decided to join the land of the living."

"You're lucky I like you, Jes. Otherwise, I'd kick you in the balls right now."

"Aww, come on, babe. Cheer up. You get to spend the whole day with me." He leans in close. "Besides, I know you'd never do anything to hurt me . . . or my balls," he adds suggestively with a wink.

I bite back a smirk. Jesse's a huge flirt and gorgeous to boot. With his dark hair, matching eyes, inked arms, and bad-boy aura—the definition of my type—I can't help that my mind takes a spicy turn. He's one of the few things about this place that makes it tolerable. I guess if I'm stuck with the gang regardless, I may as well enjoy some of the company.

"You sure about that, Jes?"

He grins widely. "Play nice, Raven, and maybe I'll let you take a ride later . . . " I watch as he wets his lips. "On my bike, I mean."

When I push him away, he laughs, sending me another wink. I can't help the smile that's forming on my lips. He points it out, and I flip him off, which only makes him laugh harder. I'd be lying if I said my smile didn't grow a little more. Damn him.

Maybe this trip won't be such a bust after all.

I greet my sister, Raptor, and the prospects, Archie and Bones, before everyone loads up to start our journey. Phoenix and I hop in the van with Raptor while Bones slides into the driver's seat of the MC's moving truck. Jesse and Archie flank our small caravan on their bikes as we ease onto the road toward New Mexico.

I settle in the backseat, hoping to get some more shut-eye, letting Nix play navigator. As I curl up against the window, I can't help but wonder how everything is about to change. It's terrifying not knowing if we made the right decision. I hope this whole thing doesn't blow up in our faces.

I start to doze off, listening to Phoenix try to start a conversation with Raptor in the front seat. It's obvious my sister has a crush on the club treasurer. I can tell by the way she acts around him and the way she looks at him. I get it, the guy is hot, but he's hard to read. That worries me. Sometimes, I get the feeling he's into my sister, too, but I can't tell for sure.

My sister is hard not to like. She's the light in the darkness, the sunshine on a cloudy day. She's the pretty girl everyone can relate to—the good girl. Nix is a stark contrast to me—the dark, bad, bitchy twin. The rough around the edges one that no one wants to get close to.

It works for me. Pushing people away is the only way to ensure I won't get hurt; that's how I stay strong. Getting to know people and letting them in would make me weak, and the only weakness I can afford is Nix.

I crack my eyes open, focusing on our driver. He better not hurt her, or I'll make him regret it till the day he dies.

I hear the crunch of gravel under the tires as the van slows to a stop. "We're here," Phoenix says as I wipe the sleep from my eyes. I managed to get a little sleep on the drive, but not enough, in my opinion. It was only enough to make me slightly less homicidal.

Everyone piles out of their vehicles as Nix pulls out her house key. "I'll go talk to the landlord," I tell her.

"I'll come with you," Jesse says, meeting me on the sidewalk.

I shake my head, gesturing toward the house and the rest of the group. "I've got this. You go help Nix and the others."

Jesse hits me with a crooked smile. "No can do, babe. I'm with you."

Not wanting to waste time arguing, I shrug and head toward our landlord's house. It doesn't take us long to reach it. The middle-aged man with greasy hair and all the charm of a rattlesnake took over managing the property after his mom passed away. She and her husband spent most of their lives buying and fixing up the homes they rented out in our neighborhood. It made sense for them to live close by in case there was an emergency with one of the tenants.

Mr. and Mrs. Marshall were good people. Their son, on the other hand, was cut from a different cloth. I dreaded having to deal with him when we had issues at the house, but there was no way I was going to make Phoenix negotiate with the jackass. He was a slimy nitwit who cut every corner possible when it came to maintenance on the rentals. He'd scared off many long-term renters with his bullshit since he'd taken over as landlord and turned our once lovely neighborhood into a slum.

Our lease was about to expire, and even before the whole Elias situation, we'd considered moving elsewhere. Walking up to the asshole's door, I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a pleasant visit. I took a breath and rang the doorbell.

An hour later, I'm fuming as Jesse and I head back to the house. That creepy little snake tried to argue that we had to pay an extra five hundred dollars, claiming we were breaking the terms of the lease. He was, of course, full of shit. None of the lease terms were broken. We were only required to give one month's notice that we weren't renewing, and we'd given the prick almost double that.

When I pointed that out, the jackoff tried to spew some other bullshit on me. That's when I almost lost it. I was seconds away from taking a swing when Jesse stepped in. He got between me and the idiot, Marshall Jr., and suggested the man drop the issue before things got out of hand.

I thought Jr. was going to kick up a storm, but Jesse shifted, adjusting his leather vest in front of him. Something flashed in the landlord's eyes, and his face paled. After that, he agreed to let our lease expire immediately without any additional payments.

The whole thing still irks me. "What'd you show him back there anyway?" I ask Jesse.

"Whaddya mean?" He plays dumb.

"You know what I mean. That prick was gearing up for a fight until you flashed something at him. I saw his reaction when you adjusted your cut."

Jesse shrugs. "Maybe he was taken by my charming good looks." I roll my eyes. "Look, for whatever reason, he let it go. Isn't that what's important?" he implores.

A long sigh escapes my lungs. I already have my suspicions about what transpired, but maybe it's best that I play ignorant about what Jesse did. I decide to let it go for the time being. He helped me and Phoenix out, and for that, I'm grateful.

We meet up with the others back at the house and inform Nix that things are all set with the slumlord. "That's great," she murmurs as she shoves clothes into an old suitcase. "I think we can have everything packed up in a few hours."

Jesse disappears to help the guys load the truck with the few pieces of furniture we have. With their help, we'll be back on the road in no time.

"I haven't done Mom's room yet," Phoenix says quietly. "I wanted to wait until you were back."

I ignore the knot forming in my throat as I nod. "We can do that now if you want."

Without a word, she walks to the room where we last saw our mother alive. We sort through the few items that are left—mostly clothes and a few knickknacks. Her bed was sold to make room for the hospital bed that better suited her needs toward the end. And she made us sell all but a few pieces of her jewelry to help pay the bills.

By the time we finish, there are only two small boxes of her things we decide to keep: a few pieces of clothing, what's left of her jewelry, a few photo albums, and a lockbox. My jaw tightens as I stare at the empty room. The stupid emotions I've held back for so long threaten to burst through.

I clear my throat, refusing to let them get the better of me as I grab a bag for donation and walk outside. We managed to separate all our old clothes and rarely-used items to donate to the local shelter. The pile almost fills the back of the van.

The only thing left to do is drop it off and do a quick clean of the house, then, we'll be officially done with this place. Raptor sends the prospects to do the drop while he and Jesse take our keys to the landlord. If I could be a fly on the wall when that fucker sees those two rolling up . . . My lips twitch at the thought.

Once everything is finished, we double-check the house for things we may have missed and say our final goodbyes.

We're no longer residents of Albuquerque. The stark realization is like a gut punch, but it doesn't hurt quite as bad as I thought it would. I feel Phoenix grab my hand as she gives me a sad smile and crosses an X over her heart. I squeeze back, drawing one over my chest, letting her know we're still in this together. No matter what.