“ ‘You hate me now, don’t you?’ ” Siggy asked, sticking his head out of the front seat of Vig’s truck. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Shut up.”

“You’re starting to come off as desperate. Chicks hate that.”

“We hate being called chicks more,” Leigh offered.

“So you think he should be all sad-sack Swede with her?”

“I don’t know. She’s hard to figure out. You should ask Annalisa. I think she’s profiling her.”

“Profiling who?” Annalisa asked as she carried a box to the Crows’ SUV.

“The new girl.”

“She has issues with her mother. Loved her father but still resents him for not protecting her from her mother. I really want to find out the deal with the mother, but she’s not talking about that yet. Once I get more information, I can send you a detailed analysis.”

Horrified, Vig shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. I’ll figure Kera out on my own.”

“Suit yourself.”

Kera and Erin walked out of Kera’s old building, the last of the bags and boxes in their hands.

Kera moved to the back of the SUV and immediately sighed. “Who put this in here? Wrong, wrong, wrong.” She put down her bag and began to organize the additional boxes that Annalisa and Leigh had added.

Once she was done with that, she put her own bag in and stepped back. Erin, while staring at her, tossed the last box in.

“That’s not where it goes.”

“I can shove it up your ass instead.”

“You can try.”

“Ladies,” Annalisa cut in, “we don’t have time for this. We’ve got to get the new girl back to the house.” She held up her phone. “We definitely have a job tonight. I just got a text from Tessa.”

It suddenly became obscenely quiet as everyone stared at Kera.

“I sense you’re expecting a reaction from me,” Kera finally said when the silence stretched on, “but I don’t know what it should be.”

“Are you ready for this?” Erin asked.

“It’s not like I have a choice.”

Kera took Vig’s hand and led him a little bit away from the others.

“I can do this, right?” she whispered to him.

“I know you can do this. Just trust your instincts.”

She nodded. “Trust my instincts. Okay.”

“If you want, stop by my place when you’re done. The door’s always open even if I’m not there.” He placed his hand on her chin and lifted until she had to look him in the eye. “I have complete faith in you.”

“Why?”

Vig grinned. “You’re a Crow now, Kera. You really need to learn how to be cocky.”

“Let’s go!” Erin called out from the SUV. “We’ve got a shitload of traffic to deal with between here and Malibu.”

Kera went up on her toes and gave Vig a quick kiss, then she was gone. In the SUV and disappearing down the street.

Vig walked back to his truck. That’s when Stieg drily asked, “Do you need another minute to blush coquettishly and dream about your perfect white wedding?”

As Vig walked around the front of his vehicle, he grabbed Stieg by the hair and slammed him face-first into the hood.

A small group of tattooed males across the street that Kera had told him to keep an eye on because they were well-known gang members in the neighborhood stopped working on their Honda Accord to stare at the three Ravens. That’s when Vig glanced over and the men immediately stood tall, boldly staring at them while quietly revealing all the weapons they had strapped to their bodies.

Vig wasn’t too worried, though. They didn’t actually want a shoot-out in the middle of their street. They just instinctively wanted the Ravens gone from their territory. A smart call, to be honest. A very smart call.

As Vig opened his door, Siggy leaned over the frontseat. “We’ve got a job,” he said, holding up his phone.

Vig nodded and started his truck. He looked over at Stieg, who was trying to staunch the bleeding from his broken nose.

“You’re an asshole,” his Raven brother informed him.

Vig shrugged—he already kind of knew that—and pulled out into traffic.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Brandt Lindgren watched the Holde’s Maids working on Singvlad Voll, one of the men he’d sent out today to investigate the new Crow. Even if the Crow hadn’t been alone, two or three Crows were no match for even one of the mighty Silent. But it never occurred to him that the Ravens might also be there.

The Ravens had no honor. No remorse. No souls. And if they were connected to the Crows yet again . . . that could be a real problem.

“Will he live?” Brandt asked the hag working on his comrade.

“He will. But his recovery will take time.” She shook her head. “They stomped him into the ground.”

“Do what you can.”

“Of course.”

Brandt left Voll’s apartment. His driver opened the door and Brandt slid into the backseat.

The drive to his mansion was short, because all The Silent lived within ten miles of each other. His assistant met him at the door, taking his briefcase and handing over a newspaper.

Without a word, Brandt walked down the hall toward his office. As he walked, Embla stepped in beside him.

“This did not go well,” he told her.

“I know. Oveson had the Crows distracted, but the Ravens . . . we never expected them.”