Chapter 25

Ryan

My raven was feeling uneasy after talking to Gracie. Something in her voice sounded off.

"Are you okay?" Vance asked.

"No. I need to get out to the cliffs, now. I think Gracie"s in trouble."

"Come on. I"ll drive you."

I didn"t turn down the offer as we hopped into his police cruiser and, with the lights on, raced through town and out to the cliffs.

"Is this about Gracie?"

"Sort of."

"What does that mean?"

"You know we"ve been working on the arson case together, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Multiple fires have sparked all over Ravenden."

"Residual from the wildfire? I mean, we knew it was a possibility, right?"

"Yes, but she said she has proof it"s him. And he started the big fire. I"m sure of it. We both are. You"re gonna find this funny, but Gracie was convinced it was you."

"What was me?"

"The arsonist. She thought you were the arsonist."

"What the hell? Why would she think I would do something like that?"

"Just following the trail. Plus, you always seem to beat her to the site."

"Well sure, I"m usually already out around town and dispatch goes out to police and fire at the same time. They have to suit up and get ready before rolling out, but I just jump in my car and go. I always have a head start on them. I look at it as my job to get on site and start keeping people back and safe as soon as a fire call comes in. I"ll admit, we"ve had a big influx of them lately. She really thinks it"s an arsonist?"

"We know it"s an arsonist."

"But me?"

I laughed at his reaction. It really did seem ridiculous in hindsight, yet until only a few moments earlier, he was still our number one suspect.

"Why me?" he asked. "Seriously. Walk me through this madness."

"The cliffs, the old barn, the football field . . ."

"Those are all places hundreds of people around here could be attributed to. Every single generation has hung out at those places from the beginning of time as far as I know. So why me?"

I frowned. "We were reminiscing and your name just kept coming up over and over again, even at some of the more obscure sites. Like the fire behind Gia"s place. It was right where Big Dick wrecked senior year. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I was in the car."

"Exactly."

"But I wasn"t the only one. I mean besides Dick, there were like six other people crammed in there."

"But you were there. How about down by the river? Do you remember that time Guffy threw a kegger down there and you and Carson got in a fight over Penny Caldwell?"

"So what? I was there. A lot of people were there."

"And then the football field."

"Again, a lot of people have played football there. It"s Ravenden High."

"In my defense, I did argue that, but when Gracie sets her mind on something she"s not easily swayed."

"From what I"ve heard you should be hoping she sets her mind on you then."

"Heard about that did you?"

"Pretty sure everyone's heard about that by now. But I can"t believe you two could even think I"d be involved in something like this."

"You have to admit your name is associated with nearly every location."

"Nearly?"

"Old Lady Pierce"s house doesn"t quite add up for me."

"That was him too? Does Carson know? Never mind. Of course he knows. He"s the beneficiary of that shithole."

"He is?"

"Yes."

"You"re sure?"

"Dude, I"ve been hounding him for months to clean up the yard and paint the house. It's breaking at least a dozen town ordinances and since he cut back the trees along the side of the road it"s now visible to everyone. I was willing to ignore it before when it was hidden back there, but I couldn"t after that."

"Carson was there at the fire, Vance. He and some friends were right there practically tailgating at the caution line."

"I"m aware. Tried running them off a few times."

A bad feeling ran down my spine causing me to shiver.

"He was right where Gracie picked up the match."

"What?"

"Something we haven"t released yet, but at every site the arsonist left a calling card. One wooden match and one black feather. At first, she argued with me that because we"re all a bunch of raven shifters that feathers are everywhere. But it became too much of a coincidence. Match and feather."

Vance gulped hard.

"What is it?"

"A single black feather?"

"Yes. Is that important?"

His cheeks turned an odd shade of red.

"After I kicked his ass over Penny, I issued him a threat. For every time he so much as looked at a woman in Ravenden, I would take one of his feathers as a reminder to stay the hell away from what didn"t belong to him. We were just kids, Ry. I wasn"t serious about it, and I'd never actually done it. It was just something stupid I'd spouted off. He could be such an irritating prick sometimes. Why did we ever let him hang out with us? But more importantly, do you really think he could have done this?"

"I don"t know, but it may be the best lead we have yet. Drive faster."

My raven was stressed, and I knew I wasn"t going to calm down until I had my mate in my arms.

We pulled up next to Andrew"s truck and I jumped out before Vance even had the car in park.

"You don"t have to keep doing this," I heard Gracie say.

My eyes darted around to see who she was talking to. There was no way it was Andrew Grimes. He was like a brother to me and I simply couldn"t believe him capable of such malice. And then I noticed they weren"t alone.

Carson Pierce.

He was agitated and pacing back and forth.

"Yes, I do," he said. "They need to pay. They need to know they can"t just toy with us. You"re a Montgomery, maybe you don't quite understand. You"re part of the problem when you should be part of the solution, Gracie. Come on Andrew, you know. You get it. You"re a Grimes. They treat us like shit just because of the Flock we were born into. It"s always been that way. They think they"re better than us, but not for long. I"m going to burn this whole fucking place to the ground, and I"m going to dance on the ashes. They"ll learn they can't treat people like this. And the Pierce Flock will rise again from the ashes, just like little Gracie. Ravenden will be stronger for it."

"What"s your plan, Carson? Continue setting fires in relatively isolated locations in hopes that one of them will catch closer to town? Didn"t work so well for you with this last wildfire."

Why the hell was she taunting him like this?

"These were just the beginning, a wakeup call and a distraction. The big show is about to begin, starting with your precious mayor"s building. Until Elias turned his back on the Davenport Flock and mated Kimberly Grimes, no Grimes or Pierce was allowed occupancy there. Did you know that? Do you know how many times I applied for an apartment there only to be shot down as it was passed off to one of their kind instead? Do you?" he yelled.

"And I"m sure it had absolutely nothing to do with your sunny disposition," Andrew said sarcastically.

"You"re protecting them? You think this is funny? You disappoint me, Andrew. I genuinely thought you of all people would understand."

"Why? Because I"m a Grimes? Look asshole, I'm proud of my Flock and the legacy my family has created here in Ravenden. So don"t drag me into your delusions."

Carson spit on him.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"That"s enough Carson. This game ends now."

For a moment he looked startled, as if he had been so caught up in his rant that he hadn"t even seen us approach. But then a creepy grin crested his lips.

"Well look who the cat dragged in. My old friends Ryan, king of Ravenden, and his pathetic sidekick, Vance. You always were a sellout, Vance, trying so hard to kiss ass to the Davenport and Dean Flocks while going out of your way to belittle the rest of us. You were the worst of all."

"We had our issues, but that was strictly between you and me. You"re delusional if you believe the rest of this shit you"re spouting. Ever think you didn"t get an apartment in that building because we all know you"re an irritating asshole and no one wanted to live with you?"

"Vance, that"s enough," I warned.

"Go hide behind Ryan as usual."

"I"m warning you, Carson."

"Or what? You"ll drag me to the edge of the cliff and push me off. I"ve been there, remember? It"s how I learned to fly, because my raven was forced to surface for the first time or die."

"You"d been bragging for months about your raven and yet wouldn"t show him to anyone. We were just making a point."

"One that could have cost me my life."

While the two of them continued to argue, I was able to get close enough to my mate to pull her back against me and wrap my arms around her waist, letting her presence calm my bird before I did something stupid. But the second Carson looked back our way, I pushed Gracie behind me. No way was my girl going to stand as a shield between me and him.

"Enough, Carson," I told him.

"And what do you think you"re going to do about it?"

I nodded at Vance who slowly approached him with cuffs in his hand.

"Carson Pierce, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney . . ."

He was cut off as Carson started to shift.

"He"s going to get away!" Andrew yelled.

I lifted my hand and let my power fly in his direction. He cried out as he fell to the ground twitching, giving Vance enough time to cuff him and finish reading him his rights while hoisting him up from the ground and dragging him to the back of the cruiser.

"What just happened?" Gracie asked.

Andrew laughed.

"You hate using your powers. I can"t believe you just did that," Vance said when he returned.

It was true, but in this case, it was also necessary.

"What exactly is your power?" Gracie asked me.

I gave her a sheepish grin.

"Basically, he"s like a taser. He can shoot electricity into a person with a similar sensation to being tased. In our younger and dumber days, we"d all show off our powers, but not Ryan. He was always too afraid he"d hurt someone."

"There is a time for everything, I suppose. But I promise you I won"t make a habit of it."

"You"re a softy," she teased.

I just shrugged. For her, I already knew I was.

"I have to get him down to the station and figure out what the hell we"re going to do with him. Need a ride?"

I looked back at Gracie, not wanting to leave her.

"Since he mentioned a threat to the apartments, I think we should do our due diligence and check them out. Ryan can ride back there with us unless you need him," Andrew suggested.

"Nope. I"m good. And hey, you guys did great. I think you and Ryan make a great team, Gracie Lou."

She groaned. "Not you too."

Vance laughed. "Hey payback"s a bitch. I can"t believe you actually thought I was behind this," he teased as he got back to work handling things with Carson.

Gracie punched me in the chest. "You actually told him about that?"

I laughed, feeling lighter than I had in days. "Of course."

"Well, I"m glad we were wrong."

"We may have been wrong, but I think he may have actually been right?"

"About what?"

I pulled her into my arms and smiled down at her.

"We do make a great team."

And then I kissed her.

Heaving sounds made it a short-lived kiss and ruined our moment.

"Just get in the damn car and no making out on the drive. I"ll get you home as fast as I can, but I do not need to be witness to whatever this is."

She shrugged, looking at me. "Well, you"ve taken us public now, so I guess he"ll just have to get used to it."

And she kissed me again.