Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I groan. “Of course it is.”
“In the meantime, let’s get you home. Your place is secure.”
“Are you sure?”
He nods. “You’ve got the best system in place, but when we get back, I’ll call your brother and Phoenix. See if they want you to go somewhere else for the time being.”
I bite my lip. “Where else would I go?”
“There is a place. We’ll see if they think you should go there.”
A place? What is he talking about?
I close my eyes and rub at my forehead. “I can’t just disappear, Jared. I’m starting a nonprofit. I’ve got a gala to go to in a couple of weeks. I just can’t…” I clench my hands into fists. “Damn it! Damn all of them! How dare they? I won’t let this happen to me. I need to live my life. I can’t let them force me into hiding.”
“I understand. I really do. We don’t know yet who we’re dealing with. It could be related to Gallo and his family.”
“Why would it be? He and I aren’t together.” I choke back a sob.
Jared opens the car door for me and I slip inside. He moves into the driver seat and starts the engine. It’s a long drive home to Summer Creek.
I was so excited about the meeting with Emily. About getting a board together, about the new anonymous donation, about the gala.
Then one stupid text.
And my mood is shifted.
This kind of mood I never wanted to be in again.
So damn it, I won’t be.
I have to face it all.
Jared gets on the phone quickly as he drives. He’s talking to Leif. And after a while, it sounds like they’ve got Falcon on the line as well. All I hear is Jared’s yeses and nos. I could tell him to put it on speaker, but frankly I don’t want to deal with that.
I’ll let them make the decisions. They know more about security than I do.
But they’re not going to hole me up in some hideaway. They can’t. I won’t allow it.
The conversation seems to drone on forever. Again I try to read the book on my iPad. It doesn’t work.
It’s near seven p.m. by the time we get back to my house. Jared is probably starving. Normally I would be too.
“Don’t you want to eat?” Jared asks once we’re back in the house.
“I’m not hungry.”
He narrows his eyes. “You have to eat, Raven. You’re still—”
“Recovering.” I cross my arms. “Yes, don’t I know it. I kicked cancer’s ass, and now someone wants to kick mine in return. What the hell do they think they’re doing?”
Even the raven can’t fly forever. Sooner or later, it comes home to die.
Then I gasp.
I’m home.
This is my home.
Maybe I should leave.
But no. I clench my fists again. They are not going to kick me out of my home. I don’t even know who “they” are.
“So are you going to tell me?” I ask Jared.
“About what?”
“Your talk with Leif. And my brother. It sounded like you got him on the line.”
“Yes, we did. Falcon wants you at the safe house.”
“A safe house?” I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not going.”
“Raven…”
“Look, I have a state-of-the-art system here, as you know. I have you here. I also have a trust fund, so if you want, hire five of your biggest, toughest friends. All armed. You can stay in my fucking living room.” I plunk myself down on the living room couch. “But I will not leave my home. I won’t stop working on the nonprofit.”
“You can still work on the nonprofit from the safe house.”
“Not hands-on. I can’t meet with people, and I can’t—”
“Listen,” he says, interrupting me. “My job is to keep you safe. And until we know who sent this text and what exactly it means, you’ll be the safest locked away in a location that no one knows about.”
I cock my head. “What are you even talking about?”
“I’ll let your brother explain.”
“Fine. I’ll give him a call.”
“You don’t have to. He should be here any minute now.”
I sigh.
Just then, the doorbell rings.
I start to walk toward it but Jared gestures me to stop. “You don’t answer the door anymore, Raven.”
I look back at him, raising an eyebrow. “It’s my brother.”
“Yes, it is.” He quickly walks ahead of me, holding a hand to keep me in place. “But you need to get used to not answering the door. I’m here, and I’ll answer it.”
He walks to the door, opens it, and my brother walks in.
Falcon’s dark hair is mussed as usual, and he’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt.
I run into his arms. “Falcon, what’s going on?”
He strokes my peach-fuzz head. “We’re trying to figure it out, Ray.”
I look up at him, wiping a tear from my cheek. “It can’t have anything to do with Vinnie. He’s gone.”
“He is, but it’s no secret how he feels about you or how you feel about him.”