Page 40 of Ravage
A new emotion flickers in his glare, but before I can think anything of it, something flies in front of my face, and the gun clatters to the ground. Dane’s grip on my wrist loosens, and I pull it free as we turn to see where it came from.
Jackson’s lying on his stomach in the air vent above us, a throwing star between the fingers of one hand while he rests his face against the other. He looks calm and unaffected by the heightened emotions in this small office, but also like he’s been watching us this entire time, and we were too preoccupied to notice.
Which we were.
Dane glares up at him and then moves back toward his gun, but another star flies down so hard that it pins the trigger guard to the ground, and he can’t lift it up.
Jackson tsks, then easily twists himself around and drops between us. “I’d hoped to leave you both alone to sort this out.”
Dane’s still trying to yank the star out of the tile and growls up at him. “Then stay the fuck out of it.”
“I would if I could.” He shrugs with a smirk, calm as always. “But hurting Raegan isn’t an option.” Jack keeps his body and eyes aimed firmly at Dane, even when he addresses me next. “Leave now, little one. I’ll take care of this.”
“You’re seriously taking her side? What the fuck, man? She killed Vera! She’s an enemy of our family! A threat! Leaving her alive is just asking for her to kill us too. She should be the number one enemy that we’re fighting against.” Dane gets up and tries to go around him, but Jackson sidesteps and blocks him until they’re face-to-face.
I’m too busy absorbing the deep cuts and brands from Dane’s words to react to anything else. I know then that that’s how he feels. How Aiden probably feels. Maybe Kellan too. I’m still not sure I can trust anything that Jackson told me last night. I’m worse than the enemy we’ve all been hunting in parallel.
“Raegan, go,” Jackson reiterates, and I finally snap out of the spiral of thoughts I was trapped in.
Right. Leave before Dane tries to kill me. Again.
I move around Jackson, who angles and shifts himself to remain between me and Dane until I’m at the door. Dane calls out one last time, just to make sure he’s hammered the nail in the coffin.
“You’ll never trick us again. Do you hear me? You’re dead to us!”
I feel like doing something reckless.
It’s probably not the smartest move I could make, but I’m not sure how much I care in this moment. There’s something about being a second away from death that makes me crave doing something foolish and crazy to remind myself that I’m alive.
For however long that lasts.
Best to seize the moment and have a little fun once in a while, right?
Almost like what Kell and I would do on the island. We would sneak around, break rules, pull pranks, do things that definitely could have gotten us hurt if not killed. All because we could. It was one of the few ways to feel like we took control back over our lives.
Now I just need to find the right place to go tonight to get that thrill.
I’m sure someone at Hype will know of a good spot and make my way there. Staff are working to get the place set up for opening, but even without the music and customers, the workers are rowdy and there’s a general feel of relaxed fun in the air. I’m tempted to stay here to drink and dance my troubles away like usual, but brush the idea aside as soon as I have it. I need more than that tonight.
I try the bouncer that Elias introduced me to on my first night working in the club. He watches me approach, arms folded over his chest, but doesn’t say anything even when I stop in front of him.
“It’s…Bryant, right?” I ask hesitantly, hoping I didn’t fuck up the name even though we’d only met that one time.
He nods stoically.
“Great. I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Rae, the new temp working here for Elias?”
“I remember.”
“Okay…” I had hoped for some sign he was good with me and might open up, but it’s like pulling teeth. “I’m still new around here and don’t know of the best…spots for a bit of late-night fun. Do you think you can help a girl out with some recommendations?”
Bryant looks me up and down. “And what exactly are you looking for?”
I hesitate. I’m not sure of what exactly I’m looking for. Something with danger. Probably illegal.
“Oh. Um, any underground groups that do anything fun after the sun goes down?”
Was that too vague?
