After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires #1) - Melissa Sercia Page 0,55

Ducking into the bathroom, I splashed some water on my face and combed my hair up into a top knot. I dabbed some concealer under my eyes and swiped on a couple coats of mascara. We were definitely not in the stage of our relationship where I felt comfortable letting him see me like this.

A few minutes later, he was practically breaking in the door. “Hold on. I’m coming,” I yelled.

I pulled open the door and found a very disheveled Ozi standing in the entrance. “I’ve been calling you all morning.”

“I was sleeping. Sorry. Where’s the fire?” My head was pounding and I was in no mood for his arrogance.

“Raven…I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you might be in danger. When you didn’t answer your phone, I assumed the worst.”

He wasn’t making any sense. “What are you talking about? Why am I in danger?”

“Raven, I have a lot of enemies. Those who want to hurt me. Enemies who might fuck with you to get to me. There are other things you don’t know. Things about your family—”

“My family?” I snapped. “You are starting to really freak me out, Ozi. What is going on? Tell me you’re not doing some illegal shit.” His pacing was making me nervous and the tone of his voice was unhinged.

He grabbed my wrists. “Raven, I just need you to trust me. I can protect you but I need you to come stay at my place for a while. I will explain everything. I will…show you everything.”

How could I trust him when I barely trusted myself? “We can talk right here. I was willing to be patient with you but now you bring up my family and tell me that I’m in danger. You sound crazy. Especially after what Camille told me…”

His eyes widened. “You talked to Camille?”

“She approached me.” Better to just rip off the bandage.

“Where? What did she say? What did she want?”

“At a bar. You failed to mention that she was your ex. She said you betrayed her. Did you? Did you cheat on her?” I wanted to hear him say it if it were true. I really wanted it to not be.

His eyes darted around. “Yes. No. I mean, it’s not what you think.”

“She warned me to stay away from you. Tell me she’s just a bitter ex-girlfriend and that there’s no truth to what she said.”

He froze. Something flickered in his eyes—rage mixed with sadness. “I can’t. But Raven you need to understand something. Camille is dangerous. There are things you don’t know about us. That’s why I need you to come with me.”

He moved toward me, but I backed away. “You know how I feel about betrayal, Ozi. You know how broken I’ve been since Alex did what he did to me. I can’t go through that again.” I was shaking.

“It wasn’t like that. I would never do that to you. You have to believe me.” His eyes were sincere but then again so were Alex’s every time he’d told me he loved me. “I’m a lot of things, Raven, but I’m not a cheater. I’m far from perfect, far from anything you have ever seen, but even demons have lines they won’t cross.”

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to run into his arms and forget everything Camille said. But he had so many secrets. And other than our obsession with ripping each other’s clothes off, he hadn’t promised me anything more.

“What am I to you?” I asked.

He slicked back his hair, turning away from me and toward the New York City skyline. “Something I wasn’t supposed to have,” he murmured.

“What does that even mean? I want to let my guard down with you but everything about you tells me to run away. Why should I stay?” I was done beating around the bush.

Ozi turned to face me, but kept his eyes averted. His demeanor changed. He was closing off, retreating within. “You probably shouldn’t. Your instincts are right. I’m a predator, Raven. The worst kind. But the best way to protect you, to protect what we have, is by us sticking together.”

My heart raced. “I don’t understand.”

He cupped my face in his hands. “I know. And I’m sorry for that. The truth is heavy and you may not be ready for it all at once. Please, Raven. Just come with me.”

Every fear, every insecurity I had rushed forward. All the pain I tried to forget was back tenfold. Between his shady business dealings