The Debt: The Complete Series (An Alpha Billionaire Romance)

by Kelly Favor

  “It’s okay, Mrs. Hartley. Really, it’s okay.”

  Not long after, the ambulance showed up. The EMTs came inside and checked Raven’s father’s vitals and declared him sufficiently okay to remain in the house. They also checked over his oxygen tank setup to make sure it wasn’t going to malfunction again.

  When one of the EMTs asked how Jake had known what to do to fix the tank, he’d gotten a strange look on his face.

  “My fiancé needed oxygen her last month or two before she passed,” he said. “I got used to handling the tank and just happened to know a few tricks.”

  “You probably saved his life,” the EMT said. “He was lucky you were visiting.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Jake muttered, his gaze flickering over to Raven and then away again.

  Nobody had spoken about the news story. It was as if it had never even happened.

  But once her father was better and the EMTs had gone, Jake announced that it was time to leave.

  “You’re going so soon?” Raven’s father said in a weak and tired voice.

  Jake was finishing another cup of coffee. “Afraid so, sir. Besides, haven’t you had enough excitement around here since I showed up?”

  Nobody quite knew what to say to that.

  Raven wasn’t sure what Jake meant, either. As he left the kitchen to go upstairs, she followed him. “What about me?” she said.

  He turned on the stairwell. “What about you?”

  “Do you want me to come back with you?”

  “It’s your call, Raven.” He could hardly look at her.

  “You didn’t tell me you planned to leave so soon. I’m trying to figure out how mad you are right now.”

  “I’m not mad,” he said. “Come if you want. Or don’t. Suit yourself.” And then he walked the rest of the way upstairs and she heard the door opening and closing as he went into the bedroom.

  A moment later, Raven’s phone buzzed with a text.

  She took out her cell and checked it. The text was from an unknown number, and it was just one short sentence.

  Payback’s a bitch.

  The limousine was waiting for them, parked alongside the curb. Jake carried the luggage over to where the driver was standing.

  Meanwhile, Raven gave her mother a long hug. “Sorry we had to leave so soon,” she said.

  “Maybe you’ll come back again?” her mother asked.

  Raven looked at her. “I hate that you have to even ask.”

  “But I do. I do have to ask.” Her mother’s hands were clasped together, her fingers seeming to grasp onto each other as if for support, as she spoke. “I don’t want it to be another four years before I see you or hear your voice again.”

  “It won’t be, I promise,” Raven said.

  “We don’t care about what happened in the past, or what they say about you,” her mother continued. “We love you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I love you too.” And she meant it. Maybe her mother had changed, after all. Perhaps people didn’t just let you down over and over again forever.

  Raven remembered what she’d discovered about Jake’s fiancé and her stomach tightened.

  Then again, maybe some people do just keep letting you down.

  Raven’s father had already said his goodbyes. He was exhausted after the medical crisis, and now he was sleeping.

  Danny came outside last. “Come here,” he said, moving away from the house and the limo, taking her over by the chain link fence that separated their yard from the neighbor’s yard.

  “What’s up?” Raven asked. She glanced at Jake, who was getting into the limo now, not even waiting for her.

  She shook her head slightly.

  “You need to stop seeing him,” Danny said.

  “Who? Jake?”

  “Yeah,” Danny said, laughing as if he couldn’t believe her stupidity.

  “Danny, he just saved Dad’s life and you still hate him.”

  “No, I think he’s a really cool guy. I’m grateful that he saved Dad’s life, but that doesn’t mean he’s good for you.” Danny stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at her.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot going on right now.”

  “I see that,” Danny said. “And I also saw the way they dragged your skeletons out of the closet on national TV. That’s just the beginning,” he told her. “They won’t stop until they’ve torn your whole life apart.”

  “They’re going to do it either way, I can’t stop them.”

  “That’s not true,” he said. “They’ll stop the minute you two break up. They’re only after you because of Jake.”

  “I’m sorry I embarrassed you, Danny—“

  “Stop saying that,” Danny said, his voice raising. “You said that last time when all of this happened and we were all dying inside, trying to figure out how to help. You kept apologizing for everything, but then you started to resent us. You kept saying we weren’t willing to fight to protect you. But all the lawsuits in the world won’t change public opinion, Raven. People believe what they want to believe. You need to be strong enough not to care.”

  “Well maybe I’ll be strong enough this time.”

  Danny shook his head. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen. Just stop this, already. You’ve finally come back home and maybe now there’s a chance to make things better, heal our family. Get away from Jake Novak before everything goes to shit again. Please, Raven.”

  “I need to go,” she said, turning away.

  “I’ll be here if you decide to come back, Raven. I’m not going anywhere, but then again, you already knew that.”

  Raven started to run, to the limousine. She needed to get away from the memories, get away from her family and the secrets and recriminations. She needed to distance herself from her sad mother, resentful brother, and dying father.

  She got to the limousine and the driver let her in.

  She thanked him and then slid into the cool darkness of the big car as he shut the door.

  The driver got in front and started to pull away from the house. Raven forced herself not to look back, not to watch and see her mother or brother watching her leave.

  She held back tears as if her very life depended on it.

  Jake was sitting across from her, legs outstretched, drinking from a tumbler. It looked like he was drinking scotch or whiskey. She could faintly smell it.

  “That was informative,” he said, swallowing and grimacing a little.

  Raven stared out the window as they left her street. “Was it?”

  “Yeah, it was.”

  She looked at him, knowing he was angry, even though he was hiding it fairly well. “I can’t thank you enough for helping my father, Jake. I can’t ever repay you for saving his life.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jake said, waving her off. “The way you left me in the dark about your little video is payment enough.”

  She’d known this was coming, but she was hurt just the same. “I didn’t purposely keep you in the dark. I had no idea that the video was going to come out. We got that stuff scrubbed from the internet four years ago and had a court injunction against anybody putting it up anywhere.”

  Jake looked at her like she was crazy. “Didn’t it occur to you that this could happen, and the affect it would have on me if it ever did?”

  The effect on him. That was what mattered.

  Raven licked her lips. “I’m not ashamed of dancing a little at a party when I was seventeen. It was stupid, but I did nothing wrong, Jake.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you think,” Jake said, his eyes widening with anger. “It matters what everyone else thinks and says. Already their spinning their stories about you, Raven.”

  She threw up her hands. “Isn’t that the point? I was bullied because of my perceived slutty behavior. Those people made up lies about me. That’s the point. I was bullied and I became one of those losers you made fun of with your comments. This could be your chance to s
how you’ve really changed, to come out and stand up for me.”

  “No,” Jake said, shaking his head. “The point is that you left me spinning in the wind. I asked you to tell me about what happened in your past. We could’ve planned for this, gotten out in front of the story and spun it to our advantage. But you lied to me—“

  “I never lied to you, Jake.” Her voice was shaking.

  “You might as well have. You lied by omission. You lied by keeping important details to yourself, details that would’ve changed how I handled everything.”

  Raven stared at him with uncomprehending frustration. “You’re a hypocrite,” she said.

  “Careful.” Jake took a long sip from his tumbler. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret later,” he murmured.

  “It’s true. You’re a hypocrite.”

  His gaze moved from the glass he was holding, to her face. He studied her. “That’s a bold statement from someone in your position, Raven.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about my position,” she told him.

  He laughed. “That much is obvious.”

  His laughter enraged her. “What’s obvious to me is that you needed a body double to satisfy your little sexual kink. So you found me.”

  Jake had been about to take another sip from his glass, but his hand stopped in mid-motion. He looked at her again. “What did you just say?”

  “You heard me,” she continued. “I went online this morning and found pictures of Peyton. I’d never seen her before.”

  Jake’s expression darkened, his eyebrows lowered. “Don’t talk about her. Not now. Not ever.”

  “I’ll talk about whoever I want.”

  Jake set his glass down behind him and folded his arms. “Fine, Raven. Let’s put everything on the table. Let’s lay it all out there.”

  For some strange reason, Raven found that he was still turning her on—the way he looked sitting there, the expression on his face, the very challenge of him. She hated that Jake Novak could make her feel so angry and so completely in need of him all at the same time.

  “Admit that you used me,” Raven said.

  “In what particular way?” he asked.

  “You used me because I look almost exactly like Peyton looked.”

  Jake’s jaw set and his eyes hardened. “There’s a resemblance.”

  “That’s why you chose me that night at the party. Tell me now, admit the truth Jake.”

  He nodded once. “Everyone has a type,” he said. “That’s not exactly breaking news.”

  “Except that you pick a certain type of girl so you can punish her, control her, and make her pay for the sins of your dead fiancé.” After she’d said it, Raven was struck by just how harsh it sounded.

  A muscle in Jake’s jaw flinched, but other than that he was completely still, his eyes locked on hers. “That’s a theory.”

  “It’s true. We both know it’s true.”

  His lips tightened. “And you liked every minute of it,” he finally uttered.

  “That’s beside the point—“

  “No,” he said, his lips curling into a strange grin. “That’s the entire point.”

  “You didn’t care if I enjoyed it or not. The fact that I liked you was basically irrelevant.”

  “That’s interesting phrasing,” Jake said, shifting in his seat. He looked up for a moment. “That’s very interesting phrasing.”

  “What did I say?”

  “You said you ‘liked’ me, as in past tense.”

  Raven sighed. “Don’t twist my words.”

  “I’m not twisting anything,” Jake said. “I’m just pointing out what you’re actually saying.”

  “You never felt anything real for me,” Raven said, “so how can you have the nerve to point out that I said ‘liked’ instead of ‘like?’ At least I actually felt something for you.”

  Jake just stared at her. His expression was unreadable. “You have no idea what I feel,” he said softly.

  They looked at one another for a long time, neither speaking. Time seemed to draw out, become elastic.

  “No, I don’t,” she said, finally. “And that’s your fault, Jake. Not mine.”

  “You’re trying to distract me from focusing on your behavior, and your lies,” Jake said. “You’re trying to put me on the defensive so that I conveniently forget about the fact that your whole scheme just blew up in my face.”

  “It’s not my fault—“

  “It is your fault!” he yelled. His voice was so loud that Raven cowered from him.

  He seemed to realize that he’d lost his composure. Jake grew silent, looking away from her, turning his body away as well.

  “I didn’t plan any of this,” Raven said, feeling hopeless and empty. “I didn’t want to make things worse for you. I thought I could help, but I guess I didn’t think any of it through. Everything just happened so fast.”

  “It sure did,” Jake said, still not looking at her.

  “Maybe it’s best if I go back to Boston today,” she said, hoping against hope that he’d tell her not to leave. She was praying that maybe Jake would come up with a way to salvage the situation. Even if it meant more punishment—she’d gladly have taken whatever he wanted to give her, if only they could stay together.

  “Yeah, I think you’re probably right,” Jake replied. “This doesn’t seem to be working out, does it?”

  Raven wanted to take it all back, rewind the tape, explain things better. She wanted to tell him everything, but now it was too late. She’d been afraid to deal with her past, she’d kept putting things off, and so her past had come back to bite her once again.

  Back at the hotel a few hours later, things only got worse.

  Raven was in Skylar’s hotel room. Sky’s parents were in their own suite, so it was just Raven with her now.

  “I met with the doctor this morning,” Skylar said almost immediately after Raven entered. “It’s cancer.”

  Raven swallowed, her eyes welling up. “What else did the doctor say?”

  Skylar shrugged. “She said that based on the size of the mass, they don’t feel comfortable doing surgery. They want to schedule me for chemo and radiation as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, Sky, I’m so sorry,” Raven said, and hugged her. For the moment, all thoughts of Jake and the disintegration of their relationship were pushed to the back burner.

  “I’m okay. I knew this was coming.” Skylar broke away from Raven and sat down on the couch, curling her feet up next to her. She held a pillow across her chest.

  “What hospital are you going to go for your treatment?” Raven asked her.

  “I don’t know,” Skylar told her. She looked disturbed for the first time, her brow furrowing. “Of course I’d rather be in Boston, near my apartment. I miss my kitty. I want to be home.”

  “Then we should get you home,” Raven said firmly.

  “It’s not that simple. Treatment’s going to cost a lot of money, and I’m not sure what—if anything—will even be covered.”

  “We’ll figure something out.” Raven crossed the room and sat down in front of the couch, on the floor, grabbing her friend’s hand. “We’re in this together, Sky. I’m going to be with you every step of the way.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that,” Skylar said, her jaw trembling a little.

  “You don’t have to ask me.”

  They both fell silent, smiling at one another ever so slightly, acknowledging the fact that they loved one another without having to say it.

  And then came a knock at the door.

  “Probably my parents,” Skylar sighed. “I told them I needed to take a nap, but they’re worried.”

  “I’ll get the door,” Raven said, getting to her feet and walking quickly to the door and opening it.

  She was shocked to see Jake standing there in the hallway.

  Jake raised his eyebrow at her. “Can I come in?”

  “Hey Jake,” Skylar said from the couch, giving a weak smile.

&nb
sp; He brushed past Raven and walked into the room, then went and sat down on one of the chairs. “Tell me what’s up,” Jake said. “I heard you got called in to meet with the doctor.”

  Skylar nodded, blinking. “Yeah. The news wasn’t good.”

  Raven folded her arms, not sure what to do. She was still glad to see Jake, to feel his presence—it was still comforting. She instantly felt as though things would be okay again, just from him being in the room. But then again, she knew that everything had changed and Jake no longer wanted to make everything okay for her.

  But at least he still cared about Skylar, Raven thought. That was more important than anything else right now.

  “You’re going to be fine,” Jake told Skylar. When he said it, it seemed like indisputable fact. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Do you hear me? We’re going to make sure you get the very best treatment.”

  “I don’t expect anything else from you,” Skylar told him.

  “I’m not asking your permission to help,” Jake said, “so don’t bother trying to talk me out of this.” He glanced over at Raven.

  “He’s right,” Raven said. “You’ve got to let Jake help you.”

  Jake nodded, looking back at Skylar. “First things first, we need to find the very best hospital. It’s probably Sloan Kettering—“

  “She wants to be home,” Raven told him.

  “Boston?” Jake said.

  Skylar sighed. “Boston has good hospitals, too, don’t they?”

  “Sure they do,” Jake said. “Yeah, of course.” He straightened up a little. “Let me make some phone calls and figure out what’s available. Whoever we end up choosing in Boston can coordinate with your doctor at Sloan Kettering to formulate a treatment plan.”

  Skylar hugged herself. “I don’t know why you’re doing all of this. You’re busy, you hardly even know me.”

  Jake glanced at Raven again but looked quickly back to Skylar. “I’m doing it because I want to, that’s all you need to know. This is no big deal for me. One of the few perks of being famous is that it’s easy to pull strings and throw money at problems.” He grinned.