Raven was still a nervous wreck. She’d just left the church, heading over to Kane’s, but she couldn’t stop thinking about D.C. He’d ended up staying until right after Bible study had been dismissed, and thankfully, that had been only ten minutes after she’d answered his questions. He’d sat patiently, acting as though he was daring her to even look at him the wrong way, and it was then that she’d known she would have to pay him his money as soon as possible. Either that or Raven would end up beaten to a pulp—or sent to a hospital with broken bones. She knew this because while working for D.C., she’d seen his “people” do all of the above. And D.C. didn’t care if the person who owed him money was a man or a woman. He treated everyone the same, no matter what.
Raven drove her black BMW 750 through a four-way intersection, barely beating a red light, and for the first time in years, she wanted to gamble. She knew it wasn’t an option for her, but she just needed something to clear her mind. Something to make her forget about this disaster of a situation she now faced.
Raven sighed with frustration but jumped when her phone rang. She glanced at the media screen on her dashboard, and although she didn’t recognize the information displaying, she had a feeling D.C. was calling her. There was no reason in the world why he should have her cell number, but her gut told her it was him and that she’d better answer.
She pressed the speaker button on her upper console. “Hello?”
“Ruthless Raven.”
“Hello?” she said again, mostly because she wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Long time no hear from.”
“What is it that you want, D.C.?”
“Trick, please. You know exactly what I want.”
“After all this time? All these years?”
“Yep.”
“Why now?”
“Because you owe it to me. Plain and simple.”
Raven could hear the not-so-cordial tone in her voice and decided to speak a bit more gently. “Look, I’m sorry things turned out the way they did. I was wrong for taking your money, and I apologize. I had a real problem back then, but I’m not like that anymore.”
“To be honest, I don’t care about any of that. You can be whoever you wanna be. I just want my money.”
“I’ll need a couple of days, but I’ll have it for you by next Monday.”
“Why not tomorrow?”
“Because I’m guessing you don’t want me to write you a check.”
“You know how I operate.”
“Well, then it’s not like I can just walk into my bank and pull out thirty thousand cash. At least not without sending the wrong message.”
“Wait a minute,” D.C. said, laughing. “Did you say thirty thousand?”
“Yes, isn’t that how much I owe you?”
“Now, boo, you and I both know how I do when it comes to late payments. You of all people know exactly how I roll.”
Raven did know. But she couldn’t help trying to get away with mentioning only the principal amount. She’d known it was a long shot, but she’d just been hoping that maybe he would have mercy on her and would let her slide without paying anything more than that.
“Then how much do I owe you?” she asked.
“Two hundred and seventy Gs.”
Raven bugged her eyes and nearly lost control of her vehicle. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“D.C., what are you talking about? I only took thirty thousand dollars from you.”
“I know exactly how much you stole. But for every year you went without paying me, I multiplied that by the principal.”
“You can’t be serious. Why are you doing this?”
“I’m no great mathematician, but last I checked, nine years times thirty thousand dollars equals two hundred and seventy Gs. But you’re the smart one, so you tell me how much all that adds up to.”
Raven wanted to cry. She knew D.C. was no joke, and that he rarely showed leniency to anyone who crossed him. But $270,000? He wanted her to pay him that kind of money all at once? And why was his interest rate so astronomical? Or again, why was he just now contacting her about any of this? She sat in silence, trying to steady her shaking hands on the steering wheel. But then she thought about Dillon and Pastor Black again. She’d wondered earlier if they’d had something to do with this, and now she knew that D.C.’s showing up at the church tonight, only two days after her video broadcast, was no coincidence. D.C. would never admit it, but she knew her suspicions were correct. She was also willing to bet that Dillon was the lowlife who had given D.C. her cell number.
Raven shook her head. “Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?”
“That’s not my worry. All I know is that you’d better get it to me or else. You’d better pay me every single dime, or things won’t end well for you.”
“I don’t have it. I mean, I can maybe pay you half by next week, but I’d have to take care of the rest with monthly installments.”
“No, I already told you. I want all my money all at once. And I don’t care what you have to do to get it. Actually, you’re pretty good when it comes to stealing, anyway, so I’m sure you’ll do what you need to.”
Raven hated begging anyone for anything, but she didn’t see where she had any other choice. “D.C., you have to help me out here. I know what I did was wrong, and you have no idea how sorry I am…how much I regret doing what I did to you. Which is why I will definitely pay you what I owe you, but I need more time.”
“You should’ve thought about that when you stole from me. When you took me for a complete fool and thought you could get away with it. I’ve been waiting on this day for a very long time. Now, you either pay up or deal with the consequences.”
“If you could just try to understand—” she pleaded, but all she heard was a deafening silence. D.C. had hung up on her, and she felt as though she were fighting to wake up from a nightmare.
What was she going to do? Although, what if this was in fact related to her rape accusation, and Dillon was merely trying to force her to retract it? If so, all she had to do was go on Facebook Live again and clear Pastor Black’s name. When she did, D.C. would leave her alone. There was no doubt that he would still want her to pay him his money back, but it wouldn’t be nearly the amount he was asking for.
Raven drove for another ten minutes, pulled into Kane’s driveway, and parked only a few feet from his three-car garage. She could see a light shining through the front window of his two-story brick home, so she knew he wasn’t in bed yet. Plus, it was only nine thirty, and Kane rarely went to bed before eleven.
She turned off her ignition and took multiple deep breaths. This thing with D.C. had stirred her emotions to a level she hadn’t experienced in years, and the last thing she wanted was for Kane to see how upset she was. She certainly didn’t want him finding out about the money she owed D.C., and that he was calling in her debt to him. Kane, like everyone else who knew her, was well aware of her former gambling problem and that she’d once worked for and stolen from a loan shark, but he didn’t know D.C.’s name or that Raven had never paid him back. Now, she realized how careless she’d been to continually include this part of her criminal history in her testimony. It had been downright stupid, but she just hadn’t counted on D.C. reentering her life and then demanding nine times the amount she’d taken.
Raven picked up her leather tote and got out of the car. She proceeded down the winding brick sidewalk, which was lined on one side with tracking lights that shone toward Kane’s house. After walking up the three steps to his front door, she rang the doorbell.
It took nearly a minute, but he finally opened the door. When he saw her standing there, he turned and walked away.
Raven came in, shut the door, and followed him into his family room.
She sat down next to him on the dark green leather sofa. “Baby, I know you’re not happy with me right now, and I don’t blame you. But I really am sorry for not telling you what happened to me. I’m sorry for everything.”
Kane tossed her a look of fury. “Why are you even here, Raven?”
“Because I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Not over something like this. Not because I made this one little mistake.”
“Really? So you think telling people you don’t even know before telling me is just a small mistake?”
“That’s not what I meant. I know I should’ve told you, but I really didn’t know how.”
“Well, you sure knew how to tell the world, though, didn’t you?”
“Like I said, I know I was wrong for doing that. But I also can’t change it. So I’m just asking you to please forgive me.”
“I’ll forgive you. Eventually. But I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking. Not just today, either.”
“About what?”
“Us. I mean, this thing you did this week really hurt me, but that was mostly just the icing on the cake.”
“What are you saying?”
“That I’ve finally come to the realization that you don’t love me, and that you never plan to marry me. To be honest, I’ve known that all along but was just hoping things would change.”
“But I do love you. I know I haven’t been up front with you about certain things, but I would never lie to you about the way I feel,” she said, touching his arm. “Honey, I’ve never loved any man the way I love you.”
“Then you certainly have a funny way of showing it. And if you want to know the truth. I don’t even think you know what real love is.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Maybe not, but you do talk a lot about how you were never loved as a child.”
“But I still know what love is.”
“Maybe we should just take a break for a while,” he said.
Raven rested her hand under his chin and turned it toward her. “Please tell me you don’t really want that.”
“No, but I think it’s best. Maybe some time apart will give us both a chance to think and figure out what’s what.”
Raven thought about her conversation with D.C. and then about Kane wanting to break up with her. Everything in her life was falling apart all at once, and she could barely wrap her mind around it. Just three days ago, when she’d been preparing in her study for Sunday morning’s service, she’d felt as though she were on top of the world. She’d thought about the future and how things were only going to get better for her. But now, Kane wanted to end things, and D.C. was making demands and threatening her with bodily harm.
Raven laid her head against the sofa and burst into tears. She sometimes faked her emotions when it was convenient, but this time they were real. She was troubled, afraid, and overwhelmed with uncertainty.
At first Kane didn’t move or as much as look at her. But soon, he pulled her into his arms and she pressed her face against his chest, wailing.
“Baby, I’m sorry,” Kane said. “I’m sorry that things aren’t working out for us, but please don’t cry.”
“Please don’t leave me,” she said between sniffles, and then looked up at him. “All I’m asking for is another chance. Baby, please.”
“I don’t know. I love you, but I just don’t want to keep going through this. And playing this waiting game with you.”
“Can we at least try to work this out?”
“I would love nothing more than that, but this feels too one-sided. I feel like I’m all in, and you’re just basically going through the motions.”
“I know, but I’ll do better. And I will never hide anything from you again,” she said, wishing she could tell him about D.C. and the six figures she owed him.
“I know I’m going to regret this, but fine. We’ll see how things go, but if they don’t get better, I’m out.”
Raven gazed into his eyes while still lying in his arms. “I really do love you, Kane.”
“I love you, too. I always have,” he said, kissing her.
Then Raven stretched all the way out on the sofa, and Kane lay on top of her, kissing her again. He did so with the kind of passion she never wanted to live without.
And she wouldn’t.
Not if she could help it.