by Kate Stewart
Exodus
Copyright © 2020 by Kate Stewart
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
1st Line Editor: Donna Cooksley Sanderson
2nd Line Editor: Grey Ditto
Cover by Okay Creations
Formatting by Champagne Book Design
Listen to The Ravenhood Duet playlist
Title Page
Copyright
PART TWO
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
PART THREE
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Epilogue
Thank You
About the Author
“You’re The Frenchman.”
He replies with a faint dip of his chin. His hostile gaze blistering my skin with contempt. “You mind turning down that fucking calling card?” Each of his words curled by the thick foreign lilt, confirming I knew that much about him.
Dominic rarely, if ever, spoke French, which raised my suspicions about the nickname. But the man standing before me, and the air about him suits.
A drop of sweat slides down his temple as I soak him in. Compliments to the tailor who cloaked him in a suit fit for a king. It clings to him, defining pure masculinity. Though his expression is hostile, it’s his face that has me scrambling for words while my tongue dries up. This man is, without a doubt, the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Stunned, I can’t help but drink in the thick, inky color of his hair that’s styled back in inches long waves, not one out of place. The sharp outline of his jaw encases his flawless bronzed face. Below his thick, winged brows lies a natural black outline of thick lashes, which enhances the mix of orange-yellow flames dancing their way down my profile. His dominant nose wide, long, and swollen by the flare of his nostrils. His mouth more evidence his creator took his time, his lush lips symmetrical perfection. But it’s the anger that seeps from his pores that has me battling the wits his unexpected appearance is stealing.
He’s the devil you are never supposed to meet, dressed in Armani.
And a clear threat to me.
Snatching the remote from the table beside me, I furiously tap the volume button, sputtering, while searching for my bikini top. “I didn’t…k-know it was you. I d-didn’t know there was a you.”
“You weren’t supposed to.” His tone is acid, spilling from his lips into the back of my throat, making it hard to breathe.
Some fucking siren you are, Cecelia.
I dart my eyes around the deck, searching fruitlessly for my top before I cross my arms over my chest, humiliation burning my face. “Then why bother to make your existence known to me now?”
“Because apparently, I can’t do anything without those two imbeciles fumbling dick over head for—” his lips peel back from his teeth. Tack sharp canines appear due to his…snarling?
“The enemy?” I shake my head. “I’m not your enemy.”
His jaw ticks, his gaze littered with judgment. “No, you just benefit from Daddy’s filthy money.”
“Oh, good, that’s the look of disgust in your eyes. I was worried it was something else.”
“I don’t fuck little girls,” he draws out, his accent aiding in his condemnation. “And I’m fully aware you’re fucking your way through my crew.”
It stings, but I don’t flinch. “Only two of them, and from where I’m standing, it looks like you could benefit from a little side action yourself. You’re awfully tense.”
Irrefutably annoyed, he shoves his hands in his slacks. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I want answers. I want to know my father is safe.”
“I can’t guarantee that.”
“But you won’t be the one to hurt him?”
His hesitation has my hackles rising.
“Physically, no. In every other way that matters, yes.”
“And me?”
“You’re not a part of this.”
“I am now.”
“No, you’re not. I made sure of it.” His smug reply sends a bolt of realization through me.
“You’re the reason…you’re the one who made them get rid of me.”
Dom’s words from just days ago have my gears rolling.
“We were trying to make a point, and we fucking failed miserably.”
Someone from the meetup got the message to him that I was here. Because this man in front of me is the someone they both answer to.
Silence lingers between us before the hostile stranger speaks up. “You were never supposed to be here.”
“You knew about me. You all knew about me.” Of course, they did. Rule number one is to know your enemy and their weakness. But to them, I was an estranged daughter and posed no danger to their plans—another one of the reasons why Sean was hesitant about bringing me in.
“Who are you exactly?”
Silence.
“So why show up here, now, and talk to me?”
He remains mute as I mull it over.
“Someone couldn’t keep a secret.”
Someone from one of the chapters had reported back to him, and that’s why Sean and Dominic did what they did. They were trying to make a point to those in attendance at the garage—the night they ostracized me—while relaying the message to the man glaring at me. To protect me.
Click. Click. Click.
“That’s why I was the secret,” I whisper. “You didn’t know I was c
oming. You knew Roman and I didn’t have a relationship.” His eyes flare as a smug smile buds on my lips.
It’s clear now why he’s so angry. “You never expected me to show up here because it was a last-minute decision to come. I slipped through the cracks, and they hid me from you.” A little thrill runs through me. “You don’t know everything. How does it feel?”
He takes a menacing step forward. “You’re out of your depth in ways you’ll never understand, and you need to drop the tough girl act and really talk to me because I’m only giving you two minutes.”
And I do. I drop all pretenses because I’m fighting for a lot more than my pride. “I’m not the disgusting person you’re making me out to be.”
“My opinion of you doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does. I think it does a lot. You’re keeping me from my—”
“You can find someone else to fuck you, Cecelia.” My name sounds abhorrent coming from his thick lips. He considers me a menace, a thorn in his beastly side, and most definitely a wrench in his well-oiled machine. But I slipped through the cracks, because of my eight-year hiatus, and they hid me from him.
And I can’t help the thrill that runs through me at the thought.
“You may hate him, you may hate my father, but right now you’re acting just like him, like a machine. A control freak void of humanity with a God complex.”
His nostrils flare. “Watch yourself.”
“Or what?”
He towers over me, eyes flickering in warning. “You do not want to piss me off.”
“This isn’t pissed off? And who the hell are you to tell me what I should watch? You may have most of the cards, but you’re missing mine. It would be in your best interest to play nice if you want my cooperation, my silence.”
He doesn’t respond, but the resolute shift in his demeanor is enough.
Those were the exact words that shouldn’t have left my mouth. I can’t be trusted at all now that I’ve said them. I betrayed Sean and Dominic by playing into this asshole’s agenda. He’s trying to poke holes in everything, flip it to prove to them they made a mistake in trusting me. Dominic would be so disappointed.
Dominic’s words to Sean the day I left the house in a rage break to the surface.
“She’s not strong enough.”
“Give her time.”
All of it, the trials they put me through. The infuriating back and forth between Dominic and me. All the time Sean spent teaching me what he believed, what the hood believed while Dominic taunted me, twisted my words. From the time they decided to let me in, they’ve been readying me for a confrontation just like this. And it had everything to do with the man standing in front of me. While we were falling, they were preparing me for the shitstorm that is The Frenchman. His return was inevitable.
“I can keep a secret. I just want to know the plan.”
“Just because you’re here doesn’t mean you get a part to play. They made a bad decision, and they know it, and fucking them doesn’t give you a say. And I know you won’t tell anyone,” he says with conviction, “but for the wrong reasons.”
“How is it wrong?”
“Because it’s your loyalty to them,” he jerks his chin toward the woods, “and your inability to separate your personal feelings, instead of embracing the idea that Roman has done some unforgivable things and deserves to suffer for it. So just let it go, like they are, and…live your life.”
“Is that an order?”
“No, it’s good advice,” he snaps, “you should take it.” I’m getting under his skin, which I would consider a good thing if I weren’t at his mercy.
“I just want to see them.”
“Not happening.”
“I’m not a daddy’s girl who’s pissed she lost her playmates. Talk to them. They’ll tell you about me. They’ll vouch for my character.”
His eyes rake me in revulsion. “I know enough.”
I drop my arms, baring myself to spite him. I won’t let him shame me for something he knows nothing about or make me feel uncomfortable in the skin I’ve spent a summer growing into. My effort goes unnoticed when his eyes remain bolted to mine. We stare off on opposite sides of the line he’s drawn between us.
“You’re really going to do this?”
“We live in different realities, and you were born into your side of things. I might not hold it against you if you drop it. Ignorance is truly bliss in your case, Cecelia. It would do you good to remember that.”
“Even if we’re estranged, which we are, I don’t want him hurt. If you can promise my father’s safety. I can help you.”
“I’m not promising anything. He’s got plenty of enemies that have nothing to do with us. It’s business.”
“Not for me.”
“That’s your problem.”
“So, what the hell am I supposed to do?”
He turns in the direction of the woods, dismissing me. “Go get your nails done.”
Outraged, I reach for anything I can, finding purchase in my lotion bottle, and hurl it toward him. It nails him in the center of his back. He whirls on me, and I yelp, backing up toward my chair until I’m forced on my ass. He jerks me up by the arm. What happens between us isn’t chemistry, it’s a white-hot fire filled with hate and resentment and a grudge that has nothing to do with me. This man isn’t hinting around to anything. He loathes my existence.
“The next time you fuck with me, I’m going to fuck with you.” His amber gaze licks fire down my chest before he tightens his grip. I keep my whimper on my tongue.
“You’re making a mistake. You’ve waged war for people just like me. Like my mother. Sean and Dominic are my friends over everything else, and I want to help them. They’ve been loyal to you. I don’t even know your name! You may hate Roman, but I’m innocent in this. I knew nothing. I still don’t.”
“You were innocent in this, but you won’t be if you keep pressing. You’re too easy of a target.” His insult strikes deep as he sprinkles salt on my new wounds, “You’re too young and too naïve. You believed every word they told you, and at this point, you need to accept that they got what they needed from you.”
Access. I was a means to gain access. My stomach drops as I remember the day Sean came back after our fight with a ready apology. Dominic went in my house shortly after while Sean distracted me. I may be a fool, but…
“I’m not a whore.”
“That’s your conscience you’re fighting with, not mine.”
But after that day, everything changed. Maybe before I was a target, but after I was a decision. They let me in their world because they wanted me there. I’m certain of it. Sean confessed as much. He took a huge risk by bringing me in. Sleeping with me was sleeping with the enemy, letting me in on secrets kept me tied to them, and staying with me meant risking their credibility and position in the brotherhood.
If I ever needed proof of their feelings, I have it now.
“I care about them. Deeply. Just let me do my part.”
“If that’s true, stop being so fucking selfish. They’re content with letting you go, and you need to woman up and do the same.”
“You can’t keep me away from them!”
“You know I can. Every door you knock on will not open. No one will go near you. As of this moment, right now…you no longer exist. And you never did.”
Rage like I’ve never known courses through me as I spew my venom.
“Fuck you, you backwoods fake ass fucking robin hood wannabe son of a bitch!” I jerk my arm away and he lets me. “Get the hell out!”
He steps back, sliding his mammoth hands in his slacks, eyes blazing, voice arctic. “This is exactly why I don’t want you anywhere near us.”
I lift a hand. “Please, you’re using the fact that I get a period as an excuse to eradicate me from the tribe? You and your group of vigilantes are supposed to be the do-gooders, right? We’re supposed to be thankful to your sordid dick circle?” I huff, “Well, allow me to thank y
ou on behalf of all of us pussy wielding predators,” I exaggerate a bow, “thank you so much, but again, I’m not your enemy.”
I lift my chin. “They trusted me because they knew I was capable of handling it, and they made sure of it. They trusted me because I love them, and they knew I’d have their backs because of that love. Dismiss it all you want, but it’s a driving force that will ensure my loyalty, not negate it, and help me to do whatever it takes to protect them as much as they are me. And you.”
Some sort of recognition flits over his features with my confession, and just as quickly, it evaporates. “You were never supposed to be involved.”
“But I am now, so let me do my part.”
“That’s two minutes,” he turns to walk in the direction of the woods, and I speak up because I know no amount of scheming will give me back his audience.
“I do love them. Maybe they screwed up, but what got me involved is their allegiance to you, and your cause, everything all of you collectively stand for. They didn’t expect to love me back, they expected to use me, but the fact that they weren’t capable of deceiving me on that level is why I’m standing here fighting to be there for them. I’m still angry, but I understand. They made me understand. And maybe this had nothing to do with me, but it now has everything to do with me. Please. Let. Me. Help.” I wipe the weakness from my eyes and stare after him. He’s magnificent and cruel, and far beyond anything I expected to face today. I was expecting my golden sun or my cool dark cloud, and the thought of never seeing them again is too much to bear. I’m begging, and I shouldn’t be. I should pack up and leave and kiss this whole town goodbye. Fuck my father and the bed he made. We have no relationship, and I could try to find another way, a safer way to take care of my mother. But as the thought occurs, images of Sean and Dominic and the fear of the unknown cripples me. I can’t bring myself to walk away. Not yet.
“I believe in this, in everything you’re doing, in everything you stand for. I want in.” It’s the absolute truth, but I fear I’ve spoken up too late.
Back turned, he pulls my top from his pocket and frees it at his side before it falls to the deck. “I’ll think about it.”
The first sign of autumn chill confirms his decision. And silence is my answer. It was always going to be no.
