At exactly nine o’clock, ten men from the Iron Cross spilled from four black Humvees that had just entered the big, abandoned parking garage in a derelict part of the city. The Ravens had been waiting for fifteen minutes, their positions well chosen, their escape routes well protected, and their rides parked facing handlebars out so they could get out fast if they had to. Nick’s team couldn’t be seen, and hopefully wouldn’t have to be. But it was gold knowing they were there and that they were listening—Beckett and Marz had some kind of equipment that would enable that from a safe distance.
Feet spread, arms crossed, jaw set, Dare stood in front of several nondescript wooden crates filled with wood shavings, guns, and ammunition, Maverick and Phoenix at his sides, the rest of his men at his back.
The men from the Iron Cross had one obvious feature in common—most of them had shaved white heads. Which made their recruitment of the mostly black Church Gang members even more interesting, didn’t it? Not all gangs were racially exclusive, but Baltimore’s racial lines were generally pretty deeply drawn. Had been for as long as Dare had known the city, at least.
Wearing some kind of black military getup that didn’t look too different from the gear Nick’s guys had worn, the tallest of the men stepped forward. “I’m Dominic,” he said in a deep voice, soulless blue eyes like ice. “Who’s Phoenix?”
“That’s me,” Phoenix said with a nod, then he pointed to Dare. “This is our president, Dare. He’ll be handling the deal from here.”
Dominic’s gaze sliced to Dare, and he repeated the name as if it was something distasteful. The guy might’ve had a few inches on Dare, but Dare sure as shit didn’t scare easily, and he didn’t do intimidated at all. Not the way he’d grown up, and not the way he lived his life now. “I want your word, man to man, in front of all our combined people, that you’ll keep clear of our betting activity in the city,” Dare said.
“Which of your men is in charge of that here?” Dominic asked.
“That’s me,” Ike said, stepping up beside Maverick. Ike Young was pretty well known around the Baltimore underground for sports betting, so no doubt the Iron Cross already had a decent idea who he was. “I’ll do my job and stay out of your business if you give me the same respect.”
The two men eyeballed each other for a long moment, and then Dominic nodded. “You have our agreement. The Iron Cross isn’t interested in making enemies.” An agreement between outlaws might not seem like much, but reputation and your word mattered a fucking lot if you wanted to get deals done and keep other groups from stabbing you in the back.
“We’re glad to hear it. Then if you have our money, we assume you’d like to inspect the product,” Dare said.
Dominic held out a hand behind him, and one of the other guys slapped a thick envelope into his hand. “It’s the amount we agreed.” Dominic handed the package over, and Dare gave Phoenix a nod. The Road Captain got busy with a crowbar, popping the nailed lids off the crates—two of guns and one of ammo.
Dare then handed the envelope off, letting Phoenix double-check the amount, which should’ve been on the order of about fifteen grand. They could get a couple times retail on the Glocks, but the AKs didn’t go for more than five hundred on the street, and that was on a very good day. They’d been able to get these fuckers up to four hundred per. Tension hung in the air like a fog as Dominic and two of his men stepped to the crate and withdrew some of the unloaded weapons to inspect them.
“The Glocks are excellent quality. Not much used if ever,” one of Dominic’s men said.
“The AKs are good quality, too. Everything’s in good shape. And the promised ammo is all here,” another man said.
“We’re good,” Phoenix said from behind Dare, who gave a nod to confirm he’d heard.
“The crates are all yours,” Dare said. The man crouching near the ammo gave a nod and began resetting the lids. With a single tilt of his head, Dominic called a few other men forward. Two by two, they carted the crates to their waiting vehicles, packing them away in trunks as everyone watched.
Dominic turned to Dare. “We appreciate your making this happen.”
“We don’t want to make enemies either. With you or anyone in the city. We hope you and your people will take it as the good-faith gesture it is,” Dare said, nailing the guy with a stare. They were so close to being done with this that Dare could nearly taste it.
“We do, though it strikes me that there’s something else you could offer that would achieve that even more,” Dominic said.
Dare didn’t outwardly react as whatever this other shoe was potentially dropped on them. “Can’t imagine why you’d need any more proof than I’ve just given you.”
“Because I’ve got men to take care of, just like you do. And I assume as new friends you’d be willing to help me do that.” One eyebrow raised over Dominic’s lifeless eyes. Inwardly, Dare reveled in the fact that this guy had a fucking sniper rifle trained on his big white forehead right now and didn’t even know it.
Humoring him, Dare asked, “And what exactly is it you think I could offer that would help?”
“The identity of the men you worked with to take this hardware from the Church Gang in the first place.” Dominic crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose, waiting, challenging.
The one thing Dare had no intention of giving. Ever. “That’s a nonstarter, Dominic. You’re not just asking me to give up a business partner, you’re encouraging me to make an enemy. What happened with the Churchmen doesn’t have to have anything to do with you if you don’t let it. Start fresh and let the past lie.”
The tall asshole shrugged. “We’ll find out with or without you. I was just hoping you’d be smart enough to be on the right side of the decision.”
“Keeping your word to another is always the right decision,” Dare said, taking satisfaction that they apparently didn’t know about Nick’s team yet, which should mean that even if they knew about Haven and the reward, they didn’t know what had happened to the women after the Church Gang lost them. “So we’re done here.”
“Appears that way,” Dominic said with a nod. And then he turned and crossed toward one of the cars, his men falling in line behind him as he passed. They packed back into the Humvees and tore out of the lot, tires squealing against the concrete. And then they were gone.
“Let’s ride,” Dare said, already in motion. “Routes home just like we discussed. No stops, no detours. Anyone gets in trouble or picks up a tail, give the signal.” Everyone hustled toward the line of motorcycles waiting at the entrance behind them.
Engines roaring, the ten of them shot out into the night, riding off in groups of two and three in different directions to head out of the city. They’d preplanned their exit strategy ahead of time to combat against being followed. With Maverick at his right and Joker behind them in the truck, Dare worked his way out of the run-down neighborhood and onto one of the main arteries that led past the stadiums and out to Interstate 695. Their sixes were clear all the way, allowing Dare to take a deep breath for the first time in a couple hours, especially as all clear messages came in from the other groups of riders.
Sometimes it took a whole tankful of fuel before you could screw your head on straight. And as Dare rode home, he felt like it was one of those nights. Fists in the wind, he was glad for the time and space to himself, to replay the night in his head on his own before he and the guys were together and blowing off steam.
A couple things rose to the surface of his thoughts right away. First, he didn’t trust the Iron Cross or that creepy Dominic fucker for an instant. Second, that deal hadn’t done jack shit to cement any kind of decent relationship between the two—Dare felt that down into his very blood. Third, the Iron Cross didn’t yet know Haven’s whereabouts, which meant things were urgent but not critical on that front. Yet. Thank God for small favors, assuming that could be counted as one.
Shit, yeah, he’d take the good news where he could.
When they got home, his guys were all kinds of in the mood to celebrate, and Dare totally understood why. He did his best to join in, to not be the moody motherfucker Maverick always accused him of being. But despite the fact that the night had gone about as smoothly as could’ve been expected, doing the deal with the Iron Cross hadn’t done a thing to alleviate the feeling of dread Dare had been shouldering the past few weeks.
Instead, he felt more certain than ever that a shit storm was heading their way.
And that meant he needed to get Haven out of the line of fire while he still had time—and probably faster than he’d even originally planned.
WHO DO YOU want to be?
Haven had been thinking about that question for most of the past twenty-four hours. Yesterday afternoon, as the Ravens had fallen into a frenzy of activity preparing for some meeting that had unexpectedly taken a bunch of them to Baltimore, Caine had found Haven and Cora and asked them that question. He hadn’t meant it metaphorically, he’d meant it literally. They had to pick their new names by lunchtime today, which was when he needed to let his contact working up their new identities know.
Lying on her bed still in her pajamas, the morning sunlight spilling in through her window, Haven had never been more grateful for something to think about in her life, since it kept her from replaying Dare’s words over and over in her head.
I’m not fucking serious about Haven, okay? She’s just a client like every other client. Nothing more. So drop it. She’s leaving, just like we planned, just like the club voted. It’ll be better for everyone when she’s gone.
Better for everyone when she’s gone. He wanted her gone. Because she wasn’t anyone special—not to him.
Oh, who was she kidding? She hadn’t been able to think about anything except his words. She just couldn’t figure out how her instincts had been so damn wrong. Haven wasn’t so naïve that she equated sex with love, but Dare had said and done things, too. Things that made it seem like she wasn’t the only one getting in deep—holding her, taking care of her, saying he couldn’t get enough of her. Just the memories they’d shared with one another about their lives would’ve made their time together emotional, even if nothing physical had passed between them.
But it had.
It had, and it had meant everything to Haven.
And nothing at all to Dare.
God, she was really going to have to get a whole lot tougher if she was going to make it in this world, wasn’t she? Because if someone she believed to be fundamentally good could hurt her so bad, she’d have to be a whole lot stronger to withstand someone who intended her harm.
And that all started with a new name. At least they got a choice in the matter.
Haven stared down at the blank page in her notebook. Cora lay beside her, scribbling away. They were supposed to be comparing lists. Of course, that was assuming Haven could think about anything except Dare. And her stupid, naïve broken heart.
“You’re not writing anything,” Cora said.
“I know. I’m thinking.” She pressed her pen to the page and wrote the first thing that came to her mind. Alice. Not because she particularly liked it but because Haven felt like she had a heck of a lot in common with the fairy tale character by the same name. She’d certainly fallen down the rabbit hole, hadn’t she?
Cora peered over her arm. “Be serious. Alice is too old for you.”
Haven collapsed facedown on her notebook.
Shoving her to the side, Cora frowned down at her. “Okay, that’s it. Tell me what’s going on right now. I could tell you were upset yesterday, so I tried to give you some space to come to me when you were ready, but now I’m too worried to play it cool, so just tell me what happened. Did Dare hurt you?” Something close to panic slid through Cora’s green eyes. “Because if he did—”
“No, no,” Haven said, grasping at Cora’s wildly gesticulating hand. “Well, he did, but not the way you’re thinking.”
“Haven, so help me—”
“We had sex. And then I overheard him telling Maverick and Phoenix he didn’t care about me and would be glad when I was gone. Okay?” She flopped onto her back and blew out the breath she felt like she’d been holding since that awful moment before she’d walked into Dare’s office.
Cora stared at her, her brow furrowing into a sharp frown. “Oh, Haven. What happened?”
Why had she thought she could keep all this bottled up from Cora? The time with Dare had just been so amazingly overwhelming that she’d needed to process it and get her emotions under control so she didn’t end up sounding like a love-struck idiot. And then he’d gone and proven she was exactly that. And it had just been too much to share—with anyone.
Blinking fast to hold back the tears that she’d so far refused to let fall, Haven pushed herself into a sitting position against the wall. “I don’t even know where to start. But I know where it ends—with a freaking broken heart. And it’s my own fault.” She shook her head.
“Did he . . . did you want him to—”
“Yes, I wanted it. I wanted it all seven times, depending on whether you include oral sex as it.” Heat rushed into her cheeks.
Cora’s mouth dropped open, and her expression was almost comical. “Seven? Seven? Holy crap, Haven. He holed you away at his place for an overnight sex fest and then tells his guys you’re not important to him? That’s bullshit.”
Haven shrugged. It didn’t feel right to her either, but she’d heard the words. Plain as day.
“What did you say?”
“When?” Haven asked, confused.
“When he said that,” Cora said, anger making her cheeks pink.
“I didn’t say anything. Bunny had asked me to take him a plate of breakfast she’d saved, and I totally walked into his conversation. Phoenix and Maverick were there. It was clear that they all knew I’d overheard, so I just left as fast as I could.” God, just thinking back on it made Haven’s stomach turn.
“And he didn’t come after you?” Cora asked. Haven shook her head. “That asshole.”
Shaking her head, Haven’s thoughts whirled. “It’s not all his fault—”
“Haven,” Cora said, voice full of disapproval.
“No, listen. Hear me out. I told him about my list, and I asked him if he’d help me make parts of it come true. You know, the sex parts.” God, her face was on fire. “I’ve never felt safer with another man than I have with Dare. And I like him. So I just . . . kinda . . . went for it. And he agreed,” she said, leaving out the part about Dare having read her list already. As it was, Cora might never forgive Dare, and Haven didn’t want to be unfair to him in all this. Not after everything he’d done for them. And not when she was the one who’d let her emotions run away. He’d never promised her a thing. Heck, she knew he was sending her away when she asked him to take her. And that part of it? The sex parts? She didn’t regret that one bit. In fact, heartbreak aside, they were some of the best memories she had in her entire life.
Because Haven knew the difference between a touch that cherished and one that was indifferent or, worse, hurtful. Dare’s touch had cherished her. For a few short hours, she had been cherished.
Cora huffed out a breath. “I’m so sorry, Haven.”
“Me too. I don’t regret it, though. You know?” She peered up at her best friend.
“Well, I’m glad for that. Once we’re settled somewhere, you’re going to find your happy ending. You know it?” Cora’s smile was small but hopeful.
But Haven couldn’t see past leaving something she didn’t want to leave to feeling hopeful about the future. At least, not yet. Still, she managed “We both will.”
Nodding, Cora handed her the discarded pen and notebook. “But first we need names.”
“Okay,” Haven said, forcing herself to focus more this time. She thought about it. Really thought about it. Pushed through the sadness at having to give up her own name. Because she hadn’t realized how much a part of her own identity her name was—the only thing she had that her mother had given her—until she faced losing it. Although hadn’t she felt that way about her hair? And look how much she loved it now.
So. Right. Suck it up.
She tapped her pencil against the blank page.
“So, was it good?” Cora asked, eyes on her own list.
“Amazing,” Haven said, chest suddenly so full of emotion that it was hard to breathe. “The most amazing day and night of my life.” Something to be grateful for, even if it hurt like hell.
Which was when the idea came to her.
Gratitude. It was just one of the emotions she felt for Dare, and it was one he felt toward someone, too. His brother. Kyle.
So what about . . . Kylie?
Goose bumps broke out over her skin.
Dare had described him as tough, funny, generous, charming, loyal, and protective. Haven could do a whole lot worse than to name herself after someone like Kyle. And, in a way, she’d always carry a piece of Dare with her. That was kind of nice, too. And it wasn’t like she had a family of her own to memorialize in any way.
She wrote the name down on the page.
Kylie
The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. It was young and fun, and sounded like it should belong to a woman who hadn’t a care in the world. Haven would like to be those things, too.
She wrote it down again. Bigger this time.
Kylie
“I’m done,” Haven said, certainty easing a little of that tender discomfort in her chest.
“How can you be done already?” Cora asked, leaning over.
Haven showed her the page.
“Kylie.” Cora pressed her lips together as if considering, and then finally nodded. “That’s cute. That’s really cute. Like you. Totally fits.” An eyebrow arched at her. “How’d you come up with something so perfect so fast?”
“It just came to me,” Haven said. “And it feels right. Let’s see your list. What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking it’s time to ditch the old-lady name,” Cora said, staring at her paper.
“What, Cora? I’ve always loved your name. Pretty but tough. Like you.” Haven shifted to sit closer.
Cora rolled her eyes. “What do you think?”
Scanning the list of names—Jessie, Tessa, Eve, Quinn, Nina, Cassidy, Alex/Alexandra, Kara—Haven tried to imagine using each one for Cora for the rest of their lives.
“I was trying to go for tougher names,” Cora said with a shrug. “Names for a girl no one would push around.”
The words drew Haven’s gaze from the page. For a moment, she would’ve sworn that a troubled look shadowed Cora’s eyes. “Are you worried about what’s going to happen to us?”
With one blink, Cora’s expression changed, and she smiled. “No, I’m not. It’s gonna be good. I know it.”
Haven nodded, taking strength from Cora like she always did. “I really like Quinn and Cassidy, though they’re all really cool.”
Cora quietly repeated the names to herself a few times. “You know what? I’m going with Cassidy. A Cassidy would be tough, fun, and sassy. That chick would know how to get shit done. Plus Cass is kinda cute.”
“It really is. And I think you’re totally right.” Haven held out her hand. “Well, hi there. I’m Kylie.”
Laughing, Cora played along and shook hands. “Hi, Kylie. I’m Cassidy, but everyone calls me Cass. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” Haven said, feeling lighter with the decision made—for both of them. “I think you and I are going to be good friends.”
Cora winked. “The best. Now, let’s go find Mr. Tall, Goth, and a Little Creepy and tell him who the hell we are.”