1. Novel

  2. Severed Heart (Ravenhood Legacy Book 2)

  3. Severed Heart: Chapter 53
Severed Heart (Ravenhood Legacy Book 2)

Severed Heart: Chapter 53

SUMMER 2015
BLINK.
Standing idly in the woods between the clearing and Roman’s house, I watch in real time as Cecelia enters the front door after bidding farewell to her date. Her first real attempt at moving on since Dom and Sean were exiled. It’s evident in her disappointed expression and the lack of a kiss goodnight with Wesley—who I spent the morning vetting—that it didn’t go well. I text Tobias this update, knowing it’s mainly guilt-fueled. The message itself is one I’m certain he won’t give two shits about. But as things stood twenty minutes ago, T and I were in a better place. As of now, and after the act I just fucking committed, we’re sure to be at odds soon, yet again.
Even so, I stand in wait to see what reaction my gift might bring—if any—while resting in the knowledge that I did what was asked of me. Every one of my brothers is aware that I’m not the motherfucker to call to break protocol for personal reasons, and yet I can’t seem to stop being dragged into these situations. But I’ve become quite the sloppy son of a bitch recently due to the increased, thriving beat in my own chest because of the woman who keeps it pounding—steadily.
It was my brother’s desperate plea over the line—along with the love flowing freely inside me—that convinced me that for Cecelia, at the very least, it was the right thing to do. And so, I made the trip to that Asheville mall to our inked jeweler for both business and personal reasons.
Instincts aside, I did it as a friend and brother but also as a man deeply in love. Knowing all too painfully—by way of personal experience—just how fucking vitally important it is for Cecelia to get some sign, some acknowledgment that her own love and devotion for my brothers is not in vain. In no way personally could I hold a grudge against her decision to try and move on.
After spending too many years in a similar state, it was ultimately Cecelia’s aching heart that made the decision for me to act on his request. After all, it was Cecelia who brought me back to the love of my life. And after vigilantly guarding her—while watching her suffer from a distance these past months—I felt it was the least I could do to try to ease her pain.
So, for me, the request wasn’t as hard to carry out because she deserves to know that she’ll soon be claimed and that her devotion is returned. She needs that hope to continue to carry on for just two more months. My gift tonight hopefully not only giving her that sign but also a way to keep my promise to have her back. To know that even though she feels most alone right now, she’s anything but. It’s when I pull up my phone to track my birds’ current locations that any sense of relief I had in getting away with my latest move ceases to be. Trepidation snakes through me as I watch Tobias’s locater dot—which is connected to the tracker on his Jag—heading straight fucking for me.
I’ve been made.
Fuck.
Though Tobias has access to the cameras, I made sure to make this as covert as fucking possible. Going so far as to drive a King’s repair car from our lot here and parking it a quarter fucking mile away from Roman’s property line. A good distance from where we usually park next to the clearing before I practically crawled here to slip into Roman’s house undetected. So, the question is, unless he was logged into the cameras at that exact moment . . . how?
Palming the back of my neck, more dread settles into me. As Tobias’s Jag closes in, my mind starts to race. This can’t be a coincidence—not with him. Even so, I rest in the fact that if I’m made, then he’s coming for me, not Cecelia. Tobias won’t go into that house and hasn’t so much as sneezed in Cecelia’s direction for the last eight months since his brothers left.
The relief in that knowledge is promptly stripped away when Cecelia’s voice bellows as she bursts out of the back door of Roman’s house—frantically calling Sean and Dom’s names. A flashlight beam darting over the grass in front of her as she makes a beeline for the clearing.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
I hadn’t much thought about the false hope I would give her about them being present tonight as I hear her frantically covering ground while trying to summon them. A second later, Tobias’s dot stops a mere fifty feet away. Not long after, I hear the faint but distinct clap of his car door.
This isn’t fucking happening.
Was it the text I shot out that lured him here? If anything, he’d be relieved she was dating again. Wouldn’t he? Seconds pass, and I remain idle, my vantage point declaring itself more so as the most epic of fucking backfires threatens to play out before my eyes. But as more time passes—and I don’t sense T approaching me—I decide maybe I’m not made, and my secret might be safe for the moment.
But if it isn’t me he’s after, what the fuck is his motive for being here? Thinking on my toes, I consider calling him to deter him somehow but decide to opt out. If he’s here, he must have good reason. Tobias is just as calculated as I am in every move he makes. As Cecelia finally enters the clearing, bellowing out their names, her voice filled with hope, my heart cracks for her as I inch back slightly to ensure I’m concealed, knowing their collision is imminent.
“Dom?! Sean?!” Cecelia summons, my heart aching for her and for my brothers. I simultaneously cringe at the announcement of herself to T, who I’m now certain is within earshot of her painful summons.
This is confirmed a heartbeat later when I see him breach the trees ahead, a mere fifteen feet away. From my vantage point, I can also clearly see Cecelia to his right as she scans the clearing frantically for any sign of Dom and Sean.
Tobias stops short of breaking through the cover surrounding him to observe her as she calls their names once more. The hope in her voice dwindling with every one that goes unanswered.
That is until my brother takes it upon himself to answer for both Dom and Sean, stepping through with his haughty greeting. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Cupping my neck, I shake my head in denial, knowing that I’m not getting away with shit tonight. Because even if their current collision is by some twist of fucking fate or coincidence, I feel it in my bones that the necklace I left on her pillow is somewhere on her person—if not already clasped around her neck.
Lifting my head heavenward, I decide then that life must be pissed at me for being happy because if Tobias so much as glimpses that all-too-familiar charm, he’ll know immediately that it was me who left it.
Knowing it’s pointless to try and stop what’s already playing out, I edge in a little closer and watch. As they start to bicker, pride fills me as Cecelia holds her own, clapping back with expertise, as I simultaneously decide that I’ll cop to it if asked, letting the chips fall where they may with T. It’s when a commotion breaks out that I draw closer, tuning in fully to their back-and-forth and cursing as I carefully speed up my steps. I hear Cecelia’s outraged screech as I near, seeing that Tobias has taken her down to the ground. I’m hauling ass toward them both, intent on breaking it up when they’re back on their feet. I pause my footing, relieved, as they put space between them. Knowing Tobias would never physically hurt a woman, I rest in that as Cecelia screams at him.
“Why? Why? That was mine. He loves me!”
“Who . . . who loves you, Cecelia?” Tobias goads her.
“It’s for me, for my protection! It’s my promise!” Cecelia shouts, confirming Tobias not only saw the necklace but just fucking relieved her of it.
Perfect.
“Who do you need protection from?” Tobias muses, fucking with her.
“These are your laws! You’re not allowed to fuck with that. He chose me!” Cecelia defends.
“You’re pathetic,” he taunts, “you think a trinket can protect you? It means nothing.”
“It means something to me!” Cecelia croaks, shattered that he just stripped her hope away as my fists curl at my sides.
“You’re a little girl with a crush.”
“I’m a twenty-year-old woman, you ignorant bastard! And I belong to him.” She holds her ground.
“Because he says so? You have no say. You’re warped. And no, sweetheart, you don’t. He’s my brother.”
Jesus Christ!
He just blew his own cover! A cover Sean, Dom, and I have endlessly kept since she arrived last year. He’s not fucking thinking—not rationally, anyway. It’s his emotions driving him tonight. From the shadows, I gauge the two of them facing off, literally now, and can feel the tension brewing unbearably as they spar without missing a beat. But this tension is palpable for me, even where I stand at a safe distance and concealed.
This is the opposite of how I hoped this would go, and no good can possibly come of this. But if I know Cecelia—and I do—she’s a dog with a bone now, and she’s not going to let it go. If Tobias keeps talking, soon enough, she’ll discover just how much we all deceived her, and when that happens, she might lose hope altogether.
But there’s something happening now between them that has inklings skittering up and down my spine. I know he resents her, but he’s been vigilant of her innocence in this since she was a kid—purposefully protecting her from the war he’s waged against Roman. Keeping her distanced, but as of now, of all fucking nights, he seems to be intentionally engaging her. As my hunch about his motive starts to take over, I know I need to take the cue and fucking step out. I have a woman at home, warming both my bed and my heart, and I’ll be damned if I let more of my brothers’ collective personal drama interfere with my first long stint of contentment.
This bullshit happening only reminds me of the blissful, peaceful months I’ve been gifted with the woman I love. Delphine and I worked so fucking hard to get to where we are now, and this situation has the potential to steal time from us. Fuck that. I won’t let it. I refuse to. This life will continue to revolve around her even if I have to take a step back from it.
But a second after I decide to dip out, the levee breaks, and the two of them collide again, physically putting them back on the ground in the clearing. I’m a second from stepping forward and breaking it up when I realize what I’m witnessing . . . and with it, my entire body tenses.
Within the length of their kiss—one Cecelia is participating in—I watch in real-time as the rest of Tobias and his future relationship with his brothers implodes. And at the sight of it, and the knowledge that Cecelia is actively kissing him back—I’m. Fucking. Out.
However this plays from here on out is on them. Any further involvement makes me culpable.
Nope.
Walking away, I shake any sense of responsibility for what’s taking place off my shoulders. Dom and Sean did their best to prepare Cecelia for our club, and so far, she has stepped up—even flying blind. It’s past time she sees and has more knowledge of all the players involved. In doing so, this is either the end of her involvement or the beginning—a decision only she can make.
Stalking back to the car I borrowed from the King’s lot, I pull up my smartphone to gauge my birds’ locations to determine if I can call it a night. Spread out across the map, I see a few are currently huddled at the garage. As it is, Russell’s working late at King’s with Jeremy as well as Peter.
Layla and Denny are home. The rest of our Falls chapter is scattered throughout town, doing their thing. Besides the circus in the clearing, it looks to be a quiet night. It’s that damn inkling that won’t stop gnawing at me that clues me in that soon, quiet nights such as these might become scarce. Turning over the Kia, a picture of Delphine on that hilltop replaces my map on screen. In seeing it, seeing her victorious smile atop it, I instantly feel the relief it brings as I swipe to answer. “Hey, General,” I greet, “what are you up to?”
“Soldier, hi!” she coos over the roaring motor of the Ranger I gifted her a few weeks ago in the background.
“You taking a late-night ride?”
“Yes, I love my Ranger so much!” she exclaims.
“I know you do. I can’t keep you in the house at all anymore.” I grin, forcing the anxiety of what just transpired out of me as I shift my focus on her.
“I cooked earlier and am waiting to eat with you, but no promises on taste, or if it’s . . . merde,” shit, “what is the word?”
“Edible?” I chuckle.
“Yes, that’s it. Edible. You know how I am with measuring, and I tried to follow Charlie’s recipe without help.”
“I guess we’ll see, and you know I’ll eat it anyway.”
“I know you will, soldier of my heart, but I made sure it was salt, not sugar, this time,” she laughs, and I grin at the healing sound.
“How are things?” she asks, now fully in the know about everything regarding the club, and every secret I’m privy to. Her involvement in the day-to-day has become the very thing she was growing restless for. It’s proven to be beneficial for us both, keeping us close as we share the burdens and working together constantly to better up our game and delegate. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to help me, but in doing so, I spare her no truth.
“As of right now, things are kind of going to shit,” I relay.
“Oh, no. How?”
“Well,” I drawl, “as of minutes ago, you can start a fucking timer that in two months, things are going to get a lot worse, but I’m too fucking interested in getting back to you right now to give it much more attention tonight.”
“How much worse, Soldier?”
“Enough to probably have us both in therapy,” I chuckle.
“Putain,” fuck, she says as she kills the engine of her Ranger.
“Don’t panic, at least not yet. I’ll explain when I get home. Promise.”
“Then hurry up, Soldier,” she murmurs.
“On my way, baby,” I promise before I hang up, sitting back in the seat and rolling down the window, allowing the peaceful night noise in. The cicadas and crickets sound like heartbeats as the lush evergreens sway in a light breeze. Glancing in the direction of Roman’s house, I decide to log into the security camera, managing to catch Cecelia walking past the pool and towards Roman’s back door, her shoulders slumped. Pissed at T for taking what little happiness she was gifted away, I decide to take it as a good sign they went no further sexually, hoping it ended with that kiss.
Fucking hopefully.
If not, the temporary peace I’ve come to know is about to fucking end. An unsettling feeling that is the case washes over me as I pull onto the road. Racing toward my refuge, I start to soak up what peace remains, determined to bask in it and create more in the months to come, even as the mental timer I just set starts to tick.
* * *
That kiss wasn’t the end of it.
The truth of that painfully apparent mere days later as I finish my sweep of Roman’s house. Tasked by Tobias this morning to recheck the cameras and mics Dom and I put in place last summer. Ironically, during none of our interactions in the last few days has T once mentioned the necklace, and it’s becoming evident why. Especially with his sudden insistence that I sharpen my eagle eyes on Roman’s house, in addition to upping the number of eyes on the man himself. That we scrutinize his every move more closely—until further notice. With that order, I know Tobias has made some decisions to change our game on Roman. A strategy T’s altered with Cecelia in mind and has yet to share.
More unease snakes further into me after I enter the back door and head toward the kitchen, catching a muffled exchange before I’m stopped by the two of them facing off. Tobias stands in business dress, sleeves rolled up, at the counter where he appears to be cooking. Cecelia stands equally postured up, glaring at him from where she stands on the other side of the island. Feeling as though I’ve stepped on a landmine, I address my taskmaster first.
“All good,” I tell T, and he dips his chin. Just after, I turn and focus on Cecelia, who looks freshly showered and gorgeous in a sundress. Deciding to utilize the moment to my advantage, I stalk toward her. “Look at you”—I flash her a grin—“you only get more beautiful.”
Her lit expression at the sight of me dims considerably with hurt and anger as I near. Seeing it, I stop just short of her and speak the truth. “I’ve missed you, girl.”
She crosses her arms in contempt. “Oh, now I exist. How convenient.”
I blow out an exhale. “I know you’re angry—”
“Angry,” she huffs, “that’s putting it mildly.”
“Cee,” I draw out, hoping she hears the regret in my voice as she shakes her head to refute it.
“Don’t bother. What are you doing here?”
“Errands,” I admit regretfully, feeling T watching our exchange curiously from feet away as Cecelia turns to glare at him. It’s when I feel the energy bouncing between them that I start to confirm my suspicions. There’s pure contempt emanating from them both, but there’s also some undeniable chemistry as well. Deciding that I will be fucking exiting stage left to spare myself from laying witness to whatever’s happening, I toss a thumb over my shoulder. “I guess . . . I guess I’ll head out.”
Tobias speaks up. “I’ll get with you later.”
“All right, man,” I say before looking back at Cee, hesitant to leave her. We got close in our short time together last summer, and I’ve felt the burn of her absence since we were forced apart. As I stand idle, I marvel at the difference in both our lives from then to now. Mine especially. Just once, I wish I could fucking relay the secret I’ve been forced to keep. That I haven’t missed a day of her pain. That I’ve been with her every day of it, even if she couldn’t see or feel me. It’s one of the most fucked costs of being in my position. Of being a watcher.
Opting to relay what I safely can, I give her useless words that I mean. “It was good to see you, Cee.”
Turning due to the resentment I feel, every step increases the sting of leaving her this way as she calls after me, increasing it with her question.
“Was it you?” I look back to see her glaring at Tobias, whose jaw ticks before she shifts her focus back to me. “You promised to be there for me, to have my back. I considered you a friend.”
“I do have your back,” I relay instantly. “Always will.”
It’s the evident pain in her ocean blues that makes the decision for me.
Fuck this.
Stalking back toward her, I take her hand, ignoring the blazing amber eyes drilling into my profile from feet away. “And I am your friend,” I assure her, glancing toward Tobias and relaying in that brief exchange what an asshole he is before I turn back to give her more truth. “No, Cee, it wasn’t me, and trust me, I’m paying for it.”
It’s when her eyes soften substantially that I know she takes my words as truth. “I know it wasn’t,” she relays shakily. “I’m so fucking mad at you.”
“I know, so is he.” I jerk my chin toward T, knowing he’s weighing every word of our exchange as I lean in and press a kiss to her cheek. “I’m sorry,” I utter sincerely before giving her words I’ve longed to since last summer. “And I just wanted to say thank you.”
Turning so she can’t question me why, more so because I don’t want T to know Cecelia’s responsible for uniting me with Delphine, I stalk out.
Heaviness and dread cloak me, shadowing my every step as the mental timer I set days ago starts to tick louder. The sinking feeling staying with me long after I exit Roman’s house, softly closing the back door.
Report chapter Comments
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.