Quill
Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. All the way back to our table, those three words played over and over again in my head. Black was making everything worse. Why had I agreed to any of this?
“It’s a mere speedbump. This is clearly never going to see a courtroom, which is fine by me,” Black said softly, but I heard him.
“What do you mean?”
I saw Teddy and Riordan dancing and offered a shaky wave as they both smiled at us as we passed to go to our table.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Maybe if I file a restraining order? I should. The officer that night told me to do it and I didn’t listen.”
Black halted and turned to face me. “Is that how you want to handle this? You want to do the restraining order, go in front of a judge who will look at you and then smile at Ronnie and his family, shrug, and let him go free? You want to look over your shoulder, forever begging the authorities to help you, only for them to finally give a shit when it’s too late?”
Black was far from unhinged, but he gripped my shoulders roughly, not painfully. His eyes shimmered with anger laced in worry. I knew in my bones he wasn’t mad at me and was seconds from walking over to Bartholomew, punching him in the face and ending his life.
“I already look over my shoulder, Black. That doesn’t change with the outcome of this.” Black narrowed his eyes. “Don’t give me that face. My life hasn’t been the best, but I know how to survive.”
“By getting the shit kicked out of you constantly?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. I was alive and knew I’d stay that way as long as I didn’t make too many waves and did as I was told.
“Maybe by getting the restraining order, it will scare the Sterlings enough. They will see their shiny future begin to tarnish and not want that. I bet Bartholomew will demand his son stay away from me then.”
He shook his head and took the last few steps back to our table.
“What?” I asked as I sat beside him. “You told Bartholomew to make Ronnie accept the charges and be responsible. That’s no different than what I’m saying.”
“Except he said no.”
A waiter came by and took our drink and dinner order. Teddy and Riordan returned in time to place theirs as well. I wanted to talk to Black more about this, but our table was filled and the festivities were underway.
A tapping of a mic drew our attention. A brunette woman stood behind a podium, waiting for the room to quiet down.
“Thank you all so much for attending this year’s Rainbow Hart Charity Ball. The Hart family thanks you greatly for your generosity this evening and to speak on the family’s behalf, I want to welcome Edgar Ravens.” The room burst in applause and a man I’d seen before took the stage. His long, black hair was tied back in a ponytail, his alabaster skin practically lit up under the stage lights, and thick, dark glasses adorned his face. He wore a simple tuxedo and thanked the woman before making his way to the podium.
“That’s Poe, isn’t it?” Teddy asked. “I didn’t know his real name was Edgar Ravens, did you?” he asked Riordan, who shook his head. “Interesting. I’ll have to ask him tomorrow at the park.”
I didn’t know what Teddy was talking about, my eyes were drawn to the now smiling man facing the room.
“I go by many names as most of you can see, but that’s the thing with nicknames, you don’t get to pick them and they alter people’s perceptions.” The room chuckled.
“As the liaison for the Hart family, I am honored to have you all here to help raise money for such a well-needed cause. LGBT youth worldwide need open arms, and if I’m honest, overflowing pocketbooks.” He smiled as the room chuckled once more.
“The statistics on our youth change daily. Much of our society think that because of the year we live in and the growing diversity that there isn’t a problem, or at least, it’s not as serious. It’s thoughts like that that stall progress.”
He wasn’t wrong. Every day, the stats changed, and often in the coffee shop, I’d hear people talk about how much better the world was and how there wasn’t as much of a problem. It was what made people stop helping.
“The Hart family wants everyone in this great city to feel loved and cared for. I am hopeful that one day, there won’t be a hungry belly or a homeless person in existence. I’m aware I’m an optimist, but someone has to be.”
Light cheers filled the room and as I scanned the tables, everyone was enamored by the man on stage.
“Today Haven Hart, tomorrow the world. Let’s lead by example. Let’s make Haven Hart the arms our LGBT youth need wrapped around them. With that, others will follow and in time, maybe, just maybe, we can rid ourselves of the hate.”
It was such a beautiful thought. One that was deserving of the standing ovation. Right before he got off the podium, he spoke again. “I also want to thank Xander Vayne for volunteering his outstanding culinary skills to you all tonight. Your food has been prepared by his restaurant, Vayne, which just opened on Fifth Avenue. After tonight, I’m sure you’ll all be checking it out.”
A man in a chef’s outfit shook Edgar’s hand. I couldn’t see much since he only graced us with a profile, but his hair was so dark it was almost blue, and his body was, well, I didn’t know because it was covered in baggy clothes. With a quick wave, he ran off back to his kitchen and light music began to play again.
Our food came out shortly thereafter, and as promised, it was amazing. I was desperate to get Black alone and ask him some questions, but as the night went on, speeches were made, and so much talking was had, we didn’t get out of there until midnight. I knew he’d drop me off at home and I’d never get to ask my questions.
“I have assigned a car for you,” Black said as his limo left the hotel.
“What?”
“Until things die down, I don’t want you walking around this city as easy prey. You’re safe inside your apartment and Clive is not just a driver, he works security for me. He will be here when you need to go somewhere.” He handed me a card. “Put his number into your phone.” He whipped his head toward me, his gaze piercing through me. “Don’t ignore this.”
I couldn’t say no if I tried. “Um, okay, sure.”
“Thank you.”
I slipped the card into my pocket and stared out the window. The snow was falling lightly and my mind drifted to my new kitty. Oh!
“Black?”
“Hmm?” he asked as he read something off his phone.
“Can you ask Lee how to stop my security system from killing my cat when she gets home?”
He plopped the cell on his lap and raised a brow. “A cat?”
“Yeah. I don’t want Kitty to get shot with a dart every time she goes to eat.”
He chuckled and I really loved it. “Animals aren’t programmed in, your cat will be safe.”
“Oh phew. I wouldn’t want Kitty to die.”
“Kitty? That’s her name?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, why, is it stupid?”
He made a face that showed he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. There was a little blubbering, a hand gesture or two.
“It’s stupid. Okay. I will think on it.”
When Black dropped me off, he told me to be safe and he’d call me tomorrow for a meeting to go over all that needed to be done in regards to Ronnie. I knew that would be my moment to ask Black what had him reacting the way he had tonight.