5. Raven

5

RAVEN

I still haven’t heard from Vinnie.

I brush my upper arms against the chill as Falcon and Leif scrutinize every part of my home.

I don’t have a phone line. Leif starts with the obvious spots, sweeping a device over the bookshelves and behind picture frames. The device emits a soft beep, and Leif pauses, removing a framed photograph to reveal a small, inconspicuous camera nestled behind it. He deftly disables it, nodding to Falcon.

Falcon moves to the kitchen, carefully inspecting the ceiling light fixtures and appliances. He finds a tiny microphone hidden inside a wall clock and signals Leif. Together, they disable it and continue their search.

In the bedrooms, they lift mattresses, check inside air vents, and even dismantle lamps to ensure no device goes undetected. I heave a sigh of relief when they leave my bedroom, finding nothing.

The thought of them having video footage of…

I can’t go there.

Falcon finds another camera in the hallway cleverly disguised as a smoke detector, and Leif deactivates it.

Their search extends to the bathrooms, where they inspect behind mirrors and inside exhaust fans. Nothing there either, thank God. In the study, Leif examines the computer for any tampering, while Falcon checks behind the curtains and inside a decorative vase.

I follow them through my home, feeling more violated with each device they uncover.

Finally, they move to the outdoor areas, inspecting the porch lights and garden ornaments. They discover a hidden camera inside a garden gnome, which Falcon promptly destroys.

Nothing in the pool house, and nothing in the little alcove where the gazebo is. I guess Vinnie and I could’ve stayed there last night.

Nothing also around the fire pit, nor around the furniture where we ended up sitting.

I swallow hard. “I can’t thank you enough,” I say to Leif.

“You know I would do anything for your family,” he says. “I will tell you that this is not hard-core monitoring.”

“When did it happen? How could they get in here without anyone’s knowledge?”

“These kind of guys are known for their discretion. They could have come in while you were sleeping and gotten these in place. But my best guess is that they set this up while you were still in the hospital,” Leif says.

“But I had my security system armed.”

Leif frowns sympathetically. “Unfortunately, your basic security system is nothing to experts. I’ll get you set up with something better.”

“Right away,” Falcon says.

Leif nods. “We’re going to need to check out your parents’ place too.” He turns to Falcon. “Your place is clean for now.”

Falcon crosses his arms. “Can you guarantee it stays that way?”

“We’ll set you up with the best system. Same as I’m going to do here for Raven. We’d best do it for Hawk and Eagle too, based on…you know.”

“You can speak freely,” Falcon says. “Raven knows everything.”

I swallow again. “I don’t want any of my family in danger.”

“There’s no reason you’ll be in danger,” Falcon says. “You had nothing to do with what happened eight years ago. This thing with Latham can’t be related.”

I bite my lower lip, looking to the ground.

“Ray…” Falcon begins.

I look up and meet his gaze. “There’s something you should probably know.”

“Fuck,” he says. “What is it?”

Mom already knows because she was there during the questioning. She’s probably told Dad by now. I can only imagine how he feels about it. “I’ve been…” I run my hand over my peach fuzz, letting it skim over my fingertips.

As much as I hate my lack of hair, it’s actually a nice feeling. Kind of soothing.

“Raven,” Leif says, “you’re going to need to be honest with us if we’re going to make sure you’re protected.”

I sigh. “I’ve become…involved with Savannah’s brother.”

“Vinnie?” Falcon shakes his head. “For Christ’s sake, Ray. I like the guy, but he’s a freaking mobster.”

I shake my head. “He’s a fake mobster. He’s trying to take his family down. You know that as well as I do.”

“I know, but being anywhere near him puts you in danger. I can’t have that. Not after we almost lost you.” He runs his hand through his hair. “And now that lawyer turns up dead. In your bed, Ray. This must have something to do with Vinnie.”

Leif sighs. “I’ve got to agree with your brother. You’re better off staying far away from Vinnie Gallo. But on the other hand…”

“What?” Falcon says.

“You say she knows everything, Fal?”

“She does. She heard the guys and me talking.”

Leif shakes his head. “She may be in danger anyway, then.”

“No,” I say. “Vinnie took care of it. My father’s guys can’t dig there. The EPA is making them jump through a bunch of hoops.”

“But don’t you see?” Leif says. “That’s the problem. The EPA is now involved. But not just the EPA. Bad guys in the EPA.” He shakes his head again.

Chills course through me.

“I…”

“What is it, Raven?” Falcon demands. “You know I love you, sis, and I’m so glad you’re still here with us, but you have to be honest with us.”

“He left me,” I say succinctly. “It’s embarrassing, but he left me last night. We fell asleep, or at least I did, and when I woke up in the middle of the night, he was gone.”

“He just fucking left you?” Falcon’s hands curl into fists.

“Ease up,” Leif says. “My guess is he’s trying to protect her as well.”

Falcon unclenches his fists, but I can see he’s still rigid.

“I swear to God, Raven,” he grits out. “I will die before I let anything happen to you.”

I shake my head. “That’s not what I want. You’ve been through enough, Falcon. You went to prison to protect our youngest brother. You’ve done your time. You and Savannah deserve happiness. Not to be pulled back into this.”

“I love Savannah,” he says. “And with Savannah comes her family. I knew what I was getting into with her. But you… You don’t need this, Ray.”

But I love him…

The words don’t make it out of my mouth. Besides… Though he claimed to love me as well, he left without so much as a kiss goodbye. I haven’t heard from him at all today despite calling him twice.

“I think it’s probably a moot point,” I finally say. “I guess he got what he wanted from me and took off.”

There go Falcon’s fists again, and this time Leif joins him.

“I don’t mean that the way it sounds. I… I took from him as well.”

Falcon begins to open his mouth, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

“Let me have my say, Falcon.”

He sighs and nods.

“The thing is, during the last couple years I never thought anything like that would happen for me again.” A surge of emotion runs up my throat. I swallow it back. “But Vinnie… He showed me that I’m still beautiful, even without hair?—”

“Of course you are,” Leif snaps. “You and Robin are gorgeous, no matter what.”

I resist rolling my eyes at his mention of Robin. Leif and Robin were an item back in high school, and I don’t know exactly how it ended because Robin doesn’t talk about it. Leif is now happily married to a woman named Kelly.

“For Christ’s sake, Leif, let me have my say too.”

He nods.

“He gave me something I didn’t even know I needed,” I say. “I know you don’t like hearing that about your sister, Fal, but I don’t regret what happened between Vinnie and me. Not for an instant. And if he’s gone on his way now, I won’t try to stop him.”

“Good,” Falcon says. “I want you safe, Ray. And that means staying far away from Vinnie Gallo.”

I look at my feet. “It’s pretty clear he made that decision for me.”

“What if he didn’t?” Falcon asks. “What if something came up and he had to leave, and he just didn’t want to bother you? What then?”

I don’t want to lie to my brother. Because the fact of the matter is that I’ll go back to Vinnie in an instant. I’m in love with him. And yeah, he lives in a dangerous world, but the idea of going through the rest of my life without that same feeling that he gave me…

So I lie. I look my brother in his dark eyes and I lie.

“Then I’ll tell him to get lost,” I say. “I’ll tell him I don’t want him, and I never will.”