Chapter 18
Connor stroked a hand up Raven’s arms and shoulder, absorbing every hum and soft skitter of breath that whispered from her lips.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been awake.
Just that he’d stirred to find her cheek lying over his heart and her leg strung over his thigh, and he hadn’t been able to sleep again.
Hell, he’d barely been able to move. He’d just held her.
Stroked her. Listened to make sure there were no unwelcome intruders approaching the room.
Luckily, the only sounds from outside had been the wind through the trees and a couple of car engines.
Finally, Raven’s breathing shifted from long, even draws to shorter, quiet ones.
There was a stretch of silence.
His lips twitched. Was she pretending to still be asleep?
“Morning, Raven.”
She jumped and looked up. “Hi. Hey.”
Her rosy cheeks and half-open mouth had him biting back a chuckle. “Did you sleep well?”
“I think you know the answer to that. I didn’t wake once.”
“Good. We should make an agreement…no more running.”
Her smile slipped.
Well, the next thing he said wouldn’t make her any happier. “I have to tell you something.”
Her brows flickered. “Okay.”
“Xander was in the parking lot last night.”
She shot up, tugging the blanket with her to cover her chest. “What?”
“He left when he saw me coming.” Connor sat up too, but slower. “Any idea how he knew you were here?”
“No.” She shook her head. “Rob found a tracking device on my car but he—”
“He what?” What the fuck? “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She squirmed a bit where she sat. “He removed it.”
“It was still important information.”
She remained silent.
He knew why she hadn’t told him. Because that would have brought up more questions about her ex. Questions she didn’t want to answer.
“I should have told you,” she finally conceded.
“I’m supposed to be meeting Joel for coffee and a run, but I’ll cancel and go to work with you today.”
She was shaking her head before he finished speaking. “No. Keep your plans. There are no sessions at the center, so I can just work from your house.”
That made him feel slightly better. He cupped her cheek. “I care you about you, Raven. I want you safe.”
“I care about you too.” She leaned into his palm. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“At the last town meeting, Lottie said something. It was probably just her trying to get under my skin, and I shouldn’t care, but…”
“What?”
“She said she heard the guys talking about how you have a savior complex. That you tried to save an ex but couldn’t, and now I’m your new…project.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He was sure the guys hadn’t said those exact words, but they may have been talking about his ex. They did it because they cared about him. They were worried. And yeah, the conclusion of his last relationship had hurt him.
“I know you already told me a bit about Margaret—”
“You’re not a…project.” He sucked in a sharp breath before sharing the next bit. “After the first year of dating, I found out her father was in prison for selling illegal weapons on the black market.”
“Wow.”
“She told me she was never involved. I believed her. I even believed her when she told me she’d cut off her family entirely because she suspected they were still running the business.
I protected her from them when they showed up unannounced a couple of times.
Even pulling a gun on her brother and demanding he leave. ”
“What happened?”
Just thinking about it made a band tighten around his chest. “Turned out, she didn’t need protecting. She’d been involved in the family business for the last two years of our relationship, and in the last year, she took over.”
Raven gasped. But as well as shock, there was something else in her eyes. Something he couldn’t quite place. Maybe fear? But that didn’t make sense. Why would this story make her scared?
“She was arrested and I was investigated,” he continued. “I almost lost my position on the team. But more than that…I was lied to. I knew she had secrets, but I was blinded by how I felt for her and my need to protect her, and it stopped me from noticing signs. Signs I’m trained to see.”
“Because you loved her.”
“I thought I did.” But the truth was, he hadn’t even known her.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He forced the frustration down. “I’m not the way I am because of her though. You know I was raised by a single mother, and I have three younger sisters. It’s just in my DNA.”
A soft smile curved Raven’s lips. “Will you tell me about them?”
“They’re spread out across the US. And they’ve all done incredibly well. Sarah’s a doctor and engaged to a surgeon. Vanessa’s a lawyer and is dating another woman. And Meaghan’s at home raising two very rowdy boys.”
“What about your mom?”
“She’s still in California. I visit her whenever I get a chance.” He reached for his phone on the bedside table and pulled up a photo of the last time they’d all been together. He smiled when he found it. “This was a year ago.”
Raven leaned over his shoulder, her smile soft. “They’re all beautiful.”
“Yeah.” But he wasn’t looking at his family. He was looking at her. At the beautiful crinkle of her eyes. At the way her face lit up when her lips curved.
She looked up at him. “I love that you have such a great family. I’m also glad I’m not a project.”
He could have laughed. “Definitely not. But I do wish you could tell me more about Xander.”
She retreated—physically by pulling her hand away, and emotionally with the veil over her eyes.
It hit him harder than it should have. There was a small part of him that had hoped by sharing a little bit of his own painful past, she’d share a bit of hers. And that last night had changed something.
“Come on.” He took her hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“You don’t want to shower?”
“I saw numerous things growing in there last night. We can shower at my place.”
Her nose wrinkled and she didn’t argue. She knew he was right.
Once they were dressed, she checked out and he followed her back to his home. He still wanted to cancel on Joel, but she all but pushed him out of the house.
When he reached Bloom, the café was busy. A handful of customers stood by the flowers. David Collins, the town recluse, sat by the bookshelves. And Anika and Mark, the couple who fought more than they got along, sat in a corner having a quiet conversation.
“You are not staying all day,” Polly said to Joel, as he leaned over the counter.
“Why not?” Joel asked, looking far too cocky.
She held up a finger. “One, because you’ll stink after your run, and scare off my customers. And two, because I don’t need babysitting.”
“You think I stink?”
“You don’t exactly do leisurely strolls, so yes.”
“It’s a jog.” He looked at Connor. “Tell her it’s a jog.”
Connor looked at Polly. “It’s a jog.”
She rolled her eyes. “You guys don’t even know what a jog is. In fact, I—” She stopped, eyes narrowing on something behind him.
Joel saw it before Connor did and cursed beneath his breath.
Connor turned, and tensed.
Xander and Nathaniel, entering the café.
He wasn’t sure who he wanted to hit first. The piece of shit who’d shoved Raven against the community center, or the creep who’d been caught watching her outside the motel room last night.
Maybe he could hit both at the same time.
Connor stepped forward, only to have Joel grab his arm and whisper, “Easy.”
Xander smiled as he approached the counter. “Hi, boys. Having a good morning?”
“How did you know Raven was at the motel last night?” Connor asked.
He frowned, the confusion on his face fake as shit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Like hell you don’t.” Connor inched forward. “Why are you watching her? Why are you even here?”
“I mean, you must know the answer to that.” He paused. “Unless…she hasn’t told you what she did?” His eyes widened. “Oh, shit. She hasn’t told you.” Xander looked at Nathaniel, and they both smirked.
That was it, Xander was going down first. Connor was going to hit him so hard the fucker never got up again.
Joel touched his shoulder, a silent warning.
Xander studied him. “Ask yourself why she hasn’t told you.”
“I think we both know the answer to that.”
Xander lifted a brow. “Do we?”
Connor’s phone rang, and he forced himself to step away from them. “Stay away from her.”
They just smirked again.
Connor waited until he was outside to answer the call. “Ethan.”
“Hey. You busy?”
“I’m supposed to go for a run with Joel but can push it back. Why?”
“I found something on Xander. It involves Raven. And it’s not good.”
She was late. She hadn’t even remembered she had anything to be late for.
But that was because with everything going on, she’d completely forgotten about Zumba, a session Lottie had scheduled.
The one Lottie had offhandedly mentioned last week that Raven hadn’t had the energy to argue with her about.
Lottie was going to love this.
She dropped into her car and pressed her foot to the gas.
The second she was driving, her gaze went to the rearview mirror. No one was following, but that didn’t put her at ease.
Xander had been at the motel last night. Why? To watch her? Would he have done more than watch if Connor hadn’t been there? And how had he even known that she’d been staying at the motel?
A shudder rolled through her, and she drove a bit faster.
She’d been so close to telling Connor everything this morning. She wanted to tell him. She hadn’t missed his disappointment when she hadn’t. He deserved so much more than she was giving him.
But the fear…God, it just wrapped its fingers around her throat every time the words tried to get out. Fear for so many reasons, the main one being that she’d lose everything. Connor. Her parents. Her life.
But she also couldn’t keep living like this.
The PI had been her only solution to finding dirt on Xander and getting out of this situation.
But Tim was dead. Xander had killed him.
She knew that down to her bones. She couldn’t keep doing this alone.
Plus, if last night had proved anything, it was that she also couldn’t stay away from Connor.
With a deep breath, she made the decision there and then—she’d tell him. He was former special operations. He knew how to protect himself. And maybe he and his team would help her put Xander away.
When she pulled up outside the community center, a crowd of a dozen women lingered around the doors.
Great.
She rushed out of her car and raced toward them. “I’m so sorry I’m late. There was an emergency.” What a lie. “And I—” She stopped, scanning the crowd. “Where’s Lottie?”
“Not here yet, it appears,” Maureen said, before anyone else could. “Which is very unlike her.”
Thank God. Obviously, the stars had aligned, and the one time the older woman was late was the time Raven desperately needed her to be.
She jogged up the steps and slipped her key into the door…but it wasn’t locked.
Not again.
Her shoulders sagged, because of course Lottie wasn’t late. She was already here.
With a groan, Raven stepped inside. And yep, there was Lottie’s bag by the door. Because why miss a perfectly good opportunity to get one up on Raven?
She scanned the hall. Where was she? Probably in the storage room. Either that or snooping in the office.
It was fine. She wouldn’t lose her mind today. She’d stay very calm while she repeated to the woman that she had to stop breaking in like this.
Raven could manage that.
As the women filtered in, she crossed to the storage room, already mentally preparing herself for the battle the other woman would put up. There’d be threats, as usual. To call Ferris. To have her fired.
But Raven would keep her cool.
She opened the storage room door. Empty.
The office? Really? Was she trying to find more incriminating items?
She walked—well, half stormed—to the office.
If the woman thought Raven was going down without a fight, she was wrong. She would not, under any circumstances, let Lottie walk all—
She pulled the door open—and froze.
For a second, her mind couldn’t comprehend what she was looking at. Then it started to sink in.
A body. Lottie’s body.
She stumbled back, a buzzing sounding between her ears, so loud it was all she could hear. The black dots in her vision were so intense they almost blinded her.
Footsteps sounded behind her. “Raven, is—”
A scream sounded. More footsteps. More screams.
Maybe Raven should be screaming. But at that exact moment, her stomach rolled. She lunged toward the trash can and threw up, the sight of Lottie’s dead, open eyes and the blood on her shirt bringing up all of Raven’s breakfast.