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I clutched the strap to my duffle so hard my knuckles turned white. I didn't want anyone else touching my things who wasn't me. I had trust issues when it came to anything involving the Council. Could you really blame me?
He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Suit yourself."
He opened the back passenger door and waved his hand for me to get inside. Now or never, I couldn't afford to look back at the house this time. I didn't think I would be strong enough to take that final, necessary step if I did.
I got in the SUV and slid over into the middle of the seat. I sat my duffle on the seat beside me, but my fingers refused to loosen their grip around the strap. I needed something to hold on to so I didn't fall apart.
Liam shut my door and hopped back into the front passenger seat. As soon as his door shut, the SUV pulled away from the curb and we were on the move.
"Hey, sweetheart," came from the driver's seat. "Long time no see."
My head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice as my eyes narrowed. I racked my brain, trying to put a name to the voice and what I could see of his face.
His shiny bald head caught my attention first. It was hard to miss. I wasn't one of those girls who thought Mr. Clean was sexy, but there was no denying Raven was an attractive male. His dark goatee hung down his chest and he had a pierced septum with a ball hanging down from the hoop. Both served well to give him an edgy, badass vibe. His eyes were practically black, and from what I remembered about him, incredibly expressive. And he had a sweet, gentle voice very at odds with his appearance.
"Hello, Raven," I murmured uncomfortably.
Did I mention he knew far too many of my secrets to ever make me feel comfortable around him? Even one would have been too many for me and he was well over that limit.
"Are you one of the Council's minions now?" I asked curiously, wanting to know why in the hell he was here, but I was too afraid of the possible answer to come right out and ask it.
"If I was, wouldn't that make me one of your minions as well?" he immediately shot back.
"Not yet." Not ever.
Notice how he hadn't come right out and answered my question?
Raven had what I'd call old-school ideas when it came to female witches. When they weren't toxic bitches, that is. Those types he didn't seem to give a crap about at all. Read: Annabell the Vile Beast. Raven believed in bubble wrap, and thought that when it came to the female witch work was a disgusting four letter word. Like the use of cunt, he took great offense towork.
The whole thing was stupid, if you asked me. People needed to be free to do the things they wanted and enjoyed or they'd never find happiness.
"You're abandoning your coven? And you seemed so attached to them."
There was no judgment in his voice. Only curiosity. My hackles still rose anyways. It was what everyone would be thinking. My coven would be ridiculed.
I gritted my teeth. "I'm not abandoning anyone." The absolute truth. Though, only a few knew it or the why behind it.
"Interesting response," Raven murmured. The man was too smart for his own good. Or maybe he'd just seen a little bit of what my coven was capable of. It seemed to intrigue him.
Liam turned around in his seat, facing me. He didn't have his seatbelt on. It was then I realized I hadn't remembered to put mine on either. The stress was clearly starting to get to me and mess with my head. Quickly and with jerky movements, I pulled the lap belt around my waist and clicked the buckle in place.
"Put your seatbelt on," I ordered Liam. After a second of pause, I tacked on, "Please."
A carefully manicured yet still masculine eyebrow rose, exposing itself above his shades. The color matched his hair.
Without looking, he reached to the side and grabbed ahold of the belt. He pulled it across his body and clicked the lock in place. I almost relaxed, but stiffened when he pulled the strap that ran across his body out and up over his head. Casually, he flung the belt behind him and turned back around in his seat to face me once more.
Better than nothing, I supposed. Still not exactly safe though.
"I'm going to take from what you've said so far that you have no intentions of leaving your coven. Is that right? And does the Council know that? You're supposed to leave your coven behind when you join the Council."
Liam sure was nosy and asked a lot of questions for someone I just met fifteen minutes ago.
"There's never been a girl on the team before either," I told him. "I'm changing things up to suit my own needs." I figured since he'd felt comfortable asking me so many questions, I could be nosy right back with him. "Are you a member of Raven's coven?"
Was he one of the men who'd fallen into the dark web of evil that was the space between Annabell's legs? Would I never escape that bitch? Would she forever be thrust in my face to torment me? No matter how sorry I felt for the woman at times, the urge to punch her in the face never fully went away.
"I sure am. I've heard quite a bit about you from my fearless leader here." He tilted his head to the side, in Raven's direction. "Our whole coven flew in for this because we're so intrigued. He's never been one to take this much interest in one woman before. Least of all a damaged one. It's interesting that the Council so easily overlooks your physical flaws. I'm surprised they haven't offered to take care of them for you. Hell, you'd think Julian would have been able to help with them."
