Page 60 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Sixty

RAVEN

T he quiet mutterings and incessant beeping wake me from my peaceful sleep.

I hear two familiar voices but still can’t place the beeping sound.

The smell comes next, the overpowering scent of bleach and disinfectant that makes my nose twitch.

A hand is in mine, stroking gently, and I already know who it is from the subtle sparks I get from his touch.

I’m safe. There’s no threat .

I repeat the mantra over and over, focusing on my breathing.

I’m not locked away. I’m not being sold. I’m safe. There’s no threat .

Trying to open my eyes is hard. They feel heavy, like something’s weighing them down. It takes a few tries, but eventually the bright light of day and a pair of blue eyes meet my gaze.

I’m safe. There’s no threat .

A sob works its way up my throat as I squeeze James’s hand. I bite my lip to hold back the tsunami of tears threatening to spill over.

A chair creaks next to me, but I don’t leave James’s gaze .

I’m safe. There’s no threat .

“I’ll leave you to it,” Theo whispers gently. “Glad to see you’re okay, Raven.”

I wait until I hear the click of the door closing before I let myself crumble, gut-wrenching sobs force their way out as I think of what could’ve been.

James launches himself at me, picking me up gently and placing me on his lap.

I curl into his chest and expel all of the fear and anger I’ve been holding onto.

James holds me until my sobs subside, stroking my back and kissing my hair. He holds me close, not letting his grip loosen for even a second.

I’m safe. There’s no threat.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffle. “I got your T-shirt wet.”

He grasps my chin gently, tugging my face to look at him. “Fuck the T-shirt, Raven. How are you feeling?” His eyes dart between mine.

“I’ve been better,” I huff out a laugh. “Not every day someone tries to kill you and then kidnaps you. I majorly pissed someone off.”

He leans down and places a soft kiss on my forehead, and I melt into him. “We have a lot to talk about once you’ve recovered a bit more,” he sighs against me.

Feeling the tears well again, I reply, “I know.”

We sit in silence for a while, James continuing to stroke my hair as I repeat over and over in my head; I’m safe, there’s no threat . I cry when I need to—which is a lot—and he holds me the entire time. Eventually, I fall asleep, still emotionally and physically burnt out.

When I wake later, I’m still safely cocooned in James’s arms. He’s snoring softly under me, and I snuggle in closer. I can’t have been asleep that long, as it's still light outside. I move my head slightly to look at him. His eyes open, and I give a shy smile .

“You okay, baby?” he asks, sitting himself up and wiping the sleep from his eyes. “Can I get you anything?”

“I could murder a coffee,” I reply, smiling gently. “I haven’t had any caffeine in… well, I don’t know how long, and my head is pounding.”

“Of course, pretty girl. I’ll get it for you now.” James goes to stand up, and I whimper, holding onto his arm tightly. “Okay, okay. You’re okay, Raven,” he says gently. “You’re safe, there’s no threat.”

The fact that he remembered my mantra fills me with more love than I know what to do with. Repeating the mantra and doing my box breathing exercises, I begin to calm down.

“I’ll get Leo to grab us some coffees. I’m just going to the door, I won’t go any further than that, alright?”

I nod my head, feeling completely stupid about my breakdown, but I remember that I need to be kind to myself. I’ve just been through a traumatic ordeal, and I’m allowed to feel like an emotional wreck. No one will think any less of me, especially James.

He comes back a minute later, sitting back on the bed and bundling me in his arms. We sit in silence again, waiting for Leo. I don’t have the energy to talk right now.

A nurse comes in, checking my vitals and asking if I want anything for the pain, but I refuse, waving her off. I’m sure she’s completely rushed off her feet and doesn’t need to be running around after me.

Leo comes in ten minutes later. He sets the coffee down with some snacks, but I feel too nauseous to eat, so I just stick with my coffee. James nods his head in thanks as I sip the nectar of the gods, starting to feel somewhat human again.

“Can I ask you something?” he asks, and I look up at him before placing my coffee on the table next to us. My shoulder and hips protest, the bruising well and truly forming, and I wish I’d asked for that pain relief now .

“Of course,” I reply. “You can ask me anything.”

“One thing I can’t work out… why did you run off? What happened?”

Reminders of that bitch in the bathroom come flooding back, and I tense. “I had an… altercation in the bathroom. It upset me, and I needed air.”

“An altercation? In the bathroom?”

I hum in response.

He tilts my head up to face him, his blue eyes boring into me. “Gonna need you to elaborate a bit on that, baby.”

I sigh. “I’ve bumped into this woman a couple of times, she kept saying weird shit—implying that she was with you, with you. She cornered me in the bathroom and showed me pictures of the two of you kissing, and I… lost it.”

“Pictures? What woman? What did she look like?” he demands, his brows pinched together.

“I don’t know—red hair, skinny, far too much makeup.”

He looks thoughtful for a moment. “Did she say what her name was?”

I shake my head. “No, just treated me like I was nothing but a hindrance to her.”

“So she showed you the pictures and you ran?” he asks.

“Yeah, not my finest hour,” I concede, a flush appearing at my stupidity.

James runs a thumb softly over my cheek. “Nothing happened with her, pretty girl.”

“But the pic—” He presses a finger to my lips to stop me.

“Were a fabrication on her part,” he explains. “She came into my office and faked the whole thing. She knew what she was doing. I pushed her away as soon as her lips touched mine, but she’d somehow managed to get evidence anyway.

“So who was she then?”

James goes to speak, but the whirlwind that is my best friend hurtles through the door at breakneck speed.

“Oh, thank fuck,” she cries, flinging herself at me.

“ Oof .”

“Careful,” James admonishes, holding out an arm to protect me. “She’s delicate.”

Mia’s head pops up from where it’s buried in my neck. “Hi, Daddy James, looking good as ever.”

“Mia,” I laugh. “Down, girl.”

James looks horrified. “Please don’t ever say that to me again.”

“Can’t promise anything.” She smirks before turning to me with a worried expression. “Are you okay?” She slaps her palm to her forehead. “Of course you’re not, you just got fucking kidnapped.”

James slips out from underneath me, our three-way hug obviously getting to be a bit too much for him and sits back in the seat next to me. I immediately reach for his hand, needing his quiet strength.

“I’m fine, Mia,” I promise.

She looks dubious, her eyes darting between mine and then down to my wrists, her brown eyes widening.

Mia doesn’t look herself, she has no makeup on—not that she wears tons anyway—sweats and a vest top on, and her long hair tied up in a messy bun.

I don’t often get to see her like this, but this just shows she was genuinely worried.

James interrupts my thoughts. “Raven’s a bit dehydrated, but the doctors say she can go home in a couple of days.”

Mia nods her head. “I’m still struggling to understand how my sweet, gentle, would never hurt a freaking fly, Raven, got kidnapped.” She looks perplexed, and I’m not surprised; I’m still unsure myself .

James answers for me, a serious expression on his face. “It’s complicated. We know who it was and why, I just need Raven at full capacity before I explain what I know.”

“What you know,” I repeat. “What does that mean?”

He sighs, his eyes so full of sadness. “It was someone we never thought it could be. Someone who’s betrayed all of us in the worst possible way.” He clenches his jaw as he mumbles, “And there was me thinking it was the other possibility. I wish it fucking was.”

“The other possibility?” I repeat, feeling like a broken record.

“The woman who showed you pictures of me?—”

“Yes, thank you very much, no need to remind me,” I interrupt, bristling at something I’d sooner forget.

He nods his head but continues, “Theo’s team has been looking into the woman and her dad. A business deal went south between us when I refused to marry his daughter?—”

“Beg pardon?” I choke out, my eyes narrowing on him as I shift on the bed. “Marry his daughter?” I rub my forehead, my headache worsening.

“Yeah, apparently arranged marriages still exist in 2025. He thought he could merge his company with mine and get his daughter off his hands at the same time.” He shrugs. “I told him to get fucked.”

“So let me guess, the woman who’s been harassing me is the daughter he wanted you to marry?”

“One and the same,” he agrees.

Mia, who’s been quiet during all of this, pipes up, “So we have a crazy stalker bitch and a casino mob boss that could be targeting Raven? Am I getting this right?”

I nod, but James shakes his head.

“You can’t make this shit up,” she laughs before schooling her features. “Sorry, bad form. ”

“Raven does have a crazy stalker bitch, yes,” James explains. “But the casino mob boss, no.”

I feel like I’m being treated with kid gloves, and I’m tired of it. “James, just tell me. I can handle it.” I roll my eyes at him and his theatrics.

He looks me dead in the eye, a look of sadness, and I begin to panic. “Please don’t tell me it was my dad?”

James reaches for my hand and entwines our fingers together. “No, pretty girl.” He swallows. “It was Emma.”

My eyes go wide at his admission before I start laughing. “No, seriously, who was it?”

James’s expression doesn’t change. I don’t know if I was expecting him to laugh with me or shout, “Surprise,” but he did neither; he just continues to look at me with the same sad expression.

My world crumbles, and I burst into tears. Not Emma, she wouldn’t do this to me. No. “ Why ?” I manage to ask. Mia pulls me into her, hugging me and offering me support, but I wish it were James’s arms around me instead.

“Apparently, she didn’t like not being the only woman in your dad’s life, so she decided to take things into her own hands.”

“By having me killed ?” I exclaim, wiping the tears from my eyes.

“She tried to traffic you,” he replies angrily, not at me, at her.

Completely overwhelmed by the whole thing, I mumble, “I don’t know what’s worse.”

“Wait a minute,” Mia interjects, her brows furrowed together. “What’s with the guy who tried to kill you? Was he one of the guys from the casino, or was he with Emma?”

I look at James because, in all fairness, Mia has a point.

He sighs, running a hand down his face. “The casino sent the guy to scare both you and your dad, pretty girl. Even though your dad paid it on time, they wanted him and others to know that they aren’t people to be fucked with.

” James runs his thumb absentmindedly across my hand.

“You just got caught up in something you shouldn’t have been.

” I look at him, my expression softening at the new worry lines gracing his handsome face.

I groan, throwing my head back and wincing as the stabbing pain in my head gets worse. “And there was little old me thinking that life couldn’t get any more exciting.”

“Hey,” Mia chimes in. “You’re fucking the man you’ve been in love with for years, I’d say life was pretty exciting.”

“Mia!” I exclaim, my cheeks going bright red. “Must you give all my secrets away?” I can’t even look at James right now. I know I’ve said ‘I love you’ in the past, but it’s embarrassing when she says it.

“Kinda wasn’t a secret, baby,” he chuckles. “I am pretty awesome.”

Lifting my hand, I cup his cheek. “I know.” I convey all the love I have for this man with my eyes.

He leans into my touch, and I see a flash of emotion pass across his eyes, but it’s too quick for me to decipher.

“Mia, how long are you gonna be around for?” James asks, changing the subject.

“All day. I was planning on catching up with my bestie.” She grins.

“I’m just popping out for a bit. Make some phone calls. Leo’s standing right outside the door, so nothing will happen to you.”

I smile softly. “Go, I’ll be fine.”

James stands up and kisses my forehead.

“Aw, you guys are so cute,” Mia gushes, clutching her hands to her chest.

I elbow her as James chuckles. “I’ll be back soon. ”

The door quietly shuts behind him as Mia jumps up. “Right, I’m going to need all the dishy details here because” —she fans herself— “phew, that was hot. The way he looked at you? I’m melting.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I smile gently.

I’m glad she doesn’t try to talk about Emma.

A lot’s happened in the last few months that I still need to wrap my head around.

I still don’t know all of the details; something tells me James is holding back, and for that, I’m grateful.

I’ve cried so many tears in the last few days that I feel numb.

Like, I’ve disconnected myself from the world.

I’ll grieve and figure out how to process this, but not right now, and Mia knows it.

“Sure you don’t.” She smirks and claps her hands together. “Right, UNO or trash TV?”