Page 17 of The Raven
“We’ve got a problem,” the prick said.
My temper snapped.
Before I could comprehend what I was doing, Buck was pressedagainst the wall with my hand wrapped around his throat, squeezing to prevent him from breathing.
“You bet we’ve got a fucking problem,” I sneered in his face. “Did I, ordid I not give you an order to stay with Ziggy?”
Buck was a big fucker, bigger than me. He could have easily yankedmy hand from his throat and shoved me away. But he didn’t. What I lacked in size, I madeup for in sheer brutality, and even though Buck was one of my boys, he would have been at the receiving end of my fists if he disrespected me.
It was bad enough he’d disobeyed me in the first place.
“Grim, I’m sorry,” he wheezed, his face turning a deep shade ofpurple.
I slammed him against the wall.“Sorry? Sorry doesn’t fucking excuse it. Zig is dead because youwere too busy getting your cock sucked by a whore!” I bellowed, my voice echoing around the derelict warehouse we’d claimed for ourselves years ago.
Buck opened his mouth and then promptly closed it, thinking twice aboutback-chatting. He couldn’t deny it. I knew everything that went on in my town. I knew before his pants were even down that he’d left Ziggy to make the deal alone.
Against my orders.
“I…fucked up, Grim. But I know who killed Zig. Boogie too, probably,”he choked.
Behind me, Butch stopped sharpening his knives, and the flicking ofPyro’s lighter ceased, their attention falling to Buck.
“Who?” I said, releasing my grip and taking a step back.
Buck inhaled a deep breath before scrubbing a hand down his face. Helooked like he’d aged by ten years in the few hours since I’d last seen him. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but-” he paused, grimacing before he continued. “I think Raven Blackwood killed them.”
I glared back at the moron in absolute disbelief. Buck was the joker of thegang, the one always making stupid comments to get a reaction, but no one was laughing at what he’d said.
“Did you get into Ziggy’s stash before he croaked it, or did the whoresuck your brains out through your pencil dick?” Butch said, annoyance in his tone. “Raven is dead. We killed her, remember?” he added, waving his knife in front of Buck’s face.
“I told you it would sound crazy-”
“You are fucking crazy,” Pyro interrupted.
“But I know what I saw,” Buck protested, a desperation in his voicethat I’d never heard from him.
“And what, exactly, did you see?” I growled, my voice deadly as mypatience dwindled.
“Cops were all over the alley where Zig was meant to meet Barry, so I tookthe long way back here. I saw that Detective who’s always trying to lock us up, Ridges or-”
“Roberts,” I corrected him. The cop’s name was top of my shit list.
“Yeah, that’s the one. I caught him disappearing into an alley, and Ithought I’d have a word with him, see if I could beat some answers out of him about who killed Boogie, but he was talking to a woman. Raven.”
“Big fucking deal,” Butch hissed. “He was talking to a woman; it couldhave been anyone.” Dismissing Buck’s ridiculous theory, he returned to his seat to continue sharpening his knives.
“It was Raven. I damn near shit myself when I saw her,” Buck said,glaring at Butch before returning his gaze to me. “I swear to you, Grim. It was her.”
I chewed his words over in my mind. There was no way Ravensurvived what we had done to her. Plus, my father and Raven’s mom might have disowned me, but I knew damn well they had a funeral for her. My dear stepsister was dead and buried, of that I was sure.
“It wasn’t Raven,” I started, snarling when Buck opened his mouth toargue. “Raven is dead. But I wouldn’t put it past Roberts to have a hand in Boogie and Zig’s deaths. That fucker will do anything to get rid of us, and he’s made it clear time and time again that he won’t rest until we pay for what we did to the little cunt.”
Buck’s shoulders slumped in defeat as a menacing grin crossedPyro’s lips. “Think we should pay the detective a little visit?”
I patted my hip, checking my blade was tucked in its sheath where Ialways kept it. “Yeah, that’sexactlywhat we are going to do.”
INever Gave Up
