The Debt 7 (Club Alpha) by Kelly Favor Read Free Book Online Page B

wait for him to be inside
her, to climb on top of her and take her completely.
    But just as the inevitable seemed to be
about to happen, Jake’s cell phone began ringing incessantly.   He tried to ignore it, but it kept on
ringing.
    “Shit,” he muttered, breaking away from
her and answering his cell.
    Raven was left breathless and dazed,
standing in the bedroom and waiting to see what was going on.
    “Yeah?” Jake said into the phone, his
back to her, one hand resting impatiently on his
hip.   “Right, well I’m in Florida… .no …no…I don’t plan to be back anytime soon.”
    There was a long pause and Jake’s head
was bowed as if in focused concentration, listening intently.
    “I heard you,” he said, emotionless.   “Yes.   Yes, I understand how serious this is.”
    Raven’s heart was beating faster now, and
it had nothing to do with Jake’s hands touching her body, or what he might do
to her on the bed or the floor.   Now
her heart was beating fast out of fear and anxiety.
    “I appreciate you letting me know,” he
said.   “But I’m not returning to New
York right now to deal with this.   It can wait.   It’ll just have
to wait, that’s all.”
    Jake hung up the phone and stayed still,
not turning toward her again.   His
head was still bowed.
    “Is everything okay?” Raven asked, knowing
it wasn’t.
    “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
    “Do you—“
    Jake cut her off.   “I don’t want to get into it,” he said,
his voice cold and harsh.
    “Oh, okay,” she said softly, trying not
to feel hurt from the tone of his voice.
    He put his phone away and then stared out
the window, taking a deep breath.   “Beautiful day,” he said, but she could tell he no longer meant it.
    “Yeah, it is.”
    “Come on,” Jake told her, exiting the
bedroom as if their closeness from a few moments ago had never even
happened.   “I called some of my
people and had them get everything we would need for our vacation,” he told her
as they walked.
    They went back downstairs and Jake
brought her to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator, which was stocked with plenty
of food and drink, and grabbed a couple of pre-made gourmet sandwiches, and a
couple of beers.  
    Raven was hungry, so she didn’t mind
sitting at the island in the kitchen and eating with Jake, sipping her beer and
enjoying the warm Florida air as it blew in through the back doors.
    But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling
that whoever had called Jake just then had irrevocably changed his mood and
maybe even this entire trip—and not for the better.
    Jake smiled and made small talk about the
town, the beach, some of the kooky neighbors that they might run into, but none
of it felt real or even sincere.
    The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

 
    ***

 
    Raven woke up in an incredibly happy
mood.   Jake was still sound asleep,
but when she looked out the window and saw the beach in the near distance, and
the blue sky, palm trees…how could she not feel ecstatic?
    Looking at Jake again as he slept, she
noticed that his brow was slightly furrowed, as if even in sleep, he wasn’t at
peace.  
    That made her think back to the strange
phone call that Jake had tried to pretend didn’t happen, refusing to discuss it
even as his entire mood changed.   The rest of the day and into the night, he’d been somewhat withdrawn,
turning on the television and watching sports while nursing a beer, as Raven
had sat next to him and tried to stay upbeat.
    There had been no sex or touching then,
either.
    They’d fallen asleep with a huge gap
between them in the bed, and Raven had been too embarrassed to try and get
close to him.   She didn’t want to be rejected, it would have been too painful.
    Now, her mood threatened to sink, but she
refused.   Getting out of bed, she
stretched, smiling.
    I’m
in a mansion in Florida, and it’s amazing, I’m with the man that I love.   I refuse to be sad right now.
    Raven changed into her red bikini