Dark Angel (Sequel to White Raven)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Sisters Again

Warning: Strong Language and Sexual References!

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Ary was in a pretty decent mood until she pulled up to the River County Sheriff's Office. She didn't want to see her uncle. She had wanted to be left alone to focus on her work and her life with Rave. Leaving her family behind was going to be more difficult than she originally thought.

Ary was a coward when it came to dealing with her emotions. She ran when the going got tough. It was easier to just flee and bury herself in danger than it was to actually feel things. She fled from Sophie all those years ago, she fled from Rave after their first night together, and she was constantly fleeing from her family after they had one of their signature blow up arguments.

She was shocked that she hadn't taken off sprinting down the gravel road when Rave had confessed his love for her. The way in which she relied on Rave should have been terrifying to her, but it wasn't. For the longest time she felt that she was getting more out of the relationship than he was, but she was slowly coming around. Rave did seem happier now, more carefree. Obviously he wasn't the brooding bastard that he had been back in April when she first asked him to watch out for Luke. That was what a relationship was, give and take. Rave supported her and gave her an emotional stability that she never had and in return Ary did...well, she didn't actually know what she did for him, but clearly whatever she was doing made Rave happy. She'd have to remember to ask him about it later. After she got Mason the hell out of dodge.

She spent a few minutes taking deep calming breaths before she actually went inside. Bette, the receptionist that had worked at the Sheriff's office since before Ary was born, smiled warmly at Ary in greeting.

"Bella, your uncle has been expecting you. He's back in his office, dear," she said.

Ary immediately went into defense mode at her words. She should have expected something like this. All prisoner calls were monitored. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out that her uncle knew exactly Mason had called. It also didn't take a genius to know that her uncle wouldn't pass up the opportunity to pounce on her after the week long hiatus she had been on.

She went back to her uncle's office and was immediately pissed off. Not only was her uncle back there waiting for her, but Maddie and Mason were there as well. They had played her and she had fallen right into their trap, like a total idiot.

"You tricked me?" Ary gave her uncle and sister a seething look. Then she looked past them to Mason, who was handcuffed to the radiator in her uncle's office. "And you helped them?"

"Not willingly," he exclaimed, rattling his handcuffs for emphasis. In his defense, he seemed just as upset about their predicament as she did.

"Bella, we've been trying to get a hold of you. Your cell was disconnected. We were worried," Maddie told her.

"Please. When have any of you ever been worried about me?" she laughed, bitterly.

"Of course we worry about you. We're your family," Maddie exclaimed. She honestly looked shocked at the thought that Ary doubted their love for her.

"I don't have any family, Mads. I lost all of that in one single day. You might remember it? Your mother threatened to kill me," she sneered at her sister. She was intentionally lashing out, a terrible defense mechanism on her part. Hurt others worse than they were hurting her. It was the code she lived by.

"Bella, what mom said was totally out of hand. I don't know what came over her. She was just upset about dad-" Maddie began.

"Are you actually defending her!?" Ary exclaimed, her voice going up an octave. "Mom has been a psychotic nut job our entire lives. She cheated on your father, had a kid, and lied to him about it for twenty-one years. She told Scar to stick it out with her abusive husband. She told you to drop out of med school and marry a man that had no respect for your dreams," Ary said as she mentally ticked off all the nasty and underhanded things her mother had done in the past.