Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
My head still hurts from the other day. I almost called Raven to cancel, but I’m not nearly prepared enough for this case.
All I know is that I can’t sit in that coffee shop again with all the noise.
And I don’t want to ask Mom to drive me.
She’ll ask questions that I don’t want to answer.
For where Mom is concerned, my life is fine, I have no complications, and there is absolutely no woman.
Fuck. I don’t want Raven here.
I go to the cabinet, grabbing some pain relievers that I always keep on the top shelf immediately closest to the right edge of the cabinet. I toss a handful back. My clock chimes, telling me it’s almost nine. If I’m going to change venues, I have to do it now.
Fucking Christ above.
I grab my phone, angrily stabbing in Raven’s number.
I hate her. I hate all of this.
Buddy ambles over to me, poking me with her cold nose. It makes me take a breath.
I can do this. I have to prepare for this case, and Raven is just a means to an end. Literally just that.
Raven agrees to the switch, and I move to the couch to wait, absently scratching Buddy’s ears as she pants her stinky dog breath in my face.
I’ve tried brushing her teeth, but it’s like wrestling an alligator.
I pet her behind the ears, sinking my fingers into her soft texture.
I know she’s a pretty gray, not that I can see it right now.
I don’t think I could ever handle fully losing my sight because then I’d lose seeing her.
After a bit, there’s a knock at the door, and Buddy stiffens. Before I can grab her, she’s running to the door, barking. The noise makes my head pound, which reminds me that there’s no way I can handle anything crazy today. I need those painkillers to kick in, goddamn it.
“Buddy.” I follow her to the door and try to pull her away, but she scrabbles on the tile, trying to stick her nose through the door.
“Just a minute!” I drag Buddy to my room, apologizing to her as I go. Once inside, she gives a huff, but I see her fuzzy form jump on my bed, where she knows she isn’t supposed to be.
Whatever.
I shut the door gently, then move to the front door, opening it. Raven’s standing right in front of me, backlit by the sun. I imagine her like a hazy, dark-haired demon.
I just stand there. Why am I doing this?
“Gonna invite me in?” Raven’s voice is dry.
I just stare.
“Probably easier to whack me inside without the whole street seeing it.”
I blink. Whack her? Does she think… Did she just accuse me of being a murderer? And of not knowing how to commit a crime in one breath?
Nope. I’m not doing this. I go to shut the door when Raven says, “I have a knife on me.” She sounds bored. “It’s pink.”
That throws me for a loop for a painfully long second.
“Figured you’d want to know what it looks like ‘cause if you try something, you won’t see it coming.”
I’m pulled back to the present, and my mouth drops open. She just insulted my blindness and threatened me at the same time. For a moment, all I can do is watch Raven’s fuzzy form while an electric buzz races across my skin. It’s both hatred and… something else. Something that makes me feel alive.
It’s then that I realize I’m hard. Really fucking hard.
No. My face burns. No, no, no, Gage! This is not how things are going to go. What the hell is my problem?
“What’s your brother’s problem with you?”
“What?” My heart races and my skin feels hot. I can smell Raven again, and of course, she smells fucking good.
“He literally came to my door and begged me not to work for you.”
The words cut through my haze. What happened?
I hear the rustle of fabric and vaguely see Raven cross her arms. All I can do is stare in her general direction.
Axel begged her not to work for me? The thought makes me angry, but I just say, “He doesn’t have a problem with me.” Well, other than brotherly animosity. I was always the one compared to him. He has everything. There’s never any reason for him to mess with me.
“That’s not how it sounded.”
Raven’s voice is like smoke, curling around me and sending shivers up my arms. Goddamn it, Gage, wake up!
I shake myself. “My brother doesn’t care what his hookups do. Never has, never will. So why are you making shit up?”
There’s a sharp intake of breath, then a loaded silence. Then, Raven’s voice is more coal and hot smoke. “I’m not his hookup, and I’m not his whore. I won’t fuck Axel, and while we’re on the topic, I won’t fuck you. So let’s put that to rest.”
I’m simultaneously laser-focused on her while the rest of the world feels like it’s floating. Fuck me? I never asked her to fuck me. But also, it pisses me off that she’s telling me she won’t. I haven’t even asked.
Not that I would.
“Shall we get to work?” Raven’s words are clipped.
Absolutely not. And yet, Axel does seem extra focused on this girl. Even if she’s lying, I’ve heard the jealousy in his voice. For some reason, he wants her. Unless this is some elaborate prank to get another woman in my bed so he can laugh at me about it later?
To be fair, Axel never laughed at me about Jess. Actually, he never even brought it up.
I’d like to keep it that way.
Right now, I have a goddamn trial to prep for. I’m not sure where I got distracted in all that.
I straighten. My prefrontal cortex is developed now. I won’t let another of Axel’s whores fuck up my life. She’s here to do a job, and I’m here to get the job done.
So, I step back and let Raven inside.