Page 125 of Prey Tell
I swear, the way he always has to be touching me—like he’s worried I’ll float away—makes medizzywith lust and longing. I look over at him, and he’s watching me with a darkened glower, his lower lip between his teeth.Fuck.
We all make small talk, and I observe how Jackson looks at Mark with a sated smile—which makes me endlessly happy. In fact, I’ve never seen him this happy, apart from when he’s at work. Mark and Chase talk about The Black Rose, and I learn that Mark is currently going to school for his master’s in theater.
They really are two peas in a pod.
Jackson and I order our usual brunch—chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. We’ve been coming here since we were kids, and as the server places our plates down, I look up at him and notice he’s watching me with the same sad smile he always wears whenever he talks about our parents. I reach out for his hand, and he takes it.
“I think they’d be proud of us,” I say, breathing slowly so that I don’t cry. “Of you, especially.”
He nods, batting away a stray tear, and Chase’s hand never leaves my thigh.
After Chase and Mark finish their respectable eggs and hash, and after Jackson and I finish dipping our bacon into the maple syrup, we all talk for another hour. Jackson seems so… carefree. With his arm slung on the back of Mark’s chair, I can tell by the way his eyes crinkle and the way his posture is relaxed that he’strulyhappy. Just as the server clears the table, Chase reaches into his blazer pocket and pulls out an envelope. I look up at him and tilt my head quizzically.
“Jax,” Chase starts, unfolding the paper. “Ravage Consulting Firm recently acquired a new client. I’m now the biggest shareholder of Saint Helena Academy, which means I sit on their board of directors,” he starts.
I look over at Jackson when I realize what Chase is doing. He looks confused, and his eyes dart between me and Chase.
“Saint Helena?” he asks, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Why?”
Chase takes a deep breath, ignoring his question and diving right into the nitty gritty. “As a member of their board of directors, and as the new landlord of the property they lease, as well as their biggest investor, I now have a lot of sway with their policies. Most of the regulations were outdated—glaringly so—but since taking over, I’ve consulted with the biggest compliance firm in the country to create new policies.” He pushes the piece of paper toward Jackson, who reads it slowly.
“Chase,” he says, a look of puzzlement on his face. “How… why?”
Chase huffs a laugh, and I see him wipe his palms on his trousers.He’s nervous.
“Because you’re Jackson. And while I know I can’t protect you from everything in this cruel world, I can and do have the financial means to ensure you can always stay safe at Saint Helena, if you choose to do so.”
Jackson nods once, and Mark glances down at the letter, his eyes widening before looking up at Chase.
“This is a big deal,” Mark mutters, smiling. He looks at Chase.
Jackson pushes away from the table and comes around to where Chase is sitting. Chase stands, and they hug for a long time. Mark winks at me when I look over at him, and it hits me suddenly that perhaps everything is going to be okay.
“I also spoke to my older brother, Malakai,” Chase continues, subtly winking at me. “He’s going to be accepting the position of headmaster starting this fall, so you will have a powerful ally as your boss.”
“Great, more Ravage brothers to contend with,” Jackson jokes, but he pulls Chase in for another hug.
Soon after that, Jackson and Mark leave, and I watch them walk away as I grin like a maniac.
“I’m glad he’s happy,” Chase says from next to me, laying down some cash before helping me out of my chair. “Mark seems nice.”
I give him a conspiratorial smirk. “You pulled all the cards today,” I tease, snuggling into his side as he wraps an arm around my shoulder and leads us outside. “Tell me more about Malakai. Or, actually, tell me more about all of your brothers.”
We walk slowly to his parked car a couple of blocks away, and he sighs once before he speaks.
“Well, you know Miles. He’s an asshole, but we’re the closest because we work together.”
“I’m excited for his impending wedding,” I joke, and Chase huffs a laugh.
“Next is probably Liam. He lives a bit north of here and is a professor of Creative Writing. He’s pretty reclusive, and as the oldest, does a shit job of being the wise old soul we all crave. But we talk a few times a month. Then there’s Malakai, who is a pastor. He took everything wrong with our family and turned it around. I think he saw how we all turned out and decided to do the exact opposite of us.” I laugh. “And Orion is the youngest. He’s still in his twenties, still partying and drinking too much. He’s unemployed at the moment, but we all try and watch out for him as best as we can.”
“So you’re all pretty close?”
He nods. “Yeah. I mean, as close as we can be, seeing as we’re the offspring of Charles Ravage.”
I brace myself for my next question. “And your father?”
Chase shrugs. “He’s still licking his wounds, moving from estate to estate all around the world. I think he’s currently holed up in Paris. Miles still speaks to him. And I think Orion still sees him sometimes. Because our mom remarried when Orion was still living at home, he didn’t quite get the full Charles Ravage experience. His stepfather is a nice guy. He has a daughter—Layla—so Orion got some much-needed feminine energy.” He pulls away from me and moves to unlock the car on my side. Today it’s a new model, some fancy green Bentley SUV with gold accents. He opens my door and turns to face me. “But Liam, Malakai, and I all decided a long time ago to cut ties with him.”
