Page 50 of Raven

Odd.

Again, paranoia will get the best of me.

The arrival of some new girls catches my attention because one face is vaguely familiar.

“Who is that?” I ask Ty.

Despite living on the Eastside for two years, this is Ty’s crew, the Elites, most of them formerly from Deene University.

“Oh, that’s Siena and her crew.”

I feel instant poison spreading through my veins, but I can’t help probing. “And she is?”

“The daughter of the former majority leader of the US Senate. Her mom died during the bombings. But I don’t know her much. She wasn’t from Deene. Somewhere else, I think.”

Long white pants, high heels, a loose blouse that hides her curves, long, dark straight hair that hangs along her wide face, full lips, and dark eyes crowned with thick brows. I’m simmering with bitterness that this is actually Raven’s type, and I can’t stop watching her.

Sure, Raven holds my secret. He is in for a short ride. Striking a deal with persona non grata is an adrenalin rush for him. Yet something about him draws me in like quicksand. Warping around me. Taking me in inch by inch, fast, uncontrollably, irrationally. And though I know there's only one outcome—disastrous and gloomy—I can't help feeling the desire to give in to it.

But not when he’s involved with other girls.

I should stay away from her, but like I said, alcohol. I grab another shot from the tray, down it, and make my way to Siena.

She holds a cocktail in one hand, slowly sipping from a straw, but her eyes are in the phone in her other hand.

“Hey,” I say.

She gives me the quick once-over and goes back to typing on the phone with one thumb.

If I learned anything from years of mingling is that straightforwardness has the best results, though not often pleasant.

“You are Raven’s girl, no?” I ask.

And that makes her freeze in her spot.

Bingo!

Except, the way she reacts doesn’t make me cheer but instead boil in anger.

Slowly, she turns to face me, her attention solely on me.

“Mind your own business,” she hisses, rises from her chair, and walks away.

Did I get my answers? Not quite. But if she is involved with Raven, why in the world wouldn’t she say so, and why did her expression become almost murderous?

I watch her for a while, her fidgety moves as she walks up to the girls she came in with, her whispers to them, and the way they stare at me.

I smile coldly and nod to them. Fuck off.

I don’t feel like being here. My mood falls, and I can’t explain it. Except when I scan the pool deck, I halt, seeing the familiar figure by the open deck doors.

Here he is.

Raven leans against the doorframe in a conversation with Kai. Kai is dressed in board shorts only, barefoot, his inked body glorious, while Raven wears his signature black, long sleeved shirt and jeans. He nods to something Kai says, but his eyes are on me. There’s a flicker of satisfaction when he sees me notice him.

How long has he been there? Did he see me talk to Siena?

No matter what I do, when he shows up, I sense it like the imminent danger. Like a trap. A sweet trap. And I can't help but take little steps closer to it.

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