have a goddamn death wish.”
Yeah, Zay, I completely agree.
Seven
Raven
We leave the school without crossing paths with anyone. When we start across the parking lot, though, a couple of people are lingering around, eating their lunches. But everyone looks in the opposite direction as we pass, except for Mr. Mcnellton, who’s heading to his car. He glances at the three of us and frowns.
Seizing the opportunity, I give him a come-on-dude-help-me-out look, but he quickly looks away and ducks into his beat-up Honda Civic.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I wiggle my arms, attempting to escape again. Hunter just pulls me closer, holding me against his chest.
“Easy, little raven,” he whispers in my ear. “If you cooperate, things’ll end up a hell of a lot better for you.”
“I really doubt that,” I mumble back. “And stop calling me little raven.”
“But it’s such a fitting name.” Amusement flitters in his tone.
“No, it’s not,” I scoff. “Yeah, my name is Raven, but I’m not little.”
“Hate to break it to you, little raven, but you kind of are,” Hunter teases as he slows to a stop in front of a black SUV with tinted windows.
I tense at the sight of the car, flashbacks of the day my parents died flickering through my mind.
A dark SUV with tinted windows rolls up to the front of my house.
“Who is that, Mom?” I ask as I peer out the window.
She gasps as she looks out the window. “Hide. Now, Raven. Don’t let them see you.”
The memory fades. It always does. I can barely recall anything else that happened, except the blood that ended up on my hands and what everyone told me they believed I did.
You killed them.
Murderer.
Evil.
“I’m five-foot-nine,” I point out, shoving away all thoughts of that day and the days that followed. I can’t think about it too much. If I do, I’ll crumble, which is fine when I’m alone. But in front of others, I have to be Raven, the girl who doesn’t give a shit about anything. And I really need to be that girl in front of these guys. “That’s far from little.”
“Yeah, but you’re still small compared to us,” he quips as Jax moves in front of us and opens the back door to the SUV, seemingly distracted by something on his phone.
True. These guys are at least six-two, if not taller, which makes me feel kind of small. But not little …
My thoughts become sidetracked when Hunter nudges me toward the SUV, trying to shove me into the back seat. Panicking, I prop my foot up on the sidestep and throw my weight back, opening my mouth to scream.
“Help—”
Hunter curses, slapping his hand across my mouth and muffling the scream. “Help me out, Jax.”
Jax looks up from his phone then tosses it into the SUV before grabbing my legs. “This is gonna happen whether you like it or not,” he tells me as he drags my legs away from the sidestep.
Then Hunter and he work together to shove me in the car. But I manage to kick Jax in the stomach. He grunts, letting go of my legs. Grasping the opportunity, I bite Hunter’s hand. He lets out a string of curses, his grip on me loosening just enough for me to escape from his arms.
I whirl around, preparing to run, when another set of lean arms wrap around me.
“Fight all you want. This is going to end in only one way,” Zay says in the most eerily bored tone ever.
I throw my weight forward. “Go fuck yourself.”
“That statement is going to seem pretty damn ironic to you in just a few minutes.” Then he scoops me up and slings me over his shoulder.
As his words replay in my mind, the fear I thought was gone pours through me.
Wait … Does he mean—
He tosses me into the back seat hard enough that I bounce against the leather and fall onto the floor. I scramble to get up, but Zay climbs in and grabs ahold of me, dragging me up onto the seat beside him.
“Let go of me, asshole.” I move to head-butt him, but he slants back.
“The more you fight, the worse this is going to be.”
“Says every serial killer ever,” I mutter, fury burning underneath my skin.
“Are you saying I’m a serial killer?” he asks, mildly amused.
It’s the first time he’s shown any signs of emotion, besides irritation, and considering the situation …
“Are you?” I ask.
He chuckles. Actually fucking chuckles. “I guess you’re about to find out.”
That whole grasp on