The Unraveling of Raven (The Unraveled Trilogy Book 1)

by Theresa Sederholt

  “Okay?”

  “Jax, you have your standard detail that you usually have, however, I am giving you a bracelet to wear too. I have increased the coverage on all the family. Everyone is currently wearing a bracelet. I also put the same protection in place for Jackie and Mrs. Osla.”

  Raven looks at me, “Jax, who’s Mrs. Osla?”

  “She is my new assistant and Max is afraid of her.”

  Raven looks between the two of us. “Really, I thought you were only afraid of Jax’s mom?”

  I’m trying so hard not to laugh at Max right now. “Miss Raven, you will see for yourself, but heed my warning, she is scary. Okay, Miss Raven, let me introduce you to your new detail.”

  I TAKE TO BO right away. He is such a sweet boy. “Max, what type of dog is he?”

  He loves getting his ears scratched.

  “He is a mix breed, part German Shepherd and part American Pit Bull. He is strong, loyal, and has the best of both breeds.”

  “Was he breed for security work?”

  “No. Bo is a rescue dog. When I was a young lad, my grams told me that the measure of a real man was what he gave of himself, unconditionally. Grams insisted that I volunteer my services to wherever I felt needed. I spent most of my youth at a rescue shelter. It was at the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home that I learned about the loyalty of a rescue dog. I can see that you and Bo will get along fine. Daniel will walk you through the different commands for Bo while I go over some stuff with Jax.”

  While Raven is working with Bo, Max and I go into my home office. “Jax, what did your letter say?”

  “Nothing that you don’t already know. He asked me to manage the money, of course, and the standard warning about Vincent. What did your letter say?”

  “Just more of the same.” Max leans back against my desk.

  “I understand the concern about Vincent, but are you being extreme about the security?” I squint, rubbing the back of my neck.

  “No, the man is sick and twisted. He repeatedly raped Gabriella, and when he was done he would look up to the heavens and say, ‘that’s for you, Antonio.’ That is not someone to take lightly.” He begins pacing again.

  To think my girl was alone with this fucker for three months! “Any news on where he might be?”

  “I have a lead. I’m leaving in an hour to head down to New Orleans to follow it up.”

  “What was in the letter from Marco?”

  He stops pacing. “Just the ramblings of a tormented person. I think he was sorry for what he was doing, but the gambling and Erica just twisted him. You need to encourage Raven to go for therapy. Have you talked about her place and the baby?”

  I stroke my chin before I go into a full frustrated, face rub.. “Max, I can’t overload her. We already had a come to Jesus about her going back home. I venture to say, that every step will be a challenging one, when it comes to Raven.”

  “Did you tell her that you now own the entire building?” He raises both eyebrows.

  I growl, “I can’t hide anything from you. I did, and let’s just say, she wasn’t happy.”

  “You know you can’t keep her from there forever.” Suddenly, he gets a suspicious look on his face. “Jax, what the fuck did you do, mate?”

  I can’t hide anything, fuck! “I’m having the entire building tented for termites.”

  “You’re dead serious, aren’t you?” His mouth opens only to throw his head back and laugh hysterically. “Jax, you really are a crazy fucker. Does she know?” He finally calms down.

  “Of course not. You know she’ll hit the roof when she finds out.”

  “Will you ever learn? What about all the other tenets living in the building?”

  I take a deep breath, “I put them all up at the W.”

  He shakes his head. “Before I leave, I need to see that letter.”

  Max reads the letter and then puts it back in the envelope, a stolid expression on his face.

  “Max, anything I need to know?”

  He nods, “There is a key in here for a safety deposit box.”

  I throw the letter on the desk. “Fuck, will this ever end?”

  Max exhales loudly through pursed lips, “Not until Vincent is taken care of. I need to get to the airport. I will call you later to let you know what I found out. Monday morning, we go to the bank” Just like that, he’s gone.

  When I get back into the living room, I see Raven has made coffee for her detail. She needs to stop thinking of them as company and pretend they are not even in the room. They at least look embarrassed that she is serving them coffee. Bo leaps up and starts growling at me when I step closer to Raven. Daniel turns to Raven, “Miss Raven, you need to introduce him to Mr. Phillips. Teach him that he is not a threat to you.”

  She issues a command “Bo. Down. This is Jax.” I don’t know what else she’s telling him, all I know is, both my hands are covering my crotch, protecting the Crown Jewels. He calms down, and then, Raven tells me all about the dog and the different hands signals she can give him in case she is unable to talk.

  “Let’s go inside and talk, please. We have a lot to go over.” I lead her into the bedroom for some privacy. “I know you never had detail before, but you need to pretend they aren’t even in the room.”

  Her violet eyes show a hint of sadness. “Why?”

  I kiss her hand. “That’s what will help them do their job effectively, by blending in without being noticed.” I explain. “I promised you I would tell you everything as I find out about it. Well, Max just left for New Orleans to follow a lead. If you want to go to your place to pick up stuff, I will concede to that, but I will not let you out of my sight, until Vincent is caught.”

  I brace myself for the fight of my life. I’ve learned she can be like a pit bull, but so can I.

  “Are you telling me that I am living here, or I’m just staying here temporarily?”

  I need to dial up the charm here. “I want us together for the rest of our lives. Is that such a bad thing?” I bring her hands up to my chest. Tears fill her eyes. Okay, fuck me, what did I do wrong now?

  “Jax.” She jumps up and runs into the bathroom crying. For Christ’s sake. I decide to call Bella.

  “Hey, sis, you busy?”

  She takes a deep breath, “Jax, oh my God, I have so many questions, and I need to see you.”

  Maybe she can make some sense of what I’m doing wrong with Raven. “Can Raven and I come over?”

  “Why are you asking? You never ask.” She’s talking fast, her voice almost a shrill.

  I sigh, “It’s Raven. I can’t seem to do anything right. I keep reducing her to tears.”

  She laughs, “Jax, she’s pregnant. And the hormones will do it, plus all the additional stress. It’s a wonder she can even put two words together.”

  See, I knew she would understand. “Okay, we will be over in a little bit. How’s Junior doing?”

  “He’s quiet, and I’m worried. Maybe seeing Raven will help. Max came by with bracelets and more guards for all of us. Jax, none of us are fighting this. We won’t give you a hard time, not even Mrs. Osla!”

  I can’t help but laugh, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of her, too?”

  She laughs, “Shit, yeah, aren’t you?”

  I don’t get why Bella and Max are so afraid of her? “No, she’s like Mum on steroids.”

  “She’s scary. Even Vito cowers when she’s around.”

  “Well, part of Raven’s detail is a dog, and let me tell you, he will scare you.”

  Bella laughs, “I’ll cook something. Come around six. Love you, bro.”

  God, I love my sister. I can understand how lonely Raven must feel without a sibling to lean on. “Me too, Bella.”

  I go back inside the bedroom and find Raven, staring at the laptop, crying. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” I can’t take the tears.

  “I want to look at the flash drive that Tony sent, but your laptop is password protected.”

  I throw my hand
s up. “Is that why you’re crying?”

  She nods, “I realize I don’t know anything about you.”

  She has a point here. Everything has been so fast, and then she was gone. “You know I love you.”

  Now she’s really crying, fuck! “What do you want to know?”

  There must be a hundred tissues all over the bed. “Jax, you don’t understand, it’s not what you can tell me. When you know a person, you know all the little things that make up that person. I sat here looking at this screen, and I realized, I have no idea what you would choose for a password!” She sobs.

  “Raven.”

  “What?” She blows her nose.

  I lean in and kiss her, “That’s my password—Raven.”

  “Oh,” she whispers.

  I kiss her. “Yeah, oh. Sweetheart, just know I love you and would do anything for you. I promise you, the rest will follow. Now, I’ll leave you alone to read what’s on the drive, but we need to leave in two hours to go to Bella’s house for dinner. Junior really needs to see both of us. I’m worried.”

  “Jax, what’s going on with Michael?” She straightens up, her focus, seemingly, anew.

  I love how much she loves Junior.

  “He went back to school, but he’s very quiet. Bella is worried, and so am I. I think seeing the two of us will help.”

  She nods, “Okay, I’ll be ready.” I offer to bring her coffee, but she’s already lost in what’s on the computer, so I back out of the room as quiet as possible.

  Raven,

  If you’re reading this, then I know you must feel really hurt and betrayed. When I was seventeen, I got caught up in a FBI sweep of hackers. I was really good at it, and I used my skills for illegal shit. Joseph saw something in me that, he must have felt, was redeeming. He put me through the Academy, nurtured, and mentored me. My parents threw me out when I was thirteen. They were extreme religious freaks and felt my being bi-sexual was the work of the devil. Joseph had been dealing with a bunch of personal stuff, but he still made time for me. Then one day, he came to me, and told me about you. He said, “Just keep an eye out for her, because I can’t.” He never told me anything more. That day, I showed up at the shelter, I felt like I found the most precious thing in the world—a friend. I was just supposed to keep an eye on you, but before I knew what was happening, we were roommates. Joseph only gave me one rule, and that was not to sleep with you, no matter what. It was by far the hardest rule to follow, especially after the ex-boyfriend. I just wanted to hold you in my arms forever. I think that’s when I started to gamble. I’m not blaming you. I’m just trying to help you understand.

  I’m sorry, I never meant for anything to hurt you. I got so caught up in gambling. Oh sure, it starts out simple, but it never ends that way. Before I knew it, I was in really deep. I was going to tell you and ask you for financial help, but then I met Erica. I fell in love for the first time. At least, I thought it was love. She made me believe I was her end all, but I realized too late that I was not and by then, we were married. My gambling was getting worse and I was about to come to you again, but Joseph came to me first, to tell me he was dying. He sat me down and gave me more details about your adoption than you knew. He also revealed everything about Duke. I had a friend in Lansing and had him pull the file on Duke. Erica came up with a plan to get Duke hired on at Raiders, Inc. She told me all about her affair with Jax and why it ended. She told me about her plan to seek revenge against Jax and how I can get out of the mess I was in. It was all supposed to work out, until that fateful day you met Jax. The entire plan became one big cluster fuck, all because fate had to bring you and Jax together.

  Baby girl, I was in love with you, no matter what you think. I really did love you. Somewhere along the way, the lines were blurred for us, but I did.

  Marco

  I am in shock. I can’t believe he was in love with me. How could I not see this? What fucking planet was I on? Am I that so self-absorbed that I couldn’t see what was right in front of my face? There is another file on the drive labeled pictures, so I open it, and I am hit with one man’s total obsession of me.

  I pick up the laptop and fling it across the room, breaking it to a million pieces. Jax comes flying into the room. Bo, and my detail are right behind him. Jax looks to me and then to the computer, but he stays quiet.

  “Jax, say something!”

  He takes a deep breath. “I have always imagined throwing my computer across the room, but never quite had the nerve to do it.”

  He opens his arms, and I run into them. He nods to my team and they leave—all except Bo.

  I hand Jax the thumb drive, “Here please put this away for now.”

  “Okay,” he whispers. He’s not even upset.

  “That’s it? Okay? I throw your computer across the room and its trash now. I just read something that obviously upset me greatly, and all you can say is okay?”

  He kisses me. “Yep.” What the hell?

  “Why?”

  He takes another deep breath. “Well, when you’re ready, you’ll tell me what you want me to know. I trust you with my heart and soul, and when you’re ready, you’ll trust me with yours.”

  The tears are trailing down my cheeks. Oh, how I love this man. “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.,” he whispers. “Let’s get ready.”

  I DECIDE TO WEAR my black pencil skirt, red sweater, and my favorite stilettos. I figure I better enjoy this now, since it won’t be long before I can’t wear any of this. We head out to Bella’s house, and I don’t know why I’m nervous—I shouldn’t be. “Jax, who knows I’m pregnant?”

  “What do you mean, who knows?” He glances over as he lowers the volume on the radio.

  For such a smart man sometimes I just want to smack him. “Just what I said, who did you tell?”

  “My mum, sister and Michael, why?” He looks at me strange.

  Like I wasn’t nervous enough. “I’m nervous, and I don’t want them to think I got pregnant on purpose. I’m an educated adult and should have been more careful.”

  Jax presses a button and the privacy glass slides into place, and then he turns to face me. “I won't even dignify that with an answer. I’m very close with my family, and I can only hope with time, you will come to feel close to them, too. We created a new life together out of love, and I will not have you taint it with anything else.”

  Wow, I hit a nerve. “I’m sorry, Jax, I just don’t want anyone to think that I’m after...” Before I can finish, he’s on me. He kisses me, our tongues doing a slow tango. He nibbles his way across my chin to my ear. He loves to nibble on it. He kisses my neck, following the trail down with his tongue. My nipples are instantly hard.

  He leans me down, and as he does, he sees my thigh high’s and garter. “Oh, bloody hell! Oh, fuck me!”

  “You okay, Jax, can you breathe?”

  He takes a steadying breath. “Barely, sweetheart, I can come just from the sight of you!” His eyes keep roaming up and down my body.

  “Jax, you can touch me, I promise, I won’t break.”

  He takes my hand and places it on his heart. “Raven you take my breath away. I just need a minute please. If I don’t take one, it will be like a teenager, when he gets his first shag. Do you feel my heart? It beats wildly, just for you. If I died right now, I would die a happy man.

  You have taken me to heaven and there is no going back. You gave me a life worth living.”

  My God this man renders me speechless. “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh,” he whispers.

  He takes a few more steadying breaths, and then he lifts my sweater, nibbling my nipples through my bra. He reaches over and presses the intercom, “Keep driving around Bella’s house until I tell you differently.” He lifts my breast out of my bra and latches on to my nipple—nibble, lick, suck. Oh wow, they are so sensitive. On to the next one, all the while he’s humming, which radiates to my core. He pushes my skirt all the way up to my waist. “Are you wet for me?” he asks as he travel
s down my body.

  I nod, “I’m always wet for you.” Holy, he just snapped my thong! “I want to taste you now.” He’s nibbling and licking me, one finger in, and then another. Oh my God! He pulls his fingers out and offers them to me for a taste. It’s so erotic, and it’s all in the back of a limo. I taste myself on him, mixed with his Vanilla spice and I moan.

  “My cock needs to be in the happy place,” he breathes. I close my eyes and hear the sound of him working at his zipper. My heart races and my core aches for him. Suddenly, his cock is sliding up and down my wet folds. A moan escapes my throat as he enters one inch at a time. When he is all the way in, he stops. “Look at me!” My eyes shoot up to his. “Do you feel that? We are a perfect fit.” He doesn’t move but holds us at this intensity; so full . . . so perfect. He leans down and starts kissing me, slowly. He rests his forehead on mine. He’s not moving his hips at all, and he’s just locked onto my eyes. “Raven, you have unraveled me. Do you feel me? Do you feel how deep I am? I just have to be inside you, locked onto your eyes, and I will explode.” Just like that, his cock starts to throb and pulse right before he floods me. “That’s what you fucking do to me.” Then he pulls back, and he’s still rock hard. How the fuck? But before I can think, he slams into me with all he’s got. “I could go all night in cock heaven. All night.” He growls, “Fucking better than anything in the world.”

  I’m not going to hold it much longer. “Jaxxxxxxxx!”

  He yells, “Fuck, baby, I’m falling with you!” Our breathing starts to slow down. He nudges my nose with his. “Never, ever enough. Never.” He leans down further, kissing my neck and nibbling my ear.

  “Jax, we need to be at Bella’s.” He gets up and it looks as though he is going to clean us up, but then he takes an ice cube and pops it into his mouth. He leans down and takes a nipple in his mouth with the ice. “Jax, holy hell! Oh my… oh, Jax.” Then he takes another ice cube for my other nipple. The sensation is crazy! First hot and then cold, oh how is this even possible? He put one in his mouth and goes right between my legs. And I lose it, screaming, coming, and swearing like I never had before. I’m fisting his hair. It’s a wonder I didn’t pull it out in chunks.