9. Raven

9

RAVEN

A new baby.

I'm excited!

I remember a little bit about when Hawk was born, but the memory isn't super clear.

But Mommy and Daddy just left for the hospital. They told me it's going to be another boy.

At first I was disappointed. Robbie already prefers playing with our older brother over me. I like to stay inside and help Mommy in the kitchen, play dress-up with the many princess outfits she's bought me, and hosting pretend tea parties with my stuffed animals. Robbie likes to roughhouse with Fal. Hawk is a little too young right now, but I can tell by how he watches them play that he can't wait until he's big enough to join them. I was hoping Mommy would have another daughter so that I might not be the only girly one.

But after a while, I got excited about having another baby brother. Even if he ends up joining the boys when he's older, for a while he'll be too small. And he'll be mine.

Our nanny got the call this morning. Mommy had the baby late last night. Daddy is already there, of course, but we're on our way to the hospital to see the baby.

Hawk doesn't really understand why we're going to the hospital. He's too young. And Falcon and Robbie are too busy playing rock-paper-scissors in the car ride over to care.

But I'm sitting there patiently, swinging my little legs over the backseat of our big family car. I picked out my favorite dress to wear today. Pink—of course—with little yellow stars and moons on it. Mommy calls it my princess dress, but the stars and moons make me think of Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice cartoon.

We get to the hospital and rush up to Mommy's room. The fifth floor is where they keep the Mommies who had babies. The boys and Robbie are lagging behind, but I go forward. I'm so excited to meet the baby.

"Ray, please wait up," our nanny says.

But I heard the lady at the front desk. She said Mommy is in Room 520. I'm almost running, looking at the numbers on each door. I finally find it and knock loudly.

The door opens, and a nurse widens her eyes when she sees me. She kneels and smiles. "And who do we have here?"

I twirl my dress. "My name is Raven and I'm here to meet my baby brother."

The nurse laughs. "My goodness. I bet you're excited to be a big sister."

"I'm already a big sister. I have another little brother. But I was really little when he was born so I don't really remember meeting him."

The nurse grabs my hand. "Well, I can tell that little Eagle is lucky to have such a great girl to be his big sister."

I look over at the bed. Mommy's face is dark pink and she's sweaty. But she looks so happy. She's holding a small bundle.

I run in. "Eagle. Is that his name?"

Mommy looks down at me and smiles. "Yes, baby."

Daddy chuckles in the corner. "We're going to have to stop with this one, Star. We're running out of bird names."

I raise my hand. "You could name the next one Big Bird!"

Mommy and Daddy laugh at that. I don't think it's very funny. Big Bird is a great name for a baby.

Daddy walks over to me. "Do you want to meet your baby brother, sweetheart?"

I nod. "Yes, please, Daddy."

Daddy lifts me up and sets me on the bed. I look into the bundle in Mommy's arms.

And I can't help it. I cry.

He's so small. And he's so cute. So precious.

I finally have my own baby.

And I'll make sure nothing bad ever happens to him.

* * *

Get rid of a body?

Jesus Christ…

What the hell have my brothers gotten into?

My heart is racing as I hold Eagle's hand, but Vinnie? He's holding steady.

Vincent Gallo Jr. has dark hair and eyes that smolder with an intensity that's almost magical. This is a man who left his family, spent over a decade overseas. That's about all I know about him.

I spent so many years fighting for my life that sexual attraction of any kind was a luxury I never thought about.

But looking at Vinnie Gallo now? My libido is back with a vengeance.

He slides a hand through his thick dark hair. The sight would make any woman's heart falter, but for me, it's like a bolt of lightning blasting through my veins and landing right between my thighs.

I clutch Eagle's hand tighter. Vinnie doesn't smile, and I wonder what secrets lie behind those smoldering eyes.

"You sure you're up for this, Ray?" Falcon says. "Because once you know, there's no going back."

I nod slowly. "I know you're innocent, Falcon. But what's the deal with a body? The cop's body was found on our property, shot by your gun. That's old news. What body are you talking about?"

Eagle riffles his fingers through his disheveled black hair. "A different body. The body of a drug dealer," he says. "And it's buried on our land."

Savannah gasps, but Vinnie? His face is like ice. No horror. No surprise. Hardly a reaction at all.

I stare at my older brother. "I was going to ask you to get me another Orange Crush, Fal, but I think maybe I need something stronger."

"Not with the meds you're still on," Falcon says.

He's right. I shouldn't drink. But damn…

I shake my head. "I don't understand. You went to prison for killing a cop. Not some drug lord."

Eagle shakes his head. "Funnily enough, it is possible for more than one person to die at a time?—"

Falcon shuts him up with a glare. "Eagle, keep your damned mouth shut. Leave it to me to explain this to the ladies and Vinnie."

Vinnie stares at Falcon. He's still the best-looking man I've ever seen, but the fact that he didn't gasp like Savannah did has me a little on edge.

So much I don't know.

Part of me wants to go home. To forget everything I heard the guys talking about. Go back to my life of luxury. After all, I'm damned lucky to have a life at all at this point.

I could go home, meet with that lawyer tomorrow, work on setting up my foundation. I could forget all of this.

But there are two things that stop me.

One is my gratitude toward my brother for saving my life. I want to help him if I can.

The other thing?

Vinnie Gallo. His raw intensity. I don't want to leave his presence. I feel a magnetic pull toward him, a force so undeniable and potent that it feels like the universe itself has conspired to bring us together.

I force myself to look away when I realize I'm staring at him.

Funny thing is?

He's staring at me too.

Another good reason to look away. I know I look terrible with my bald head. At least I've put on a few pounds and my complexion is pretty good now. But the hair will take a while to come back.

"Let's all sit down." Falcon moves out from behind the bar and takes a seat next to Savannah on the loveseat. Hawk and Vinnie take recliners.

Vinnie swirls his whiskey in his glass.

"All right," he says. "If you want my help, spill it. Spill it all."

Eagle looks up.

Falcon shoots him a glare. "Hawk and I will tell the story. You stay still."

Eagle bites his lip. "You think I don't know this is all my fault?"

Falcon lifts a hand to shut him up. "Eagle, I went to prison for you. I went to prison because you fucked up. I forgave you, but I can't have you going off halfcocked. I'm going to tell the story."

Savannah sits, rubbing her forehead. Falcon takes her hand.

Falcon takes a deep breath in. "Eight years ago, Hawk and I found cocaine stashed in an old barn near the border on the Bellamy property. We didn't know who it belonged to, figured some mule had placed it there and would be back to get it some other time. But we didn't want it on our property, so we brought it home and flushed it."

Hawk darts Eagle a look.

"But then we found out Eagle had stashed it there for a guy he was working for?—"

I throw my hand over my mouth. " What? "

As much as I love my baby brother, I want to punch his pretty face in.

"Just let me finish. Please, Ray." Falcon rubs his forehead. "Anyway, we found out later that it belonged to?—"

"Please don't." Eagle has buried his face in his hands. "I can't relive this."

"You don't have a choice," Hawk says. "We thought this was all buried forever."

"I never meant to hurt anyone," Eagle says.

"We know that," Falcon says. "I didn't have to go to prison for you. That was my choice."

Eagle buries his head in his hands once more.

Vinnie clears his throat. "I think you're going to have to give me the short version. I want to help you, because Sav loves you. But I'm up to my eyeballs in shit with my grandfather. You've got no fucking idea how bad the situation is."

Falcon looks at Vinnie. "I have a feeling I probably do. Let me finish."

I sit, my jaw dropped, as I listen to my brother recount what went on eight years ago.

"We needed cash to pay for the drugs we'd flushed. Otherwise they'd take it out on Eagle's ass." Falcon draws in a breath. "I was the only one who had access to my trust fund at that point, but no way could I get that much cash right away from a bank. You have to put in an order."

My heart drops. "Grandma," I say.

Falcon nods. "Yeah. I went to her. I'm not proud of it."

"She'd do whatever you asked."

"And she did. She gave me the cash. So we made arrangements to meet Vega at the old barn where the drugs had been buried, but Vega didn't show up. At least we thought he hadn't. Two minions did."

"Two big thugs," Hawk says. "You should have seen them, Ray. It was like a movie."

Falcon doesn't react to our brother's attempt to ease the tension of his story. "We stayed in the barn and watched from the doorway as two men got out of the truck. They were thugs, like Hawk said. Muscles on their muscles. Two against three, and we were all armed, but they most likely were too. We told Eagle to hide in one of the old stalls while Hawk and I took care of things." He glances toward Eagle. "And you should have stayed fucking put."

"Easy, Fal." From Hawk.

"They asked to see Eagle," Falcon continues. "All we wanted to do was give them the loot and get them on their way. But they clearly wanted to give Eagle a once-over. Hawk and I weren't about to let that happen."

"You fucking should have," Eagle mutters.

Falcon glares at our little brother for a moment before continuing. "A minute later, another man got out of the truck. He must have been hiding in the backseat. He was as muscled as the minions, and he wore steel-tipped cowboy boots, jeans, and a black button-down shirt. His features were sharp and pointed."

"Diego Vega," Vinnie says, his voice low, like a growl.

"The one and only," Falcon continues. "He demanded to see Eagle, but we told him no. And then…" Falcon draws in another deep breath, holds it a few seconds before blowing it out. "Eagle comes up behind me and takes my piece."

Eagle whimpers softly, his gaze fixed to the floor.

Again, I want to hold him, tell him everything's okay. But first I want to beat the living shit out of him. What the hell was he thinking?

"We told Vega to just take the money and go, but he said he and Eagle had unfinished business." Falcon swallows. "Eagle drew my gun on Vega, and then both the minions drew theirs on E."

"You two didn't listen to me," Eagle says, shaking his head. "I told you he wouldn't let me out of there alive. That he wanted more than the money."

"For the love of God," Hawk says, "shut the fuck up, E!"

Falcon continues, "I tried to stop you, E, but?—"

Eagle lets go of my hand and shoots off the couch. "I shot him! I shot the motherfucker, and I can't say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the cop. I am. That was an accident. But Diego Vega deserved to die!"