My appetite for beating Dominick to a bloody mess claws at my nerves. I fall to the couch with my head in my hands, fisting my hair, and will my heart to slow.
Fear from tonight comes rushing in. Flashbacks of Vince’s arms around Raven flood my mind. What if I hadn’t gotten there in time? I shove the question back, resisting the thought of losing her.
She’s safe in my bed, where I should be.
I stalk down the hallway to my room and throw open the door. It slams against the wall, making Raven jump then settle.
Shit. Calm the f**k down.
I fight the buzz in my head and crawl into bed with Raven. Her soft body, warm with sleep, curls into mine. A gentle hum vibrates from her lips, the soothing scent of her skin a salve to my fury. My heart rate slows and the riot between my ears recedes. I haul her deeper into my arms, silently promising to keep her safe and make her mine. Forever.
Raven
“Hand me the wrench?” Jonah’s big hand reaches out from beneath the Impala, and I slap the wrench into his palm.
We’ve been working on the Impala all morning in an attempt to take my mind off the fact that I haven’t heard from Eve. Hours pass, and still no word. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.
I’m assembling the new engine parts when I gather the courage to broach the issue with Jonah.
“If I don’t hear from her soon,” I scrunch my nose and pinch my eyes closed, “I’m going to her house.”
The metallic clank of a tool hitting the concrete floor bounces off the walls. My eyes remain fixed on the project before me.
I hear him slide on the dolly out from underneath the car. “Over my dead motherf**king body.”
I brace myself for an argument. With a determined scowl, I bring my eyes to his, steel in my resolve.
Worry and concern mask his usual easy smile, shattering my will. My shoulders slump and I lean on the workbench. “I’m worried about her.”
He stands and closes the space between us. “I know, baby. But I can’t let you go to her house alone. If you insist on stopping by, I’m going with you.”
I need to tell Eve about Vince, and I don’t want her to get embarrassed having Jonah there. Not to mention he turned her boyfriend into road kill just hours ago.
“No. I need to go alone.”
He wraps me in his arms and I go limp against his chest. “No way.”
I exhale, frustrated, but not surprised. “Jonah, I understand why you’re worried. But really, what’re the chances that Vince will be at her house? He’s probably hiding away with a tube of Neosporin and an ice pack after what you did to him.”
His arms tighten at the mention of Vince. “You aren’t going.”
Why does everything have to be so hard?
I tilt my head to see his face. “What’s the big deal? All I’ll be doing—”
“The big deal?” He lets me go and takes a few long strides back to the Impala. His hands spear through his hair. “The big deal is that the last time I let you go somewhere on your own, against my better judgment, you came back destroyed.” He leans into the car’s hood, arms bracing his weight, head down.
I step to the front fender. “Jonah.”
He turns his head, a tortured expression on his face. He’s right. I promised him, the night we made love for the first time, I’d never put him through that kind of worry again.
“Okay. I won’t go.”
With a murmured curse, his body weight collapses, and he pushes off the car.
“To her house. I’ll go to her work.” My determination is back, and he must see it in the seconds he studies my face.
“Fine. But only to her work. With plenty of people around. And call me before you walk in and the second you walk out. Understand?”
I grin, overwhelmed by how much I love my protective Jonah. “Okay.”
“I’m serious, baby. If you see—”
My phone chimes with a new text.
Just got your message. I’m fine, just slept in. Come on over. Eve.
I text her back and ask her what time she has to work. We agree to meet there a half an hour before her shift starts.
Jonah’s not satisfied with the plan, but at least he’s not chaining me to his bed for safekeeping, as he threatened. I promised him I’d meet him at the training center after I met with Eve so he could see with his own eyes that I’m okay.
He takes me to work to check in with Guy, looming in the background the entire time like some Adonis bodyguard. We hit my studio to feed Dog and pack some things. He finally left my side so I could meet with Eve, but only with the promise that I’d see him in less than an hour.
I pull into the parking lot of Nori Pizzeria right on time. Walking from my car to the front door, I notice Eve’s 2010 blue Mustang. I do a quick scan for Vince’s H2 and exhale in relief to see it’s not there.
I push through the front doors, and the aroma of garlic and butter make my stomach growl. Wax-covered Chianti bottles sit atop tables dressed in white butcher paper. A few waiters mill about, but no Eve.
“Raven! Hey, haven’t seen you here in a while.” Stephanie’s eyes dart around and behind me before landing on my face. “Where’s the hottie you’re dating?” The enthusiastic hostess flashes a hopeful smile. “Did you guys break up?”
She’s a cute girl, and I’ve never considered myself the jealous type, but my hand tingles with the desire to backhand that ready-and-willing look off her face.
“Mmm, nope. We didn’t break up.” I lay my forearm on top of the hostess stand and lean in. “We’re still very much together, if you know what I mean.” I give her a wink and watch the enthusiasm drain from her face.
Yeah, take that!
“Eve in the back?” I don’t wait for an answer and head to the kitchen with pep in my step.
She mumbles something I can’t quite make out as I push through the kitchen doors.
At the closed office door, I pause to refocus before knocking. I have no idea what kind of mood Eve will be in, and I can only hope she takes what I’m about to tell her well.
“Eve? You there?” I rap my knuckles against the door.
Her soft voice tells me to come in.
The room is dark except for a dim desk lamp. She’s sitting in her chair with her elbows on the desk and both hands on either side of her head. Not good.
I take the seat across from her. “Hey, Eve. How are you doing?”
“Humph.”
“That bad, huh?”
She doesn’t reply only drops her forehead to her desk.
“Look, about last night, I’m so sorry—“
Her head flies up, and she locks me in a narrow glare. “Sorry? What do you have to be sorry about? This whole thing is my fault. I keep telling myself that this guy will be different. This guy won’t hit me or talk shit to me. They all seem so normal in the beginning. Or so I think.” Her head is back in her hands as she rubs at her temples. “God, Rave, I’m so f**ked up.”
“Eve, you aren’t . . . effed up.”
Her puffy eyes narrow on mine again, and I decide this is a good time to shut up and listen.
“You know what I did last night after you dropped me off? I lay in bed all night with my phone on my chest, hoping he would call me. I wanted that piece-of-shit to call me and tell me that he was sorry, that he would never scare me again. If he would have shown up on my doorstep, I would’ve taken him back.” She falls back into her chair. “Still think I’m not f**ked up?”
No, that sounded pretty screwed up to me. But, I wasn’t going to tell her that.
She’s beating herself up about Vince, feeling as though this is all her fault. If she knew that she was nothing more than a job to him, maybe it would help her to let him go and let herself off the hook.
“Listen, I tried to tell—”
“He held onto you,” she says with a distant sound to her voice.
“What?” I whisper.
“You were pulling away, almost out of his grasp. He let go of me. He held on to you.” She looks at me with tears pooling in her eyes and shame on her face. “I was jealous.” The tears burst free, creating rivers of pain down her face. “I’m so f**ked up.”
She buries her face in her hands as her body shakes with sobs. I walk to her side of the desk and kneel down.
“Eve, there’s something I need to tell you. I didn’t tell you before because I was trying to protect you. But, you need to know now. None of this is your fault.”
Her bloodshot eyes lock on mine as I explain about Vince. I tell her about Dominick and what his plans are for me. I keep Jonah’s fight a secret, but I do tell her that Jonah, Dominick and I are working something out so that I don’t have to prostitute myself for the rest of my life. I finish by making it clear that, although I’m sure Vince has feelings for her, his intentions from the beginning were getting information to Dominick, and his holding me last night probably had something to do with that.
The silent minutes tick. Eve stares at the wall just over my shoulder. Her lips are moving, but no sound comes out. Sitting back on my heels, I wait for her to register the gaggle of putrid information I dumped on her.
“That f**kingpieceofshitmotherfucker!”
Stunned by her sudden outburst, I rock back, throwing an arm behind me to keep from falling to my butt.
“Fucking men! Piece-of-shit, no good, dick licking, motherf**king men!” She shoots out of her chair and paces the small space of her office. “That’s it!” Locking her wide eyes with mine, she throws her hands in the air. “I’m done. I’m switching teams. I despise men and from now on will only date women.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary—”
“Urrggh! My dad, your da—um, Dominick, Vince, every other sick f**k that came before him! I’m so f**king mad!” She’s back to pacing.
“Yes, I can see that,” I mumble.
I listen as Eve comes up with every possible combination for every possible curse word, and even some she invents on the spot. Having finally exhausted the English language, she sits back in her chair.
“Are you going to be okay?” I’m grateful to see her previously purple face fade to a splotchy red.
“Me? Hell yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m a lesbian now. I think the question is, are you okay?”
I think about how to answer, wanting to be as honest as I can.
“Yes, I believe I will be.”
And I do. I believe in Jonah and his ability. I believe in his love and his commitment to getting me away from Dominick. I believe in us and our future. That’s all I need.
“Thank you for telling me about Vince. I wish you’d told me earlier, but I don’t know if I would have listened. He really had me fooled.” She shakes her head.
“Just stay away from him, okay?” I lift my eyebrows, letting her know I expect an answer.
“Yeah! Of course.”
I nod, but something deep in my gut tells me she’s doesn’t have the self-control to stay away.
She stands up and wraps me in a hug. “I’m sorry, Rave.”