Ride Wild (Raven Riders 3)

Cora had convinced her that it could wait until they were home, and now that they were again, Haven was giving her the look.

“Wait,” Cora said, needing a minute before five badass bikers potentially filled Slider’s living room. “Before I do that—and I promise I will—I wanted to talk to you about some things first.”

“Okay,” Haven said. Leaving all their shopping bags in the living room, they made their way to the family room and sank onto the comfy couch. “Is this about Slider?” she asked, a sly smile on her face.

Cora chuckled. “In part. And, yes, we’re, uh, dating.”

“Dating? Officially?” Haven’s bright blue eyes went wide.

“Yeah,” Cora said, warm with the excitement of it. “Slider’s actually telling Sam and Ben today.” Which was why she hadn’t wanted to disturb him with the news of Davis’s visit. She suspected he wasn’t going to be happy with her waiting, but it wasn’t like Davis had done anything to her, or even threatened her. Though there was no denying how ominous his parting words had sounded.

“Wow, Cora. He’s seemed so much better lately. I think you must really be making him happy.”

She smiled, and butterflies whipped through her belly. “I think we’re doing that for each other. Assuming the boys don’t mind.”

“Pfft.” Haven waved a hand. “They aren’t going to mind. I’d put money on them being thrilled. I know I am. Can you believe how much good we’ve found here? And when I think of how scared I was of the Ravens at first . . .” They both laughed.

“It is hard to believe, isn’t it?” Cora mused. “And I guess that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Because she didn’t feel like she could embrace the future while she was still holding onto any part of the past. And it was time to end that. Now.

Haven shifted closer, as if she sensed not all Cora’s news was good. “Something’s been going on with you, Cora. I’ve asked before and you’ve always played it off. Please tell me what it is.”

Nodding, Cora took a deep breath. Haven wasn’t wrong. Cora hadn’t always done a perfect job at hiding how her father’s attack had left her feeling, especially in those earliest days when she vacillated between being a zombie and screaming awake with nightmares—both of which she played off as the stress of their flight, and then their kidnapping by the gang. And even after that, she’d found reason after reason to keep her pain to herself. “So, something happened before we left Georgia. And, I’m okay now, but I wanted you to know.”

“Oh, God. Okay,” Haven said, taking her hand and shifting closer until they were sitting knee to knee.

“You know that I always wanted to help you get out of there.” Silently, she said a little prayer that her best friend wouldn’t be mad for all she’d been holding back.

“Of course,” Haven said. “We talked about it so many times. Made plans and discarded them. Dreamed of where we might go and what kinds of lives we might have when we got there.”

“Yeah,” Cora said, her heart kicking up in her chest. “But there was a reason I was so set on finally trying to run when we did. Three nights before I slept over at your house so we’d be together to go, my . . . my dad . . .” Haven squeezed her hand harder, and Cora met her best friend’s troubled gaze. Just say it. Just be done with it. “He raped me, Haven.”

The admission almost made Cora a little dizzy. It was as if she’d held on to the secret so long that it’d developed its own weight, and now she was finally lighter and free.

“Oh, Cora. Oh, no. I’m so sorry,” Haven said, her blue eyes filling with tears. “That bastard. What happened? Can you talk about it?”

So tired of holding on to this secret, especially from her best friend, Cora told her everything. She recounted every detail. Every memory. And answered every question. Like a purging of poison from her system that slowly but surely made her well again. “It was only that one time, but no way was I ever letting it happen again.”

Haven pulled her into a hug, both of them crying, but Cora was done shedding tears over her past. She was all about her present and her future now.

“God, I was so focused on my own problems that I didn’t see this,” Haven said. “I’m so sorry, Cora. What a terrible friend I’ve been.”

“No. Stop that right now. I hid this from you on purpose, and I made up all kinds of reasons why it was a good idea. And you’re right. You did ask. I just . . . I wanted to be strong for you, to get us out of all the trouble we were in. And I felt like admitting what’d happened would mess everything up.”