The Unraveling of Raven (The Unraveled Trilogy Book 1)

by Theresa Sederholt

  He wipes away a tear, “You know if someone digs, they will find the police reports?”

  “If it comes up, I’ll deal with it, but for now, I just want to experience normal.” Who am I kidding? I don’t think normal is in my dictionary.

  “Raven, have you told him about the adoption yet?” He changes the subject slightly. I glance at Marco and I can tell something is bugging him, but I’m guessing he’s not ready to share.

  “No, maybe in time, but for now, I want to keep it simple,” I reply. He shakes his head. He’s obviously disappointed in my answer, but he doesn’t keep pushing. I start to ask what’s bothering him but class starts, so I drop it.

  CLASS WAS BRUTAL BUT good. It was just what I needed to give my mind a break for a few hours.

  “Want to grab a pizza? Or do you have plans with Jax?” Marco sounds like he is almost pleading.

  “Pizza sounds great. I’ll meet you out front.”

  When I step outside, Marco is yelling at someone. It looks like he is getting ready to slam him to the ground, but I distract him. “What the hell is going on?” The guy rushes off but not before getting a picture of me.

  “Baby girl, that guy was a reporter and he is looking for a story about the girl that Jaxson Phillips is ‘nailing.’”

  What the fuck? “You’re kidding, right?”

  He’s shaking his head as we start making our way down the street, “Afraid not, dear, the hounds have been released and they are circling for blood.”

  On the way, we stop and pick up a bottle of red wine and Ray's pizza—my kind of comfort food. We are a block away from home when Jax’s phone rings. “Hello? I can’t believe you have me carrying a second phone, why?”

  He laughs, “Why not, sweetheart? I like knowing it’s just for me. I don’t share, Raven. Ever.”

  I need to tell him what happened and I don’t think he is going to be happy. “Jax, listen, a reporter was waiting outside the gym for me tonight, asking questions. Marco handled it, but the guy took my picture.” Oh no, he’s really quiet.

  “I’m so sorry, they must have figured out who you were from Saturday night. Is Marco with you now?”

  I sigh, “Yes, we’re walking home now.”

  “Walking? You’re walking home?” he yells, “Put Marco on the phone now!”

  Wow, he sounds pissed. “Marco, Jax wants to talk to you.” I hand him my spare phone and Marco cocks his head, giving me a curious look when he takes the phone.

  “Hey, Jax, what’s up?” Marco holds the phone away from his ear.

  “Marco, what exactly did the reporter say?” Jax asks loud enough for me to hear. Marco tells him what the reporter said. “Okay, I’ll handle the press, but why are you walking home instead of taking a cab?”

  Marco looks at me for help but I put my hands up and just keep walking. “Jax, we do this every week and Raven is safe with me. Can I say the same thing about you?”

  Why does Marco have to poke a burning fire? “Don’t be an arse, Marco. I would never, knowingly put her in danger.”

  I can tell neither one is happy. “Hold on, Jax, I’ll give you back to Raven.” Marco hands me the phone back.

  “When can I see you?” Just like that, he is done with that part of the conversation and moving on to the next.

  “Saturday, if that works for you.” He doesn’t say anything and I look at the phone thinking maybe the call dropped, but then I hear him take a deep breath.

  “I’m not waiting a whole week. How about Wednesday?”

  Before I can even give him an answer he declares, “Wednesday. Dinner. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  I squeak out, “Okay.” And with that, he hangs up! Truth is, I didn’t want to wait till the weekend but I didn’t want to seem like I was needy and desperate. I don’t know who I think I’m kidding, when it comes to Jax—I am needy and desperate.

  “So, I take it you’re seeing him again? Even though you’re going to be in the spotlight.”

  I want to see him; he is working his way under my skin. “I’ll have to tell him the rest of the story. I feel like I don’t have a choice, and it has to be sooner rather than later. Do you have a problem with Jax? You seem upset tonight.”

  He shakes his head. “I just worry about you, baby girl, that’s all.” By the time we reach home, both of us are lost in our own thoughts; our appetites are gone and we just head off to bed.

  I TRY TO SLEEP, but I keep seeing those beautiful eyes and then they are being pulled away from me. I end up tossing and turning all night, finally giving up now, at 3:30 a.m., I start grading papers, instead. Morning comes, and I’m dragging ass. I head to my favorite Starbucks and Jax is sitting in the corner, smiling at me with his twinkling baby blues and I’m done. Good thing they already know my order, because the man renders me speechless. He gets up and pulls my chair out for me. “Good morning, sweetheart.”

  I wave to Max. I’m getting used to having him always around. “Morning, Jax, can I expect to see you here every morning?”

  He smirks. “Well, I am typically at this exact spot every morning but I usually come here a little later. Now that I know you come here every day, around this time, to answer to your question, yes.”

  I have to laugh at him. “Well, I would love to sit with you all day but I have to get to work. Have a great day.”

  I get up to leave and he walks me to the door, he pulls me into his arms and he brushes his lips over mine. “I will, now that I have seen you.” He gives me a toe-curling kiss before sending me off to work. God, he is so sweet and beautiful. My stomach knots, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but hoping it doesn’t.

  I see Mick on my way to school and give him his breakfast. “Raven, can I walk with you for a little bit?”

  I can tell something is bothering him. “Of course, Mick, everything okay?”

  He’s apprehensive. “Your friend, Jax, brings me breakfast when you can’t. He asked me about you.”

  I have to laugh, “Did he? He’s a good guy, Mick. How are the nightmares, any better?”

  He shrugs, “Some days are better than others, what about you?”

  I squeeze his hand. “Some days better than others for me too, Mick.”

  The bell rings and I hug Mick before running into school. I get settled in my room when Jackie comes in, looking a little flustered. “Hey, girl, is there a problem?” Her eyes are wide which is unusual; not much rattles Jackie.

  “I’m not sure. I had playground detail this morning and I just felt like I was being watched. I know it’s crazy, given the quality of security we have here, but I just felt like something was off.”

  Wow, not what I was expecting. “Did you let the front office know?”

  She shakes her head. “Do you think I should? I mean, nothing happened, it was just a feeling.”

  I give her a reassuring hug. “I would just give them a heads up.” The bell rings and starts off our day.

  “Okay, but the kids are all coming in now. I’ll talk to them at lunch time.”

  I JUST GET SETTLED in my office, when Duke rings to tell me that Michael Sr. is on his way.

  Michael Sr. comes barrling into the door, “Hey, Jax, thanks for covering for me at school last week.”

  “I was more than happy to, mate.” I grin.

  “Oh, don’t tell me you met Miss Raven?”

  I laugh, “Yep, and we have been seeing each other outside of school. I took her to the charity event Saturday night.”

  He smiles, shaking his head at me. Suddenly, he lets out a big sigh and gets a somber look on his face, “Well, we have bigger problems. There is a reason I was not here, Jax, I only told Bella I was stuck in Atlanta.”

  “What the fuck is going on, Michael?” I already don’t like the sound of this and I don’t even know what this is.

  He’s heads over to the bar and grabs a bottle of water. “A threat came through.”

  All right, not a big shock, that’s for sure. “We get them all the time, what makes
this one different?”

  He takes a steadying breath. “They sent this.” He gives me photos and they are of Junior and Bella at school. The next one is my mum and Junior at school.

  “They came with a note. I gave a copy to the FBI and Interpol.”

  I’m trying to keep it together. “What did the note say?”

  “We can get to them at any time.”

  What the Fuck?! “Did you notify the school?”

  He starts pacing. “Yeah, and I put an extra guard at the school.”

  The school already has good security, Max made sure of that. “What did the FBI and Interpol say?” Not that I expect them to do anything.

  “They are looking into it, but I’m not holding my breath. Usually, when something like this happens, they don’t do anything until something actually happens.”

  I’m just staring at the photos. “Did you tell Bella and Mum?”

  He looks at me like I should know the answer. “No, I was waiting to tell you first, it’s just… something is off.”

  I take a deep breath. “What do you mean by ‘off’?”

  “Well, you’re the high profile guy, not me!” he yells. “I’m a winemaker who runs a successful winery in Italy. I have no enemies, so why target my son and my wife?”

  I pick up the phone and call Max. He needs to be informed about what is going on since he handles security for my whole family. I barely get off the phone with, Max, before he’s running through the door. After turning everything over to Max, I remember something Raven mentioned. Max and Michael are studying the note and the pictures.

  “You know, guys, Saturday night I took Raven to the charity function at Chelsea Pier and there were a lot of paparazzi. Then the other night, Raven said one of them showed up at the gym but her roommate, Marco, handled it. I’m just wondering if any of this could be connected.”

  Michael huffs, “You draw attention no matter where you go, so I would think anyone with you would get some attention, as well.”

  Max starts his usual pacing. “I would still like to talk to Raven and Marco, just to be on the safe side.”

  I pick up the phone to call the school. “Okay, I will give her a heads up that you’re coming.”

  Max takes a deep breath and I know what’s coming. “I also want to pull a background report on Raven and Marco, just as a precaution. I know you told me to wait but I think your waiting time is up.”

  “All right, Max, I know you’re going to do what you have to do. Keep me posted.”

  J

  ACKIE COMES BACK AFTER lunch recess with a message from the front office for me. “Did you tell them about this morning?” I ask.

  She seems calmer. “Yes. They said that Michael's father ordered some private security, and that’s probably what was going on. What’s the message about?”

  I open it, “Apparently, Jax’s security detail has some questions for me and he just wanted to give me a heads up. I need to let Marco know, too. I went on a date with him to a charity function Saturday night. The press had a field day with it. One of them followed Marco and me to the gym last night.”

  I know she understands about this kind of high profile stuff—she grew up with it. “Wow, that sucks. I know what it’s like living in a fish bowl.”

  I fold the note up and give her my attention again. “I know, I can’t begin to understand what that must feel like. Always having to watch everything I say and do, especially since my brain to mouth filter is on the fritz half the time!”

  THE DAY IS FINALLY over and I find Max waiting outside for me. “Miss Raven, I will give you a ride home and we can talk along the way, if that’s okay with you?”

  I smile at him, “Sure, Max, but you can just call me Raven.” I inform him as he opens the car door for me to get in.

  He laughs at me. “I’m a gentleman and old habits die hard, Miss Raven.” He closes the door after me and within a minute, he’s made his way around to get into the driver’s seat. “The man that approached you outside the gym, what did he look like?” he begins his inquisition as we pull away from the curb.

  I have to think, it all happened so fast. “He was average, everything about him was average: height, weight, and looks. ”

  “Okay, how old do you think he was?”

  I close my eyes to try and picture the guy, “He was maybe in his thirties.”

  As I glance at Max in the rear-view mirror, I can see such intensity in his eyes. He’s focusing on every detail. “What exactly did he say to you?”

  I see real concern on his face and I wonder what this is really about. “He didn’t, he was having words with Marco when I stepped outside the gym. He saw me, snapped my picture, and then left without another word.”

  Before I know it we arrive at my apartment, and head upstairs. We find Marco isn’t home yet. “Marco should be home soon, if you want to wait for him.”

  Max just nods. “You have a nice home.”

  I look around and smile. “Thank you. Would you like a cup of tea?”

  He busies himself, looking at all my window and door locks, seemingly inspecting the security quality. “Sure,” he replies.

  I fix tea and then start to pull out my work. “Would you mind if I grade papers while you wait? A teacher's work is never really done.”

  He laughs, “That’s no problem, Miss Raven. Would you like some help grading them?”

  I will take help anytime when it comes to grading papers. “That would be great.”

  As we sit there, I study Max; I find him very interesting. He has a very heavy, British accent, where Jax’s accent is only heavy when he’s drinking or having sex. Max is shorter of the two, he keeps his hair short, and he always seems to have a five o’clock shadow with hints of grey in it.

  “How long have you worked for Jax?”

  He is very focused on the papers but glances up at me. “I’ve been employed by Jax for eight years.”

  I know Jax is thirty-three. “How old are you?” He gives me his attention again and I realize he has very light, pale-blue eyes.

  He laughs, “Probably older than you think.” And with that, the conversation was over.

  After about an hour, all the papers are done and Marco comes strolling in. “Oh, hey, baby girl, didn’t know you had company.”

  “Marco, this is Max, he does security for Jax and he has some questions for you about the reporter the other night.” I inform him after introducing.

  As they shake hands, I can see each one, eyeing the other up, not saying anything.

  “Hi, Marco, I need to know what he said to you?”

  Marco takes a deep breath. “He asked if I knew Raven and I asked what it was to him, he said ‘I can get to them at any time.’ Then Raven stepped out, he snapped her picture, and ran away.”

  Max is pacing, he seems to do that a lot. “Did you notice if he had any identifying marks, such as: tattoos, scars, or maybe an accent?”

  Marco shakes his head. “No, nothing. He was just creepy… should we be worried?”

  “Jax takes security very seriously, I’m sure he will talk to Miss Raven about this later,” he replies, walking back over to us. He shakes Marco’s hand, turns, and wishes us a good evening before heading out the door.

  Marco greets me with a giant smile. “Well, that was interesting to come home to, and . . . what a hunk of a security guy.”

  I roll my eyes, “I swear you have sex on the brain all the frigging time!”

  He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Hey, the guy is very built, very good-looking… kind of Daniel Craig like, and he has a frigging accent! Of course I have sex on the brain!”

  Marco is right, Max could very easily pass for Daniel Craig, maybe it’s the whole security and James Bond thing. “Marco, all I did was go on a date. Now I’m being hounded by the press and have extra security at my school!”

  “So Jax put extra security at the school?” He glances up from flipping through the mail on the table.

  I gather up all my papers,
“Yeah, just a couple of dates and now this!”

  “Yeah, dates, with the most eligible bachelor in the world, who is also on Forbes billionaire list for the 4th year in a row, I might add. You don’t get like that and not make some enemies along the way, you know.”

  I glance at my watch, “Marco, if we leave now, we can still make it to our kickboxing class.”

  “Okay, but then we are going for drinks,” he demands. I nod in agreement and we grab our gear, then head out.

  CLASS WAS BRUTAL TONIGHT but I really needed to get out some frustration and the bag is the best place for that. After we shower and change at the gym, we find a little Cuban bar that has wonderful tapas and are seated in a nice quiet booth, toward the back.

  “So how do you feel about Jax?” Marco asks.

  I have to laugh. “Well, just start off with a bang, why don’t you? I really like him, Marco, a lot, but I feel like I’m out of my league with him. He’s just so much, that’s really the only way I can explain him and it scares me. I know I’m going to get hurt, I’m going to fall hard—oh fuck, who am I kidding? I’ve already fallen hard and I don’t want it to end.”

  He rubs my hand. “Baby girl, you need to trust yourself; you’re a good person who has a lot to offer someone, so don’t sell yourself short.”

  “You have to say that because you’re my best friend.”

  He hugs me. “No, I’m saying that because it’s the truth.”

  I study his face and I know what he’s going to say, but I have to ask.

  “You think I should tell him about the adoption . . . why?”

  He takes a sip of his wine and waits before he answers my question. Almost like he is I processing his thoughts. “Raven, he needs to know. And if he is a keeper, you’ll know . . . when he doesn’t run.”

  “Maybe I’m the one who needs to be running, with all the threats and the spotlight.”

  He shakes his head. “No, baby girl, maybe it's finally time you stop running.” We head back to the apartment in silence. I don’t know, maybe I can be the more that Jax is looking for. We get upstairs and I head into my room to get ready for bed. As I brush my teeth I glance at my tiny shower. I would love to be in that shower in Jax’s Ivory Tower. That shower was kick ass and so was the man I was in it with. I’m exhausted and head straight to bed.