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Vander emerges with Jasper thrown over his shoulder, and he even turns around to make sure Cole makes it out, too. I bite my lip, a small flutter in my stomach akin to worry making itself known. I swear to fuck, if they made it outside the plane for it to explode and swallow them up... I'll never forgive them. Or stop hunting for a way to make them suffer in the afterlife.
Thankfully, my fears don't come to fruition. They make it to our sides at the same time the emergency vehicles screech to a stop, the first responders spilling into view and jumping into action. With the threat of the fire reaching the fuel, they don't pay us much attention. Which is good because someone in a dark SUV pulls up behind them.
"Let's go," Cole rasps, limping to it. He doesn't even glance over his shoulder to make sure we're following.
It's easy enough to catch up to him with how badly he's limping. I can't help but wonder if he's exaggerating the injury. "How the hell did you get a vehicle here so fast?" I hiss under my breath.
He peeks over at me. "The fourteenth rule of killing: Always have a contingency plan in case something goes wrong."
The driver steps clear of the vehicle and beelines for Cole. He whispers in his ear, so low I can't hear. After getting directions from my hacker genius, he strides toward the chaos, leaving us behind as if he's some kind of Marvel agent ready to clean everything up behind us.
What kind of life have I found myself in the middle of?
Can't say I don't enjoy every moment.
Vander doesn't seem surprised by what's going on. He's already settling Jasper in the backseat while Grayson tosses the things he's carrying in the rear. We aren't far behind them, and Cole has more bags he adds to the mess. Vander climbs into the driver's seat and Grayson takes the seat next to him, leaving the back seat for the rest of us.
Am I the only one who missed the memo?
"Are you sure we should leave without getting Jasper seen to?" I eye the man warily at a loss for anything I can do for him.
"He only hit his head, Luv," Cole murmurs as he opens a laptop from the bag he slung over his shoulder. I swear he pulls the devices from thin air. For some reason, I feel like this is one I haven't seen before, but they all have the same slick black case, so I could be wrong.
"He could have bleeding in his brain," I quip, my fingers itching for something sharp. I don't want to hurt him too badly. But he could use a fork in the thigh right about now. Grayson turns to peer at me, a coy smile gracing his lips. My nerves seem to be frayed because everything is setting me off right now. "What are you smiling about?"
"It's nice to see you showing so much emotion for one of us. I enjoy knowing I've rubbed off on you."
Grayson only seems to get more amused when my gaze narrows on him and a growl rumbles from deep in my chest. Why did I think keeping multiple men tied to me was a good idea?
Cole sighs like he doesn't want to take a moment away from his laptop, but he's doing it anyway. He balances it on his knees, but is still able to twist his torso so he's able to cup my cheeks and force me to face him. "Trust us. None of us would risk the fallout of your anger if anything happened to Jasper. He's basically our brother now, even if he's not blood. If we thought he was at risk, we would’ve asked one of the paramedics to check him out."
The seriousness in his gaze says he's not bullshitting me, and something I can't name settles in my gut. A calmness takes over. He'll be fine. I only need to wait for him to wake up, then I can punish him for making me feel things I'd rather not experience.
Chapter 2
Jasper
The harsh sound of cursing brings me close enough to the surface for me to fight off the heavy sleep, wanting to keep me captive. Not in this lifetime will I let anything separate me from my love when she might need me. The panic from my last few moments of consciousness floods me once more, and I bolt upright. "Little Bird!"
"I'm right here," she soothes.
The fact she sounds so nurturing tells me everything I need to know. Her cool palms frame my face, and I blink away the fog covering my sight. My gaze instantly lands on her. I search for any wounds, and when I don't find any, the ice freezing my heart shatters, allowing it to pound twice as fast to make up for it.
Reaching out, I wrap my hand around her neck, using my grip to drag her to me, needing to kiss her more than I need my next breath. She tastes like black smoke and fury. Probably a mix of the crash and her pent-up emotions. We'll need to find her someone to kill before her urges catch up to her. I don't like what the risk to all of us will do to her control.
Her tongue dips into my mouth, a neediness demanding she tries to consume me as much as possible to ensure I’m not hurt. Something I'm sure she's not even aware of. One thing about my little bird being so disconnected from her emotions is that I'm able to read her better than she ever could.
I’m a Raven expert, her caretaker, her Ravenmaster.
I might not be the only one, but it doesn’t belittle my title in any way, shape, or form. She’s mine and always will be.
Drawing away, she lets out a tiny moan, one she probably doesn’t even notice. My fingers flex, reminding her who’s in control right now. And it’s not her.
Another curse reminds me of what woke me up in the first place. “That son of a bitch hacked into our plane,” Cole bites out. You can hear the promise of death in his voice. “He caused a short in the electronics around the window, causing a temperature difference which made it crack.”
“What about all the smoke?” Grayson asks.
“Obviously, it was another issue he caused. I haven’t found the proof of it yet, but I know it’s there. Whoever he has working for him is quickly becoming my nemesis. I’d want to kill them if I wasn’t so impressed.”
