Page 54 of White Raven (Nevermore Duet #2)

“Yeah, unfortunately for you, my mama taught me to keep my eyes on the prize… smile .” He pulled a camera from his shoulder bag and snapped several pictures of them both before racing for the door.

He’d never even made it to the register.

Sarah and Wren lowered their hands from the front of their faces and every person in the shop drew their attention to them.

“Thanks for the headline,” he mocked, sticking his middle finger up at Wren and teetering his cell phone between his fingers.

“You motherfu—” Wren started to storm after him, and Sarah threw her arm out.

“Wren! Don’t…you’re just gonna make it worse,” Sarah soothed, watching as he took off running down the sidewalk. Wren was stunned…red-faced…furious.

“He recorded us,” she choked, biting down on her lip as she shook her head.

“Unfortunately, that’s a shitty side effect of dating Brent Stratford.”

One girl turned around from the front of the line and dropped her mouth open.

“You’re dating Brent Stratford?!” Murmurs from around the shop started firing up, and people started pulling out their phones.

Sarah cut the line, grabbing Wren’s hand and slapping a five-dollar bill to the counter for the almonds as she dragged her out of the front door.

They hurried past a few cars and down an alley, and Wren’s breathing became heavy, and pissed. “Wren,” Sarah started, trying to console her. “It’s alright. You used to tell me—”

“Fuck that, Sarah!” She kicked the side of a dumpster hard enough to cause a rattling echo down the alleyway. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to get involved, dude! You never went anywhere without a dozen people waiting to snap your fucking picture. Is this gonna be my life?!”

“It might be for a while. I guess the question is, how much is this relationship worth to you? I know I haven’t asked, but the past few days you’ve been a lot less bitchy, you’re smiling more, and you’re not holing up in that apartment like a fucking bat.”

“Sarah, I don’t wanna be front page news. I’m my own worst enemy, I don’t need to add that to my list. We haven’t put a label on this shit. We’re just…” She gripped her hair and paced a sharp circle, reaching into her bag for her cigarettes.

Sarah leaned against the opposite wall of the alley, lighting up just as Wren did the same. Wren took a few hits and gathered her composure, taking the other wall and staring down the narrow passage.

“You lied to me,” she said, blowing smoke.

“What?”

“You told me he was a lousy lay. He’s probably the best I’ve ever had. I’ve never had my cooter demand more than it could take in my entire fucking life. We were like animals. I’ve never been so high…and you know that’s saying something.”

Sarah smiled softly… knowingly . “I never lied to you, Wren. I told you, for me, fucking Brent was…mediocre at best. We didn’t click. There was no spark there.”

“A spark? That son-of-a-bitch burned me at the stake!”

“Exactly.”

Wren took another drag, staring at her in confusion. “What?”

“You found the thing . Brent’s got all the working parts, dude.

He’s packing a decent member, and he’s got a great body.

Aside from that, for us? There just wasn’t any more to it.

That’s what’s making this different from any other one night stand for you.

Even the ones you thought you’d be over-the-moon about. Y’all have something real .”

“Did you just call his cock, a member? ”

Sarah dismissed her attempt to change the subject. “Are you willing to lose him over the publicity?”

She was quiet for a minute, but finally sighed, smoke pouring through her mouth and nose. “No.”

“Good. They’re vultures. As long as you’re in Boston, that swarm is gonna be everywhere. He handled it better than I ever could. This whole thing with Conrad is gonna blow over soon, Wren. They’ll move onto juicier news. Don’t let this come between what you’ve got.”

“I hear you,” she grumbled, toeing a crushed drink can with her foot.

“And?”

“You’re right, asshole. I got it. I’m just—I’m just pissed off.” She pushed off the wall, and tossed the cigarette down on the ground. “And I waited in that line and never got my fucking coffee.” She started back down the alley, leaving Sarah behind.

“Where are you going?” she asked, flicking her cigarette towards the dumpster.

“Fuck them…we’re going back.”

That’s my girl.

His pacing was only causing more tension in her limbs. Rhaena tapped her heels against the exam table in the doctor’s office and watched Brandon’s body nervously cross the room, turning at one wall, and trudging back to the other.

“You’re not helping,” she snorted.

“I mean, how long does it take to run a piss test?” he asked, stopping and smirking at her.

“I’m almost positive they do this on purpose just to make you sweat. The tests they have are the same ones we take at home.”

He shook his head, sighing. “Isn’t it our job to make people uncomfortable?”

“Just relax. You’re making me nervous.”

He slumped into the chair against the wall and started poking a model of an IUD on the counter, picking it up and flipping it over to shake it. Rhaena bit back her smile.

“This looks like a wishbone. What does it do?” He narrowed his eyes, and his eyebrows twitched as he turned it around.

“It’s birth control,” she said, fighting back a giggle.

“Huh? What do you mean?” He finally turned it back the right way and looked over at her. “What is this supposed to be?”

“A vagina.”

The model flew from his hands, breaking open on the floor, and Rhaena busted out with a hearty laugh, covering her mouth.

“Bro, what the fuck! It like…goes in there?!”

Rhaena leaned over, cackling. “I wouldn’t know. That’s not what I use.”

“Oh my God…that’s messed up. That’s so—”

There was a knock, and then the door opened, her doctor stepping in and looking down at the floor. “Oh…another one bites the dust,” she grinned, winking at Rhaena.

“I’m really sorry,” Rhaena offered.

Dr. Hammond waved her off, smiling at Jenkins.

“Happens all the time. No harm, no foul.” She sat down on the round stool and placed her chart on the counter, clapping her hands together and sitting them in her lap.

“So. We ran your labs, and the first two tries were unresponsive. I ran one more, and we got a negative. Now, it could either be that it’s too early to tell, and we’re testing too soon, or…

” She glanced between them and then rested her focus on Rhaena.

“Or?” Brandon urged.

“Or you guys aren’t pregnant. Not sure if that’s good or bad news for you.”

Rhaena caught the hint of disappointment on his face before he masked it, and looked back to the doctor, biting her lip. “What other options are there to use to detect early pregnancy?”

Dr. Hammond shrugged, “Well, we can run a blood test.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Then, the only other thing I could do would be to give you an ultrasound, but that could present complications with your insurance if—”

“We’ll pay it if it does. That’s not a problem,” Brandon interrupted.

“Sure,” she nodded, turning and opening the cabinet beneath the sink to pull out a paper gown. “If you want to just undress from the waist down, I’ll go grab the nurse, and we can take a look. This early on, we’ll have to use the internal wand to get an accurate image.”

She handed the gown to Rhaena, and Brandon looked on in utter confusion. When the doctor left to give them a moment, he waited until the door shut and stood, helping her out of her jacket.

“Internal wand?” he asked. Rhaena chuckled.

“I swear men must really use a shit ton of energy pretending to be tough. Yes. An internal wand. Longer than a dildo, and far less pleasant. And that’s not even the worst thing they have in this room.

” He swallowed as she finished undressing, and took her clothes, folding them while she pulled the paper gown around her.

“Don’t worry, babe. You won’t see anything any more exciting than usual. ”

He dropped his mouth as she laid herself down on the table. “That was hurtful, Northwood.”

Rhaena snickered as the doctor knocked, coming back into the room with a nurse, and turning off one set of lights as Brandon scooted a chair next to the table.

They prepped her, and fixed her feet in the stirrups, and she tried not to flinch at the cold intrusion in her nether regions, instead opting to take his offered hand and squeeze it while they looked over at the black and white screen.

“Alright, Miss Northwood. Over here is your right ovary.” She pressed a button, freezing an image, and printing a picture.

“Looks healthy. This is your left one.” She moved the wand uncomfortably around and her heart raced, waiting to see a flickering heartbeat, but not having a clue what she was looking at.

The doctor grew quiet, and the silence in the room became stifling.

“Everything okay, doc?” Brandon asked, obviously growing impatient. Rhaena had to admit, so was she.

“Honestly? You’re healthy as a horse, Northwood.

You have strong muscle tissue, good measurements.

This area here is your uterus, and as you can see…

” she ran her finger along the screen, “You’re at the stage of your cycle where you’re about to shed the lining.

I’d be surprised if you didn’t start today.

But no. The tests were accurate. I don’t see a little one hiding in here. ”

Is she serious?

The subtle slack to Brandon’s grip nearly broke her heart.

Some part of him was hoping they were, and that evidence was so clear that being a seasoned cop wouldn’t have mattered.

It was difficult to comprehend…or admit…

that even Rhaena felt a little sting of disappointment.

They handed her a towel to clean herself up with, and helped her to sit, turning the lights back on.

Dr. Hammond took a seat as the nurse left and gave Rhaena a moment to collect her thoughts.