Page 54 of Dirty Secrets

“I have to help in some way. My last grocery haul was a bust,” she said dryly, cradling the coffee in her hands as she dropped her eyes to the table. “I need to do something, but I don’t know what.”

“Can you do me a favor?” I asked, her eyes lifting to mine. “I need to pick up some food from Rory’s. Could you get hold of Beckett and see if someone’s able to meet you there to pick it up?”

“I can do that. Maybe I can ask again if any of them are hiring?”

“Good idea,” I smiled, and Logan gave me a scowl. Raven wanted to feel useful, so sending her on an errand was a good idea.

We left a note for Reid so he didn’t freak out when he woke up to find the house empty, and once Raven confirmed Beckett would meet her at her parents’ house, Raven left in the Challenger while Logan and I headed to Rawson Grove in Logan’s car to see what jobs we could do for people, and hopefully bring some money home.

Raven

“I’m surprised you don’t have a guard dog with you,” Beckett grinned as I climbed out of the car in her mom’s driveway and walked towards her. She was leaning against her Mustang, her arms crossed and a flicker of taunting in her eyes.

“Me too. Maybe I should’ve threatened them with a knife like you said earlier, and I could’ve had freedom all this time,”I joked. “I’m not pulling you away from anything important, am I?”

“Nope. Maddox and Jett are visiting Ry this morning, and I’m not needed for Psychos’ business. You’ve given me something to do,” she shrugged, leading me towards the front door. There was banging and clanging once we’d walked in, and Beckett let out a huff. “Be prepared for the school morning panic. It’s hectic at the moment.”

As if on cue, a little boy that didn’t look much older than five, plowed into my legs, blurting out an apology before continuing to run, a teenage-boy appearing in front of us with a pissed off look on his face.

“That way,” Beckett grinned, pointing in the direction the kid had gone.

The guy saluted her and went searching, the chaos only getting worse the further into the house we got.

Five kids were sitting at the dining table eating breakfast, all of them looking to be between five and seven. Two pre-teen girls were arguing with one of Beckett’s dads, and a woman appeared from the hallway with a baby on her hip.

“What the fuck is happening?” I asked quietly, earning a smirk from Beckett.

“Welcome to Donovan Daycare. Well, they’re foster kids. One foster home burned down, and two others had their kids removed due to abusing them. Mom would take in all the kids in the damn world if she could fit them in this house, which is hilarious because she’s not the biggest fan of juggling kids.”

“Why does she do it then?”

“Because she has the funds and room to help them. They’re not always here for long, but they have a safe place to sleep until proper placement can be provided. The world talks a lot of shit about her because of who she is, but they don’t see this side ofher.” She walked into the room more, grinning. “Hey, Luke. No help this morning?”

Her father looked up at her, relief on his face. “Can you just get these two girls to put their shoes on? I don’t have time for that kind of meltdown. I’m late getting them to school.”

The little boy who’d run into me before tore past, and I snagged him, hauling him off the ground and making him laugh.

“Is that funny?” I chuckled, tickling his tummy and making him laugh harder, the guy who’d been chasing him giving me a look of appreciation.

“Thank you. He never runs out of energy.” I handed the wriggling kid over to him, and the guy’s eyes ran over me slowly. “You’re hot. I’m Noah.”

Beckett scoffed from across the room, giving him a dirty look. “Don’t even try. That’s a virgin with three guard dogs who will one hundred percent maul you if you touch her.”

“Thanks for that,” I deadpanned, making her shrug.

“Just looking out for you. Besides, he’s underage.”

“I’m legal in this state!” he complained, offering me his hand. “And you are?”

“Unavailable and not interested,” I said dryly, shaking his hand. “But people call me Raven.”

Lukas shot Noah an annoyed look, motioning to the table. “Can you stop flirting with women out of your league and help?”

“This is slave labor. I didn’t sign up for this,” Noah grumbled, giving me one last glance before helping with the kids. The two pre-teen girls started arguing, and Beckett glared at them.

“Last chance. Put your shoes on or I’ll glue crocs to your feet and turn you into social pariahs at school.”

That worked, both of them running past me to find their shoes, making me grin. “You’re good with kids.”