Page 107 of Dirty Secrets

“Dammit, Turbo,” Riley muttered under her breath, the familiar nickname for him hitting me in the chest. I’d known him as Turbo ever since we’d met at the street races, and it had been a while since I’d heard it now we’d all stopped.

“Did you know?” I asked Riley, her reaction not seeming that surprised.

“No, but he never kept it a secret from me that he was hiding things. I never would’ve guessed the mafia though,” she admitted, and I wanted to tear Ander’s head off.

Not only had he put Zavier in danger, but Raven too.

“Zavier honestly didn’t know?” I asked skeptically, and Luna shrugged.

“I don’t know, but Cruz believes that he didn’t. Zavier spent ages running from his dad’s crew, so why would he get involved with the mafia just as he got his freedom back?”

She wasn’t wrong, and now I felt like an asshole all over again for not believing him.

Maybe we all needed to talk once we’d calmed down a little. It had been a long day, and I knew for a fact if I went near Logan, I’d beat the shit out of him again.

“What now? How do we deal with the mafia?” I asked Riley, and she chuckled.

“I don’t know. Don’t think it’s in the criminal handbook. Mom will figure something out, so it’s a good idea to wait and see what she says. You want to get drunk? I’ll even let you cry a little if you need to.”

“I could really do with a drink,” I replied, following them into the house to the kitchen, grateful that they’d finally gotten their own place so I didn’t have to deal with everyone else's bullshit for the night.

Tonight, I’d get drunk and drown in my misery.

Tomorrow, I’d start trying to figure out how to keep us all alive and to make Raven forgive me.

Raven

“Hey. Thanks for coming,” I mumbled the following afternoon as the nurse wheeled me out to the parking lot, Beckett walking beside us.

“That’s okay. I needed to get out of the house before I killed someone anyway,” she answered, and I swore the nurse pushed me a little faster to hurry us up. “How are you feeling today?”

“Everything hurts. I feel like I’ve been hit by a car,” I deadpanned, earning an amused smirk from her.

“Oh, good. Their hood didn’t knock your sense of humor out then?”

“I bet I could take on a truck next time,” I chuckled, regretting it as my entire body screamed in protest. I waved thenurse off when she tried to help me out of the wheelchair, forcing myself to do it without help.

Once we were alone, Beckett offered me a cigarette, which I happily took.

“So, are the guys out of my house?” I asked casually, not being able to hide the hurt in my tone.

She snorted, lighting her cigarette and blowing the smoke at me before handing me the lighter. “Yes. Logan is currently taking up space in my spare room, Reid is at Riley’s, and Zavier is at the Thieves’ compound. Logan and Reid weren’t going to go, but Mom went around there after leaving the hospital last night and frogmarched them out for you. They’ve been informed to stay away from the house unless personally invited back in by you.”

“I can’t believe I cried on your mom,” I said with embarrassment, shifting on my feet to try and stop my muscles from aching.

“Fun fact about my mom, she really loves being a mom,” she said with a small smile. “You remind her a lot of herself, you know? Damaged Heights kid with anger issues. Diesel mentioned that your parents aren’t around, so she wanted to come and check on you herself yesterday.”

“She’s Rory Donovan,” I said as if she’d forgotten, making her shrug.

“She’s not just Rory Donovan though. To me, she’s just Mom. To my dads, she’s a girlfriend. To my grandma, she’s a daughter. To her friends, she’s just Rory. My mom might be a psycho killer to most people, but she’s still all of those other things too. Last night, you needed a mom, and she was more than happy to be that person for you.”

“I’m too emotional for this conversation,” I said tightly, making her groan.

“Please don’t cry. I can’t handle it again. We’re friends who don’t do the crying thing, remember? You agreed.”

I snickered, finishing my cigarette. “I know. Sorry that yesterday was so horrible for you.”

“I forgive you. I’m sorry, you know? Yesterday was a shitty day for you. If you want the guys to get their asses handed to them, let me know.”

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