Echoes & Ink: Raven by Emily Rose
Chapter Twenty-Five
RAVEN
“Istill can’t believe you managed to get that picture,” Ash laughs, giddy at the sight of her brother standing with a huge ass snake wrapped around his arms and neck. The pure horror on his face was too priceless not to take a photo.
I’m pretty sure he was ready to run screaming like a girl, but when he saw me with my phone out, he managed to hold himself back. Not that I didn’t pay for it when we got back to the apartment. He took great pleasure in keeping my orgasm at bay for hours. It was delicious torture.
“How did you manage that?” Ember asks, laughing too.
“Slipped the snake guy fifty bucks when Sloan wasn’t looking,” I say proudly. “Falcon saw me and kept him occupied until it was too late.”
“Always knew I liked that kid,” Ash snickers. “God, you have to send that to me. I’m putting it on a t-shirt or something.”
“No, we need to decorate his room with it,” Ember says excitedly, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
“You could just find a snake and put it in his room,” Piper suggests.
We’re all sitting around a table at Ash & Embers, getting things ready for the grand re-opening next week. I can’t believe it’s finally almost here. After the fire that burned this place to the ground, I wasn’t sure they were going to be able to re-open it. Ash had been trapped inside, still pregnant with Knox, and I figured it would be too hard for her, but as always, she likes to prove me wrong.
She’s probably more excited than Ember, and that’s a big stretch.
“I’m putting that idea in the vault for the next time he pisses me off,” Ash announces. “Asshole will be shitting bricks for days.”
Piper grins at me. “I want to know what else you guys did. Or was it just the zoo?”
“We went for a walk downtown and took in some of the shops, and then the mall. Falcon needed some new shoes. He’s already outgrown the last pair I bought. I’m going to have to start investing to pay for all the new stuff he’s going to need,” I sigh.
Piper chuckles. “I remember when my brothers were growing up and how my mother constantly needed to get them new stuff. I think they both finally stopped growing at seventeen.”
“And they grew up real nice,” I drawl with an exaggerated wink. “How are those tall drinks of water anyway?”
Piper narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t you have your own man?” she retorts.
“Fake man,” I remind her.
“Fake man that takes you out on a date to the zoo,” Ember adds pointedly, smirking at me. “You guys look mighty cozy and domestic in that selfie Sloan posted.”
I know exactly which picture she’s talking about. In it, we were standing by the tiger exhibit, a majestic looking male tiger sitting behind us. Sloan has his arms around me, my head is on his chest, and Falcon is making a face near my head. It’s my favorite picture and I’ve already saved it on my phone.
I didn’t realize he had even posted it until we got back to the apartment, and when I questioned him about it, he said that it was a good picture and would give us credit with the social worker if she wanted to see us acting normal. But we both know his eyes said something different.
Something shifted between the two of us after my meltdown. Something neither of us is ready to really discuss or examine too closely.
I knew it when I woke up and realized he wasn’t in bed with me, and felt disappointment settle in my gut. Then surprise and relief when he said my name from the doorway. I should be panicking, but instead, I’m leaning more on him than before.
I find myself wanting to see him, spend time with him. He still connects with me every day to check in, but outside of seeing him at the sign language lesson, he hasn’t been able to come over. It isn’t enough. Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t stopped sending dirty texts, and sometimes he calls in the middle of the night because he can’t sleep and wants to hear my voice. Normally that leads to some very hot phone sex, but it’s not the same.
Hell, even Falcon has been asking when he’ll next be over. Apparently the two made plans to work on one of Falcon’s school projects together. Falcon got most of it started, with some input from Sloan over text, and now they need to do the final bit to make sure it’s ready. Neither of them are telling me what it is, but as long as Falcon’s doing his homework without complaint, I’m not going to push.
“Earth to Raven,” Piper suddenly says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Huh?” I say in surprise. “What did you say?”
The girls laugh and give me knowing looks. “We said that you look plenty cozy in that picture. And from that spaced-out look on your face, I think you’re thinking the same,” Piper answers.
“I’m not sure what we’re doing,” I say honestly. I leave out the part about what I’ve revealed to him. I still don’t want the girls to know. It’s something I want just Sloan and I to know for now. That, and he doesn’t treat me any different. He doesn’t look at me in disgust or like I’m fragile. Or with pity.
I don’t think I could stand it if he pities me.
“I think you two make a cute couple,” Ember announces with a warm smile at me as she puts the finishing touch on the sign she’s making. “Sloan is so serious and wrapped up in work, that he needs someone to remind him of what else is out there. And someone to keep him on his toes,” she adds with a laugh.
“He needs someone to call him out when he’s being an asshole,” Ash butts in. “I love my brothers, but they’re all pains in the ass that think they're perfect and can do no wrong.”
I chuckle. “No worries there,” I promise her. “Any male is subject to getting their asses handed to them for being an asshole.”
“Even Falcon?” Piper asks.
“Even him,” I say with a nod. “The kid is funny and a smartass, but he’s going to piss me off as he gets older and starts pushing. I can see it now.”
“Where is he tonight?” Ash asks curiously.
“He’s over at the mechanic shop with Bullet, Torque, and Stone. They have him cleaning up the shop floors and other odd stuff for a few hours so he can earn some cash.”
“Smart kid,” Piper says with a smile. “What’s he want to do with the money?”
“I think he wants a game system,” I answer. Sloan and I have already gotten into a small argument about it.
Sloan insisted he could buy the system for Falcon as a belated birthday gift. I, of course, refused that. So he tried offering to buy it and Falcon could pay him back. He can’t understand it isn’t about the money. It’s a point of pride. For Falcon to have pride in something he earned. Something he can say is wholly his own and not something gifted.
Finally, begrudgingly, Sloan agreed. Though I don’t put it past the man to find some other way of gifting the kid whatever else he wants. Hell, between him, the guys at the shop, and the MC, the kid will never want for anything.
A fact that both worries me and warms my heart.
“What about the social worker?” Piper asks, a worried look on her face. “Any more from her?”
“No,” I say with a frown. I’ve been so caught up with Sloan and Falcon that it hasn’t occurred to me she hasn’t been back around for any of her surprise visits. “I’m not sure if I’m glad about that or not,” I muse. “Either she’s biding her time to see if we slip up, or she forgot and found a new victim to piss off.”
“Here’s hoping it’s the latter and not the former,” Piper agrees. “What about the sign language lessons? I was sad I couldn’t make it the other night.”
Hell, even if she had, I don’t know where we would have put her. The room had been full of people, and the instructor had been wide-eyed at the amount. Half the Devil’s Soldiers had shown up, along with Wolf, Talon, Nix, Ash, Ember, and the rest of the Lincolns. Falcon was floored at how many people are trying to learn how to communicate with him.
Me? I had been trying to choke back the emotion. Sloan, thankfully, noticed I was struggling, pissed me off and let me focus my emotions elsewhere.
“It was good,” I tell Piper, smiling. “At least he hasn’t run away after seeing all that leather.”
Piper laughs. “As long as no one threatens him with a gun, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Though, I have the feeling Rose will make sure no one messes with him.”
Suddenly a knock on the door startles us and we all turn to see the lady in question standing there, along with Leonora. Ash hurries over to let them in. “Nix got the baby tonight?” Leonora asks, looking around.
I snicker when Ash scowls at her mother. “Hi, Mom, how are you?” she asks sarcastically. “Yes, Nix has him. Did you forget you had a daughter after Knox was born?”
Leonora winks at us, and we know perfectly well she does this on purpose. She’s as bad as her sons at riling up her daughter. “Of course not, baby girl,” she coos, wrapping Ash up in her arms. “How are you? Is Nix taking good care of you? And, the biggest question of them all, is he giving you the D on the regular now that you’ve been cleared?”
We all burst out laughing, especially when Ash glares at her mother. Rose wraps an arm around Ash’s waist when she pulls away, and teases, “Darling girl, you have to understand, us old ladies have to live vicariously through you. Our men are getting old so we don’t get the D as much as we want anymore.”
Every single one of us look at each other and snort in derision. “How the hell don’t you burst into flames with your pants on fire like that?” Ash asks with a shake of her head, pulling away and walking back towards us. “I’m telling Bullet you said his dick is getting old.”
Rose laughs wickedly, not the least bit concerned.
“What can we do to help?” Leonora asks, coming to sit beside me. She gives my hand a warm squeeze and winks at me. “You know, since I don’t have a baby to hold.”
“Are you going to be this way when Ember and Wolf have a baby?” Ash demands.
Ember glares at Ash. “Don’t even start. I told you, no babies for us right now.”
“I’m going to love any grandchildren I have,” Leonora answers with a grin. “I want a whole brood of them, so don’t be waiting too long,” she adds pointedly to Ember, who rolls her eyes and doesn’t reply.
“My boys will never give me grandbabies,” Rose whines as she helps Piper behind the bar, getting it all set up. “Between the club girls and the random hook-ups, I’m ready to start laying down the law with them.”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes and I grab it to see a message from Sloan.
Sloan: How goes the hen party? Need a rescue yet?
I smirk as I reply.
Me: Rose and your mother just arrived so it’s getting a hell of a lot better. Pretty sure your mother is my favorite person. Asked your sister if she was getting enough of the D.
Sloan: Why? Why would you tell me that? Are you seriously trying to kill my boner? Because you’re succeeding.
I snicker, unable to help myself, and everyone looks at me expectantly. “Is that Sloan?” Leonora asks.
I nod. “He is really easy to mess with,” I tell her with a grin.
Leonora laughs. “He’s so much like his father. So you two are getting along okay?”
Ah, I wondered if we were going to get to this part of the conversation. “About as good as can be expected,” I answer casually, though internally everything in me is sitting up and ready to run at a moment’s notice. “I haven’t heard back from the social worker, so maybe she bought our act and is going to leave us alone.”
Leonora hums out a noise and nods. “Hopefully, but I have the feeling it’s more of a timing issue than anything else. But that’s not what I am talking about. I mean you and Sloan as a couple.”
“We’re not a couple,” I remind her.
“That picture he posted says otherwise,” Leonora returns with a smug smile. “Looked very family-like if you ask me.”
“I saw it too,” Rose chirps, drawing my gaze. She grins at me. “I don’t know why you’re fighting it, honey. You could do a hell of a lot worse than Sloan Lincoln, trust me.”
“Now is that any way to talk about me, ladies?” a deep voice says from the doorway, making a the girls yelp and me to turn and look at Viper and Shadow in surprise.
Viper grins at me wickedly. Shadow, the club’s Enforcer, is smirking and winks at Piper as he follows Viper towards us. Shadow is shorter than Viper, at six feet, with dark hair that he keeps styled as longer on top and short on the sides. Anyone else would look like a douche with that hair, but on him, it works. Like Viper, his eyes speak of things that haunt him, but he’s never been anything but nice to me.
“You ready to dump that loser and be with a real man yet, doll face?” Viper asks, coming to stand behind me, hands on the back of my chair.
I look up at him and then look around. “Still waiting for one to walk in,” I tell him blandly. “Any more of you boys out there?”
“You wound me,” Viper says, clutching his chest dramatically. “How can someone so pretty be so mean?”
“She learned from the best,” Shadow snickers, jerking his thumb towards Rose, who grins and blows him a kiss. “Thought we agreed you ladies aren’t allowed to congregate together like this? We don’t have enough bail money to get you out of trouble.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Leonora retorts, winking at him.
“Have you heard how Falcon’s making out?” I ask Viper.
He smiles at me. “Stone texted me to say the kid is a hard fucking worker. They should be done soon. I’m about to head over there, do you want a ride? Been trying to get you on the back of my bike forever,” he adds with a leer.
“And you never will,” Sloan’s voice announces from behind us, making me turn further in my chair to see him and Falcon walking in.
I narrow my eyes at Sloan. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want to, Lincoln,” I snark at him. Sloan’s eyes flare with heat at my words and I feel an answering spark deep inside me, making my panties damp and my clit throb. I look at Falcon and smile at him. He waves at me and grabs his phone to text me.
Falcon: Sloan offered to come and pick me up when I was done so I texted him. Bullet paid me a hundred bucks! Just for cleaning and washing the floors.
I arch a brow at the amount, making a mental note to talk to him. The kid wants to earn money, but it needs to be reasonable. Still, I’m not about to rain on his parade.
Me: That’s great. We’ll have to set you up with a bank account so you can save it.
Falcon: Can I just get a jar or a piggy bank or something to put it in?
Viper, the nosy asshole, reads the message over my shoulder and grabs my phone to text Falcon back.
Me (Well, Viper): I got a piggy bank you can have, kid. It’s Batman. Archer, my son, is a Marvel fan so he refuses to use anything DC related.
Falcon: Cool! Thanks. You sure he won’t mind?
Me (Again, Viper): He’s fine.
“Give me back my phone,” I growl at Viper. “Or I’ll make sure the next piercing you get won’t be in a comfortable place.”
“Viper has piercings?” Leonora asks excitedly, looking him over shrewdly.
“Dear God,” Ash moans.
Viper gives her mother a flirtatious grin. “Why yes, ma’am, I do,” he drawls. “All hidden under my clothes so nice, respectable ladies like yourself aren’t scandalized.”
“Oh, I don’t know about respectable,” Leonora purrs.
“Mom, for fucks sake,” Sloan snarls. “Do you want me to have to kill him? ‘Cause Dad will kill me if he finds out I let you flirt with him.”
I lean into Leonora and loudly whisper, “I’ll tell you later.”
“I knew I liked you,” Leonora grins.
Sloan and Ash groan loudly, while Viper just snickers. Shadow shakes his head and mutters, “I’m going to need a second job to pay for bail. No way is this going to end well.”