After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires Book 1)

by Melissa Sercia

  The rain was falling harder as I made a dash for my car. I punched in Cassius’s number and waited for him to answer.

  “Cassius. How long would it take to put surveillance on Raven’s apartment?”

  “I already have it set up. Her roommate, Piper, is working with Lux. He had me install it months ago to keep tabs on her.”

  “Well, that’s convenient for us. Okay. Keep an eye on her and let me know if Camille goes anywhere near there. I’m pretty sure she’s stalking her. While we were in Maplewood, she cornered Raven in the city. Meet me at my penthouse in an hour. We’ll figure out where to go from there.”

  “Shit. Okay I’ll see you in an hour.”

  I hung up and told my driver to step on it.

  I raced through the lobby and slipped into the elevator before the doorman had a chance to accompany me. I was in no mood for small talk and I needed blood. I didn’t want to risk opening up one of his veins on the way up to my floor.

  As I approached my door, I heard voices and loud music. What the fuck? I turned the key and pushed open the door to find my assistant, Charlie, doing a line of blow on my coffee table while three naked chicks surrounded him. One was jerking him off while the other two were making out with each other. Fuck. I did not have time for this. I was now cursing myself for giving him a key and for encouraging him to use my place for his sexual escapades.

  Charlie whipped his head around at the sound of me slamming my keys onto the counter. White powder circled his nose. “Ozi! The party has started. I brought you some candy, boss.”

  “I’m not in the mood. Finish up and get the fuck out, Charlie.” I went to my liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. I poured myself a shot, downed it, then poured another.

  One of the women, a hot blonde wearing nothing but a g-string, strutted over to me. She licked her lips and slipped her hand down my pants, wrapping it around my cock. As hard as she made me, she was not Raven. I yanked her wrist away and pinned it to the counter.

  “Listen, honey, my dick does not belong to you. You do that again without asking and I will break your hand.”

  She flinched back, fear flashing through her eyes, but she laughed it off. “Suit yourself. You can just watch then.”

  She proceeded to climb onto the other chick who was spread eagle on my couch and began slithering up against her. Charlie watched as the third chick sucked him off.

  I downed another shot and slammed the empty glass onto my marble counter. “Charlie, that’s enough. You need to get out of here. I’m tired and I have work to do. I’ll have my driver take you all wherever you want to go.”

  “C’mon, Ozi, play a little. You used to love my gifts.”

  My patience was dwindling and I didn’t have time for this. “You have twenty minutes. I’m taking a shower. Be gone when I come back downstairs or I’ll throw you off the terrace balcony.”

  I hustled up the stairs and came to a dead stop as soon as I reached my bedroom. A beautiful brunette laid naked in my bed. “I’ve been waiting for you, Mr. Fabiano.”

  “You need to leave. Hurry up, put some clothes on.” I was going to kill Charlie.

  She slinked around on my silk sheets like she was in heat. “But I’m your gift. You can do whatever you want with me.” She arched her back into my headboard and pinched her nipples between her fingers, purring as she did so.

  The old me would have ravaged her. The fact that Raven was the reason I could no longer even let myself enjoy this angered me. The naked woman on my bed angered me, teasing me with sex that I wouldn’t allow myself to have. I grabbed her wrists and lifted her onto the floor. Raven was the only woman I wanted in my bed.

  Before I could even process what had just happened, I found myself racing around my apartment looking for my clothes. The second he left, I knew I’d made a mistake. It only took me an hour of crying on the floor to realize that I’d pushed him away out of fear. He was begging me to come home with him and I panicked. While his talk of protecting me sounded crazy, I’d be lying if I said he didn’t sound sincere. There was something desperate in his voice that made me think he was not overreacting at all. I needed to know the truth and if going to his place and hearing it on his terms was the only way to get it…well, I was willing to take that risk. Even if it left me broken again in the end.

  Within twenty minutes I was dressed and hailing a cab in the rain. For the first time since I’d moved here, I didn’t mind the way the taxi sped through the slick city streets. The faster the better. I had to get to him before I lost my nerve. The proverbial path I was on with him was uncertain, but it was the only path I wanted to be on.

  The cab screeched to a halt outside of Ozi’s building. I glanced up and saw the lights twinkling from his terrace. The doorman recognized me and made no attempt to stop me as I raced to the elevator and hit the button to Ozi’s floor. Before the doors slid open I could hear the commotion. It sounded like a party. There was music, bottles clanking, and multiple female voices. A pit of dread sat in my stomach. I hesitated at his door, contemplating turning around and going home. But my curiosity got the best of me. That and the familiar feeling of jealousy. That same feeling I had when I heard the female laughter on the other side of Alex’s office door. I was going to be sick.

  I twisted the doorknob and to my surprise, it opened. I almost fell over as I took in the room. Naked women stretched and bent over his furniture, empty liquor bottles, white powder on the glass coffee table, and some chubby pant less guy hovering over the women. The guy was so strung out he didn’t even notice me standing there.

  “Where’s Ozi?” I said louder than I’d planned.

  The guy and all three women froze and turned their sights on me. “He’s not here. You should leave.” The man’s gaze trailed upward toward the second floor.

  I started toward it and he jumped in front of me. “Look, you don’t want to go up there.”

  I avoided looking down at his erection and kept my eyes on his face. “Get out of my way.” I tried to push past him but he blocked me. “Ozi,” I yelled.

  The guy grabbed me by the shoulders and nudged me back. “He’s busy. Seriously, leave. You don’t belong here right now.”

  “Take your hands off me or I’ll scream.”

  Heavy footsteps raced forward, landing at the top of the stairs. Ozi stood there, fully dressed, but disheveled. “Raven. What are you doing here?”

  I jerked away from the guy and folded my arms. “I came to talk to you about us. To tell you how I feel. I didn’t realize you were throwing a sex party.”

  Ozi ran a trembling hand through his thick black wavy locks. “I’m not. It’s not what it looks like. I mean it is, but it’s not my party. I just walked in on this. I swear.”

  “This is your house, Ozi. Do you think I’m that stupid?” I was furious and humiliated and shaking so hard my teeth were chattering.

  “I can explain. Charlie uses my place sometimes. Look, let’s go somewhere else and we can talk.” He started down the stairs when a lingerie clad brunette emerged from behind him and draped an arm around his neck. “Come back to bed, baby.”

  It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. My chest constricted and I clutched my neck. “Oh, I have seen enough. That,” I pointed to the woman, “explains everything. I’m done letting you lie to me.”

  “Raven, wait. I’ve done nothing with this woman. You have to believe me.” He shoved the woman away, sending her a seething look at the same time. “Just wait, please.”

  Everything in my heart was hardening all over again, filling the cracks that he had managed to pry open. I wasn’t just breaking; I was freefalling into a dark abyss where my emotions couldn’t find me. Where love could no longer find me. “Camille was right. You betrayed me just as you betrayed her. I never should have trusted you.”

  I spun on my heel and leapt toward the door before he could catch up with me. Running, I slid into the elevator and frantically hit the button to close the doors. I co
uld hear him calling out my name behind me. I caught one last glimpse of his dark eyes right before the elevator doors slid closed.

  I ran as fast as I could up Fifth Avenue, skidding every few feet as the rain poured down around me. In the near distance I could hear Ozi calling out my name. It was only a matter of time before he caught up with me. He was fast and my legs were starting to ache.

  My apartment was too far to run to. I’d have to hail a cab or jump on the subway. But he’d no doubt follow me there. I needed to go somewhere he wouldn’t find me. But where? I couldn’t face him tonight. Maybe not ever. I knew from the start he was a player. I let him convince me he wanted to change. He told me I was different. Now I knew that was just a line he used to get me into his bed. I was such an idiot. After everything Alex put me through, I just wanted to believe that Ozi was a better man. But I was wrong. Again.

  Shooting pain reverberated in my calf muscles each time my feet slammed into the pavement. It traveled past my knees, burning my thighs. My body wanted to slow down, to sit, but I had to keep going until I was far enough away from him.

  It was late and the streets were half empty. Most people were smart enough to get out of the rain. Not me. I just had to run right into it. I passed cozy coffee shops and restaurants full of smiling faces and warm lighting. I could duck into one, but what if he followed me in and made a scene?

  A red light forced me to stop at the crosswalk. Come on, come on. Turn green. Ozi’s voice was getting louder, closer. I didn’t dare turn around. I shifted my feet, transferring weight back and forth to bring some relief.

  “Raven, please stop,” he yelled.

  The light was still red. Fuck it. I’m just going to have to run into traffic.

  I stepped one foot off the curb just as a shiny black sedan pulled up. The window lowered and Camille poked her head out. “Get in.”

  I hesitated, looking back and forth between her and a faster approaching Ozi. I didn’t know her at all and I didn’t trust her, but Ozi was at my heels and I didn’t have the stomach for dealing with him tonight.

  She pushed the car door open. “Raven, let me get you out of here.” Her gaze traveled past me.

  I nodded and slid in beside her. I slammed the door shut and heard the lock click. Ozi threw himself at the car, screaming at me to get out. “Raven, what are you doing? Don’t go with her. Please get out and let me explain everything to you.” My eyes welled with tears as I raised the tinted window. Camille nodded at the driver and he stepped on the gas, lurching us forward so fast, Ozi stumbled backward, forcing him to let go of the car.

  I sank into the leather seats. “Thank you.”

  Camille handed me a towel. “Of course. That’s what friends are for. Shall I take you home?”

  I scrunched my hair into the plush towel. “No. He’ll be waiting there. Can we just drive around for a while?”

  The corners of her red painted lips curled into a smirk. “Actually, I know a place we can go where he’ll never find you.”

  I sighed and leaned back, closing my eyes. “Great. Take me there.”

  My heart was racing. I ducked underneath an awning and furiously punched in Cassius’s number. He answered on the first ring.

  “Ozi, I’m at your place. Where are you?”

  “I’m on the corner of 95th and 2nd. Tell my driver to bring you here. Now.”

  Fifteen minutes later I was in the backseat of my car with Cassius, speeding through Manhattan. I filled him in on everything that happened since we’d left Maplewood—my confrontation with Enzo, his revelation about Raven’s ancestral line, Charlie’s unannounced orgy at my penthouse, and chasing Raven through the rain only to watch her hop into a car with the very person I was trying to protect her from.

  “How are we going to find her? She could be anywhere in the city,” I grumbled.

  “I’ve hacked into the streetlight cameras and am trying to piece together their route.” Cassius typed furiously onto his laptop. “Take a left up here,” he ordered my driver.

  Each block we passed grew darker and more desolate than the last. It was three in the morning and while bars and clubs were still open, most other businesses had closed up for the night.

  It didn’t take me long to realize where Camille was headed. We were following her trail straight into the Meatpacking District. When the cameras showed her car slowing to a stop at a red light, Cassius was able to read her plates and punched them into his computer, giving us easier access to trace her on other cameras in the city.

  “There.” I pointed to a black sedan outside of an abandoned meat packing plant. There was a sign out front that showed plans for an office building with the words, Coming Soon, splashed across it.

  The driver drove around the block and parked on a side street. “Keep the engine running just in case.” He nodded and retrieved a handgun from the glove compartment. I didn’t have the heart nor the time to tell him that wouldn’t work on anyone who might be chasing us because they were vampires.

  Cassius fell into step with me as we crept up the dark street, keeping to the shadows. We were predators. Hunters. This is what we did best. What we were designed for.

  We found an entrance on the side of the building and made our way in without making a sound. I just hoped that we weren’t too late.

  I was starting to regret my decision to jump in Camille’s car. She was right about Ozi never finding me here. What worried me more was that no one would ever find me here. It was dark, damp, and bare except for a few dusty pieces of furniture—a ripped velvet couch and a couple of hard wooden chairs.

  Camille sat on the couch surrounded by four tough guys that looked like bodyguards out of some mafia movie. She crossed her long legs and dangled a martini over them. “I’m so glad we are getting this alone time, Raven. I have so much to tell you.”

  “Honestly, I don’t want to hear any more about how Ozi cheated on you. I believe you. Can we please just talk about something else?”

  She laughed. “Oh, I plan to. I didn’t bring you here to talk about our piece of shit blood sucking ex-boyfriend. I brought you here to talk about you, dear.”

  Odd choice of words. An uneasy feeling washed over me. Everything about this felt wrong—the abandoned meat packing plant, the goons accompanying her, and the way she eyeballed me like I was an appetizer on a menu—it was all starting to make me think I was a prisoner and not a guest.

  “You know, I’m actually pretty tired. Ozi probably gave up for the night. Can you just take me home please?”

  “Klaus, bring our new friend a martini would you, doll?” The taller of the goons nodded and ambled over to a makeshift bar on the other side of the room. She narrowed her eyes at me. “We’re not going anywhere, Raven. Not yet. Not until I’ve told you why you’re here and my plans for you.”

  Now I was really starting to worry. I reached around in my back pocket for my phone, pulling it out, only to have the tall goon take it from me and replace it with a martini.

  “What is this? Can I have my phone back please?” I scanned the room for exits but they were all blocked by more men.

  “Did you ever wonder why your parents were so cruel to you? Why they didn’t love you as much as your baby sister?” She steeled her blue eyes on me.

  “How do you know about my family?” My heart was beating into my throat.

  “You were never supposed to be in Maplewood, dear. You didn’t belong there. But your parents were smart to hide you there so I couldn’t find you. Very clever of those two. Dropped you off at some house full of country bumpkins so that I wouldn’t be the wiser. But I knew you would resurface eventually.”

  What was she talking about? Ozi had brought up my family too. This was getting weird fast. “Look, I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, but you need to stop. I want to go home.”

  “It’s not a game. It’s the truth. Something that no one has ever told you in your entire life. Those people who raised you were not your parents, Raven. They
adopted you. Took you in because your real parents left them a box full of money with the promise of more every year that you remained alive and healthy. And your blood, the blood that runs through your veins, is the same as mine. You are my family and I am yours. I’m your great, great, great grandmother.”

  My head was spinning, dizzying me to the point of almost passing out. “I think you have had a few too many martinis. You aren’t that much older than me.” Or she was just batshit crazy.

  Camille stood and slinked over to me, twirling the olives in her glass while she strutted as if she were on a runway. “I only look your age but that’s because you don’t know what I really am. It will all make sense once you do.” She snapped her fingers at one of her goons. “Bring her in.”

  I inched back. “What—what are you doing with her?”

  Tori’s blood shot eyes bulged as she struggled against her restraints. Her mouth was covered with tape. Camille pushed her to her knees. She grabbed a fist full of her hair and yanked her head back.

  “This is my gift to you, Raven. This despicable girl has had it out for you since day one. Now is your turn to get payback.”

  This wasn’t happening. I pinched myself, hoping this was all just a bad dream, but nothing happened. It was very real. “But I don’t want payback. Please just let her go. Let both of us go.”

  Camille laughed. “Not until you see the truth.” Her face began to change—her eyes darkened, shadows creasing across her face. Something strange was taking over her expression. Something dark and twisted. She pulled up her lips and two sharp fangs protruded out. She looked feral, like a wild animal.

  I couldn’t move, frozen in place with a fear I had never felt before. In one swift motion, Camille pulled Tori’s head to the side and sank her teeth into her neck. Tori made a sound that was unnatural as Camille drank from her.

  Oh shit, oh shit. She was drinking her blood. My heart was beating so fast and so hard I couldn’t catch my breath. I was starting to see stars in my peripheral. Calm down, Raven. Just breathe. I couldn’t pass out. I had to keep my wits about me. This was fucking insane.