The Raven Four Books 1-3 - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,95
deepens. “My stepmom.”
“Oh.” That wasn’t what I was expecting him to say. “She looks young.”
“She is young,” Hunter mutters, slumping back in the seat. “My dad only likes younger women.”
“Oh.” I study him—how pale he looks, the uneasiness stirring through him. “You don’t like her very much, do you?”
He shakes his head then picks up my phone from off the table. “I absolutely and utterly despise her more than I do anyone else in this world.”
I can’t help thinking of the scars on his side and wondering if she was the one who put them there, but I don’t dare ask.
“Who’s she delivering a message from?” I ask instead, not really believing they’ll tell me. But it doesn’t hurt to try to get a bit more info from them. Maybe if I do, I can get to the bottom of why it seems like I know Zay.
“Our boss,” Zay answers, stuffing his knife back into his pocket. “So basically, Jax’s dad.”
I nod like I understand, but I really don’t. “Mobster stuff, I’m guessing?”
Zay gives me a curious yet amused look. “You say that so casually.”
I rest my arms on top of the table. “I think I’ve already proven I don’t get scared very easily.”
“Yeah, you don’t.” He glances at my side. “You never did show Jax and me what happened to your side.”
Not wanting to go back to that subject, I divert. “So, you guys own this diner?”
“Yep,” Zay replies, cracking his knuckles restlessly. “But don’t try to change the subject.”
I tuck my arm to my side protectively. “Nah, I think I’m going to.”
Zay leans in, parting his lips, but Hunter speaks first.
“If you want her to trust you, then you gotta give her a reason to,” he tells Zay while pushing a few buttons on the phone. “Maybe if you show her your scars like I did, she’ll trust you like she trusted me.”
“Like hell I’m going to do that.” Zay blasts him with an appalled look, then his eyes darken as his gaze lands back on me. “Besides, if I want to see her scars, I can. I don’t need her permission.”
“You do if you don’t want your fingers broken,” I throw back at him.
His lips curl as he slants even closer to me. “I’d like to see you try, princess.”
“Then how about you try to lift up my shirt?” I challenge. “But let me emphasis on the try part, because you won’t get very far.”
He shakes his head in astonishment. “You still got that death wish, don’t you?”
“Nah, I just really like breaking fingers,” I quip. “Especially fingers that belong to a brooding douchebag who thinks he can always get his way.”
Zay grips the back of the seat as he slants so close to me that our lips almost touch. I refuse to lean back, though. Refuse to lose whatever the hell this challenge thing is going on between us.
“Dude, I can’t tell if Zay wants to hit you or fuck you, little raven,” Hunter remarks with a pucker at his brow, his gaze dancing between the two of us. “Maybe a little bit of both.”
Zay shifts his cold gaze to Hunter. “Don’t,” he warns.
“Don’t what?” Hunter asks, batting his eyelashes innocently.
Zay curls his fingers into fists as he leans over the table. “Don’t imply that shit.”
Hunter taunts Zay with a smirk. “Imply what?”
Tension ripples in Zay’s body as he shakes his head and slumps back in the seat. “You really get on my nerves sometimes. You know that?”
Hunter nods with a grin. “And yet, you still love me.”
“That’s debatable right now,” Zay grumbles as he folds his arms across his chest, his attention drifting to the hallway where Diane and Jax went. “I really don’t like that we’re not back there with him,” he changes the subject. “He should’ve taken us with him.”
“You know he can’t,” Hunter tells him as he pushes a few more buttons on the phone. “Until our little raven takes the oath, she can’t share in this part of our lives yet—not until she’s vowed the Oath of Silence. But we couldn’t just leave her out here alone either and Jax knew that. That’s why he went back there with her. Besides, Jax can handle Diane.”
So many questions flood my thoughts, one being: “Why can’t I be out here by myself?” I flick a glance around the mostly empty diner. “There’s literally, like, no one here. Well, unless you’re afraid I’m going to rob your diner or something.” I faintly smile. “Which