Ride Hard (Raven Riders 1)

Fuck if her eyes weren’t filled with the same longing he felt. “Right. Sure,” she said. “Be careful.”

He gave a nod. “Always am.”

CHAPTER 29

“Will the after-party still happen?” Haven asked after Dare and the three Ravens who’d come with him left the room. She looked from Bunny to Doc, concern plain as day on their faces. She wasn’t sure how their staying longer might change things.

“I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Doc said, his voice gruff but not unkind. He gave her a small smile as he stroked at his gray beard. “All this security might yet turn out to be unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong,” he said, gripping a coffee cup in his hand. “Taking the precautions was the right way to go—Dare’s judgment was spot-on as far as that was concerned. But if nothing happens, then the rest of the night can be business as usual.”

Bunny nodded and got up from the table. “Well, since you girls are staying for a while yet, what’s say we get you some dinner?”

Haven looked at Cora and said, “I’m not very hungry, but I guess it’s a good idea.”

“Sustenance is always a good idea,” Bunny said, her eyebrow arched in a gentle, motherly reprimand. “Gotta take care of yourself, Haven.”

Haven and Cora followed Bunny into the kitchen, where there was a veritable smorgasbord of choices. They made plates of meatballs and lasagna and sat together at the table.

They made small talk for a while, but all Haven could think about was how large and unknown the future loomed before her. When she’d no longer be Haven Randall but Kylie Jameson. Thinking of her name made her think of her namesake—Dare’s brother. “Were Dare and his brother much alike?” she asked quietly.

Bunny’s eyes went wide. “He told you about Kyle?”

The awe in her voice made goose bumps break out on Haven’s arms. Was it so unusual that Dare had talked about him? “Yeah, he did.”

The older lady’s expression went soft and affectionate. “I only got to see them together a few times when they were young because they lived so far away. But Kyle was the rabble-rouser. If there was trouble to find, he knew how to find it every time,” she said with a smile in her voice. “And Dare and Maverick would follow. Now Dare, he was always the old soul, the one who weighed the consequences, the one who listened when others talked. All of which made Kyle and Dare a good team. And I guess they probably needed that with the way their father was.”

That sounded very much like the Dare she knew today, too. Bunny’s words made Haven wish she’d been able to meet Kyle, been able to see them together.

“Wait,” Cora said, looking from Bunny to Haven. “Dare has a brother named Kyle?”

“He did,” Bunny said. “Kyle died when Dare was fifteen.”

Understanding dawned on Cora’s face, and Haven felt a little bad for not revealing sooner where she’d gotten her new name. “Oh, my God. That’s where you got it from?”

“Sshh,” Haven said, giving her friend a look. Caine had told them not to reveal their names to anyone they knew now.

“Do I want to know?” Bunny asked, giving them both a suspicious look.

Haven shook her head. “No. Well, it’s just, we can’t tell you. It’s about when we move.”

“Oh, I see,” Bunny said. “Yeah, I know how it works.” She looked down at her coffee mug for a long moment. “Haven?”

“Yeah?”

“You love him?” Bunny asked, compassion and kindness in her tone and the way she looked at Haven.

“Yeah,” Haven said, not at all ashamed to admit it. Not even to Dare’s aunt. “I do.” A knot lodged in her throat. She set her fork down on her plate. Her gaze flickered to Cora, who was looking at her with so much sympathy in her expression that it made the knot even bigger.

“Oh, hon,” Bunny said. “Maybe something can work out yet. You’d be so good for him, and he’s been alone too long.”

The words built Haven up and tore her apart at the same time. Knowing Bunny would’ve approved of them meant the world because Haven respected her so much. But Dare had been very clear the night before. He didn’t consider things safe for her here, which meant he didn’t want her to stay. Despite what they’d come so close to admitting they felt for one another last night—with both their words and their bodies.

After they finished eating, there was nothing else to do but wait. As the sun got lower in the early summer sky and the shadows stretched out over the ground, Haven wished she could be down at the track. Watching the race. Knowing what was going on.

A little after seven, the roar of the race cars’ engines made it more than clear that the races had started. It was amazing how loud it was across the almost mile distance separating the track from the clubhouse. The sound was a thrilling growl she could almost feel in her bones, and it spoke of speed and danger and maybe even a little recklessness. As it got darker, the glow of the stadium lights filled the evening sky out the front windows of the clubhouse, a beacon that let her know where Dare was. God, she hoped he was okay. She hoped everyone would be okay, because she wouldn’t be able to take it if anyone got hurt on her behalf.