Page 95 of Queen of Ruin

She’s safe.

I actually found her.

“I promise,” I whisper, carrying her out of the room. Holding her isn’t enough to completely soothe the knot of guilt under my ribs, but it’s a start.

“Let’s get you home.”

36

DIEGO

“Tea?”

Raven’s shadow falls over me and my phone and when I glance up, she’s smiling slightly while offering me a cup of tea that’s redder than anything I’ve seen before.

“That’s tea?”

She nods, her curls bouncing. “Cassian said I should make you drink it.”

“Make me?” I squint up at her.

“He said it has a lot of good things in it that will make you feel better now that your stitches are out.” Her hands lower. “But you can wait and ask him yourself if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll drink it.” I set my phone down on my lap and accept the warm cup.

As soon as it leaves her hands, Raven turns and walks away with surprising speed, so I hold off on drinking.

“Raven?”

She stops abruptly and turns. “Yes?”

“Have you heard from them? Cassian and… Valentina?”

She nods once. “It’s going smoothly.”

“Okay.” I’ve never doubted Valentina’s skills even when she lacked the memory to back them up. Now that she remembers everything, it’s like she’s throwing herself into everything just to prove that she can. It worries me only because being parted usually never ends well for us.

Raven turns away again, but I stop her once more. “Raven?”

She turns back slower this time. “Yes?”

“I…” How do I ask what’s been on my mind since I met them all without sounding like a dick? “You, uh…. you seem different. From the others, I mean.”

“Different?”

“Yeah. Uhm… the others all look like they belong in this world. Criminals and Mafia and everything. Even Cassian, although he also seems softer than I’d expect from everything I’ve learned. But you seem so different. More like Ivy than Bradley, if that makes sense?”

Raven’s mouth twists slightly to the side as if she’s mulling over everything I’ve said, and in the end she simply shrugs. “Did you think the Mafia was cookie-cutter?”

“No, I just…” I sigh deeply. “I want to be with Valentina, and seeing you, it made me think it was possible for someone ordinary to exist here.”

“You think I’m ordinary?” She smiles suddenly as if I’ve just given her a compliment, then she turns and wanders out of the room, leaving me without an answer.

Either she’s ordinary, or she’s the scariest one of them all and I’ve just complimented her disguise.

Sinking back into the cushions of the sofa I’ve been relaxing on, I lift the cup to my lips and cautiously sip my tea. Not having stitches tripping up my speech has been great but my tongue is still tender, as is the rest of me.

Maybe Raven was the wrong one to ask about how life here could work for someone like me. Ivy and Raven do it, so what could the harm be? Or should I be asking Valentina to leave with me? Given how happy she’s been since she got her memories back, that definitely feels like the worst choice.