Page 70 of Victorious Vice

She bites her lip. “Jack Smith, yes.”

“And he’s here tonight?”

“He requested an invite. I couldn’t turn down the guy who made a fifty-million-dollar donation, Vinnie.”

I rub at my forehead. “And you just…believedhim when he said he made the donation?”

“He knew about the donation. He knew it had been made directly to my attorney.” She crosses her arms. “I’m not a dumbass, Vinnie.”

“Has he checked in?” I ask.

“I have no idea. I haven’t met him yet.” She pulls out her phone and pulls up a file. “But I have the seating chart. I can tell you where he had dinner. I’ll send it to you.” She scrolls throughher phone a second more. “Is he the one who’s been sending me texts?”

I raise my eyebrows. “You’ve been getting texts?”

“Yes. On my regular phone. I got a threatening text. But on that burner phone—the one the fake Uber driver gave me—I’ve been getting texts warning me. Warning me that I’m in danger.”

Damn. Austin Bellamy. He’s the one who was behind the Uber driver hijacking Raven. But Raven doesn’t know that.

Which means… Raven’s own father knows she’s in danger. He’s trying to warn her.

But of course he can’t let on how much he knows. Then she—and the rest of her family—will know of his involvement. Or at least suspect it.

I still have a lot of questions about Austin Bellamy. About his involvement with Diego Vega. About why Falcon went to prison. About who is buried underneath that old barn on their property. About his involvement with the cartels and “Operation Falcon.”

“Do you know who’s been sending the threatening texts, Vinnie? Because if you do, you have to tell me.”

It could be anyone. It could be Smith. Or Vega himself. It could be Agudelo. It could be McAllister. Hell, it could be Mario.

After tomorrow, though, Mario will be in my debt.

I have what he wants more than anything. And the cost will be his empire.

23

RAVEN

If Vinnie knows, he’s not responding.

“That’s what I thought,” I say. “I’ve got to get back to the gala.”

I whisk past him this time, unlock the door to the conference room, and open the door.

Jared is waiting on the other side.

“Raven…”

I hold up a hand. “Please, you’re not my father, Jared. You’re my bodyguard. I don’t need a good talking to right now. I don’t need for you to tell me what a big mistake it was for me to go in there with Vinnie. What I do need is for you to escort me to the ladies’ room.”

“Of course,” he says.

I don’t know what to think about this situation with Mr. Smith, but I do know that I have a job to do tonight. Vinnie can figure out who Smith is and take him aside if necessary. Right now, I have to doll myself back up and keep playing hostess. Vinnie is here, Jared is here, and multiple generations of burly Bellamy men are here to protect me.

I get to the restroom door. “Keep guard here at the door and don’t let anyone else in until I leave,” I tell Jared. “I’ll just be a moment.”

Once I’m in the restroom, I smooth out my dress once more, check my face. My makeup looks good, though my lips are swollen and puffy from Vinnie’s kisses, and my lipstick is nonexistent.

Still, my lips have a nice pink tone, so they’ll do. I apply a little setting powder to keep my makeup from smudging, and I riffle through my clutch to find my lipstick.

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