Claimed By My Father’s Outlaw

RAINEBy the time I got back home to my father's mansion that evening, I was greasy all over. I didn’t even bother to shower first; I just wanted food. Throughout the whole bike ride back, my brain was still replaying my dad’s voice, that condescending tone that made me want to throw a hammer at his head. He really thought he could talk to me like this, instead of like his daughter. His heir, technically. Not that he’d ever call me that out loud.“Wash your hands before touching anything,” my younger sister Isla said without turning around as I stepped into the large kitchen. She was at the stove, with her wavy auburn hair up in a messy bun, swaying to whatever love song was playing on the radio. I grinned. “Yes, Mom.”“Don’t start with me, Raine!" she warned, pointing the spatula behind her without looking. “You always ‘taste test’ half the food before I even plate it.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I mumbled, already reaching for a chicken nugget on the counter. She t

COLE“Great!” she muttered somewhere near me. “Perfect timing.”I could barely see her outline, just the faint shape of her shoulders in the dim glow from outside. The rain roared even louder now, hitting against the roof like it wanted to get in.I was angry and dripping from head to toe, and very aware of how close she was. I should’ve turned around and walked out right then, let the rain soak me to the bone. But I didn’t move a single inch.Then I heard her move, shuffling across the concrete floor until a small beam of light flicked on.“Relax.” She muttered, placing her phone on the worktable. The flashlight threw a pale glow across her face and the grease on her hands. “Power goes out all the time when it rains this hard. Guess the city’s budget doesn’t stretch far enough to fix wiring on this side of town.”I leaned back against my bike “Is that so?”“Yeah.” She ran a hand over her face, leaving a streak of black on her cheek. “Every time there’s a storm, boom, no lights, no w

COLEI rode out of that garage and down the road, feeling every muscle in my body tense with anger. Vex Mercer was a complete asshole, everyone knew that. I myself had known that in theory, but actually meeting the man… that was a whole other level of irritating. The way he’d towered over me, all smug and threatening, and yet his daughter had the audacity to call him out. I’d never get used to this twisted family dynamic. Even I as the Vice-President of the Revenants, I was a little scared of the man. How come his daughter wasn't?The streets of New Orleans blurred past me, with the rain still slicking the asphalt in patches. Canal Street shimmered under the glow of neon signs and I swerved past the tourists who clearly had no idea how deep into danger they were wandering. Turning down another str3et, I headed toward the route Ronn had described. There was a collection of abandoned industrial buildings clustered near the Mississippi River, mostly warehouses with rusted metal siding

Cole My brain stalled, then kicked back to life in one violent jolt.What the hell did he just say?What the actual, flaming, unbelievable hell did Ambrose just say?!But Ambrose just went on, his voice too cheerful for what he was describing. “They pay a fortune for it and they always come back for more. It’s the kind of trade that never dries up.”I stared at him, trying to figure if I had heard right. Did I even want to ask further questions?“Don’t look so shocked, Vice President!" Ambrose puffed on his pipe and gave me a playful nudge with his elbow. "The world is changing and we’re just stepping into what it’s offering us.”My pulse rocketed and my thoughts scattered and slammed into each other, forming one loud, panicked roar in my head.We’re doing WHAT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, AMBROSE? HUMAN TRAFF— NO. NO. NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT.“Ambrose,” I managed to say in what I hoped was a calm voice. “We… we swore off anything like that. You remember that, right? We talked about this f

Raine's POVThe rain was still coming down in sheets, soaking through my clothes in seconds. I gunned it, weaving through the streets of New Orleans as though I was being chased. The speedometer climbed from forty to fifty. Then sixty to seventy.I leaned into the turns, felt the bike skid slightly on the wet pavement, and pushed it harder. The rain stung my face, but it felt good and real. This was what I needed to forget the mess that was my life.I thought about that guy from earlier, the Revenant VP. I'd given him my bike to get out of there before my dad murdered him. My precious bike. And yeah, okay, maybe part of me had given him that bike because I wanted to see him again. Which was insane. He was older, way older, and he was a Revenant. My dad's enemy. Everything about him was off-limits.But when had I ever cared about what my dad wanted?The thought made me laugh out loud in the rain Dad, the great Victor Mercer. Vex Mercer, as he was known all over Louisiana. President o