His presence came like burning coals pressed against her back, making her tense as if he had poised a knife against her skin. Angel’s hands were warm as he stepped beside her and brushed his fingers against hers almost tauntingly.
Oh shit,her eyes didn’t dare widen,what if he–
Akash’s gaze shifted to hers and back to Angel. To outsiders, it might look like a simple glance, but Ray caught his expression.Don’t worry,he seemed to say,I got this.
Calmer, Ray slapped Angel’s hand away as she sipped her wine and her gaze turned to cold steel again. From the corner of her eyes, she saw him grin as if he’d won something. Akash’s dark eyes flashed, his smile turning deadly as he faced Angel,
“Santos.” He said, venom barely concealed in his words. It had been the Ravens who’d struck them down last year – after having discovered one of their men spying for the Smiths. Ray hadn’t known the details until Kyle had filled her in the night before after Angel’d left. She looked between them now, her shoulders tense with anticipation as Angel’s poisonous grin grew,
“That’s no way to treat our guests.” Alessandro’s voice was firm, but it lacked any bite. In fact, Ray noticed the sparkle of pride shining in his gaze. She despised him for it.
As if understanding the situation at hand, Akash chuckled under his breath, shaking his head slightly before snapping his stone eyes up to Angel, “You recovered after losing a battle against a nameless group,” he said, his voice dangerously low. Ray hid her smirk behind her glass as Angel’s eyes turned lethal and Akash continued, raising his chin as he did so,
“We did the same.”
Ah,Ray thought, tipping her glass back to gulp the liquid with a satisfied grin,perfect.
“You’re enjoying this too much.” Kyle whispered in her ear, and Ray put her glass down, turning her sparkling eyes in his direction. She saw the green in them glint in amusement as she chuckled at his expression,
“I’m afraid this is the most drama I’ve seen in years.”
Power did dangerous things. Like giving her the confidence to taunt two of the most dangerous groups in the world.
Akash and Angel had fallen silent at her words, noting how brilliantly she’d turned the conversation in her favor.
Ray shrugged her shoulders at their dead expressions, unable to hide her grin when she heard a familiar voice speak from behind Akash.
“If you lot are done,” Maya Larsen’s voice was like a cold pail of water doused upon all of them. It made the grin on Ray’s face fall as Akash moved and revealed a pair of new faces. Maya was the tallest among the three of them, but Ray’s gaze fell on the two women standing erect on both sides. Maya's smile was pure honey when she looked at Ray, her eyes glinting with a hidden challenge,
“I’d like someone to make introductions.”
Her words landed true, sparking a humbling amount of annoyance in its wake. Ray didn’t dare let it show on her face. She’d been dealing with Maya’s tests for a long time now, and although they never seemed to end, Ray had gotten used to them too quickly. So her eyes were on the girl with ombre hair and copper eyes, who was busy inspecting her nails when Ray stepped in her direction and extended a hand.
“Irene Sinaga.” She said, her voice calm as those copper eyes snapped up to her. Spoiled only on the outside, Irene was a cutthroat businesswoman. No one ever dared to cross paths with her, not since she’d become an integral representative for those who sat in Indonesia. This woman wielded power with her words and her alert eyes. Ray saw her beautiful cowl-necked lavender dress sway softly as she took a step forward, assessing Ray.
“Raylene Walker.” Her voice was quiet enough to be mistaken as timid. But as she slid her hand into Ray’s, it was anything but as she shook it swiftly and smiled. A slow torturous smile spread on her face when Ray nodded and turned to face the other girl standing on Maya’s other side.
Compared to Irene, she looked like a breath of fresh air. With her beige trousers and a silk bikini top upon which she’d worn a smooth white shirt with the buttons all ripped open, Myra Jelani looked beautiful. Ray turned to her carefully, aware of her friendly personality and how much damage it had done.
“Myra Jelani,” Ray said finally, shaking her hand as well and taking a step back to assess both of them, “It’s a pleasure to have you here. I hope you both enjoy your stay,”
Myra's smile was infectious. It almost made Ray wonder how the rumors of her killing a person had gotten around so swiftly. These people, these representatives were all Alessandro truly needed for their plan to succeed this week. Maya smiled, her eyes turning soft as she turned to the girls,
“I’m sure they will,” she said, but Ray found no hidden warning behind those words, “Lastly, I’d like for you all to meet one of our most important guests.”
If she had a million years to guess who was standing behind Maya, Ray would have never guessed it would be her.
Maya moved, and Ray’s gaze fell on the shorter woman standing behind her who was busy in conversation with Vera. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her breathing going shallow.
No way,Ray a voice in her head cried,no, no, no.And then those familiar set of eyes turned, and she couldn’t deny it anymore.
“Hello.”
Fuck.
Ray almost stumbled back, barely keeping a leash on her emotions as the other woman’s gaze swept over all of them. Ray wasn’t breathing when those similar short blonde curls of hers swayed with the wind and those familiar set of light blue eyes settled on hers.
The smile was friendly, but Ray knew June Kincaid better. Now that those blood-red lips curled and she inclined her head in her direction, Ray couldn’t help but be grateful for those times when June had ignored her presence.
