I shrug with the phone still pressed up to my ear. “You know he’s the easiest person to go to for shit like this.” Benton put me on hold when he had answered, saying he had to take care of something. It sounded like he was someplace loud, so probably either a bar or a club.

“I know.” Jax reclines against the counter with his arms crossed. “And, normally, I’m fine with it. But if we take Raven, Benton might start asking about her, and if he figures out who she is, word might get back to our fathers that we’re spending time with her.”

“Well, they did hire us to look into her,” I remind him, but I get his apprehension. If our fathers discover we’re getting close to Raven, they could use that against us. However … “They’re going to find out about her living with us one way or another. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they already know.”

“True.” Jaxon dithers. “It still makes me nervous. Benton seems to draw drama to him. Plus, who the hell knows how Zay’s going to react? He may pretend he doesn’t give a shit about Raven, but deep down, he does, especially if it turns out she’s Willow. And, while I don’t think he’d actually care if Raven met Benton, he might care that she met his brother who has connections to our fathers. Not that I think anything will actually happen. I can just see Zay having a tantrum for some reason.”

“I know,” I agree. “It might just be better not to tell him we went.”

Jax pulls his brows together. “You want us to lie to him?”

“It’s not a lie if we don’t ever have to tell,” I stress. “But yeah, I think—”

“So, what’s up?” Benton’s voice flows through the phone again. It’s not quite as loud, but I can still hear chatter in the background.

I hold up a finger at Jaxon, indicating for him to give me a second.

“I need to get some alcohol off you, but you sound busy,” I say into the phone. “You available? Or should I call someone else?”

He gives a short pause. “Nah, I can make a run for you guys. But you’ll have to give me, like, a half an hour.”

“That works,” I say. “You want to meet up at the Crossing?”

“Sure. See you in thirty minutes or so.” The background noise grows quieter. “Just text me the shit you need.”

“Cool,” I say. We hang up, and I text him a list, knowing he will probably question some of the liquor on there. Benton knows me well enough to know I’m pretty much a whiskey guy. Jax and Zay mostly drink beer. So, yeah, he’s definitely going to be wondering what the hell is going on.

“He’s down, then, I’m assuming,” Jax says after I’ve finished texting Benton the list.

Benton replies instantly.

Benton: What the hell kind of list is this?