“Oh, sure. Act like I don’t know you well enough to know when you got a good piece of ass,” Kane mistakenly said before finding himself pinned against the wall.
“I don’t know what in the fuck you think you know, but if you ever talk about her like that again, it will be your corpse I’m pissing on, brother or not.” Charger gave him a shove, knocking his head against the wall before letting go.
“Ah, Charger, come on. You know I love Raven,” Kane called out as Charger grabbed his jacket, heading for the door. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just fucking with you.”
Charger slammed the door behind him then took a deep breath as he went for his bike. Kane was his brother in many ways, but the asshole sure knew how to get to him. Glancing at his watch, he knew he had a few hours before he needed to be at Jake’s. He fought the urge to go to the warehouse where he knew Raven was training; instead, he rode toward the estate to look around, just in case someone missed something. The sooner they figured this out, the better it would be for all—both the Guardians and the Warriors.
Raven stood waiting for her turn with a partner for sparring. No one spoke to her as she came to training, but the looks she got told her that everyone had heard what happened. Jared and Jax, who were leading the training today, just gave her a nod.
There was no way she could just sit around and wait until it was time to put her friend to rest. And getting totally focused on bringing down the fuckers responsible needed to wait until she got through saying her goodbye to Tracy. Grief swarmed her at the thought; she wasn’t ready for that.
Her mind wandered to what happened between her and Charger. She tried to push the memory away, but that was easier said than done. In the car ride here, after he’d dropped her off, she replayed everything, which in turn made her fucking horny as hell. Seriously, what the hell? What was really bothering her, though, was she had no idea where they stood, even after the multiple rounds of amazing sex. They talked very little afterward. They’d both gotten phone calls when they’d come out of her bedroom and then were on his motorcycle on their way to her car. After promising not to keep anything about the investigation from each other, they went their separate ways.
So yeah, she was a little confused if this was just a sexual thing, which she definitely couldn’t complain about. Yet deep down, she wanted more. This was it for her. No man ever would be able to compare to Charger McNeil, and honestly, it pissed her off as well as scared her to death. With a growl, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind and tried to pay attention on what was going on around her.
Raven watched as one of the trainees constantly took Katrina down, which was frustrating Katrina. Frustration would almost always beat you in a fight before your opponent would. When they were finished, Raven walked up to Katrina, who was cursing under her breath.
“Next round, before he can step with his right foot, go in for the sweep,” Raven whispered next to her. “And stop getting so frustrated. It’s messing you up with something so simple to counter.”
“Simple for you.” Katrina snorted, then sighed. “Thanks, Raven. I appreciate the help.”
“We girls have to stick together in a world of asshole men.” Raven gave her a smirk.
“Raven,” Katrina said, taking her attention off the sparring going on around them.
“Yeah?” Raven glanced down at her.
“You need anything at all, just know I’m here anytime,” Katrina said, without bringing up what happened. It was actually a very cool way of being a good friend.
“Thank you.” Raven nodded. “I really appreciate that.”
Katrina didn’t say anything else before she walked back out into the center for her second match. Raven watched with pride as Katrina did as directed with ease, taking the asshole off his high horse. When someone continued over and over again in training to defeat someone instead of helping them and were being a complete jackass, Raven made damn sure each and every one of them regretted that behavior, especially against a female or a much weaker male.
“Next group,” Jax called out. Raven didn’t waste any time walking forward in front of one of the trainees. He gave her a nod of respect. Some of the guys were cool and didn’t get their little feelings hurt when she kicked their asses.
Falling back into a ready stance, she waited for Jax’s call to begin. Once he did, she didn’t strike right away. She just countered his attack, waiting for openings. Usually, she was eager to get in, do damage, and then get out. Counter fighting was the hardest for her and was where she needed the most work. Unfortunately, it was also where she lost focus the most.
The trainee, Rick, she believed was his name, punched out, but she knocked his strike away from her face. Easy enough. A few times she made her move, landing more than he countered. As they sparred, her mind went to Charger, and she wondered if maybe she had been too aggressive in their… ah hell, sex play. She rolled her eyes at that before pain exploded in her jaw. “Fuck!” She hissed, shaking her head.
“Pay attention, Raven!” Jared yelled out.
“Sorry.” Rick cringed, lowering his hand.
Raven took advantage and got him with a hard uppercut. “Never tell your opponent you’re sorry, especially if that opponent is me, because next time, I’ll knee your balls up to your throat. I’m in here for the same reason you are. I’m sure you aren’t saying sorry to any of the guys in here. If you see an opening on me then you better take it with everything you got.”
Rick worked his jaw back and forth, looking at her. “Sorry.” His eyes widened as he realized what he just said. His hand dropped from his jaw to his balls, just as Jax commanded for the sparring to halt.
Raven gave the guy a pat on the shoulder, then walked away. Would guys ever get a clue that women could fight just as well as they could? Fuck, more than that—just as hard and well, pretty much do anything else men could.
“You good?” Jared walked over but didn’t look at her; instead, his attention was on the grappling on the other side of the warehouse.
“Never better,” Raven said without pause.
“Good, because if Charger starts fucking up your fighting focus, he’s gone,” Jared said as he walked away, but added, “Remember, Father knows best. Especially when it comes to their daughters and fuckhead guys who come sniffing around.”
Raven’s mouth dropped open as Jared started bitching out one of the trainees. Jax had to yell at her twice to get back on the floor with her partner while she stared at Jared in semi-shock. Holy shit, what did he know, and how did he know? With a frown, she stepped in front of another trainee, who gave her a smirk as if he was going to show her a thing or two. She gave him a smirk of her own, indicating she hoped he tried.
Fucker.
Chapter 17
Charger pulled into Jake and Tracy’s place, his mood sour, not only because of what was happening, but because he had nothing new to share with Jake. It was as if whoever planted the explosives just disappeared. No trace. Climbing off his bike, he noticed right away that Raven wasn’t there yet. Glancing at his watch, he realized he was a little early.
After heading to the door, he knocked before opening it. Creed was kicked back on the couch watching a baseball game. He glanced over his shoulder, giving Charger a nod.
“Beer’s in the fridge,” Creed said, turning his attention back to the television.
Charger passed on the beer as he walked further into the room. “Where’s Jake?”
Creed nodded toward the stairs but didn’t comment. He didn’t have to. Charger knew exactly where Jake was. He was upstairs saying his last goodbyes to his mate. The Guardians had their own way of sending their loved ones to the afterlife. Tracy wasn’t a Guardian, but she would be honored as the mate of a Guardian.
The door opened behind them, and Charger turned to see Chantel walk in. She put her bag down, then walked straight up to Charger, giving him a hug. “How you doing, hon?”
Charger hugged her back. “As good as can be,” h
e replied, then smiled down at her tenderly as she patted him on the back. Chantel was a beautiful and motherly badass. She didn’t take shit from anyone, and if she liked you, well, you benefited greatly from her friendship and loyalty.
“Raven here yet?” Chantel took off her jacket, laying it across the back of the couch before leaning down and giving Creed a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, gorgeous.” Creed stood, then wrapped her up in a hug.
Looking at his watch, Charger frowned. “Not yet.” He knew she went to training, but she should have been done an hour ago. “She went to training this morning so she should be here soon.” Charger would give her another fifteen minutes before he called.
Chantel chuckled, shaking her head. “Why am I surprised? That girl spends all her free time training or learning something new. Wish I had that kind of gumption.”
“You can’t perfect perfection, Chantel.” Creed winked at her before sitting back down to watch his game.
“You best watch yourself, Creed. I’m single, and you keep talking like that, I may set my sights on you,” Chantel teased, then reached down to grab her bag, setting it on the table.
“Shit, he wished he was that lucky.” Charger snorted, glancing once again at his watch.
“So how you feeling about Raven transferring to the Warriors?” Chantel gave him a sly glance before she started digging through her bag.
“Never like losing a Guardian, Chantel. We are few and far between.” Charger wasn’t taking her bait. He knew exactly what Chantel wanted to know, and he wasn’t giving it to her. At this point, it was no one’s business what was between Raven and himself.
Creed chuckled, shaking his head. “She was definitely one of your best as well as best-looking.” Creed glanced over his shoulder to look directly at Charger. “And I’d damn sure fight for her and not just for her exceptional Guardian skills, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, we know exactly what you mean, you horny bastard.” Chantel clicked her tongue at Creed.
Creed shrugged, still staring at Charger as a wider grin split his face, cluing Charger in that he was glaring at the bastard. “Hey, I said what I said.”
“And you sound stupid as fuck saying it,” Charger growled, wanting nothing more than to smack the grin off Creed’s face.
The room became quiet after Creed’s burst of laughter as they waited for Jake to come downstairs. Charger kept glancing at his watch. She had five minutes before he started calling. Charger cringed, wondering when in the fuck he became such a worrier. Probably since you fucked her, his thoughts mocked him. Though he knew that wasn’t true. He had always worried for Raven, but now it was different. Before she was under him, in a professional sense, not Sloan Murphy. When she was a Guardian, he’d had some control and always knew where his people were, especially Raven. He’d known who she was with and made damn sure she had backup. Now he was almost in the dark about her daily assignments. Sloan could have pulled her from training to do something else, something dangerous he wasn’t aware of. Yeah, his loss of what control he had where Raven was concerned was driving him insane.
Proving that point, he pulled out his phone and walked to the front door to make the call in private. As soon as he stepped outside, she was pulling in. He watched her just sit there and stare at the house before their eyes met. Her car shut off, and she opened her car door before looking away.
He made his way toward her. “Everything okay?” He put his hand on the door, holding it open as she reached for her phone. His eyes couldn’t help lowering to her ass in appreciation; he had to glance away quickly as flashes from last night started to play in his mind. Yeah, not the time nor the place.
“Actually, no.” She sighed, turning toward him, then looked at the house and back to him. “Sloan came to the warehouse, that’s why I’m late. They’ve postponed the initiation, which I understand until things calm down and we figure out exactly what happened. All VC and Guardians are on high alert until then.”
Charger actually figured that may happen because it was the smart thing to do. He’d heard a lot about the VC initiations, and what happened a few years ago showed how vulnerable they were during that period. Charger frowned as another thought came to mind. “Has Daniel talked to you?”
“About?” Raven asked, moving out of the way so he could shut her door.
Shit, Charger had wanted to give Daniel time to tell her about what he knew, which put Charger in a bad position. He didn’t want to keep anything from her, especially something like this.
“Did he find something out about who did this?” Her hand waved toward Jake and Tracy’s house. Anger, hope, and sadness flashed across her face.
“Ah, no.” Fuck, he shouldn’t have even brought this up yet. Too late. “Listen, I wanted Daniel to have a chance to tell you, and he obviously didn’t get the opportunity last night. I just thought maybe he was at the warehouse and mentioned it.”
“No, he wasn’t there. Now that you mention him, that’s odd. He’s always there.” Raven frowned in thought. “What is it, Charger?”
“Some of the trainees are planning to set you up for failure during the initiation,” Charger informed her, then watched disbelief cross her face just before her eyes narrowed. Damn, he should have waited.
“Those little no-dick, momma’s boy bastards.” Raven hissed, her eyes turning instantly black. “Who?”
“He didn’t say, but I’m sure he will tell you,” Charger assured her, trying not to crack a smile. He could see her anger rising.
“And you didn’t think that was important information for me to know?” Raven’s anger seemed to be shifting toward him, which Charger tried to direct back to the assholes who were orchestrating a plan against a formidable person that was sure to fail. Raven was a force to be reckoned with when pissed off.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, Raven.” Charger cocked his eyebrow at her. “You know I would have made sure you were warned closer to the initiation if Daniel failed to do so.”
Raven looked at him for a long minute, then huffed. “Why do women have to fight so fucking hard?”
“Because little no-dick, momma’s boys can’t compete with women like you,” Charger answered honestly. “They aren’t men who respect a woman’s abilities. They aren’t men who can handle a strong woman, actually prefer a strong woman beside them in battle and in life.” He knew he surprised her with his answer by the look on her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered, glancing away from him shyly, then sighed, looking up at the house. Guilt radiated in her eyes.
“Raven.” He drew her attention back to him. “Never let anyone or any situation make you feel that you can’t have strong feelings, no matter what is going on. Tracy would be just as outraged as you are if she were here.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered again, her eyes going back to the house. “I’m not ready to say goodbye.”
Charger stepped in front of her view. “No one is ever ready to say goodbye, but if you don’t, you will regret it and—”
“And? What?” Raven searched his eyes, waiting for his answer.
“Tracy will haunt you for the rest of your life if you don’t,” Charger replied, his voice low and so serious that at first Raven just stared at him. Suddenly, her hand went toward her mouth as laughter burst from her throat.
“She so would.” Raven nodded and removed her hand from her mouth, placing it on his chest. “Thank you, Charger.”
He gave her a nod, then took her hand to lead her to the house. “You aren’t alone, Raven.”
Charger gave her hand a squeeze as they walked into the house, then released her. She went directly to Chantel, who wrapped her up in one of her famous hugs. Creed had stood, walked around the couch, giving Charger a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrows before pulling Raven into his arms. Charger narrowed his eyes only for a second before shaking his head, returning Creed’s smirk, the asshole.
Crossing his arms, he stood there silently,
his eyes staying on Raven. He was relieved that what happened between them last night didn’t seem to cause discomfort between them. He’d been worried about that after leaving her this morning, which had seemed a little tense between them. Charger didn’t have that feeling at this moment, and he was damn glad. Now, together, they needed to get through the next few hours of what would be heartbreaking for a lot of people, but most of all, Jake. They all needed each other.
And what he was slowly realizing was that he needed Raven more than he ever imagined.
Chapter 18
Raven pulled away from Creed just as Jake came down the steps. Never in her life had she seen a man in the midst of such heartbreak. His gaze found her, and he walked toward her. Raven grabbed him up in a silent hug. There were no words in the English language that she could say to make things right, so she remained mute.
“I’ve already dressed her,” Jake said as he pulled away. “If you could please make sure her hair is the way she… she liked it and anything else you think she would have—”
“I promise I will make sure she is ready, Jake.” Raven stopped him from speaking more, seeing how hard it was for him to do so. When she started to pass him, he grabbed her wrist, placing something in the palm of her hand.
“She never took this off,” Jake said, looking down at the dainty necklace with a charm of two small hands in the process of making a pinky promise. Raven’s hand went to her own necklace that had hung on her neck since the day Tracy gave it to her. It was something they always did before leaving each other, a pinky promise between two sisters, and that’s what they were. Sisters of the heart. It was a pinky promise to always have each other’s back. Tracy had them special made. “She would have wanted you to have it.”
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