Chapter Forty
Raya St Claire

No. I thought. My brother can’t be alive. He just can’t.

“This can’t be true.” I breathe out, looking at Ezra through tear-filled eyes. “He died that night. I don’t—I don’t understand how he can be alive after eight years.” I pinch my arm, thinking that I’m just having a dream, and that the news I just received wasn’t true at all. “Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming right now. I—”

Ezra shakes his head before he sits down on the bed beside me, careful not to pull out any of the wires I had stuck in my arm. “This isn’t a dream, princess. Your brother is alive. He’s living in Florida with Archie’s mother. He’s alive, and well.”

I shake my head, feeling my lip quivering and my chin trembling.

More tears welled up inside my eyes, enough for them to start rolling down my cheeks again.

I shut my eyes, tightly, trying to make sense of the information Ezra was feeding me. Archie was there that night, with Winchester and someone else. Winchester was in the house, he killed my mom and my dad. I told my little brother to escape through the window, and he did, but Archie and another guy caught him after he climbed down the ladder. He was screaming until everything just went silent, and I assumed until this day that they’ve killed my little brother too.

But Ezra was telling me that Archie has managed to get my brother away from Winchester. Archie has managed to protect my brother somehow, and he helped him escape through it all…

Lady Agent didn’t lie to me. Archie did go to them, right after my parents’ murder.

He kept my brother a secret. To protect him.

A chokes sob escaped my lips when I voiced the next words. “I thought my little brother died.” I lick my lower lip, tasting the saltiness of them on my tongue. “I thought he died. If I knew he was alive back then, I would have gone back for him—” I stop mid-sentence when realisation struck me. “I never went back to check up on him. I thought he died, so I never went to check.”

No. I am a bad sister. I’ve never gone back to check if he was actually dead.

 “I’m a bad sister. I assumed he was dead, so I never went back. I never went back for him.”

Ezra takes my hand into his, stroking his thumb over the skin there. “You are not a bad sister… You were fifteen years old, and you just witnessed your entire family get murdered right in front of you. You needed to get away from Winchester before he killed you too. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have still gone back. If they killed him, there would have been a body.”

My little brother was scared shitless out there while I was hiding in a fucking bush.

I never went back to him.

“I should have gone back for him.”

It never occurred to me that my little brother could still be alive.

I assumed the worst, like always.

Tears were spilling down my cheeks, I actually had to wipe them away.

“He’s alive, Raya.” Ezra says, taking both my hands into his. “That’s all that matters.”

“He won’t remember me.” I swallow, hard. “It has been eight years. He was six when I left him there. I’m twenty three and he’s fourteen. He won’t remember me, and if he does, he’ll hate me for leaving him there when I could have gone back for him. He will hate me so much, Ezra.”

I don’t want my little brother to hate me.

I don’t think I would be able to live with myself if my little brother hated me.

“We’ll find him, princess, but for now I need you to rest and heal—”

I shake my head at him. “I won’t be able to sleep knowing that my little brother is out there somewhere in Florida. I need him here, where he would be safe with me. I won’t be able to rest until we find your little sister too.”

“Princess…”

“No.” I tell him. “I won’t be able to sleep anyways. I never slept properly after the murder of my parents, and now knowing that my little brother is alive…” I shake my head a little too fast, the movement making me feel dizzy all of a sudden but I shake it away. “I need to get him, Newcomer.”

“Don’t you want to talk to Archie first?”

I answer almost immediately. “No.”

“Princess—”

I throw my feet to the side of my bed, hissing out in pain when it felt as if my stitches were torn open, but I managed to get out of the bed in one piece and my stitches were still intact and there was no bleeding. I also managed to take out the wires from my arms, carefully.

Who needs a doctor for these things, right?

 “You’re either coming with me, or you’re going to stay out of my way, newcomer.”

“You know I’m with you.” He says, lifting his hands so he could caress my cheeks with them.  “Always and forever, right?” His fingers felt so warm against my cheeks and I found myself leaning into his touch.

He leans in, placing his lips against mine.

The kiss didn’t last long, but it was enough to tell me that he really cared about me and that everything he told me tonight was just Winchester’s hold that he had on him, and not some lie.

“Good,” I tell him, “because we’re going to get our family back, and soon.”

The newcomer pulls me back into my room right when I wanted to leave.

“You can’t just leave, princess. You need to rest and heal first.” He says, the concern in his tone evident and very clear.

I pull my arm out from out of his grasp. “The only thing I’m planning on doing right now is kill Winchester, newcomer. I don’t need to rest and I sure as hell don’t need to heal. I need to kill that bastard once and for all.” I tell him, ignoring the pain coming from the wound on my back.

The doctor patched me up good enough for one more kill, but I don’t think the wound would let me leave the mansion never mind kill Winchester—but I was dead-set on killing him and no one would be able to change my mind, not even the big ass gash of a knife wound in my back would be able to stop me.

“Princess, please…” He practically begs. “You’re hurt. We almost lost you. We won’t be able to go through that again. Please…” The pleading in his tone almost, almost made me want to get back into my bed, but when I heard Archie’s voice coming from outside my room, I moved past the newcomer and walked out of my room.

I spot Archie first, pacing in the hallway.

“Raya!” Bear exclaims, shooting himself up from the floor to pull me in an embrace, but this time I managed to stop him before he did so, for both of our sakes.

His arm was in a brace and I nearly forgot that he was shot too.

I was too caught up in my own anger toward Archie and Winchester to even care about anything else right now, but Bear was okay and I was so relieved that he was.

Bear didn’t look disappointed or even sad that I rejected his embrace.

He only smiled at me, relieved that I was awake and functioning well.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Ray.” He says and the rest of the boys stood up from the ground too, nodding at his words.

“I want to call a meeting.” I tell them, looking between all of them. “Right now.”

Bear was the first to frown at my words. “Ray… you’re healing and clearly not in the right space to call a meeting right now—”

“I agree.” Archie chimes in, stopping right beside Bear.

I ground my jaw together, thinking of all these years he has lied to me about everything: my little brother… him being a part of my family’s murder…

I shouldn’t be angry at him for what he did, but I was.

He still lied to me. He still worked with Winchester.

“I didn’t ask for permission.” I tell him, my words tumbling out before I could stop them. “I am calling a meeting right now. Attend it or don’t.”

Hell, I didn’t even regret it.

I move past them all, already making my way to the meeting room with the Newcomer right on my heels.

Soon the rest of the boys followed and the meeting room was full once more.

And Archie wasn’t seated at the main chair anymore.

I was.

“I called this meeting because there are a few things that you guys should know.” I start, looking between the boys. “But seeing that I’m seated at the main chair, my decision would be final before you act on what I’m about to tell you guys. Clear?”

They nod, confused to what I wanted to talk to them about.

“At fifteen, my parents were murdered.”

Archie stiffens in his seat beside the newcomer and I know I’ve hit a nerve.

“Raya—”

“Don’t interrupt me, Archie.” I tell him.

He dips his head in a quick but restraint nod.

“But I’m sure all of you knew that because some of you have been with me for eight years,” I chuckle humourlessly, “but to get back on the topic… I’ve come across the person who murdered my family.” I look between the boys, seeing confusion written across their faces. “Archie would know,” I continue, “he was there that night when it happened.”

Some gasp around the table and some looked ready to charge at Archie, but I beckoned for them to stay seated and to calm down, which they did. My decision was final.

Archie was right. They would listen to me.

“Before you guys bombard me with questions, I’m here to tell you that he had his reasons. He will tell you everything and when he’s done, the newcomer has a few words of his own to share with you all. But just like Archie, I need you guys to listen to both sides of their stories before you even decide to charge at them. Got it?”

They nod in unison and Archie begins to speak, and not long after Archie’s story, the newcomer told them everything.

• • •

The entire NC knew about Archie’s involvement in my parents’ murder, but we decided to listen to his side of the story first, but because he didn’t actually commit the murder himself, we still didn’t trust him one bit, not anymore at least.

They also know that Winchester took the newcomer’s little sister and that Winchester was the one who murdered my family. They also know that the newcomer only joined the gang because I was one of his targets due to the hold Winchester has on him.

They weren’t happy about that, but they just want to see his little sister safe and sound, so they decided to let it slide, like I did, because of his little sister.

He had many opportunities to kill me, but he never did, he never once even threatened me.

He threatened the people who threatened me, if he didn’t hurt or kill them.

And that proved that he could be trusted. He proved himself.

His little sister’s life is at stake and I understand what Winchester is capable of, so I didn’t blame him at all even though I had every reason to hate him for what he did, or at least what he tried to do.  Winchester has his hands wrapped around the newcomer’s neck and he used the newcomer’s little sister as leverage, as motivation to do his bidding. The newcomer never wanted part in it.

And I know what kind of man Winchester is, so I didn’t blame Ezra. He just wanted to get his little sister back, and I know that if I were in his shoes, I would’ve done the same.

“What’s the plan?” Bear asks, propping his chin on his hand, looking at both the newcomer and I seated at the opposite side of the desk in the meeting room.

“The plan is to kill Winchester.”

“You can’t just—” Archie starts but I waved my hand into the air, silencing him immediately.

“Archie, I think you need to sit this one out, because at the moment, I don’t care about your authority over the NC or that you are the leader.” I tell him, not feeling the slightest bit of regret. “I am going to find Winchester and I am going to kill him. If you don’t want to be part of this, the door’s that way.” I tell him, jerking my head towards the meeting room’s doors.

Archie clasps his mouth shut in a fine line and beckons for me to continue with a nod.

I guess he’s on our team after all. But we’ll see.

“Okay,” I breathe out, my hands shaking in my lap for talking to Archie the way that I did, “I don’t have a plan because I can’t think of anything else other than killing that bastard Winchester.”

Ezra senses my hands shaking in my lap and takes it into his, giving it a light squeeze to let me know he was there for me. I smile at the gesture and turn to the group again.

“But one thing I know for sure is that I can track his whereabouts. I can find him, wherever he is.” I tell them, focusing on the warmth of the newcomer’s hand in mine. “I found him once. I can definitely find him again.”

“Plan or no plan,” Storm chimes in, “we will kill that motherfucker.”

“Yay.” Nikko says and his twin brother, Junior, nods.

“Yay.” Rossi says, curling his lip upward in a smirk.

“Yay.” Ezra says almost immediately.

“Fuck yes.” Bear says.

“Yay.” Archie says.

 I shake my head at him. “You’re not coming with us.” I tell him and I feel the newcomer squeezing my hand as if to tell me that I should dial it down a little bit, but I didn’t. “I know you saved my little brother from them, but you still lied to me for eight years. I don’t know if I can trust you, with all due respect.”

“Ray—”

“I’m not your ‘Ray’ anymore.” I tell him, feeling my heart rip into two pieces. “And it’s not up for debate.” I add in. “You’re staying here.”

Where I know you won’t be able to contact Winchester and tell him that we’re coming for him.

He opens his mouth to say something but decides against it because he just clamps his mouth shut again. I didn’t want to argue with him right now and I think he didn’t want to make matters worse.

I turn to the group, including the Ezra seated beside me still holding my hand in his, rubbing circles in my palm every so often with his thumb.

“Remember guys, this is also a rescue mission. We ask questions about the Ezra’s little sister’s whereabouts first before we kill him. We make sure we get Ezra’s sister’s whereabouts out of Winchester before we kill him. Clear?”

“Clear.” They all say to me in unison with a nod of their heads.

“No one dies tonight but that bastard Winchester.” Bear says, winking at me.

“We’re going to find your little sister, Ezra.” Storm says. “You can count on that.”

“We won’t let anything happen to her.” Bear was the one to say, and for the first time since the newcomer arrived here, I saw some brotherly bond between the two of them. “And we are going to get your little brother back too.”

I nod, feeling my chest tightening on the spot.

“Always and forever.” I say.