Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
* * *
Remy understood more about Raven’s fear than she knew. He also didn’t believe his past had nothing to do with her. She’d overheard him talking about Sadie and his marriage and the notion bothered her enough for her to ask.
He hadn’t been hiding the truth from her. He’d just pushed it into a part of his brain where old things piled up, rarely to be thought of again. He’d moved on from his ex-wife. He’d never get past his mother’s murder. It had altered the course of his future.
Once he’d laid eyes on Raven, she’d pulled him in. She was who he was meant to be with. Until she was free from the stress and fear of who her brother would go after next in order to hurt her, Remy wouldn’t push her for anything more than she was willing to give.
The next morning, he’d woken her up like any other morning they’d been together. He’d rolled her onto her back and hovered over her, treating her to a long kiss as he slid into her. Once they’d forgotten protection, they’d come to a silent but mutual agreement none was needed after that.
Now, at nine-thirty a.m., they were in the kitchen for breakfast. True to his word, Dex’s suitcases were gone and so was he. Not only did his father have a groundskeeper on premises, he had a housekeeper, and since Dex had obviously let her know he was coming, the fridge was stocked with food.
Working together, Remy and Raven cooked breakfast, making two omelets and whole-wheat toast. For two people who’d never cooked as a team, they’d done pretty well.
While she finished at the stove, he placed orange juice and the coffee he’d made on the table. Once she sat down, he already knew the direction he planned to take the conversation. He was keeping things light.
“So, did I ever tell you how I made my fortune?” he asked.
She sputtered, having just taken a sip of juice. “I just assumed you had family money. I mean, I knew it wasn’t from being a New York City police officer.”
He lifted his mug for a drink of coffee. “There is that. We all have trust funds. But when I met Zach in college, he was determined to find Hadley. We now know she was in WitSec but all Zach knew was that she and her family had disappeared. We bonded over our hacking skills and I tried to help him dig into databases where we didn’t belong.”
Her pretty eyes opened wide. “What happened?”
“We got caught.” He ignored his omelet in favor of storytelling. “But we got lucky, too. The feds were so impressed with our skills, they hired us to find holes in their databases and programs. Through our work, we met influential people in Silicon Valley. Zach and I developed our own anti-hacking software and sold it for enough to make us millionaires.”
She grinned. “You’re pretty impressive, Remington Sterling.”
Chuckling, he said, “I’m glad you think so.” Was he smug about it? Hell, yes. He and Zach had done it on their own.
She shook her head, eyes twinkling. They finished their food and cleaned up in easy silence and occasional small talk.
No sooner had they cleaned up breakfast than Raven’s phone buzzed with a call. She answered immediately. “Hi, Caleb,” she said, quiet when her brother was obviously talking to her. “He what?”
Her voice rose and Remy came up by her side, waiting as she finished the conversation, his curiosity and concern rising with every word Raven said.
“I’ll get back to you with our plan. Love you,” she said and disconnected the call.
“What’s wrong?” Remy asked.
Her hands shook and he wrapped an arm around her and guided her to the family room where they sat down. Going with his gut, Remy pulled her into his lap. “Now tell me what happened.”
“Lance tried to take Owen out of preschool.”
Remy’s blood froze, his skin prickling with the awareness that Lance had a plan they’d never considered. “He didn’t succeed, right?” Though she’d said the word tried, Remy needed to hear it again.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “The preschool knows who’s on the pickup list. Lance couldn’t have thought the teachers would believe he was Caleb. They aren’t identical twins. I just don’t get his thinking.”
Remy slid his hand up the back of her shirt and rubbed her soft skin in a soothing, up-and-down motion. “I don’t think he ever planned to get his hands on Owen. He wanted to shake you both up and he succeeded. You now know he’s unpredictable.”
“He told Caleb that he was just playing a joke on him. That he hadn’t bothered with him since he’s been out and he wanted to get his attention,” she said.
“I call bullshit.” That sick bastard was toying with both of his siblings but Remy had no doubt Lance’s real target was Raven.