Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
And I gasp.
25
RAVEN
“It’s a beautiful piece,” Robin says.
I read the engraving again.
Even the raven can’t fly forever. Sooner or later, it comes home to die.
“Ray? You okay?”
Jared comes toward me. “Raven?”
I grab his arm. “I need to go home. Now.”
“All right.” He furrows his brow. “But I thought you wanted to—”
I shove the velvet box at him. “Read the back.”
He fingers the pendant in his large hands, and his eyes widen. “Yeah. We’re out of here.”
“Ray?” Robin’s eyebrows are arched.
“Everything’s fine,” I say. “Just… Tell Emily I wasn’t feeling well. But I have to leave.” I grab her hands. “I love you, Robbie. Thank you for everything for tonight.”
“What am I supposed to tell Mom and Dad?”
I glance around the ballroom. It’s after midnight now, and about half of the guests have already left. Those who haven’t are either still on the dance floor, paying for their auction purchases, or still seated at their tables, my mother among them.
I don’t see my father.
“The same thing. That I’m not feeling well. I’ll be in touch.”
Jared ushers me through the ballroom. I glance around, looking for Vinnie. He seems to have disappeared again.
Jared’s hand on my back is steadying as we navigate through the maze of tables. A million questions whirl in my mind, none of them with any clear answers. The engraving on the pendant continues to throb in my thoughts.
Finally, we reach the hotel lobby and walk out the grand entrance, where the limo waits. Jared helps me into the car.
The ride home is quiet, punctuated by the rhythmic hum of the engine. I grip the velvet box that holds the pendant in my pocket, my mind exhausted and whirling at the same time. The limo stops, and Jared ushers me into an SUV, climbing in next to me and hissing directions at the driver. I don’t have the energy to listen to what he says.
My mind is racing, and I don’t realize how long we’ve been driving until Jared nudges me. “We’re here.”
I jerk back to reality, expecting to see my home on the Bellamy property.
But no.
“No!” I cry.
We’re back at the safe house.
“I can’t,” I say. “I can’t be here again.”
Jared’s eyes soften. “It’s the only way we can be assured that you’re safe.”
“Safe?” I scoff. “I’m never safe, Jared. Not anymore.”
“Raven…”
“Just drive,” I snap. “Tell him to drive anywhere but here.”
Jared closes his eyes and takes a deep breath in. “Fine.” He nods to the driver.
I close my eyes again, and when the car stops, I open them.
And again.
We’re not at my home.
We’re at my parents’ home. The same house where Brick Latham was killed a month ago.
This isn’t where I want to be either.
“Damn it, Jared…” I begin.
“I have my orders, Raven.”
“Your orders? You’re my bodyguard, Jared. No one else’s. I told you to take me home. To my home. Not my parents’ home.”
“Raven—”
“They probably aren’t even here.” I run my fingers through my short hair. “My mother was still at the gala when we left, Jared. Is this what you want? For me to be here alone?”
He shakes his head. “There are servants here. And I will be here.”
“I don’t want to be here. If you refuse to take me to my home, at least take me to Falcon and Savannah’s.”
“Those are my orders.”
I throw my hands in the air. “Who the hell is giving you the orders? Falcon and Leif hired you. You don’t work for my father. I don’t have to stay here, you know. I can call a cab. Call an Uber. Hell, with my trust fund, I can call a fucking car dealership in the middle of the night and have a car delivered here. I’m not your prisoner.”
“I’m doing what I can to protect you. That’s my job, Raven. That’s what I was hired for.”
“Jared—”
“That’s enough,” he roars.
My eyes widen.
“I let you go into that conference room with Vincent Gallo against my better judgment,” he says. “I allowed you that.”
“You allowed it?”
“Yes. I allowed it because I knew it would be the last time you—”
I reach out quickly and slap him across the cheek.
For a moment, I see anger flicker behind his dark eyes.
In another moment, I’m almost convinced he’s going to punch me.
His knuckles tense, and his hands are clenched into fists.
We stay still.
He does not attempt to touch me in any way.
“What do you mean it would be the last… What? What is happening to Vinnie? Where is he?”
Jared doesn’t reply.
“You’re fired,” I say. “Your services are no longer needed. Get the hell out of here.”
He stands his ground. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Help!” I yell. “Help me!”
I have no idea if any of the servants are within earshot.
I regard the large man before me. The man who could squeeze the life out of me in less than a second. Jared, who I’ve grown to trust, is now a stranger to me.