Chapter 15
Fear sped Raven’s pulse, the beats so loud and aggressive they stole her breath.
Xander was in town.
His full name was Alexander. He’d always gone by Xander, but when it suited him, he used Alex. And it had obviously suited him to use it with Connor.
Air hissed through her teeth at the thought of Xander and Connor meeting. It was like light meeting darkness. And Xander had actually called SAR and requested a rescue.
Bullshit. He’d grown up in Deep River—he didn’t need rescuing. He knew those woods like the back of his hand.
She barely felt her shoes hitting the grass as she raced past the gazebo. The town was a blur. The people. The sounds of voices and footsteps and car engines. It felt like there was a fog around her, and she was blindly running through it.
Was he here for her?
Of course he was. His parents had left this town long ago.
Nathaniel’s sweatshirt suddenly made sense. Xander was probably staying with him.
When she glanced down at her trembling hands, she could almost see the blood again. The dark liquid staining her forearms. Her fingers. Turning her fair skin red.
Stop it, Raven. You’re not back there.
Her fingers shook so violently, it took her three tries to get the key into the door. But when she turned it, there was no click. It wasn’t locked.
She hesitated. Was he inside?
Fear threatened to swallow her whole, but she ignored it and stepped into the center.
“You are such a sweet young man to help an old woman like me.” Lottie pushed chairs beneath tables.
“Happy to help.”
A buzzing sounded between her ears at that voice. So familiar. A voice that made her want to both be sick and turn and run all at once.
Xander walked out of the storage room, and one glance was all it took for small black dots to hedge her vision.
He looked right at her, and even that felt like a kick to the midsection. “Raven. Hi.”
She hated the sound of her name from his lips.
Lottie’s gaze shot up. “Raven. You weren’t supposed to be in this morning.”
She didn’t look at the older woman. She didn’t even think to look. Xander was like a predator, and if she took her eyes off him for too long, he could pounce.
“Before you get your knickers in a twist, Ferris okayed me being here,” Lottie started. “This was a last-minute meeting. The girls and I stumbled across this amazing new book. It’s part of Janie Crouch’s Linear Tactical series. We needed an emergency book club meeting to discuss—”
“Get out.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Lottie froze. “What?”
“Get out, Lottie. Now.”
“Did you not hear what I just said?” She stepped forward. “Ferris—”
“I’m not fucking around.” She finally drew her gaze to the woman, her voice loud, so wild it was unfamiliar. “I need you out, and I need you out now.”
“Raven Price—”
“Go!”
Lottie grabbed her chest.
Raven shifted her attention back to Xander. He had a smug expression on his face.
Yeah, he knew exactly what he did to her. And he liked her fear. Preyed on it.
“Ferris will be hearing about this,” Lottie huffed, as she grabbed her bag from the floor. “I played by your rules. I got permission to be here. And this is how I’m treated? Enjoy your last days here, young lady.”
The click of a door closing behind Lottie was loud, and it was followed by silence. A silence that felt suffocating, almost daring her to breathe.
“What are you doing here?” She was proud of how steady her voice was. There was only a hint of a shake and maybe he didn’t hear it.
He grinned. The fucker actually grinned. “I’m here to see you, darling fiancée.”
“Ex-fiancée.”
One side of his mouth lifted as he closed a bit of the space between them. “Ah, yes. Ex. And you’ve already moved on, haven’t you?”
“Is that why you called him out to rescue you?”
“Yeah, I wanted to meet him. Got lucky when he was my savior. He’s nice. Didn’t know you liked nice guys.”
“Hadn’t really met one until him.”
Xander’s chuckle was like nails scraping against her skin. “You were always funny. It’s something I miss about you.”
“You don’t miss me, Xander. Maybe you miss what I did for you. Or the ownership you had over me. But you don’t miss me.”
“Because you know me so well?”
Now she did. Once upon a time, no. “You need to leave.”
“Or what? You’ll tell people what happened?”
A knot sat in her throat, but she swallowed it. “I might.”
He laughed again, drawing a little closer. “You won’t. Because you know as well as I do that I wouldn’t be the only one going down. You also know there’d be…consequences. How are those parents of yours? How’s Connor?”
Asshole. “I’ve held up my end of the deal. I’ve stayed silent. You haven’t held up yours. You weren’t supposed to come back.”
“Oops.”
The door to the community center opened. Raven spun—and froze at the sight of Connor.
No. He couldn’t be here. He couldn’t be in the same room as her nightmare.
Connor’s eyes narrowed on Xander. “What are you doing here?”
Her ex’s arrogant smile widened. “Hey. Connor, right? It’s good to see you again so soon.”
He stopped beside her, and without taking his eyes off Xander, asked, “Are you okay, Raven?”
There were so many words she could use to describe how she was right now, and okay wasn’t in the vicinity of any of them. “This is Xander.”
The change in Connor was instant.
His eyes blackened, the muscles in his arms thickened. For a second, he was a stranger, the highly trained special forces soldier he’d once been. “You’re the asshole who took her money.”
“That’s what she told you?” Xander shook his head. “That was our money. Money I needed to pay our mortgage. I didn’t mean to leave her short.”
Connor stepped forward, but Raven shot between them and put a hand to his chest. Then she looked Xander dead in the eye. “I’d like you to leave now.”
She couldn’t let them fight. Not physically. Yes, Connor was a former SEAL and could easily kill Xander—but Xander didn’t fight fair. He was probably carrying. And she wanted her ex as far away from Connor as possible.
Connor’s muscles rippled with the urge to grab the guy. Demand answers—like what the fuck he wanted with Raven. Because he wanted something. Why else would he be here?
He clenched his fists as the guy passed him.
“I’ll see you both later.” The man’s gaze lingered on Raven, humor dancing in his eyes.
Son of a bitch.
It was only when the door closed that he turned to Raven. “Did he touch you? Because if he did—”
“He didn’t. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You don’t need to lie to me.”
“I’m just shocked. I didn’t know he was coming.”
“So you didn’t plan to meet him here?”
Her gaze swung up to him, a crease between her brows. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because I don’t know what the hell’s going on, Raven! You won’t tell me anything.”
“If I could, I would. You said you wouldn’t push.”
He grabbed her hips. “Raven, I don’t want to push. I want you to want to tell me. I want you to trust me with the truth even if you think I’ll hate it. But we’re clearly not getting there fast enough.” He glanced at the door, then back to her. “Is he a threat to you?”
Silence.
He waited for her to tell him something, anything…
She didn’t.
“I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again.” His eyes flickered between her ocean-blue ones. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on.”
“I can protect myself.” The lie darkened her eyes.
“Really? And what’s your method of protecting yourself? Running from the asshole? Hiding out in this town?” Yeah, it was a low blow, and he regretted it immediately.
Red tinged her cheeks. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“So explain it to me. Make this make sense. Why is he here? Why did you leave him? Why do I get the sense he’s the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever laid eyes on?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” Fuck, he wanted to scream the words.
“Because if he finds out I shared anything, it could ruin us both!”
“How would he find out?”
“I don’t know, he just could. I can’t take the risk.” She shook her head. “You don’t get it because you have nothing to lose here.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have you to lose.”
She pulled back. “You’re saying if I don’t tell you, it’s over?”
“I’m saying that I can’t be in a relationship with someone who won’t share such big parts of themselves with me. I can’t have secrets.”
Raven swallowed, her face so unreadable he had no idea what she was thinking. “Then maybe that’s it for us.”
Acid coated his throat. “You’d rather protect your secrets than us?”
For a second, devastation cut across her face. Then she blinked, arms wrapping around her waist as she stepped back. “You should go.”
The words were like a physical blow. “Raven—”
“Now, Connor.”
He wasn’t getting anywhere with her. Not here. Not like this. “Okay. But this conversation isn’t over. And if that ex comes back, you tell me. You call me. I’ll be there.”
She didn’t agree. She didn’t give him anything.
He stormed out. He was pissed. So fucking angry his hands were damn near shaking.
She wasn’t going to be honest with him. Not now. Possibly not ever.
When he reached his truck outside of Bloom, he didn’t leave. Instead, he sat behind the wheel and watched the community center. He wasn’t sure how long he’d stay. Just knew that he couldn’t leave yet. Not after that asshole had just been there.
He lifted his phone and hit Ethan’s name.
Ethan answered on the first ring. “Hey. You know I can see you in your truck, right? Come into Bloom.”
No part of him felt like socializing right now. “I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I’m ready for that check on Xander Stevens.”