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)
They watched as the bastard was loaded into an ambulance just like the one that had hit him. Cuffed to the gurney, Lance appeared conscious though Remy didn’t know the extent of his injuries. Remy hoped they hurt like hell.
“Let’s go,” Zach muttered. “You can’t go near him without fucking up the case against him.”
With a groan, Remy followed his friend to a spot where they could talk alone but one where he could keep an eye on Raven.
“The bar’s been cleared,” Zach told him. “They’d already done a full sweep when Lance admitted to making the fake call.”
Remy nodded. “Good. Hopefully we won’t have to do too much PR to get business back to normal. A bomb scare isn’t good for the bar.”
“We’ll be fine. We have a good amount of returning customers.” Zach paused in thought. “Add a Women Drink Free night and they’ll all come back. I’m not worried about the business.” He eyed Remy, concern visible in his steady gaze.
“I’m fine,” Remy insisted. “Just worried about Raven. Once I get her home everything will be okay,” he said, hoping he was right.
Despite dodging a bullet with Lance, she’d been badly shaken and his gut told him she hadn’t been as prepared to face her brother as she’d believed herself to be. Even if she had saved herself. He was damned proud of her for escaping.
Zach adjusted his leather jacket and eyed him with surprise. “Home, hmm?”
Remy blinked. “What?”
“You do realize that technically, Raven still lives in the apartment above the bar?”
Zach’s words were a gut punch. Since she’d moved in, Remy had all but forgotten she was there out of necessity and not choice. “After the attempted break-in, she said she didn’t want to go back.”
“That was when Lance was out of prison. He violated his parole and we both know calling in a bomb scare means federal charges. Add in the unlicensed gun that a known felon can’t lawfully carry and the drugs in his pocket, and he’s in deep shit.”
“Seriously?” Remy shook his head. “Stupid motherfucker.” But he felt his lips tug upward in a grin.
“Keep smiling,” Zach said. “The detective who patted him down said the pills look like the synthetic fentanyl they’ve been tracking.”
Remy chuckled. “That bastard is going away for a long time.” And if Lance didn’t plead guilty, Remy would be in court every day of his trial, no matter how long it took. “At least I can tell Raven she’s finally safe.”
Comfortable silence fell between them. “I need to give her time, don’t I?” Remy asked.
Zach, who’d lost his first love, then found her again, only to let her go home to Chicago when the threat against her was over, nodded. “Sorry, man. She needs to be ready.”
“You did change your mind and go after Hadley,” Remy reminded his friend.
“But I gave her the time she needed first.”
“Fuck.” Remy had wanted Raven in his life for a long time. He’d been patient but that patience had run out.
But Zach was right. Raven had been consistently terrorized by Lance since she was adopted. If she needed to live her life before he asked her for a commitment, he’d have to back off and let her go.
Chapter Twenty-One
Raven woke up the next morning in Remy’s bed, alone. She didn’t panic because he’d held her all night long. A glance at the nightstand told her it was after eleven a.m. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so late. Normally, staying in bed was a luxury she didn’t afford herself.
But she’d gotten home late, then had to call Caleb and fill him in. His main concern had been for her but she worried about him and how his twin’s actions affected him.
She yawned, immediately feeling the pain in her face and back of her head, both reminding her of last night’s events. She stilled, letting the episode roll through her mind like a horror movie. Except the ending was anything but.
Raven was free.
Lance wouldn’t be bothering her again. No need to worry about what would happen years and years down the road. With any luck, he would screw up while in prison and get even more time added to what was destined to be a decades-long sentence.
Smiling, she stretched, enjoying the last few seconds of what to her, felt like decadence before sitting up and getting out of bed.
Once she was in the bathroom, she finished up her morning routine, and a thought struck. One she’d never considered because she’d never believed Lance would truly be out of her life. Being free meant she could go where she wanted. Do what she desired. Live wherever she chose. Tears filled her eyes at the thought. To Raven, that was real luxury.
The question remained, how did she want to define her new life?
Footsteps in the bedroom jarred her out of her thoughts. She wiped her eyes, opened the door, and joined Remy in the other room where he was setting his iPad on the charger.