by A. R. Ford
My thoughts, as always, meander back to the past. At one time I thought I had it all. My father loved and supported me. My boyfriend at the time was all I had hoped for. Then the unspeakable happened.
I asked my father to re-assign Jax with the excuse that I couldn’t be near him. I block further exploration of the events of that night. It does no good to linger there now.
The story I told my father about Jax was partially true. From the time I was fifteen, I knew I loved Jax. He was dark, tanned, and mercurial. His body rippled with powerful muscles. He had no qualms about using the automatic pistol carried in a shoulder holster. And he put me on ice each and every time I flirted or tried to seduce him. My heart knew what it wanted, however, and refused to move on.
I was young and stupid back then. Those terms no longer define the woman I am today. Jax was an ugly, distant memory.
Although I swore to put Jax out of my mind, his memories remained with me. Sometimes late at night when I can not sleep, I imagine him in all sorts of erotic, twisted ways. Rough. Animalistic. Each and every time that dirty fantasy ran through my head, my fingers danced on my clit until my body exploded in a brutal climax. I would fall asleep afterwards. Those were the only times the dreams did not torment me.
My father later ended up in prison on a variety of state and federal charges. He died of a heart attack after serving only one year in federal prison. His fortune became mine. I wanted nothing to do with the dirty side of his business. A cohort was more than willing to take it off my hands for an exorbitant amount of money.
After the exterior wounds healed, I began working on the interior wounds. More than one counselor or psychiatrist told me the damage was permanent. My thought process and behavior mimicked my father’s behavior in so many ways. I was loyal to the few people in my life that knew me. That included a grand total of five people—an attorney, my banker, my driver, a cook, and a housekeeper.
I adopted Ravyn as my chosen name. Elise was the name I used before life made me cold and emotionless. Elise Soranno no longer existed. Now I was only Ravyn. Soranno remained, although few people knew my surname. I existed on the fringes of society, avoiding daylight in the same way vampires would.
Darkness became me. I was utterly ruined inside and out. I would never trust a man again.
Chapter 2
Alec
“THESE SHOULD FIT,” the server named Travis said while holding a pair of jogging pants in the air. No matter how hard he tried, I could still see the grin on his face trying to come to life.
“Thanks.” I snapped. “Would you mind giving me a minute so I can change?”
“No, not at all.” Travis tossed the pants in my direction before he left and shut the door.
The two dots on my neck still burned like fire. No one had ever tased me. Ever. I didn’t know who this Ravyn person thought she was, but I wanted to find out. And I intended on exacting an apology. That could wait for now. I stripped out of the embarrassingly wet boxers and slacks. The jogging pants fit even if they were a bit baggy.
Travis stood in the hallway with a plastic bag clutched in one hand. “You might want to put those in here,” he reminded me. “Just a word to the wise, leave Ravyn alone. She’s mine.”
A dry laugh preceded my words. “Is that why she told me she’s rejected you on several occasions?”
Travis indicated a side door leading into a locker room. “You can go out here. That way no one will see you in those jogging pants. I work Tuesday through Saturday, always six to close. I’d like my pants back, if you don’t mind. And by the way, Ravyn shuts down every guy that comes on to her. Trust me, I’ve seen a lot.”
I offered Travis my hand. “Thanks for the help, Travis. I think Ravyn shut us both down. You and I should get together for a lonely heart’s club sometime.”
Travis opened the side door with a laugh. “Nah, it’s good. Ravyn tips great and she’s a dependable customer. We should both look elsewhere.”
I waved a final goodbye before darting into the alley. I scanned the parking lot to make sure no one would see my walk of shame. It was deserted. I drove home only to find my roommate Jax Mitchell, sprawled on the sofa watching a movie.
“It looks like you and I both struck out, Jax. I got tazed, you’re home early. Neither are good signs.” I flopped into a chair near Jax’s head.
He snickered and rolled his eyes. “I had the misfortune of finding a Valley girl. I thought that went out back in the eighties. She wanted to get high more than she wanted to have any fun. I left her smoking a joint in the backseat of her car.”
“My adventure was quite a bit more painful than yours,” I assured him. “Some hot chick named Ravyn wasn’t happy when I put my hands on her. She tazed me. I pissed my pants and passed out.”
Jax sat up, his head rotating in my direction. I swore I could hear the bones in his neck crack. Black eyes focused on me intently. A chill ran up my spine. Jax never looked this intense for any reason. “What did you say her name was?”
“Ravyn. But don’t bother, she’ll shut you down or tase you. I don’t know about you, buddy, but electric play is out of my league.”
“I want you to tell me everything about this woman. Don’t leave out anything.” Jax reached for his phone, opened up a note app, and looked at me. “Start now, Alec.”
I proceeded to tell him everything I could remember about Ravyn. She dressed in black, sat in a corner booth, drank vodka with a champagne chaser. Jax took notes of everything I said. “She wore this crazy pillbox hat. It was black and had a black veil that came down over the left side of her face. She has the most amazing tits, Jax.”
Jax growled like an animal before he caught the lapels of my jacket. He lifted me to a standing position, face inches from mine. A vein bulged in the center of his forehead. “Don’t EVER say that about her again. You stay away from her. Off limits. You understand?”
“Yeah, whatever you say, Jax. Come on, man, she’s just some chick in a club. How special can she be?” My words came out in a rush. Jax never acted this way over a woman. Something told me this one was special. Jax didn’t have anyone special in his life. Women were there for two things: sex and blowjobs.
His fists relaxed. He grinned, one hand patting my chest. This was the old Jax I knew. “Call me if you see her at the club again. I’m going to bed.”
Mister Mercurial flipped a switch inside his head. He was back to the Jax I knew and loved.
Chapter 3
Jax
THANKFULLY, THE RAGE that rose to a feverish pitch when Alec said Ravyn had amazing tits died down without bloodshed. I wanted to put my fist through his face.
No one deserved what happened to her. It was my fault. I deserted her when she needed me most. Regardless of the tactics I tried, Leo Soranno shut me down. He transferred me to another position the day after Ravyn was raped and mutilated. There was never a chance for me to make things right.
Maybe a shower would help. Cold water almost always cooled me off. Tonight the icy needles of water stinging my skin had no effect. I was sexually frustrated after the dead-end date with the Valley girl. The larger-than-life erection I sported in the shower had nothing to do with my date. It had everything to do with Ravyn Elise Soranno.
After the first stroke, I shut things down, squeezing the base of my cock hard. I wanted Ravyn, had always wanted her. She was so young and innocent then. All dark hair, pale skin, and long legs that drove me to the brink of insanity frequently. She flirted and attempted to seduce me on more than one occasion. I shut her down, knowing what awaited me if I hurt Leo Soranno’s daughter.
At least I smelled more like me and less like a marijuana growing operation by the time I stepped out of the shower. Maybe one of my old contacts could help me. It was late but I took a chance that Nick would be awake. Out of all the people I knew, he still kept his nose to the ground. Working with Knight Security gave him access to high-tech tools the feds would envy.
Nick answered on the thir
d ring. A child’s wails echoed in the background. “Hello, Jax. You’re lucky I’m awake.”
“Is that a kid I hear?”
“My little namesake, Nick Junior. He refuses to settle down tonight for some reason. Leah thinks he has an ear infection so it’s off to the pediatrician tomorrow,” Nick replied.
Nick married and a father? Things had changed since the last time we crossed paths. “Did I hear married and a kid, Nick? I thought you swore off women after the divorce.”
“I hadn’t met Leah then. She’s the love of my life, Jax.” A woman’s voice in the background came moments before the child’s wailing faded. His voice directed at someone else, Nick said, “Thanks, Leah. I’ll take over in a few.”
“Nick is practically domesticated now.” The sarcasm was thick. It brought a chuckle from my old friend.
“So what makes you decide to call me up this late on a Saturday night, Jax? Shouldn’t you be at the club or out with some model wannabe?”
“I want you to make some inquiries for me, Nick. It would mean a lot to me. I’ll pay your going rate. You remember Soranno’s daughter, Elise. I need to know where she is now, what she’s up to.”
A moment of silence came from Nick’s end of the phone. “You know, I almost forgot about her. She was never involved in any of his dirty dealings. He made sure of it. We just started investigating the attack that occurred when anyone involved started showing up dead. After that she disappeared like a ghost.” Nick paused. I heard a door close in the background. “She was what, seventeen, when that happened?”
Tears stung the backs of my eyelids at Nick’s reminder. I struggled for a moment to get my emotions under check. “Yeah, she was seventeen. If those guys hadn’t started disappearing, I would have killed them myself.”
“You had feelings for her. I’m sorry, Jax. She would be, what, twenty-three or so now?”
“Yeah, she’s twenty-three,” I confirmed while ignoring Nick’s foray into my feelings for Elise. “Look, Nick, I don’t want to keep you. Just get me everything you can on her. I’ll let you go.” A stab of one finger ended the call. My gut churned with the reminders that came rushing back.
I would find Ravyn Elise Soranno and make things right between us. Then and only then could I tell her how I really felt about her.
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