Page 49

CHAPTER 49

J ake watched the men walk away, his thoughts still reeling.

It was nighttime now. Darkness had fallen, and crickets chirped in the distance.

The moment almost felt . . . peaceful.

Was peace really possible? And, if so, how long would the feeling last?

Raven turned to him, her gaze looking as torn as he felt. “That was unexpected.”

His shoulders softened as he realized the effect this must be having on her. “You okay?”

She didn’t have to think about her response. “I am. Surprised, but okay. My dad and I . . . we need some resolution.”

“I know he’s made some mistakes, but he really does love you. That was clear when he hired me to find you. I could see how devastated he was that you’d been taken.” Jake meant those words. The man had been beside himself and willing to move mountains to ensure his daughter was found.

Raven seemed to believe him as she nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Relationships are just complicated, aren’t they?”

“They sure are.” Was she hinting that their relationship had also been complicated? Because it had been. The road bringing them to this point had been broken.

However, if there was hope for Raven and her father, was there also hope for Jake and Raven?

He stared at her. Beautiful, smart Raven.

The woman he’d always loved.

The woman who might just love him also.

Had the emotion of the moment propelled them into each other’s arms? Or was there more to it as Jake hoped?

He swallowed hard, trying to sort his thoughts. They had so many things to talk about right now—and their relationship wasn’t at the top of this list.

Not when lives were on the line.

“I have a feeling this isn’t the end of this,” Jake finally said.

“I agree.” Raven frowned and rubbed her neck. She lowered her voice as she asked, “Did you figure out if one of your teammates might be in on this?”

His jaw flexed at the thought. “Not yet. We’re going to keep our eyes on them.”

“Smart thinking.”

A moment of silence passed.

This was the time, he realized. This was the moment when he and Raven needed to have a heart-to-heart talk.

He prayed the conversation went well.

Raven licked her lips, knowing she and Jake needed to talk.

She hated the awkwardness between them and knew they might as well get this conversation over with.

“Hey, listen. I—” she started.

“I really want you to know—” Jake began at the same time.

They both laughed.

Jake’s gaze softened. “You can go first.”

Raven drew in a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts. There was so much she wanted to say. To ask him about. To get off her chest.

Where did she even start?

Finally, she found the courage to say, “I’m sorry, Jake. Sorry for all these years I haven’t forgiven you.”

“I’m the one who needs to apologize. I’m sorry for hurting you, Raven. Everything got derailed. And while I don’t regret my time with Danielle, I always felt like I was cheating her. She never had my whole heart like you did.”

“She had to know what she was getting herself into when she made that request to you.”

“I think she did. But I also don’t think she regretted it. When you’re faced with death, sometimes you behave in ways you don’t think you will.”

“Is that what we did? Is that what we’re doing?” Raven licked her lips. “Have all of these life-threatening situations made us feel things we wouldn’t have otherwise?”

Jake stepped closer, emotion pooling in his gaze. “I don’t think so. We’ve had a lot of years to think this through.”

“Yes, we have.” A soft grin slowly stretched across her lips. “I don’t want to walk away from this without . . .”

“Without what?” Jake’s voice caught as if he couldn’t breathe.

“Without knowing if we can make things work between us.”

He let out a long breath. “You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

Raven’s heart thundered in her chest as Jake’s words hung in the air between them. Ten years of hard feelings dissolved like morning mist under the warmth of truth.

Her fingers trembled as she reached up to touch his face, tracing the new lines at the corners of his eyes, evidence of the years that had been stolen from them.

“All this time,” she whispered, her voice catching on the words.

Jake’s hand covered hers, pressing her palm against his cheek as if to convince himself she was real. When he leaned down, Raven met him halfway.

His lips met hers, achingly gentle at first. The kiss felt like a question asked and answered in the same breath.

Then something broke loose inside her—a dam of emotion held back for too long.

Raven’s arms wound around his neck as the kiss deepened, tasting of promises and second chances. Jake pulled her closer, one hand splayed across the small of her back and the other cradling her head.

They parted only when breathing became necessary. Yet their foreheads still touched as if they were both unwilling to create even that small distance between them.

Raven felt the rapid rise and fall of Jake’s chest against hers, his heartbeat matching her own frantic rhythm. The familiar scent of him—sandalwood and citrus—flooded her senses, bringing back a thousand memories she’d tried and failed to bury.

His eyes, that impossible shade of green she’d never found replicated in nature, searched hers with a vulnerability that made her throat tight.

“Ten years,” he murmured, his thumb brushing across her lower lip as if memorizing its shape. “I’m not wasting another minute.”

Nothing made her happier than hearing those words.

Maybe—just maybe—their crazy journey had always been for them to reconnect at this very moment. Maybe they’d grown into the people they were meant to be in their years apart.

And maybe this was the second chance they’d both been praying for.

~~~

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Coming next: Pressure Point.