The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,30
bridge. Getting out of a house should be a piece of cake.
I take a deep breath then start down the right side of the hallway. Every one of my muscles screams in protest, but I force myself to keep going, to find my way out of here …
“Shit,” I mutter as I reach the end of the hallway that opens up into a very spacious room filled with leather couches, a pool table, a fireplace, and the biggest flat screen TV I’ve ever seen.
I glance around for another exit but can’t find one, so I start to turn around to head back in the direction I came from. Then I freeze when I hear voices floating from somewhere.
“Dude, I’m really getting tired of this crap.”
I tense at the sight of Hunter, Jax, and Zay wandering down the hallway toward me. Hunter is looking at Jax, who’s staring at his phone, and Zay is glancing over his shoulder in the opposite direction, so I see them before they see me.
As images of what happened earlier flash through my mind, I duck to the side before they can spot me. Then I frantically look around, searching for some sort of hidden way out. I spot a door in the far back corner, tucked away near a bookshelf. I’m unsure what’s on the other side but decide it’s got to be better than dealing with these a-holes again. I hurry over to it and duck inside.
Relief washes over me. It’s just a closet.
Quickly closing the door, I sink to the floor and rest back against the wall, figuring I’ll wait it out until they leave. Then I’ll make my escape.
“We only have to deal with it for a little bit longer.” Jax sounds close enough that I assume they’ve entered the room.
“I know, but …” Hunter sighs. “I just want to be on our own finally, you know?”
“I know. And I do, too,” Jax agrees. “But in order for us to get our freedom, we have to finish out our agreement with my father.”
“I know, I know,” Hunter mumbles. “Your dad really sucks.”
“Yeah, he does. But he’s also helped us out a lot,” Jax reminds him. “And when this is all over, we’re going to come out on top.”
“If we survive that long,” Hunter continues to gripe.
“We will,” Jax says with certainty.
A weighted sigh then Hunter says, “You’re being really quiet, Zay. And you seemed distracted earlier … Where’s your head at, man?”
“I’m not distracted,” Zay insists. “You just haven’t stopped talking for the last hour. Or, well, stopped bitching.”
“Dude, I don’t bitch.” Amusement glitters in Hunter’s tone. “I vent.”
“Bitchy vent,” Zay throws back at him.
Hunter chuckles. “All right, maybe I do bitch sometimes.”
Silence settles, and I begin to wonder if they left. But then Jax says, “Someone should go check on our caged raven and make sure she hasn’t woken up yet.”
The muscles in my jaw tick. Caged raven? Like I’m their pet?
“I’ll do it,” Hunter eagerly volunteers.
“Yeah, I’m thinking with how eager you just sounded that Zay better do it,” Jax tells him.
“What the heck, Jax?” Hunter sounds sulky. “Why’re you so worried about me being around her?”
“At first, I wasn’t. You do what you do and we’ve always been fine with that,” Jax replies over the clanking of what sounds like pool balls being racked. “But if she’s going to be one of us, we’re going to have to set some rules, especially for you, before I can allow you to get close to her or else things could get complicated fast.”
“Allow me to get close to her?” Hunter scoffs. “Newsflash, Jax: you may act like our babysitter, but you’re not the boss of us. If I want to get close to our little raven, then I will. And I’m sure Zay agrees with me.”
Our raven?
Oh, hell no.
“I think I agree with Jax on this one,” Zay says. “If she’s gonna be a part of our group, it might be good to set some rules with her.”
“Seriously?” Hunter questions in bewilderment. “You want to set rules?”
“With this, I think it might be a good idea,” Jax says with indifference. “She’s … Well, she seems wild and—”
“Interesting. Gorgeous as hell,” Hunter offers.
“Yeah … maybe.” Zay pauses. “I think she’s got some deep issues, which could lead to an entire set of other problems … Did you see those scars on her side?”
“Yeah,” Hunter says softly. “Who do you think did that to her?”