Page 45 of Raven

"Wait a minute," I said, sitting up straighter. We were just going past the train station. "Stop the car." This was a different track than the underground. The station was on the right, the college on the left. And there, on the pavement, with short-cropped blonde hair...

Tia.

"Can you just give me a minute?" I said, jumping out. "Tia." I called, her name sharp on my lips.

The figure ahead pretended not to hear me, but I felt her pulse quicken. I sent out tendrils of my emotions to connect with hers, and there it was—her heart beating faster. She had heard me.

"Tia, please wait. I just want to talk."

She slowed and turned around, pulling her hood up. "Please, Raven ... I need to head home. It’s curfew."

I ran to her and came to a stop in front of her. "I know. I’m sorry. I just saw you." I gulped in air, my heart racing. "I was just going past and saw you."

She looked beyond me to Lachlan. "You’re on a job for Malcolm."

I nodded. I had told her I did jobs for him, though not what. She’d asked, but I couldn’t tell her. I didn’t tell anyone. Malcolm had made it clear—under no circumstances was I to share details. The less others knew, the better. The people we moved for Malcolm needed protection. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Tia, but if something came up? It was easier not to tell her. And she accepted that.

"Are you okay?" I asked.”You went back to the cafe.”

"I'm okay," she said, but everything radiated off her. She hesitated. "I went to get your bike for you."

"I know. Thank you. The woman at the cafe said you’d taken it over the bar."

She faltered slightly, and the surge of her anxiety rushed into my veins so fast it nearly knocked me back. I had to throw up my mental shields.

"I hid it. I went back the next night. I was going to bring it back to you, but it was gone. I thought maybe you’d gone back to get it or something. I felt so terrible, thinking the humans would just ruin it. I’m glad you got it back." She gave me a weak smile, looking up at me and letting her hood fall down. I wasn’t sure if she meant to do that, but the streetlight shone on her face, andshe took my breath away every single time. She made my chest ache just to look at her, with the need to reach out to her. But then I saw...

"What is that on your neck?" I reached for her collar to get a better look.

She pulled away, knocking my hand back. "It's nothing."

"It doesn’t look like nothing." I reached again, opening her hood, and she put her head down.

"Raven, it’s fine."

When she went to step away and bat my hand away again, I grabbed it. The possessive part of me, my panther, needed to see. "No. It isn’t fine. Someone is hurting you. Who did this?" If she was marked, then the bruises should’ve been gone by now. She was a shifter; she healed quickly. These were fresh, like someone had held the side of her neck and squeezed really hard.

I grabbed her jaw. "Don't."

"No, Tia. Just no. What are you hiding from me? What is this?" I tilted her head back, revealing a large bruise like someone had tried to strangle her with one hand. A thumbprint marred her clavicle, and fingerprints wrapped around the back of her neck.

"What the fuck is this, Tia? Is this why you broke up with me?"

She put her hand over the bruise, but it didn’t matter. She stared at me with betrayal in her eyes. "You don't understand."

"Because you won't let me understand. You won't tell me what the hell is going on, and I have a right to know. You just left. You left me with no explanation, after all we'd said, all we'd discussed." The words spilled out, rising with an intensity that I couldn’t control. It wasn't just me speaking; it was my panther, clawing for answers.

"It's better this way."

"Better for who?" I demanded.

She sucked in a breath, her lip trembling. I felt like a dick for pushing, but I wasn’t letting my girl walk away. If she truly wanted me to go, I’d go, but that’s not what I was feeling from her. "Is this your brother’s?" My heart jolted as I connected the dots, and her reaction confirmed it.

"Raven ..."

"I know you've got brothers. Did one of them do this?" I pointed at the bruises.

"You don't know what it's like," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm the only girl in our family. I'm valuable to them."

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