Chapter 51 #2
“I’m glad that Varen finally came around.”
Nala wanted to tune him out as she went up the stairs, but the only thing worth focusing on was Ravenwood’s smooth voice.
It’s a lie. It’s all a lie. There was no such thing as a Xan Ravenwood who was genuinely kind and philanthropic.
Every action of his had a reason. An ulterior motive.
Something dark and sinister. Something likely to get Nala killed at any moment, especially if she lost her cool.
Never before had she been so pressured to be the Nightingale that Xan expected.
As she followed him down a hall and entered his office, Nala remained mindful of her posture and the look on her face.
She did not want Xan to think that she was here for any reason other than to make amends and have the multiple hits called out on her and Varen to cease.
“It’s an honor to be in your company like this, Master Ravenwood.” Nala sat on a plush couch and accepted a glass of wine. She didn’t take a sip until she saw Xan sip it first. “When I was invited to see you, I had to admit… what made me so special to receive such an honor?”
“Ahh…” Xan sat on the other end of the couch. Nala was relieved that he wasn’t sitting any closer. “As it turns out, you’re a very special lady, Miss Nightingale. Or should I call you Miss Nazarova?”
The corner of Nala’s mouth twitched. “I hate to be so rude, Master Ravenwood, but it’s Nazarov. Nazarova is my mother.”
“Of course, of course.” He crossed his legs and finished half his glass of wine. Yes, yes, get drunk. This will make everything easier. “Did you know that I knew your sister?”
Nala had to check the anger burning in her body. Don’t you even mention my sister, you piece of shit. The irony? This was the perfect segue into what Nala wanted to bring up first. “She mentioned you a time or two, for sure… before she…” Nala looked away.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy what happened. So young! So gifted…”
“I hear she was awfully close to a cure for cancer…”
“Well, Tasha was very confident in her research skills, but I’m afraid she was mistaken. She came close to a couple of very promising leads, but the trials didn’t pan out. She was no closer than anyone else on my research team.”
Nala was not expecting this. “I’ve never known my sister to inflate her own ego.”
“Like I said, she was very determined and self-assured. It’s one of the reasons I hired her, even though she was so young.”
Is that why you seduced her too? Nala couldn’t believe it. “She mentioned you a lot, actually. Said that she was quite… close to you.”
The entirety of Ravenwood’s face twitched. “Is that so? I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead… and I certainly don’t like to kiss and tell, especially with family members, but…” he chuckled. “Let’s say it was highly ironic that you walked through the doors to my Aviary that day, Miss Nightingale.”
“When Mistress Varen told me about it, I told her we had to go. I had to see the man my sister fell in love with for myself.” She had to rely on her lying skills more than ever right now.
“Fell in love with? Why, I didn’t know Tasha felt that way.” Xan continued to stare at her while he drank, looking for her tells. “As for you and Mistress Varen… we didn’t expect her to have a partner so soon, let alone you. I was under the impression that she was single.”
Nala blushed, turning her head so she could act like a treasured kitten. “We were not serious before The Aviary. We decided to become exclusive afterward.” Were these lies believable? They had to be.
“I see. I’m glad you made that decision. The Aviary wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“It’s the strangest thing, though…” As if Nala would let him change subjects. “The way she died… who has a heart attack so young?”
“I hear it does happen.”
“You know, I’ve done some research… and apparently one can make someone of any age have a heart attack if they poison them with potassium chloride. Completely untraceable. Did you know this?”
Xan was not so amused now. “I may have heard of it. Why do you want to talk about such unpleasant things? There are so many… better things for us to talk about.”
He scooted closer, and the barrier Nala mentally erected between them did nothing.
“That may be true, Master Ravenwood,” Nala said. “But forgive me if I get hung up on my sister. I didn’t always know her so well growing up.” More lies. She hoped they worked.
“I suppose it’s normal for a young girl to want to know more about her big sister.” I dare him to call me “young girl” one more fucking time. Nala was young, all right, but a girl? “Do you want to know about your sister? I can tell you all about her.”
Xan stood, carrying his empty glass and not offering to refill Nala’s. Fine with her. She looked to the side, retaining her cool while also suppressing her anger. The Nala of a few months ago would have lunged at this guy already. “You spoil me, sir,” said the Nala of today.
“Tasha was an exemplary woman,” Ravenwood began, pouring his new drink.
He kept his back to Nala. He was either more foolish than Nala took him for, or he truly didn’t think she had it in her to stab him in the back.
“So bright at such a young age. Beautiful, too. I may have made a fool of myself around her a time or two.”
Nala kept her eyes down.
“I wish I could tell you that she and I had a whirlwind romance, but that wasn’t the case. There was a lot of trust to build up. She didn’t say yes the first time I asked her out… and, ah…”
“No need for those details, sir. Some things are best not known about family members.”
Like how you… I don’t know… Had Tasha consented to all of it?
Or did she feel pressured because she didn’t want to be cast aside by her boss and lover?
Did even Tasha know the truth? Nala knew as well as anyone by now that sometimes the lines blurred between knowing one wanted to do something and being pleasantly surprised.
“We broke up shortly before her death, you know. Don’t suppose she told you that.”
She didn’t tell me anything. “She did, sir. She was shaken up about it. Said that she was the one who wanted to move on?”
Finally, Ravenwood stiffened, his glass shaking in his hand. “That she did. Was a real shame losing her from the company, too. You Nazarov women seem to have a lot of will.”
Nala got up, hair swaying across her chest as she walked straight and tall toward Xan Ravenwood’s form.
Every step was a knowing one into a pit of vipers, a den of dogs, a cave of bears.
Nala could not relent. She could not let this man see the fear gripping her bones and shaking her from the inside.
Even her face, carefully made up in Maggie’s bathroom, remained unflinching as she reached out and put a hand on Xan Ravenwood’s shoulder.
“It’s hard to believe my sister would let go of such a… well, do I have to say it? Such a fascinating man. I wish I knew what she thought was so much better than a life like this.” Nala gestured to the room around them.
Xan looked as if he didn’t know quite what to make of her. “You like a lavish lifestyle, do you Nightingale?”
She nodded, slowly. “I am a creature who appreciates the finer things. Good wine. Better food. Fine delights, sir.”
The purr in her voice was something she should have reserved for Varen.
Now is not the time to feel guilty. “I don’t ask for much. As you can see from my style, I’m pretty low-maintenance. I speak my mind a lot, but I also know when to stay quiet.”
Nala shrugged, reclaiming her hand. “In return, there is a lot that I can offer the right one. I thought Tasha was much the same way. Which is why it’s so curious she would leave you and quit her job. Marrying well and having a prestigious job were her two main obsessions.”
“Marriage… well, perhaps that was it, eh? I am not the marrying kind of man. I’m also not very committed. She knew that getting involved with me, though.”
I bet she loved that. Tasha was a poster child for monogamy.
“Now, I want you to tell me something, Nightingale.” Xan turned, backing her against the wet bar. Nala’s hand bumped against an ice bucket as her ass remained the only thing between her and a bunch of shot glasses. “Why did you come here? Does Varen even know you’re here?”
Nala tilted her head and grinned. “No.”
She didn’t know how he would react to that. Would he find it intriguing? Would he call her a liar? Tell her she was a bad girl who needed to return to her Mistress and accept punishment? Or would he be pleased as punch, knowing he had her right where he wanted?
Oh, the latter, of course.
“That’s right. I’m sure she would never let you come here on your own like this. Why do you think I sent for you?”
Now Nala had to play her final card. “To kill me and send Varen my body.”
This time, she got an appropriate reaction. “Excuse you…”
She shrugged. “Someone’s been trying to kill us. Someone killed that couple in Germany. Someone killed my sister.” Nala glanced away before looking him in the eye again, fervor renewed. “And someone killed Desirée. You know. Varen’s pregnant fiancée.”
Ravenwood walked away from her. At first, Nala thought she had pushed too hard. Maybe they had even been wrong about a few details and she sounded stupid now, but when Ravenwood looked at her again, this time with anything but grandfatherly flirtation in his eyes, Nala knew she had struck a nerve.
She also knew she would probably pay for it. She didn’t imagine him calling for a guard.