Page 10 of The Raven
She snorted. “That’s ironic coming from you. What about the six menwalking free who committed murder last year? Oh, wait, make that five. Boogie isn’t walking anywhere.”
Anger streaked through me, dampening my curiosity as to who thiswoman was. If only she knew how fucking hard I’d worked to put the Vipers behind bars. It hadn’t just nearly ruined my career, but it almost killed me.
“I tried my damned hardest to lock up those cunts for what they did toRaven and Eric,” I said through gritted teeth. “I-”
Tap, tap, tap.
The tapping from behind me started again. I peered over my shoulderto see the raven on the balcony outside had tapped its beak against the table, cutting me off from telling the woman that I hadn’t given up.
That I wouldnevergive up.
That every damn day, I had to fight against the guilt that wanted toswallow me whole for not being good enough to get justice for Raven.
Abruptly, the raven spread its wings and took off, flying into the sky anddisappearing over the roof of my apartment. When I spun back around, the space where the woman had stood only moments ago was now vacant.
I stormed across the room, but I already knew I wouldn’t find her.
Fuck.
I needed to get some sleep.
Exhaustion was making me see ghosts.
DrugsWill Inevitably Kill You
The Raven
I couldn’t shake DetectiveMason Roberts from my head. Anytime Ithought of him, a strange pulling sensation cascaded through my body, followed by the uncontrollable urge to be near him.
It started from the minute he saw me outside Boogie’s apartment, growingstronger as I watched through the eyes of my faithful raven, as he examined the crime scene I’d left behind.
I was utterly fascinated by the meticulous way Mason worked. Not one inchof the mess I’d left behind went without his scrutiny. As the hours ticked by, I found myself wondering if Detective Roberts had been the one to examine the crime scene left behind by the Vipers nearly a year ago in my apartment.
If the cops had been as thorough as Mason was in Boogie’sapartment, why weren’t the men responsible for rape and murder locked away, rotting in a prison cell for the rest of their miserable lives?
Or was it all a front? Did the cops of Hadleigh Peak make itlookas ifthey were conducting an in-depth investigation, but as soon as they returned to the station, the case file was stamped with an ‘UNSOLVED’ label and put to the back of a filing cabinet, forever forgotten?
That would explain why Grim and his boys were still walking andtalking like they owned the town.
When the sun began to rise, and Mason headed to his apartment with heavy bagsunder his eyes, I didn’t want that to be the last time I saw him. I wanted to ask my questions.
How I knew where he lived, though, I didn’t know. I just…did. Or rather, theraven led me to his apartment as if she knew he was exactly what I needed right at that moment.
As much as I had wanted to ask him questions about the investigation intowhat happened to me and Eric, I found myself struggling to articulate the words because the strangest thing happened.
The closer I was to him, the constant pain swirling in my body beganto ebb. I was only in his apartment for a matter of minutes, and yet, a sense of calm and peace I had been craving since waking up in purgatory descended with every breath Mason took. The immense need to move closer to him began to overpower me, myfingers twitching with the urge to reach out and touch him, desperate to experience something other than the nightmare I was stuck in.
But just as the conversation moved to the night in question, my birdreminded me of the clock ticking down to finish what I’d started. It was time to deal with my next target, which was why I was waiting down a dark alley with my hood pulled as far over my face as possible, hiding in the shadows for Ziggy’s arrival.
Despite one of his boys croaking it, Grim wasn’t letting Boogie’suntimely demise get in the way of business. There were drugs to be sold.
Money to be made.
I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, tuning into my ravenflying over Ziggy’s car, tracking his movements as he made his way to the meeting point, thinking he was going to be meeting one of his regulars.
Knowing he was still a few minutes away, I pushed all thoughts ofDetective Mason Roberts from my mind and let my memories consume me, ready to inflict my pain onto Ziggy.
Numbness sweeps through me, and my brain shuts down toprotect me from the surrounding nightmare. From behind, Pyro takes his turn, his fingers gripping my hips savagely as he brutally pounds into me.
