Page 16 of The Raven

Dig The Bitch Up

The Criminal

A heavy atmosphere filled the air around us. Butch and Pyro hadn’t said as much, but I knew they blamed me, and they had every right to. I internally cursed myself as I stared at the floor, my lips pulling into a snarl.

I should have gone after Buck when he stormed out earlier instead of going after Roberts and assuming Buck could look after himself. I let my anger get the better of me.

And now he was dead.

We hunted Brenner down after we’d dealt with Roberts, but the Lieutenant was next to useless. Yeah, he was usually helpful when providing the information we wanted, but with no suspects, the information he gave was pointless.

Whoever was going after my boys must have been a professional. How else could they leave a crime scene without a hint of evidence? I refused to believe any other theory as to who was behind the killings.

“We should have killed Roberts when we had the chance,” Pyro growled from the couch opposite me, finally breaking the tension between the three of us.

“We can get away with a lot of things, but murdering a cop isn’t one of them,” Butch snapped. “Especially a golden boy like Roberts. You think his FBI daddy will let that slide?”

“Then we make it look like an accident,” Pyro retorted, frustration lacing his tone.

I tuned the two of them out, my attention catching when a bird fluttered in through the gaping hole in the warehouse roof and settled on a rafter.

A raven.

My jaw clenched as I stared at the bird, Roberts’ words ringing in my head like an annoying fucking alarm bell.

‘If by some miracle, she’s risen from the dead, then you ought to watch your back, because she’s coming for you. For all of you.’

It couldn’t be true. There was no fucking way Raven was back.

She was dead, and dead people didn’t rise from their graves.

I witnessed my stepsister take her final breath.

Watched the life leave her eyes. Saw them lower her coffin into the ground, even if it was from a distance after I was prohibited from going to the funeral.

The bird watched me as I watched it, thoughts churning over in my head, and the conversation between Butch and Pyro filtering back in.

“Maybe Buck was right, maybe Raven is back from the dead,” Pyro said.

“Don’t be fucking stupid, the cunt is dead,” Butch replied.

I pulled my gun out and aimed it at the raven. The two of them fell silent when the cocking of my gun reverberated around the warehouse.

“There’s only one way to find out,” I said, moving my aim slightly so I had the perfect shot. “We dig the bitch up.”

I squeezed the trigger.