The Debt: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Kelly Favor

  “That’s me.”

  “I really appreciate you coming here at this time of night to help us.”

  “Listen, I hadn’t even taken off my makeup yet,” she laughed heartily. “Not to worry.”

  Raven wanted to say, not to worry? You’re not annoyed at being dragged from your home in the middle of the night just because some celebrity snapped his fingers?

  But this was no time for looking a gift horse in the mouth, so Raven didn’t say a peep.

  The doctor turned to Skylar and Raven, and upon seeing Skylar’s expression, seemed to instantly realize that she was the patient. “Skylar?”

  Skylar nodded anxiously. “Yes.”

  “Hi, I’m Dr. Lara. Let’s get you right inside, okay?” She smiled and then led them into the hospital, where she acted as their personal escort.

  Raven had never seen anything like this. Usually, when she’d gone to a new hospital, she’d been made to fill out all kinds of forms and answer questions, give proof of insurance, all sorts of things. It typically also included a lot of waiting around.

  But Dr. Lara simply brought them up the elevator herself, walked them past the nurse’s station and to a private room. “All right,” she said, turning to Jake and Raven. “We’re going to do an examination of Skylar now, so I’ll need to ask you to wait in the waiting room.”

  Skylar gave Raven an anxious look, and Raven nodded to her, trying to appear confident and unafraid, but in truth she was far from that. As Dr. Lara brought Skylar in to be examined, they wandered back down the hallway to the small but empty waiting room.

  Raven couldn’t sit still, so she stood and stared out the window into the darkness of the city outside. Jake came up next to her.

  “You okay?” he asked, glancing at her.

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know,” he said.

  She turned and looked at him. “And I can’t figure out why you’re suddenly being so nice to me.”

  He chuckled. “Am I really that big of an asshole?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  “Well maybe you don’t have me all figured out just yet.”

  “I guess not. But I still don’t understand.” A shiver ran through her and Raven folded her arms and tried to warm herself.

  “I have certain limitations,” Jake said, looking down. “There’s thing’s that’ve happened in my life…I don’t really want to go into details. But the things that happened, they make it so that I need to live the way I live.”

  “Now it’s all so clear,” Raven replied sarcastically.

  “Don’t bust my balls,” he told her. “I’m telling you that it is the way it is for a reason. I’m this way for a reason.”

  “I can’t find fault with you tonight, not after what you’ve already done for Skylar.” Raven looked at him, saw the pain etched in his face. “And what you’ve done for me, Jake.”

  He looked back at her. “It’s for you,” he said. And then he walked over to one of the chairs and sat down heavily, as if admitting how tired he was for the first time that night.

  They waited for what seemed like forever, but it wasn’t actually that long, all things considered. It was actually sort of a miracle that Skylar was even being seen at this time of night, let alone by a top doctor at one of the best—if not the best—cancer treatment facilities in the country.

  Dr. Lara came out to talk to them in the waiting room. Her face told the story before she even explained what she’d found during her examination.

  “I’m very concerned about the mass on her cervix,” she told them.

  Jake folded his arms. “Did you do a biopsy?”

  “Yes, and I’m going to get results back as soon as possible. A day, maybe two at the outside.”

  “Can’t you get results back faster than that?” Jake asked.

  Dr. Lara smiled sadly at his question. “Jake, not even you can get results back faster than that,” she told him.

  Raven found herself losing focus on the details of their conversation. Jake was being very clinical, asking questions that presupposed the results of biopsy would be positive. He was talking about treatment regiments and surgery, radical hysterectomies and radiation.

  It was almost like listening to two doctors talk to each other, using jargon that Raven didn’t totally understand.

  But she knew it was bad, it meant that in all likelihood, Skylar was really and truly sick.

  Raven looked away, trying to calm her racing thoughts. As she looked across the room, something on the TV screen happened to catch her eye. There was no volume, just the picture was on.

  Strangely, and it took her a moment to make sense of it, Raven saw that Jake Novak was being shown on the television. It was odd, and slightly disconcerting, to see an image of him singing on TV when he was standing two feet away from her in real life.

  Now the image switched to Jake Novak talking into the camera. He looked like he was in military garb, but she couldn’t tell.

  It said BREAKING NEWS! On the top left corner of the screen. She assumed it was some kind of news piece about Jake’s concert tour.

  There was a headline below the video of Jake, and at first Raven couldn’t read it, so she moved a few steps away from Jake and the doctor, and closer to the screen.

  Now she could read the headline:

  CELEBRITY SCANDAL EXPLODES OVER SUICIDE COMMENTS

  It didn’t make sense. Her mind refused to process what she was seeing.

  The scene on screen changed again and now they showed Jake Novak singing, and then a clip of him on the red carpet, and then more of that same video clip that looked like home movie footage. Jake was in his military uniform, and he was obviously younger. He was talking and smirking at the camera and he even looked cocky.

  The headline updated. Now it said:

  PUBLIC REACTION TO JAKE NOVAK’S SHOCKING WORDS

  And then there were a series of shots of people talking, maybe arguing—Raven couldn’t tell.

  She also couldn’t believe her eyes. What was this? Was she misinterpreting something, or was there some kind of scandal involving Jake that was happening this very moment?

  She walked back to where Jake and Dr. Lara were discussing treatment options.

  “How’s Skylar doing now?” Raven asked.

  “She’s okay. She should be coming out of the bathroom shortly. There was some bleeding and discomfort after my exam, which is to be expected,” the doctor said.

  Raven turned to Jake. “I think there’s something else happening,” she told him.

  “There’s a lot happening,” Jake replied.

  “I mean, something involving you. I just saw it on TV. Have you been getting any calls about it?” she asked.

  “Well, I’ll leave you two to talk,” Dr. Lara said. “And I’ll be in touch with results as soon as I get them.”

  After they’d said goodbye, Jake pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I just started getting a few calls, but I’ve been ignoring them,” he said. His expression was puzzled, brow furrowed as he started reading text messages. Instantly, something dawned in his eyes, some sort of recognition.

  “Shit,” he said.

  “What happened?” she asked him.

  He shook his head. “Nothing,” he replied. He put the phone in his pocket and looked at her. “What’s important right now is Skylar.”

  “But from what I saw on TV just now—“

  “I said some dumb stuff a few years back. Apparently now they’re getting around to crucifying me for it.” He smiled wryly. “That’s life.”

  She wanted to really talk to him about it, because she sensed that there was a lot more to this then how he was portraying it. Jake was acting like it was no big deal, but his eyes told a different story, and when Skylar came out of the bathroom, Raven could sense that Jake was distracted.

  He tried not to show it though, as he helped to console Skylar along with Raven.

  “My hands are shaking,” Skylar said, ho
lding them up as proof.

  “Of course your hands are shaking,” Raven said. “You’ve been through a lot, but it’s over for now. You’ve done everything you need to do and now you can relax a little and wait to find out what’s next.”

  “The waiting isn’t the fun part,” Skylar said.

  “I’ve booked us three rooms in the Ritz Carlton,” Jake said, putting his hand on Skylar’s shoulder. “That way we can stay over tonight and not have to worry about traveling again, and you can get some rest.”

  Skylar looked at him with gratitude, her eyes filling with tears. Then she looked at Raven. “You guys have been so amazing to me. I can’t ever thank you enough.” She started to cry and Jake enveloped her in a big hug.

  For a moment, Raven was afraid of feeling jealous. But she was relieved to find that she wasn’t jealous at all of how Jake was treating Skylar. She felt like he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart and not any ulterior motive.

  Skylar needed all the help she could get.

  Raven’s gaze strayed back to the television and found that there was a commercial on. Whatever was going on with Jake and this scandal, she’d have to wait to find out.

  She’d been restraining herself from trying to look up information about the scandal on her phone, but hadn’t wanted to risk Jake seeing her do it. He hadn’t taken any phone calls or texted anybody, seeming to prefer to focus on getting them all back to the hotel and comforting Skylar.

  And Sky was doing a little better, though clearly she was exhausted.

  They were all tired. It was so late at night and they’d have to be up relatively early the next day for Jake to get back for his show in Boston.

  Not to mention whatever else he was going to be dealing with now that he had some sort of public relations crisis going on. Raven found it fairly odd that he simply acted like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

  She could even see it in the faces of the people in the hotel when he came inside—there wasn’t the same warmth in the way they were greeting him. Whatever Jake had done, it was changing the way he was being treated.

  Jake had managed to get the three of them rooms all on the same floor. Was Raven a little disappointed that he hadn’t put her in the same room as him? She had to admit that she was. It didn’t make any sense to feel that way, but she did.

  The truth was, she wanted to be close to him, to talk to him, hear his voice, thoughts and opinions.

  But it was better this way, Raven told herself, as the three of them got off the elevator and made their way to separate rooms.

  They went to Skylar’s room first, and Raven gave Sky a long hug. “You want me to come in with you for a minute?” Raven asked her.

  Skylar shook her head no. “I’m seriously going to crash the second my head hits the pillow.”

  “I love you, Sky. Sleep well and call me or text me if you need anything—anything at all, okay?” Raven said.

  Skylar nodded, said goodnight to Jake, and then opened the door to her room and went inside.

  Once the door was closed, Jake looked at Raven. “You look tired too,” he said.

  “I am. And I would have thought you’d be the most tired. You performed a pretty intense show tonight. How can you still be standing?”

  Jake laughed. “This is nothing compared to staying up two or three straight days like I did in Afghanistan.”

  They walked a short way down the hall until getting to Raven’s room. She took out her room key as Jake stood beside her. It felt like the end of a long date, and she suddenly didn’t want him to leave. Raven turned and looked at him. “You know that what you did for Skylar today…I can never repay you.”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “Don’t go getting all sappy on me now.”

  “I’m serious, Jake. I still don’t understand why you did all of this.”

  “Let’s just say that I get it,” he told her. “I get how it feels to be in your position.”

  And then she remembered Jake’s fiancé. Of course, she’d passed away from cancer. How could Raven not have seen it, not connected the two things?

  She felt stupid and a little embarrassed. Jake was someone who understood what it was like to be completely ambushed by a loved one getting diagnosed with cancer.

  Raven had made the mistake of assuming that what Jake was doing for Skylar had something to do with herself.

  Well didn’t he say that he was doing it for me? Didn’t he say as much?

  He had said something like that, but as she thought about it, the whole thing made way more sense when she took his fiancé into account. That’s what this was really all about. He couldn’t save his dead fiancé, so now he was trying to save Skylar.

  Raven put her hotel key up to the door and it clicked open. Jake was still standing right there, he hadn’t left to go to his own room yet. She looked at him. “Well, goodnight I guess.”

  He smiled, a little sadly, she thought.

  “Yeah, goodnight, Raven.” He turned and walked away.

  She felt strange watching him go. Why did she feel as if he was supposed to stay, why did she have this uncomfortable sensation that he hadn’t wanted to walk away?

  You’re getting too involved. You’re starting to read things into this that don’t belong, bringing your own baggage to everything. Jake Novak is a rich, powerful and handsome celebrity and you’re flattered by his attentions.

  But he’s not interested in you in that way, Raven. He’s made that very clear with every single thing he’s said and done. You’re only here to service his needs.

  Except, as she walked into her hotel room and closed the door behind her, she thought that none of those things were completely true anymore. Jake wasn’t just using her for his own needs.

  He’d gone out of his way for her—and for her friend. He was in a hotel room in New York, probably falling-down tired, and he could’ve been snuggled up in Boston, ten minutes away from the arena. He could have woken up bright-eyed, ready to face the day having gotten plenty of sleep and not been spending his time dealing with doctors and hospitals and some stranger’s health issues.

  Raven wasn’t sure what she thought anymore. She tried to shake off all the confusing thoughts, went into the bathroom and started the shower running. As she waited for it to warm up, she started googling the scandal about Jake.

  Right away, she knew it was bad. In just the last few hours, there were hundreds of stories and blog posts, Twitter and Facebook comments.

  This story had completely obliterated the excitement that Courtney Taylor’s little song had caused. This new story made that one look like nothing but a drop in the bucket.

  In fact, this new scandal was like a super storm that was wiping out everything in its path.

  Logging into Jake’s social media, she saw hundreds of new messages, and most of them were not the positive stuff she was used to seeing from his fans.

  Somehow, a video had recently surfaced that had been shot years before, when Jake was still in the military. It must have been shot by one of his military friends. Jake was in full uniform, and he looked very young, arrogant and hardened.

  She found one clip on YouTube that already had well over forty thousand views. The title of the clip said: Jake Novak Talks Crap about Suicide Victims

  When it started, Jake was already in mid-sentence. He was standing next to a large machine gun that was mounted on a crumbling wall. Jake seemed to be chewing tobacco, holding a cup below his mouth and occasionally spitting into it. There was a bulge under his lower lip. “…You got to be kidding me,” Jake said. “I’m out here risking my life for these people,” He looked directly into the camera, shaking his head. “If someone decides to kill themselves, am I supposed to feel bad for that idiot? They threw away their life because some kids at school picked on them, while I’m doing everything I can to stay the hell alive. Damn, if you want to feel picked on and bullied, try coming to a foreign country and have people suicide bombing you and shooting at you from rooftops wh
en you walk down the street.”

  She paused the video for a moment to collect her emotions.

  Raven felt sick. There was a burning shame and rage inside her upon hearing his cold judgments. What did he know about having been bullied? How could he say what that could do to another person?

  Maybe he would have liked to trade places with her in high school.

  I’d like to see how you would have handled it, Jake. I’d like to see what you’d do without your strength and good looks, your charm and your confidence. You don’t know what it’s like to be ganged up on. But maybe you’re about to find out.

  Raven took a deep breath and pressed play again on the video, even though part of her could hardly stand to watch it after hearing what he’d already said.

  Now someone was laughing off camera.

  “Preach it, Jake!” Another person called out.

  Jake continued, seemingly emboldened by the encouragement he had received off camera. “My friends have been shot,” he said, “and one of my best buddies got killed by a damn roadside bomb.”

  The guy behind the camera asked him an inaudible question.

  Jake looked away for a moment, and then back into the camera, eyes blazing. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. If you commit suicide, you’re a loser. You’re a loser, okay? It’s that simple, man. I have no damn sympathy for someone that throws their life away. Come here if you want to die so bad. Come to damn Afghanistan, come to Iraq, at least do it for a purpose. We got people here who would do anything to stay alive and you end it all because…who knows why people do that crap? They’re full of excuses. Maybe you’re being bullied because you’re weak. Maybe you need to get a backbone. I don’t think those people should be mourned or missed. Screw them. Screw you, if you try to kill yourself—I’ve got no sympathy.”

  And then the clip ended.

  Raven groaned and thought about replaying it, but then decided not to. She didn’t want to hear him say any of that again. It turned her stomach to see him talking like that, even though she knew he was probably just young and angry and maybe sad from seeing horrible things during his battles in Afghanistan.

  People who watched this video now weren’t going to cut him slack, though. They were absolutely going to rip him to shreds for those comments. Way too many people had been affected by a loved one committing suicide or battled depression themselves.