Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Charleigh met me, taking me into her arms the second I was out in the solitude of the hall, hugging me tight as she muttered, “It’ll be fine. They’ll cool down and it’ll be fine.”
But that wasn’t the point.
My brother should support me.
My decisions.
The same as Otto should stand for them.
Angrily, I swiped at the tears on my face as I glanced around at my three friends. Sorrow pinched Eden’s brow and concern twisted through Sienna’s expression.
“I just want to leave,” I said.
Charleigh curled her arm around my waist. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“Okay, I didn’t mean here. Are you sure about this?” Doubt filled Charleigh as she glanced between me and my shop.
“Yeah. I really just want to be alone.”
I didn’t want to be around either River or Otto right then. Didn’t want to go to either of their houses.
Sienna wavered, too, rubbing her hands up and down her arms as we stood in the cool breeze that wisped through the night.
“But you’re going to sleep in your shop?” she asked, full of speculation.
I looked back at the darkened panes of glass, and I shrugged when I turned back to them. “Flowers make me happy. This is my happy place.”
Concern churned between them, both clearly reluctant to agree.
“Don’t worry—I’ll keep the doors locked and I’ll set the alarm. I’ll be fine.”
Charleigh’s nod was slight. “Okay.”
She surged forward and hugged me tight, muttering at my ear, “Call me if you need me.”
“I will.”
When she stepped back, Sienna reached out and squeezed my hand.
“I’m really sorry this messed up your night with Theo,” I told her.
A grin hinted at the edge of her mouth. “Who knows…I might head back to Kane’s and see what he’s up to.”
I giggled. “That sounds like a solid plan.”
Then she frowned. “I’m sorry your night got messed up, too.”
A heavy sigh whispered free. “It’s okay. It was coming, and I’m pretty sure all those old feelings needed to be dragged out into the open. I just wish Otto and River would have done it with a little respect.”
“They’re fighters, Raven. It’s what they know,” Charleigh said.
“Yeah, but they’re also brothers. Family. That should come first.”
FIFTY-SEVEN
RAVEN
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD
Raven awoke thrashing in the middle of the night. Cold and alone. The way she’d been the last week.
She felt abandoned. A new fear rising up to take her over. One that felt almost like a broken heart, though she’d never been close enough to anyone to understand what that was like.
Throwing off the covers, she heaved for breath as she tried to calm the dark storm that bellowed inside her. A tacky awareness that slithered through her veins, more toxic than the bad dream.
She squeezed her eyes closed, praying for sleep, but none would come.
She stilled when she heard the soft thud of footsteps outside her door.
Come to me, she silently begged. She still couldn’t understand what had happened over the last week.
All except for the call Raven had gotten from Haddie.
Otto had been distant since.
Barely looking at her in the day and completely ignoring her at night.
Those footsteps changed course, backing away, before she heard the soft click of a door latch before it quietly snapped shut across the hall.
Sorrow threatened to tie her to the bed, to keep her shackled. But she couldn’t do that anymore. She didn’t want to be small and ashamed. She didn’t want to hide or conceal.
For once—for the first time in her life—she wanted to be seen.
She rose from the bed and crept across the floor. Her heart fluttered madly in her chest when she set her hand on the knob. Inhaling a steadying breath, she searched inside herself for fortitude.
For courage.
For the bravery and strength that he’d always affirmed that she had.
For everything he’d been instilling in her for all these years.
She opened the door, and her attention swept from one side of the hall to the other to make sure it was clear, then she tiptoed to the door directly across from hers.
She didn’t hesitate or knock.
She pushed it open the same way as Otto had always done hers.
He was lounged on his bed, and he lurched upright. Only wearing jeans and his boots.
Thickness filled her throat and butterflies scattered in her belly as she took in the sight of him.
So viciously beautiful it made her feel weak.
Designs inscribed across his flesh, flexing and contracting over the shock of muscles that bulged beneath.
Magnificent.
It was all she could think.
This man who she trusted more than anyone else.
“Raven.” It gusted out of him on a low roll of surprise.
Her brow pinched as she squeezed the door handle, though she lifted her chin, refusing to back down. “Where have you been?”
He scraped a hand over the top of his head, diverting his gaze to the floor. “Busy.”
Stepping forward, she let the door swing shut behind her. “Too busy for me?”