19. Christian
“So, you own a security company? That’s impressive.”
The words are friendly, but I’ve never felt more awkward trying not to reveal more information about my agency, particularly its connection to Raven. Raven’s trying not to say anything, too, while we navigate dinner with her parents and try to convince them that no, I’m not dating their daughter, and yes, we’re nothing but platonic friends who definitely aren’t hooking up.
“Yes. Thank you. But my team of agents is the heart of the company. All I do is give them assignments and their competence and skills handle the rest.”
Mr. Jones is intrigued by my answer, while Mrs. Jones is surprised. Raven frowns at me.
“Don’t sell yourself short. A company like that takes hard work and you deserve the credit.”
My heart warms at her defense, and I can only nod. Mrs. Jones watches our exchange, then clears her throat.
“It all sounds fascinating.”
I take a forkful of the spaghetti on my plate and nod. “It is. Your food is so delicious, Mrs. Jones. The last time I had spaghetti this good was in this fancy restaurant, but yours is so much better.”
“Thanks. It’s a family recipe.”
I know I’m laying it on too thick, but it’s the truth. Raven’s mother looks pleased at the compliment, her cheeks turning pink. She and Raven look so much alike except for her eyes, which she got from her dad.
Speaking of…
Mr. Jones leans forward.
“Where did you guys say you met again?”
I open my mouth, but Raven beats me to it. “He lives in Honey Lee’s town. I became friends with him, his sister, and her husband when I stayed there. Then I found out he was headed here for business, so we decided to just come here together. I get to be his tour guide, too.”
It’s the truth, only edited a bit, but it sounds so innocent that I almost laugh. Thankfully, her parents buy it, relaxing more in my presence and opening up about their life in the city. They’re pretty laid back, enjoying their retired life, so I talk about my parents, too, and how they’re spending their retirement traveling the world.
“That’s great. I bet your parents are having fun.”
“They are. They’re having the best time.”
Mr. Jones definitely likes the topic of traveling as he talks about his ventures abroad when he worked as an English teacher. We bond over it. I can hear Mrs. Jones and Raven getting into their topic, too, until she brings up something that has Raven going still.
“By the way, you haven’t mentioned Sam. How’s he doing?”
I’m still listening to Mr. Jones, but half of my attention is already on the other conversation. Raven twirls her pasta, trying to look casual.
“I don’t know how he’s doing, Mom. We broke up a while ago and haven’t kept in touch since.”
The lie’s casual, too, but I see her free hand trembling under the table. Subtly, I reach out and take it from her lap, then squeeze it. Mrs. Jones shakes her head.
“I know you broke up. But I was wondering if you guys remained friends.”
“We didn’t.”
“That’s a shame. He was a really sweet guy.”
Mr. Jones agrees. “Yeah, he was a nice guy. Got us those cool trinkets when he visited with Raven. Have you met him?”
I nod. “I did, actually.”
“Oh? Did you visit San Francisco, then?”
“No.” Raven’s voice is calm. “Sam visited Sweet Haven.”
Her hand trembles again, but it’s a lighter movement now.
They talk some more about how nice the guy is, which makes me want to punch him in the face more. Thankfully, they drop the subject after some time, but I don’t fail to notice how Raven is no longer in the mood. She wants to please her parents, though, so I do my best to help cover her mood until dinner is done.
I volunteer to do the dishes, but Mrs. Jones shoos me off, insisting that I’m a guest and guests shouldn’t do dishes. Instead, I’m shown the guest room, which happens to be adjacent to Raven’s room. When they excuse themselves to let me unpack, I cross straight toward her room to check in on her.
“Nice room.” For a second, I’m distracted by all the pink touches and posters of old boy bands. I grin. “Really nice room. Reminds me of Clara’s room when we were kids.”
She grins back. “Thanks. I was proud of my poster collection when I was a teenager.”
“You should be. My sister would have been jealous of your collection.” I study her. “You’re not going to tell them about what Sam did?”
As expected, her back goes up and she gets tense all over, but she knows my question isn’t coming from a judgmental place. Raven takes her time answering, willing herself to calm down first. Then she sighs.
“He was pleasant to them when we visited this place twice…really pleasant, and I know it wasn’t fake pleasantries, either. He genuinely liked them and they liked him back.”
“But the things he did to you…”
“I know. Trust me, I do, and it’s only logical to tell them. But my parents are old. They had me and my sister late in life, and I don’t want them to worry over the troubles that Sam caused me. My mother gets stressed easily, and I know it will hurt them when they find out what he did.”
“I see.”
And I do see, especially after witnessing the love that the two have for their daughter. It’ll break their hearts when they learn the truth, and she just loves her parents too much and wants to spare them that.
But it also strengthens my resolve to make sure that bastard never gets to be near her or her loved ones again.
As if reading my thoughts, Raven takes my hand this time and squeezes it. “Stop thinking about him. This time is for us.”
She’s right. “Yeah. Okay.”
“Besides, we haven’t gotten to the best part yet.”
“Oh?”
I glance at the bed hopefully, which has her dying with laughter.
“Not that, silly.”
“Then what’s the best part?”
Still laughing, Raven stands up and tugs my hand.
“Dad’s wine selection.”
* * *
The wine does its part in making me feel sleepy, but it’s Raven’s parents still awake late that postpones my mission to sneak into her room—something I haven’t done since I was a horny teenage boy, and I get a kick out of the idea of doing it now. I fall asleep while waiting for them to sleep, comfortable in the bed.
But the comfort takes a turn sometime later as visions appear, and suddenly, I find a body lying motionless on the ground. Blood seeps from her head, then her chest, coating the cement with a dark red color, and her dress…
“Anya!”
Horror and panic swirl together as I run toward her, my legs sluggish like I’m floating in water. When I reach her, her fingers twitch and my hope jumps. But when I roll her body over, that hope shatters as Anya’s face morphs into someone else and I find myself staring at Raven’s blank amber eyes instead.
I stumble back, my chest tightening and the agony intense. Gunshots sound in the distance, then beside me. Then a last, louder gunshot breaks me from the nightmare and I sit up in bed, gulping down air in a desperate attempt to distance myself from that scenario.
I’m used to dealing with horrible things from my assignments in the military when I was deployed a few times, but it’s crazy how this is one of the worst. My body shakes and ice coats my veins, but soon enough, my training kicks in as my mind slowly pushes everything away.
But when I’m calmer, I still don’t move, stuck in my thoughts.
“It’s just a nightmare. Not real.”
Except I haven’t had a nightmare in more than a year, not even about Anya and what happened to her.
And this one with Raven? It feels vivid. Like a warning about my growing feelings for her.
And don’t I always listen to those gut warnings?