Raven’s version of “getting over it” was sex, but when Christian rejected her, she turned to the bottle. He would give her the world, but sex wouldn’t make her forget; it would only associate his passion with her trauma. So instead, she drank herself to sleep, and he let her.
There was no handbook on how to get over a burial. When the air runs out, you glimpse your own mortality for all of thirty seconds before your body goes through an upheaval of change. Then you’re alone in the dark, forsaken by all. The others would never understand how just one day is like an eternity. They would never know how that experience would make it harder to handle tight spaces or even dark rooms. Raven might never suffer those same phobias that Christian once had, but one thing was certain—the person responsible would pay.
A knock sounded at the door, and he rose from his chair to answer.
“Is she all right?” Switch peered over Christian’s shoulder.
Christian swung the door open. “Well, have a gander. Do you feel like more of a man, now that you’ve seen a drunk woman in her knickers?” He stepped into the hall and shut the door behind him.
Switch folded his arms and did that hand tuck men do to make their biceps look bigger. “I made myself scarce all day, so I don’t know what’s been going on with the drinking parties. But Crush called, asking about Raven. He wanted to know if she showed up and where you were.”
“The man needs to learn how to put a cork in it.”
Switch reached in his pocket and handed Christian his phone. “You tell him. He’s been calling me for hours, and I don’t know what to say. Said he tried calling you, but your phone kept going to voice mail.”
Christian muttered a curse as he called up Raven’s da. “Sorry to pull you away from that decrepit piece of furniture you call a chair, but I’m giving you a ring to let you know that Raven’s fine.” Christian gave Switch a foul look as Crush ranted about how a policeman pulled him over, and he didn’t have any ID on him. “Aye, she’s fine. I’d wake her, but she’s fast asleep. Didn’t mean to trouble you over nothing. … Well, feck you too.” He handed Switch the phone.
Raven would never tell her father what had happened, and Christian had no desire to tell him that his daughter had been buried alive, right next to her mother. Some things were better left unsaid.
Switch dropped his arms at his sides. “Look, you and I don’t get along. That’s fine. But I’ve known Raven since she was a little girl. We weren’t close or anything, but she’s like a packmate to me. I ask questions because I care about her, and nothing you say or do will ever change that. Raven grew up with Crush, but she has an extended family, whether she realizes it or not. If there’s something I can do for her that maybe you don’t have time for, I’m here. Is there anything you want me to bring up? Food? Water? Her favorite ice cream?”
“If you’d stop your tail wagging for just a minute, you’d see that I’ve got it under control. She’s had a rough go with this assignment, that’s all.”
Switch narrowed his wolfish eyes, the eyebrows sloping down at an angle. He cast a critical look at Christian. Shifters were especially good at it. It was that desire they had to take charge of a situation.
Christian leaned his back against the door and folded his arms. “And where’s the wee one?”
Switch squared his shoulders. “Asleep. I’m not here to talk about Hunter. I’m off the clock now, and what I do with my free time is my own business.”
“Well, your business landed on my doorstep. And as long as you’re under this roof, you’re never off the clock. Your responsibility is the lad, not Raven. I know all about you. You tried kissing my woman and doing it while naked.”
“I can’t help it if I’m naked around her. I’m a Shifter.”
“Keep your lips on Viktor’s arse and away from Raven. I’ll not have you seducing my woman or getting naked in front of her. Raven’s not the girl you once knew, and if you can’t handle it, then off you go. She doesn’t take kindly to hovering, and if you start bringing her trays of food and asking