Page 50 of Shattered Sinner
“You’re scaring me.” The words came out barely above a whisper, and I hoped she would respond with something reassuring.
Raven cleared her throat and said, “I knew about your dad. He uses Diamond Nights, or at least he used to.”
I couldn’t control the gasp that left my lips. I hadn’t told Raven the name of the company my father was a client of. “How did you know that?”
“Because I briefly thought about becoming an escort there and… I saw his name. I went to him about it, and he paid me off to leave town because he was afraid I was going to blackmail him with that information.”
Holy. Shit.
“Does Nash know about this?” I asked, repeating her question from earlier.
“He does. He had a big blow up about it with your father weeks ago.”
My mouth was dry, and my heart sank. This was so much worse than I had thought. The only thing I could think to say was, “I’m sorry.”
"Hey, no,” Raven interjected, her tone firm. "This isn't on you, not one bit. You had nothing to do with the drama that went down between me, Van, and Nash.”
“I know, but it still makes me feel like trash.” I took a big gulp from the glass of wine that I had all but abandoned.
“This isn’t the way I wanted you to find out about it.”
“I understand that, and I don’t blame you at all for not saying anything.” I was torn between my frustration and my desire to have empathy for her. I wished that Nash would have said something, but there was nothing I could do about it.
“Is any of this conversation helping you out with deciding what you should do?” Raven asked cautiously.
I thought to myself for several seconds before answering her question. “Yes, actually… I think I'm going to let you go.”
There was a slight pause before Raven answered me quietly, "Okay, I'll talk to you later." I hung up the phone and placed it down on the coffee table in front of me. I drank the last of my wine and replayed the conversation I’d had with Raven. She’d helped me probably more than she knew.
Because I’d made my decision.
27
EASTON
Once again, the Hensons’ home was transformed, having been perfectly prepared to host the people for tonight’s party. A live orchestra, with each member dressed in black, played soft music in the corner, accompanied by the muted conversations and laughter of their guests mingling in their fancy clothes beneath the warm light. There was no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Henson knew how to throw a party, and knew how to play this game well, but I hated what this one stood for.
It was supposed to be the night Bianca’s engagement was announced. I glanced around and saw Diana Caldwell walking into the room. Her presence perplexed me given what she’d said about Van in her latest campaign ad. Then again maybe Van lived by the adage keep your friends close and your enemies closer. It might have also explained why she accepted the invitation and decided to come here tonight.
I almost walked over to her but stopped when I saw Nash approach me out of the corner of my eye. While things weren’t back to where they were before he found out about Bianca and me, they were better. When he was next to me, I glanced at him before I went back to looking straight ahead.
I coughed once before I said, “Lovely party, isn’t it?”
Nash smirked at me and said, “As always. Can’t say I'm surprised to find you lurking in the corner over here."
“I’m just watching the scenery.” The words left my mouth without much thought. It was mostly true. I was watching the crowd, mentally recalling names of the people I recognized. But the reason I’d come here was to save Bianca.
I’d tried to talk to her after I got initiated into the Chevaliers, but she hadn’t called me back. I’d tried to make it over to her apartment earlier today, but I had to do a few things for my parents.
"You should enjoy tonight while it lasts," Nash said as he too looked around the room. "No matter what happens, nothing will be the same."
I had to agree with him, the weight of how much of a big deal tonight sank into my soul. If things went my way, things would change for the better, but if the engagement did happen, my relationship with Bianca would be over. I was worried that the latter would be happening given that I hadn’t been able to contact her over the last day or so, but it wasn’t over until this night ended.
I sighed again as uncertainty overtook my thoughts and the only thing that could clear it was seeing Bianca. I looked around for her once more, searching for any sign that she might have shown up, but there was none. Her entire family was here, but she was nowhere to be found.
Nash and I had agreed on a plan for me to interrupt the announcement, but I’d made sure not to mention that I’d told Bianca that she and I could get married and that she’d turned me down. This plan would require Nash to bring attention to both of us and me having to go up to wherever the “happy couple” was standing and telling everyone how wrong this relationship was. Would Bianca be pissed at me if this were to take place? One hundred percent, yes. Was it the soundest plan? Probably not, but it beat having to murder Tristan Whitmore.
Although that was still on the table.
