**Y**OU!”
Raven flinched as the big bald guy with a clean face and bulgy muscles pointed at her. He wore a dark brown leather jacket over what looked like a white muscle shirt. She noticed he was still wearing the same regulation uniform pants and steel toed boots and guessed he just got off work. His face, once handsome enough to seem non-threatening, was now contorted in growing rage.
“I know you!” his eyes narrowed slightly as he examined her face.
She knew who he was too and raised her hands in peace, keeping her own face neutral despite the chill in her spine. “Look—”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Raven took a step back but he advanced one, his intent clear on his face. “Don’t try it, cop. Think first.”
His muscles tensed. “You’re a criminal. You killed people!”
Raven saw the other muscle heads enter the room and knew this was going to be very unpleasant. She should have checked the perimeter but here she was, like a deer caught in the headlights. All because she let her guard down for thinking over her conversation with the doctor.
“Connor? What’s up, man?” the one named Ruben asked.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Connor demanded, pointing at her.
“Hey, easy,” Isaac moved to stand beside her. “She needs our help.”
“She needs the fucking needle,” Connor glared at her.
“Back up a bit,” Wyatt tried, his hands up as if to broker peace. “What is your deal? Raven’s been cool… so far.”
Raven snickered in her mind before seeing the cop’s eyes glaze over.
“Raven…” Connor repeated and she could practically see his wheels turning. “Raven… Keller?”
Raven sighed. *Shit.*
“The girl who we interviewed? The ‘witness’ to the murders was the actual killer?” Connor growled. “You made me a laughing stock. You ruined my rep and made my life hell.”
Raven felt everyone’s eyes on her and masked her emotions. She weighed the option of lying her way out of this but quickly dropped it when she considered they had probably known this creep for years. She took a deep breath before finally answering, “They were murderers and kidnappers.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to kill!” the cop shouted as the Brothers froze, eyeing her.
“I did your job,”
“You took a life!”
“What’s the difference between you and me? A stupid uniform?” Raven pointed out.
“I don’t kill people for money,” the cop snapped.
The Brothers shifted slightly.
“You’re a hit woman?” Wyatt asked curiously, moving away to face her better.
“No,” Raven immediately answered. “I’m not an assassin or a bounty hunter or a cop gone rogue. I only protect one innocent and sometimes make change out of it.”
Isaac glanced away from her for a second. “Anise Jensen.”
Raven felt her eyes widen as she turned to him. Then she immediately controlled her expression again.
“The one person the *disciples* can use against you. Your reluctance to meet Connor,” Isaac rubbed his temple as he added everything together.
“I think you need to fill us in on the score, Raven,” Liam muttered.
Raven took a deep breath. “Look, I was dragged into your world and had to know your score. If all this goes south, I’ll be happy to take it to my grave. But my life is not consequential.”
“You know us but we can’t know you?” Isaac growled suddenly.
“You know I need your help and you know that I’m not gonna attack you because it’d be stupid of me,” Raven met his golden eyes, half-pleading. “You’re asking me to open up to a bunch of creatures about something that affects an innocent girl who knows nothing about any of this. And her family. Don’t force this on me.”
“If we have to?” Liam asked next.
Raven felt her shoulders tighten. “Then I’ll have to leave. Hopefully things go well enough for me to settle my affairs before I’m found.”
“You’d rather die than let us know you?” Wyatt asked, his brow furrowed. “Is your life that horrible?”
“My life is *my* business. While my life doesn’t affect you directly, I won’t relay it for anyone,”
“I will,” Connor growled and she rounded on him.
“Go ahead, cop. You barely figured me out and no one wanted to listen to you. You only care about what I did but not *why* or how I did it,” Raven sneered.
“Oh, I’ll keep digging now that I know your name,” Connor neared menacingly. “I’ll learn everything. Perhaps I’ll ask Anise Jensen. I’d love to hear her explain her involvement in your murders. I’ll put her away if I have to.”
Raven neared him quickly and glared into his face, fighting the urge to lay him out. “You leave her out of this.”
Connor’s eyes widened and she froze. Her voice had taken on a deeper tone beneath her normal one and growled out of her throat like its own entity.
Still, she didn’t back down.
“Enough!” Isaac growled suddenly. “Both of you need to stand down.”
“Oh, c’mon, Isaac. I’m interested in seeing a mortal fight,” Wyatt grinned mischievously.
“Oh, I don’t think the cop wants to throw that punch again,” Raven cooed and watched his face turn even redder. “Wanna tell them how long it took you to get out of the hospital?”
“I’ve learned a few moves since then,” Connor nodded toward Liam.
Raven hummed. “Then you might be worth my time. I have a few seconds to spare.”
“Connor. Raven.”
Just their names made them turn to Zeke as he appeared from thin air, leaning on a pillar.
“You’re both tough for humans but you’re not gonna prove it here. We’ll discuss this with Damian,” he growled, eyeing them dangerously.
Raven stared at the vamp whose golden eyes were darker than Isaac’s. *What else can these giants do?*
“Why are you even here?” Connor spat at her, not backing off.
“She’s turning into a *disciple*. We’re trying to reverse it,” Liam answered, moving behind him.
“*You’re* the innocent?” Connor let out a laugh as she frowned at him. “I think that’s called karma.”
“I’m glad my torment brings you joy… just like all those prostitutes under the bridge did,” Raven snapped back and he reared a fist back.
Before he could swing, Liam was there to stop it and pull him backward.
“We will go to Damian,” he muttered and Connor sighed loudly.
Raven felt Isaac standing right behind her as Liam ushered the cop down a hall. The other three stood around her, watching her with tense expressions. They were ready for her to resist.
Isaac’s huge hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped slightly. She glanced at him and met his darkening eyes. His expression was closed off enough but she still read confusion and mistrust. It hurt her more than she ever knew would be possible from someone other than Anise. She felt herself relax in defeat and let him push her down the hallway, following the other two.
He led her into a large room with a single desk at the far back. The walls were lined with old books and scrolls. There were no seats in front of the desk but the giant behind it had his own large throne.
“What is this about?” he growled, eyeing them all with black eyes.
*Crap,* she thought as Isaac pushed her to the center of the room and removed his hand from her shoulder. She faced the Vampire King as the cop stood to her side. She was grateful the idiot was keeping his distance because the urge to permanently silence him was almost too much to control. She realized that the only reason she wasn’t going berserk on these idiots had moved back to lean on the wall to her right, his eyes heavy on her skin.
Yet somehow his presence was comforting… despite this shitty situation.
*It’s because he’s always around, isn’t it?* She wondered, keeping Isaac in her peripheral. *Because he got me into this mess in the first place.*
When the others all filed in and shut the door, it was like a gong to a gladiatorial pit.
“She’s a criminal!” the cop pointed his fat finger at her again.
“Why are you a disgraced cop, again?” Raven asked snidely, facing him.
“Because I was hunting a murderer when she was right in front of me!”
“Or your stalker-like obsession with women was finally flagged,” Raven snapped. “What was your last obsession named again? Elizabeth?”
“Shut up, both of you,” Damian growled, standing up.
Connor turned to him and they met gazes for a moment before Connor glanced at the floor, his face red. Raven watched their exchange, noting how Damian wasn’t moving.
Then the King sighed, “Connor, go first. What’s your deal with Raven?”
“She’s a murderer. She’s killed dozens of innocents and faked her own kidnapping…”
Raven snorted but met Isaac’s eyes and quieted down.
“She’s ruined my career by making it seem as if I was chasing a ghost. She’s crazy.” Connor finished.
“Raven?” Damian turned to her.
“I’ll admit I’ve killed but they were *not* innocents,” Raven shot a look at Connor. “They were rapists, murderers and kidnappers. I’m not crazy. I was hired to protect one person. A *real* innocent.”
“Who?”
Raven froze and didn’t reply for a second. “Anise Jensen.”
“The college student?” Damian frowned. “Why would you be hired to protect her? What is your connection?”
Raven took a deep breath and let it out heavily, hating how the cop was intently watching her.
“Raven,” Isaac sighed from his position. “You have to tell them.”
Raven glanced at him and grit her teeth. He met her gaze and crossed his arms, silently demanding her acquiescence. She figured she owed the giant and muttered, “She’s… my sister.”
The cop’s jaw fell while the room froze.
“You’re hired to protect your sister?” Rue asked.
“Sort of,” Raven crossed her arms.
“Explain,” the cop demanded and she glared at him.
“Raven,” Damian pressed when she didn’t answer.
“You… I…” Raven sighed. “When you looked me up, you found minimal information. That’s because I technically don’t exist. I’ve been homeschooled, kept inside a lot and I don’t even have health insurance. If you had looked into hospitals, you would have found some record of a Jane Doe fitting my description with extensive injuries. They have me filed as a frequent visitor… probably. I trained after Anise was kidnapped the second time. It took the police a week to find her and she was so weak and scared. They weren’t even trying! They told us that it’s near impossible after the first twenty- four hours.”
“It *is* impossible,” Connor defended.
“After that, I could find her within hours of a kidnapping!” Raven rounded on him, angrily. “What were you guys doing? Fucking hookers?”
Connor’s hands fisted but Damian raised his hand to stop him.
“Why is Anise kidnapped?” Damian asked her. “Why is there such interest in her?”
Raven fidgeted. “I can’t tell you.”
Protests began again and Raven shouted,
“I’ve told you as much as I can. Drop it!”
“Fine. Why are you the deterrent to her kidnappings?” Damian asked, breaking through the cacophony. “There are other methods that could be taken. Safe houses. Witness protection?”
“She’s got a life here. She’s in college. She can’t just uproot and leave,” Raven muttered, fisting her hands at her sides, tightly.
“Isn’t her safety a bit more important than her college experience?” Wyatt asked.
“She could change her appearance, her name. She’d be free and safe,” Rue continued.
“She’s anemic!” Raven blurted out and felt her nails dig into her palms. “She has Von Willibrand’s Disease. She needs blood transfusions every month. My blood.”
The room grew quiet again.
“You think I was panicking about turning into some soulless monster?” she turned to Isaac. “I was already watching her grow weak and unable to get up from bed, hooked up to countless machines until finally the plug is pulled because it’s too expensive to keep her alive. Without me, she’s dead. Dead from the cuts and bruises caused by the kidnappers and dead from not being able to get to my blood. Her blood doesn’t clot. That’s why she needs mine. And now I can’t give it to her.”
He looked shocked. “Raven…”
Wyatt interrupted then, “Couldn’t she get blood from…”
“We’re O neg,” Raven sighed turning to him next. “I’m a perfect match and I’ve been freezing my blood for a while. In case something happens to me while trying to save her from kidnappers. I guess now it’ll give them time to find another compatible O neg donor if I do turn into a *disciple*.”
“You should have told us the score, Raven,” Liam muttered after a second.
“It’s not your business,” Raven growled, turning back to the King. “I have the situation handled enough. The only glitch is this *disciple* thing. I swear it won’t affect you in any way save for getting me out in the open.”
The King frowned. “The men you’ve killed…”
“I acted to protect her and those fuckers deserved it,”
“They had families!” Connor growled softly.
“They gave up that right when they messed with mine,” Raven rounded on him again. “You gonna get high and mighty on me, cop, cuz you have the badge to hide behind while roughing up criminals during your investigations? Or when you went hooker calling? You took too long and I got the job done. She’s alive because of me.”
Connor glared.
Damian was rubbing his temples as he sat back down. “Until I met Eliza, I never had much respect for humans. Yet, this is a matter where I would respect a murderer… or murderess. Doing what you can for the one you love. For an innocent.”
Everyone stayed silent to listen to him.
“You’ve basically given up your life to protect your sister,” Damian said, looking to Raven, who waited for him to continue. “Your business is your business. Is Anise Jensen still in danger?”
Raven sighed with a nod. “There’s still people after her. I haven’t been able to disband all enemies but I’ve been keeping tabs. If they move, I’ll know and I’ll have to get out there.”
Damian nodded. “We’ll help with nightly stakeouts while you’re here. If we can stop the *disciple* toxin then you’ll be free to leave and continue your protection. If not, we can’t keep watching over a human.”
“I understand,” Raven nodded once.
“You’re actions while defending yourself and your sister are inconsequential to us,” Damian stated and turned a steady gaze to the cop. “Connor, let go.”
Connor growled before sighing loudly. He nodded once and held out his hand to Raven.
Raven eyed him.
“I don’t like you but learning that girl is your sister sorta changes things for me,” Connor said. “I lost family. If I could do what you do, I woulda.”
Raven took his hand and shook it. “Sorry about your rep. Your methods were crude but you actually got shit done. You were close to figuring me out. I feared you.”
“Well, ain’t that something,” Connor smirked and they let go.
“Good,” Damian sighed. “Raven, the doc said he’d have news tomorrow and hopefully, you can begin treatment. You should get some rest.”
The tension in the room lifted somewhat with that statement.
Raven heard the door to the room open again as the giants stared at her. She could practically feel their shift in mood. “Thanks, Shades,” she muttered and about-faced to head right for the door, not looking at any of the giants as they watched her leave. She was nearly down the hall when thoughts of escape crumbled.
“We need to talk,” Isaac’s voice growled at her shoulder.
Raven sighed but didn’t speak. She led the way back toward the room they had provided for her, walking quickly. She knew he was keeping up but secretly wished he’d just use his speed to meet her there. The silence was driving her crazy. She opened the door and strode into the room, turning to find him closing her door. She straightened up and crossed her arms, waiting.
Isaac just stood there, staring at her.
“What?” she finally asked a few seconds later.
“How much of what you just said in there was true?” he asked.
Raven froze. No way could this guy detect her lies… again. She had control in that situation. The park was a different story. “What?” she asked, letting her confusion show.
“You didn’t mention this disease to the doctor when he’d asked about your condition,” Isaac began. “Now, it’s suddenly life threatening. Is that even true?”
Raven met his eyes steadily. “The Doc only asked about me but if you must know; our father has the gene. For some reason it skipped me but Anise got it. I got to grow up healthy and she has to avoid anything that could damage her skin. Her blood is like water.”
He stared at her for a second. “Why is your sister kidnapped?”
Raven sighed. “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”
His eyes narrowed and gave her the answer.
“Our dear old dad racked up a few debts while Anise was in and out of the hospital. He was never able to pay them back. They’re getting more and more impatient. I got stuck cleaning up his mess,” Raven answered through clenched teeth.
“Where is he now?”
Raven shrugged. “I don’t know.”
He sighed and narrowed his eyes again. She met his gaze without blinking until he continued, “Why didn’t you share that information back there?”
Raven fidgeted under his watchful gaze. “Because I… He’s messed up a lot but he was just trying to keep Anise alive. He didn’t mean for it to bite us in the ass. It’s not a proud moment for any of us and talking about it to a bunch of strangers is embarrassing.”
Isaac was still staring at her seconds later before he finally blinked and glanced away. “We’re putting our necks on the line for your chance at a cure. You can’t keep information this big from us. Not if you want any of us to trust you.”
Raven nodded but kept her mouth shut. Unless forced again, she wasn’t planning on sharing any more information with anyone. Not even this golden eyed Adonis.
“Get some rest. I’ll come for you tomorrow so we can go to your apartment before the Doc has news,” Isaac moved to the door and left without another word.
Raven finally sighed and let her shoulders relax.
*Well… that went well*, she turned to face the giant bed to find some pjs already laid on it. *Jesus that Luther guy is good.*
She changed into the silky emerald green pajama pants and the thin smooth matching spaghetti strap top. The pajamas were cool on her skin and oddly relaxing. She realized that she hadn’t even eaten dinner and was already so damn sleepy. Skipping a meal wasn’t unfamiliar to her. She’d had to do that once or a hundred times before but not noticing was the weird part.
Climbing into the center of the giant bed, she slid under the covers and laid her head on one of the pillows.
*Dear God, is this memory foam?* She wondered as her muscles relaxed without her.
Within seconds, she was sound asleep.
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