Dark Angel (Sequel to White Raven)

Chapter Twelve: Escaping Again

"Can I ask you something and have you promise you'll tell me the truth?" she asked, looking over at him and giving him a serious look.

He shifted in bed so that he was facing more towards her. "What is it?" he asked.

"I know things aren't all black and white and sometimes people have to do bad things to get by in the world and realistically you were raised in the gang life and-"

"Ary," Rave silenced her rambling. "Just ask me the question," he told her.

Ary took a deep breath. "You never killed kids, did you? Like when you offed someone you didn't do it in front of their kids and then kill the kids for no witnesses, right?" Ary hated that she felt the need to ask him this question, but she had to to put herself at ease.

To her relief, Rave laughed. That had to be a good sign, right?

"Ary, I'm not a mobster. I don't take people's families out," he told her.

"I know, but-" she faltered. She didn't want to ask again. She felt ridiculous having asked the question in the first place.

"Ary," Rave reached out and stroked her cheek. She glanced over at him. "I have never killed anyone under the age of seventeen, but that doesn't excuse anything. I am still a murderer, and of people who didn't deserve to die."

"Are you trying to convince me that you're a bad person?" she asked him, frowning. He'd done this before. He listed off all the crimes he had committed, trying to put some sort of moral separation between them.

"I don't want you to forget about my past. I'm not a good guy. There is no amount of good I can do that can make up for the bad that I've done. I may have grown to realize just how wrong those things are, but I'm still a bad guy. I'm still violent, I still hurt people," he told her.

"You've never hurt me," she told him, softly.

"I could hurt you," he said and his voice sounded a little more harsh than before.

"I could hurt you, too," she pointed out, switching so that she was sitting on her knees. She hated whenever he implied that she was weak and harmless.

"You're not as violent as me," he said, ignoring her claim.

"Daniel isn't as violent as you, but that didn't stop him from beating the crap out of my sister. Maybe it is because I come from a screwed up family, but I think the fact that you haven't popped me in the mouth every time I disagree with you is a good quality in a man," she shrugged, throwing her hands in the air in defeat.

"Does your dad hit your mom?" Rave asked, raising an eyebrow in question. He was very curious as to why she was always on this subject.

"My mom is the violent one in my family. She'd hit my dad all the time. I'm sure he wanted to hit her back, and I think it'd totally be justified, but no, he just walked away," she said it as if it were normal everyday family dynamics.

Rave reached out towards her and pulled her against his chest, hugging her close. It caught her off guard. She wasn't used to sudden acts of kindness or comfort, especially from Rave. He wasn't the lovey-dovey type, which never really bothered her. She didn't usually like when people just hugged her out of the blue, but at the moment it felt very comforting.

"What is this for?" she asked. She didn't object to the close contact with his hard body, but she was confused by it.

"Because I hate the way you had to grow up," Rave answered, simply.

Ary started to laugh. It wasn't the reaction either of them were expecting, but she couldn't help it. She just had this urge to laugh. An almost hysterical urge.