Chapter 12
12
RAVEN
The one with the annoying noise machine or lack thereof.
I fell asleep pretty fast, only to wake up around five a.m. with Ace still sleeping, and me wide awake.
I went to make coffee and because the bed was so warm, I came back and turned on Friends.
For a person who said they had trouble sleeping with noise he was sleeping pretty damn hard.
I thought back to the night before.
He’d been almost…nice.
Tame.
Maybe seeing me on the ground nearly knocked out did something to him, or maybe he was faking it.
Either way, I had a good night’s sleep where I didn’t spend the time crying over Louis, my birthday, or my upcoming appointment, so things were at least looking kind of up.
I’d been born to deal with death.
I wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon.
Or to someone I loved.
Love.
I chewed on the word.
I did love him. I loved his personality, the things he’d shared with me, our stolen heated moments.
He’d never opened up a lot about his family.
Then again, he’d been a bodyguard, so already he had been overstepping.
Right?
I exhaled and lifted the cup of coffee to my lips.
"Can’t. Sleep. With. Noise,” Ace’s muffled voice said into the pillow. “Why was your first instinct to turn on Friends? I don’t share food. I don’t like noise?—”
“Aw, it’s like Joey but has no personality. Wait, does that mean your blood sugar dropped? Do you need a protein bar to feed all those muscles this early? Should I keep them by the bed?”
"Are we bed partners now?
” He groaned. “Say it isn’t so.”
"Oh, please, I’m a lovely bed partner.”
“Noise,” he repeated. “And you kick in your sleep.”
I smirked into my coffee mug. “Maybe I just wanted to make sure you were still breathing. Think of it as concern for my bodyguard.”
“Be concerned elsewhere.” He sat up and looked over at me.
I tried not to gasp but it was impossible to keep it in. His long hair was a mess all over his face, his green eyes penetrated mine in a way that made me feel naked, and his lips were slightly swollen like he’d sucked on them all night, and damn those cheekbones for cutting ice and doing hard work all night.
A knock sounded downstairs followed by the doorbell. I frowned and looked over at my phone.
Ten missed texts.
I’d had my phone on silent.
I quickly opened them.
Ivan
Your mom went on the trip, your dad stayed, he wants to come over and chat.
Ivan
Why aren’t you picking up? Where’s Ace?
Ivan
I know it’s early, I’ll show up first and brief you, I know the code to get in though I’ll give you a warning knock and loudly hit the doorbell so you aren’t naked.
I kept reading the texts, my head spinning, when I looked up and saw Ivan standing in the doorway staring us down, eyes wide. “Well that didn’t take long.”
Ace practically levitated away from the bed. “It’s not what you think. After the attack last night she got scared, I stayed on my side?—”
"He threatened to cut off my toes,” I said cheerfully.
“As if I’m not already depressed as shit. I found it really conducive for a peaceful sleep.”
Ivan looked between us.
“I’m honestly surprised you both survived.”
"Me too,” Ace grumbled.
"Heard that.
” I threw a pillow toward him.
“Put some clothes on. Not all of us have six packs. No need to show off, right Ivan?”
“I have a six pack.”
“Sure you do,” I teased.
He glared. “Last year you were so much easier to deal with.”
“Last year you were blissfully unaware of your purpose in life. Now look at you, mob boss to the De Lange family and almost married.” I grinned.
“You’re proposing soon right?”
He pointed at me.
“You’re distracting me. I don’t like it.” He moved his finger toward Ace.
“She’s dangerous.”
“Tell me about it.”
It was almost distracting enough.
The normalcy of Ivan standing in front of me giving me shit, Ace being annoyed with me as per usual.
Almost.
But Louis was missing.
Ivan’s phone went off.
“Well, if you want to keep all your body parts…” He sighed.
“Looking at you, Ace. Put on some clothes. Dante’s almost here, and he’s in a really cheerful mood, threw his coffee cup against the wall and everything this morning.”
“Why?” I asked.
Ivan shook his head.
“Too hot? Too cold? I don’t know. He read a text and lost his shit. I’m pretty sure it has to do with you, though, so congratulations for giving him an ulcer in his early forties.”
I gave a small bow.
“I do what I can.”
Ivan grunted.
“Clothes, and try not to misunderstand that when I say clothes I mean ones that completely cover your body. None of this, ‘oh, I thought I just had to cover tits’ sort of shit. My head also is on the chopping block, and I want to see tomorrow.”
“Heard there’s an early sunrise.” I winked.
His eyes narrowed. “Like I said, dangerous. You have ten minutes.”
"How could I possibly?—”
“Nine!” he snapped, slamming the door behind him.
Rude. I jumped out of bed and pulled off my clothes like I normally did, I always jumped out of the left side, walked to the shower and…
I paused as a choking curse erupted from the other side.
I winced and looked over my shoulder. “Old habits.”
He clenched his teeth. "Make new ones.
”
With a smirk, I turned fully toward him.
“Okay.” I put my hands on my hips.
“Look your fill and consider a new habit officially formed. They say it takes seventeen days to break one. How many do you think it takes to make one?”
He stalked toward me, shirt still off, only in grey sweatpants, his muscles bulging with every step.
“Stop being difficult!”
He picked his folded shirt off the back of the chair and shoved it at my breasts.
I didn’t take it. “I’m not being difficult.”
“It’s literally your reason for living.” He seethed.
“I did the nice thing, the right thing, which is completely foreign to me, and the way you repay me is to accidentally get naked right before your dad gets here? Do you have any clue what the fuck he’ll do to me if he sees us together?”
"Tell me.” A dark voice said from the door. “What the fuck do you think he’ll do? I’m curious.”
I quickly put the shirt over my breasts and stared up at my dad standing in the door and a very pale looking Ivan right behind him holding his phone up as if to say I texted and you’re the idiot for not checking. Again.
My lower lip wobbled. “I can explain. Nothing happened.”
"You’re naked.
” Dad tilted his head.
“He’s half naked. And you’re both pissed. I don’t buy it.”
"Dad—”
"Get dressed, both of you, I want you downstairs in five minutes.
”
Ace gave me a light shove and walked away from me putting on his shirt in the process.
I quickly ran to my closet and grabbed a set of black sweats then stared down at the grocery bag I’d brought upstairs with the pregnancy test.
When I looked inside, it was gone.
I didn’t take it though.
No, I had plans to take it when Ace finally went to sleep.
So I left it on.
Oh shit.
Oh shit!
No!
"RAVEN!” Dad yelled.
It wasn’t Ace’s head that was going to roll—it was all mine.