The Protector 2

Chapter One-6

Raven

Of course, I flirt with Mac on purpose, because I see Rafe’s jealous. He often looks at me as if he wants to devour me with his eyes, and then I add some fuel to the flames. I even joined Rita in her yoga exercises just to provide the drooling men with a better angle of my butt in the leggings. I didn’t even try to cover myself when we ran into one another at night, in front of the fridge, when neither of us could sleep. I was in my mid-thigh nighty, naturally without a bra, and Rafe, in just his boxer shorts. The air was so hot between us, I was afraid the fire alarm might turn on anytime in the house. I give thanks to God that my female anatomy didn’t give my excitement away as obviously as it was visible on Rafe. I initially enjoyed torturing him, but this cat-and-mouse game between us is now giving me less and less pleasure. I normally don’t like hurting people, and it doesn’t satisfy me when I see people suffer, but I believe this unhappy state is distorting me. I keep having to think what if… if Rafe hadn’t turned into an unfeeling prick that night, and everything had gone according to plan. I was so much in love with him, and thought he loved me just the same. This man was everything to me that I had ever dreamed of as a woman, everything I had wanted in a man. I can’t explain why, but despite all our bickerings, I’m still as attracted to him as back at university. I’m not some crazy masochist who gets a kick out of being humiliated. Rafe humiliated me at the time, and I whole-heartedly judged him for his deed. My own self-esteem was the reason I broke all contact with him. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t get myself to hate him. The memory of those few fabulous months that we spent together is still stored at the bottom of my soul, indelibly, and the questions, all the ‘whys’ are roaring inside me louder than ever in the past eight years. And the fact that we are sexually aroused by each other in an almost abnormal way is more than obvious. Plus, my conscience is also killing me. I’ve almost completely forgotten about Johnny since I left the estate. I’m crazily attracted to a man whom I should actually despise, and, instead of my boyfriend’s handsome face, my mind is filled with Rafe Harlan’s insanely sexy expressions, and now he even intrudes my dreams. Not that we are head over heels in love with Johnny, but damn it, this is a matter of principles for me. I’m angry with myself for becoming so easily impressed by Rafe. Guilt is gnawing at me so much that I decide to call Johnny no matter what, after all, he made me swear to do so last time we spoke. I know I’m breaking the rules with this, but to hell with it! After all, I’m not about to give away our whereabouts, I just want to put him at ease, telling him everything’s okay, that’s all – I plead with myself.

Gunner is somewhere behind the house, I saw him leave a short while ago, and Rafe is nowhere to be seen, although he should technically be around somewhere. Here’s the big opportunity. I quickly put my jacket on, and behind Rita’s back, who’s now working on the dinner in the kitchen, I sneak out of the house. I don’t intend to go very far, I just want to see if the signal is better a bit further away from the house. It feels good to walk, I take deep breaths in the fresh air, as I haven’t left the house for days on end. Now that my phone has finally come to life, I see a lot of missed calls, and even more texts from Johnny, and this only makes me feel worse. I lean against the trunk of a tree, thinking about what I would say to him if I could get hold of him. The more I ponder about it, though, the more I lose heart. This situation is very sensitive, and even though I don’t want to lie to him, I don’t know what to say without regretting it. After all, I can’t admit to him that because of a tattoed, motorclub alpha-male, I’ve forgotten about him, just like that. That since I saw my first love again after eight years, who, by the way, treated me like dirt, such feelings and desires are mixed inside me that even he, my boyfriend can’t trigger? Nonsense! Eventually I chicken out, and opt for a text instead of a call, in which I comfort him that he shouldn’t worry about me, because everything is okay.

Barely a few seconds after I send the text, my phone begins to ring. s**t! Johnny’s name is flashing on the display. I was stupid enough not to consider that after getting my message he would call me back at once. I struggle for a few seconds, not knowing what to do; then, with a sigh, I press the green button.

“Johnny?”

“Raven. f**k. At last! Where are you? I keep trying to reach you. I’ve been worried sick. Why didn’t you call?” he stutters with worry.

“I… I’m sorry. The signal is crap in the house,” I say, squeezing my eyes shut. “I can’t really call. And it’s not safe, as they say.”

“Who are they? Who’s with you, Rae?” I’m quiet for a while, not knowing how to respond. Then, he speaks up again, with a much softer voice. “Sorry, Raven. I just… you have no idea what I’m going through since you’ve been gone.”

“I’m sorry too, but I had to go. I had no other choice, believe me.”

“I want to help. It hurts that you don’t trust me.”

This is just great!

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. You couldn’t be of help right now,” I sigh.

“And who can?” he asks sharply.

I feel like I have to give away something to him.

“Don’t worry about me, please. I’m with professionals. My uncle has employed the best people to protect me. People he had been in business contact before. They know what to do in this situation.”

“Where are you?” he asks gloomily.

“Somewhere up north, in Vermont. In some woods, I don’t even know exactly. In a safe house, locked away from the outside world.”

“Damn it, Rae!”

“I know. It sucks, but please, be patient. I promise I will contact you as soon as…”

I hear the crackling of twigs behind me, and I twirl around with alarm, disconnecting the call with shivering fingers. I stand white with fear, and panic comes over me. It’s only now that I fully realize, I’m alone outside the house, without protection. As the firm footsteps and the noise of rough cursewords come nearer and nearer, I know I’ve made a big mistake. Then I see that a man is approaching me, huffing like an engine, visibly about to burst with rage, at a crazy speed. It’s Rafe. In my sudden embarrassment, I don’t even know whether to be upset or happy, because it’s he who has found me, and not somebody else.

Rafe

I’m wiping engine oil from my hands into a cloth as I enter the living room and look around. Rita is backing out of the pantry, holding two packets of pasta in her hands when our eyes meet. She points her chin towards me.

“All okay, boss?”

I nod firmly, and answer her enquiry by asking another question.

“Where’s Mac?”

“He’s asleep. Upstairs, in your room, as we discussed.”

Tiredly, I rub my stubbled chin. Rita is right. Mac was on duty last night, so now it’s his turn to rest.

“What about Gunner?”

“At the back, chopping up firewood by the shed.”

A strange, unsettling feeling is creeping up my spine. I look around with suspicion, but don’t see Raven anywhere. At this moment, my stomach lands on the floor, and nausea takes over me with such intensity that I have to gulp a few times. In a beastly way, I start walking upstairs, taking the steps by three. I get a horrible suspicion, and the thought that I might see Raven with Mac hits me in the belly at such unexpected force that I break out in sweat. Nevertheless, I slow down at Raven’s door as well, move my hand nervously towards the doorhandle, then let it drop. I don’t know what to do, I’m terrified of what I might see inside, but the savage takes the better of me, and I simply break into the room. Raven is not in there, and that is the last straw for me. I lose my mind, and rush into the other room with the solid determination that brotherhood or not, I will strangle Mac with my own hands if I find Raven with him. I tear the door open and rush into the room. Mac sits up in the bed about half a second later, clutching the gun with two hands and aiming at my breast with deadly accuracy. Good job – the involuntary thought flashes through my head, seeing that although he has a sleepy face and his eyes are hazy, I haven’t managed to surprise him. A deadass professional. It’s for a reason that I work with him. I quickly glance around, and remark that he’s alone.

“f**k it, man! Do you want to die? Damn!” he curses, while letting down the gun, and nervously digging his hand into his hair.

This really was a stupid idea, but these days I only have ideas like this. He could have easily shot me. I stare at him cluelessly, and suddenly I don’t even know what to think. The quick relief that I haven’t found Raven in his bed is replaced by sheer horror.

“Where the f**k is Raven?” I storm at him.

“I don’t have the foggiest, dude. This afternoon was yours,” he mumbles with irritation, and damn it, he’s so right.

It was my turn to keep an eye on the client, but I was so busy licking my wounds that I forgot about my duty.

“f**k it. She’s not in the house. Get dressed. We have to find her at once,” I roar, fully aware that I’ve really screwed up. This can’t go on. I need to do something before I actually fall to pieces.

I haven’t even finished my sentence when I hear Rita yelling from downstairs. I fly towards her down the stairs, all the way into the living room. Rita jabs a finger in the direction of the laptop’s screen.

“She’s outside, to the south of the house. The sensor has just signalled her.”

I can feel regret in her voice, as she hasn’t noticed either that Raven has left the house, but I don’t have the right to open my mouth. In this issue, I’m the one at fault, and we all know that.

“Damn it! How the hell did she manage that?” I hiss between my teeth, and I run out of the house. I grab the gun from my belt, and holding it in front of me, I jump off the veranda. With huge footsteps and a pulse at 200, I throw myself in the direction where the motion sensor informed us about Raven’s location. This has never happened to me in my work. This woman has a very obviously destructive effect on my work morale, and it really pisses me off. I feel hacked off because she has broken the rules just like that, and left the house on her own, but I’m most angry with myself. Truth be told, the horror that she might be harmed is what terrifies me.

“What the f**k are you doing here alone?” I shout to her, fuming, when I’m barely about two yards from her. “Are you completely out of your mind?”