Ride Hard (Raven Riders #1)(85)

Maverick nodded. “That’s right. The Iron Cross is a distraction in all this.”

“Exactly,” Dare said.

Phoenix shifted in his seat. “You think this Dominic f*cker’s just gonna take that?”

“No,” Dare said. This whole train of thought had been spinning in his head since the phone call ended a half hour ago. “I think these *s are gonna be a burr in our saddles from here on out. The question is whether we want to do something about them, too, because this sonofabitch is too f*cking big for his skinhead britches. But I think we have a couple days’ breather on deciding. We’ll talk about it in Church tomorrow.”

Both men nodded.

“How’s Haven?” Maverick asked.

“She’s tougher than she thinks she is,” Dare said, swallowing hard. He’d hated the terror that paled her face as the call took place. And he hated Dominic for putting it there, for treating her like a pawn, and for trying to get him to do the same. It had taken everything he had not to go to her side as they’d strategized an immediate response. There’d been no way he could stay away after. Dare had needed to touch her, hold her, prove to himself that she was still there and unharmed.

Prove to himself that he hadn’t failed her. And wouldn’t. Because he couldn’t handle failing someone else he loved, like he had before.

Loved? Yeah. Fuck.

He’d promised Haven safety, a fresh start, a new life away from violence and chaos. And he was going to keep his word. It didn’t matter what it cost him—not his money, not his time, not his heart.

“You know,” Maverick said, “if the plan is to take out her father, maybe there’s no reason—”

“There’s every reason,” Dare said, knowing where Maverick was headed, because a part of his brain had been playing with the idea, too. If her father was out of the picture, maybe Haven didn’t have to leave. Except it wasn’t that goddamned simple, and Dare wasn’t taking any chances of her falling into the wrong hands if things didn’t go as planned. The consequences would be too dire for her. “Even assuming this thing with her father goes down like we want it, we are always involved in some shit here. Always. And now we’ve got the Iron Cross breathing down our necks, with her at the center of the conflict, which is going to lead to who knows what. That woman has been a prisoner of her father for the last eight years. He abused her and controlled her every way he could. She deserves a life free from violence, free from danger, free from all this bullshit,” Dare said, raking at his hair. His gut gave a big old check that he ignored like a motherf*cker.

Maverick held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I hear ya. I get it. Just wanted to make sure . . .”

Dare glared at his cousin. Like he wouldn’t have thought about it. “All right. Lemme call Doc before it gets much later. I want him to hear the bulk of this from me.” Because his grandfather wouldn’t be happy about the way this was all going to go down. One way or the other, the Ravens were going to have to cross some lines.

But sometimes, that’s just what you had to do.

HAVEN HADN’T EVEN tried to sleep. She knew there wasn’t any chance of that happening, not when every little sound had her jumping with the possibility that it might be her father—there to take her prisoner again, there to force her back to a life she’d rather die than have to lead. Especially now that she’d had a taste of something more, of something free, of something that was even beautiful.

She couldn’t go back.

Instead, Haven baked. Because that’s what she did when her brain was too loud to let her rest. And it felt better to be useful than to be a burden. Which was exactly how she felt.

“Let’s go to bed,” Cora said, scooping fresh cookies off a baking sheet and laying them out to cool. Her eyes were bleary, her face pale. Unlike Haven, Cora was not a night owl, and it was nearly one in the morning.

Laying out balls of dough on a sheet of her own, Haven shook her head. “You go ahead.”

Cora had been trying to talk her into taking a break for the past two hours, but Haven had promised Bunny she’d get some things done before the morning. And going upstairs was pointless anyway. Yawning loudly, Cora finished what she was doing and joined Haven at the counter. “It’s gonna be okay, you know?”

“I hope so,” Haven said. But did she know it? No. Because she knew her father too well. He was a man who didn’t like to lose, to be disrespected, to be made to look the fool. And she’d done all three to him when she’d run away. He wouldn’t stop until he had her.

“Haven—”

“You should go up,” Haven said, dropping her spoon into the bowl of dough and forcing a smile. Cora had been trying to cheer her up since they’d overheard Dare’s phone call. But Haven was so angry at the unfairness of the entire situation that she was afraid she’d take her friend’s head off simply because she’d be a convenient target. Being alone to seethe would be best all the way around. “I’m not going to sleep feeling like this, and it makes me feel worse to know you’re staying awake just to keep me company.”

“That’s what best friends do,” Cora said, giving her a small smile.

“Which is why I’m telling you to go to sleep. Because you’re my best friend, too. So let me take care of you, because unlike me, you don’t do well without sleep. Staying busy makes me feel better. You know that. I’ll be okay. Really.”