Page 18 of The Raven

The rustling of footsteps filtered into the night air as Butch walked to where I lay, my bullet wounds slowly closing.

Remembering the knife I’d hidden up the sleeve of my good arm when I left Mason's place, I subtly moved it so my palm was clutched around the handle, but the blade was hidden under my hip.

“She’s not moving,” Butch said when he neared me, hovering just out of reach like he was too scared to get close.

“Check her pulse,” Grim demanded. He was as much of a coward as Pyro, sending Butch to do his dirty work.

Despite the pain still coursing through me, I stifled a laugh. Check my pulse? Good luck finding that.

I could sense Butch hesitating before he lowered himself to the ground, still hovering over me. His warm fingers reached out and pressed against my throat, where he held them for a few seconds.

“No pulse,” he called as he began to stand again, pausing at the last minute. “Wait.” He ripped my jacket open, and with my eyes still closed, I could picture the look on his face at finding no holes piercing my chest. “There…there’s no blood.”

I cracked my eyes open, unnoticed by Butch, who was staring at my chest, his brows pulled together in outright confusion.

“Didn’t your momma tell you not to play with knives?” I whispered.

Butch’s horrified gaze flashed to me, just in time to see me raise the knife and slash it across his throat. His eyes bulged as his hand shot to his neck in a pathetic attempt to keep the blood inside his body, the blood that was now falling from the wound like a waterfall and coating me.

His heavy body fell on top of me. Shoving the lump of a man off, I stood, my damaged arm hanging limply by my side.

“Oh, shit!” Pyro shrieked, the color draining from his face. “No, no, no,” he said, dropping his spade. “She is a fucking ghost, I’m not down for this. This is some kind of freaky shit!” With that, he bolted.

Yep. Coward.

Man enough to dish out violence, but a pussy when it came back to him.

Drowned gurgles filled the air, but as Butch took his final breaths, the ache pounding through me eased. Grim’s gaze fixed cautiously on me as I stalked toward him.

Hate wasn’t a strong enough emotion for how I felt toward Grim. From the minute he and his dad moved in with us, he made my life a misery. He made everyone’s life a misery until, eventually, his dad disowned him.

Something he blamed me for.

His dad, Nathan, had been nothing but kind and loving to me. We’d hit it off immediately, with him telling me that he’d always wanted a daughter. As Grim’s behavior deteriorated over the years, it pushed me and Nathan closer.

If only we knew that it would push Grim to commit rape and murder.

“Just you and me, big brother,” I hissed, pure venom in my tone. “Are you as brave as you make out now that all your friends are gone?”

Grim raised his gun at me again, both hands clutching the pistol. “I killed you once, Raven. I can kill you again.”

He fired a shot. Like before, the bullet lodged in my chest, only this time I was prepared and braced myself for impact. Stopping only for a moment to adjust to the discomfort, I took another step forward. “And how do you plan on doing that? You can’t kill what’s already dead.”

He fired again, this time a muttered curse escaped me, blocked out by the warning cry from my raven as she took off from her perch. She landed on a tombstone, her damaged wing hanging by her side.

What was she warning me about?

Grim’s gaze snapped to where she landed, his brows pulled together before he returned his evil glare my way. His eyes dropped to where my arm hung loosely, and a savage smile twisted his lips. “I’ll find a way,” he said, his tone vicious. Deadly.

He released another three shots in quick succession, each one embedding in my body. Excruciating pain consumed me, weakening my body, but when rustling from nearby caught my attention, and a sense of peace washed over me, I somehow managed to stay standing.

Time sped up as another gunshot rang out, this time from behind me. The bullet whizzed past me, missing Grim by a hair’s breadth. Grim’s focused gaze shifted, his aim moving from me onto the person behind.

“Mason! Get down!” I screamed.

In an instant, the pain disappeared, replaced with blind panic.

I spun, throwing myself into Mason just as Grim released a further two bullets meant for him, but both hitting me in my spine.

We tumbled to the ground, Mason’s arms wrapped around me as he cushioned my fall when we landed, the two of us grunting.

Distracted by the fresh wave of agony and my fear for Mason’s life, Grim’s footsteps disappearing into the distance barely registered.

“Fuck, Raven, are you okay?”

With my one good arm, I managed to lift myself enough to look down at Mason. His brows were pulled together in worry, while my features were twisted with anger.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I gritted out, wincing as the healing process started.

“I told you, I won’t stand back and watch Grim hurt you.”

“You could have been killed!”

Mason shifted, moving us into a sitting position. “I don’t give a fuck,” he said, lacing his fingers into my hair and pulling me closer to him, his eyes drilling into mine. “I couldn’t help you last time, Blackbird. Let me help you now.”

His words doused the fire blazing inside me, his warmth wrapping around me. I squeezed my eyes closed and rested my forehead against his. I couldn’t be mad at him, not with the helplessness in his tone. “Mase. Grim will kill you. I can’t let that happen.”

He let out a heavy exhale. “When will you realize that I don’t care? I don’t care what happens to me so long as you find peace.”

Opening my eyes, Mason watched me intently, a myriad of emotions flitting behind his gaze. I shook my head. There wasn’t any point in arguing; I’d just have to find a way to keep him safe while I dealt with Grim and Pyro.

“How did you even know I was here?” I asked, hoping the change of subject would distract him from his suicide mission long enough for me to form a plan.

He cupped my face, his thumb brushing lightly over my cheek.

“I had a dream that you were here. When I woke up, you were gone, and somehow…” he trailed off as if he was trying to find the right words.

“I don’t think it was a dream. It was like I was seeing things through your eyes, and I knew I had to come here. ”

My brows lifted as I gaped at him, and a strange feeling stirred deep inside me.

A feeling that grew more powerful the longer we held each other.

A feeling I could only describe as our souls entwining and becoming one.

Unable to stop myself, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his, his warmth bleeding into me so strongly that I was surprised my body wasn’t glowing. But as he leaned in to deepen the kiss, an image flashed in my head, and I froze.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked, pulling away.

The image continued to play, my raven showing me what she was seeing. “We have to go.” I jumped to my feet and headed to the path that would lead out of the cemetery.

“Raven, you need to tell me what’s happening,” Mason said, hurrying to keep up with me.

“Pyro. He’s…he’s about to leave the country.” I met Mason’s confused gaze. “If he leaves, I’ll never be able to end this.”