Daughters of Chaos

3

Chapter Three

Phoenix

The guy with tattoos covering every inch of exposed skin below his chin- Raptor, I think I heard someone call him- is talking with Elias and the other men. His eyes wander back to where Raven and I are sitting every once in a while. The look in his eyes is curious.

I hear the older man, called Hammer, ask who we are. To which, Elias tells him, "apparently, they're my kids."

Hammer's eyes shoot wide as they appraise me and Rae with stunned amazement. The grumpy older one, Bear, glares at us again, mumbling, "allegedly."

Elias echoes Bear's words, looking back at my sister and me. There's something new in his eyes, hope maybe. It's like he wants it to be real just as bad as I do. He's had this strange spark in his eyes ever since I told him our story, and about Mom. The big, scary biker man seemed to soften at the mention of her. And Rae and I are all that's left of her. That and the memories they shared.

I wonder if he still loved her after all this time.

My lip quirks at the thought. Movement from where the men are standing catches my attention. I look up to find the dangerously sexy Raptor watching me, looking me over with interest. The way his eyes wander makes me shudder with anticipation.

I've never really dated bad boys before. They always seemed too rude or uninterested to me. But Raptor? He has bad boy written all over him, and I can't seem to stop aching for more of his attention. Before my mind can wander too far, I hear Bear's voice cut icily through the air. "... gotta be a fuckin' scam, Viper. Something just don't sit right about this."

My head snaps toward him. Is this guy serious? We agreed to a paternity test, showed him our pictures with Mom, and showed him our birth certificates, with his name clearly marked down as our father. What more does this guy want?

Raven mumbles obscenities under her breath next to me as she glares angrily at Bear. I'm surprised she's keeping herself so calm. Under normal circumstances she would have launched into a tirade by now, cursing out everyone, threatening them with violence. I'm impressed that she's holding herself in check. Probably for my sake. I know how badly she hated the idea of coming here. I'm willing to bet she's keeping herself tame because of me because I wanted this. She's trying not to ruin this for me.

When the grouchy Bear finally shuts up, Elias turns to us, gesturing at me and then Raven, telling the newcomers our names. He does the same for the guys in the room, finally putting a name to each of the faces. The friendly bartender from earlier- Jesse - was probably the kindest of all of them. He smiled widely at us when Elias told us his name.

Just as the introductions were finished, a loud commotion by the door grabs everyone's attention. I turn to see two scantily-clad women stumble in with glassy eyes. They're clearly tweaking on something as they giggle to each other and clumsily make their way inside. One of them stops dead in her tracks when she notices me and Rae.

Her face morphs into a nasty scowl as she looks us up and down. "Who the fuck are these bitches?"

My jaw goes slack, and I feel Raven bristle beside me. I know what's about to happen. No one says that shit about Raven, and even less say it about me. At least, not anywhere near my sister. She's less than a second from lashing out at this skank when a venomous voice sounds.

"I beg your fuckin' pardon!" The authority in his voice makes the women cower. They make themselves smaller as Elias approaches them with fire in his eyes.