Page 13 of Forbidden Vow

“Is he here in Shell Cove, Raven?”

Of course he was. Darius thought back to the phone call. She’d been talking to her son. Not another man.

She turned, looked at him, and Darius knew, felt the blades slicing through his chest, as if a rope connected them.

“I’ll have Clarence contact you when I’m ready, Darius.”

“Even with my family hanging in the balance, everything we’ve built at risk, you would still try to separate us?”

Yes, he was talking about the company, but so much more. No way could he feel this deeply for her, even after knowing what she’d done. Could she be this indifferent towards him?

“You got it all wrong, Darius. And so did Lexington if he thought I’d allow this to ever happen.” She was visibly shaken, her fingers fumbling with the small handbag, true heartbreak causing her voice to crack. “Even my love for your father won’t force me to let you break my son’s heart.”

“He’s my brother, damn it.”

“No,” she stood to her feet. “He’s your son, and I won’t force him to have a relationship with you.”

Not a rope, a power cord in Darius’s head, his lungs, his very heart jolted from the burn Raven’s confession had released inside him. She, his Raven had given him a son. Not his father. Lexington was his.

Darius grabbed her wrist. “Where is he?”

She pulled at hand in his grip. “Let go.”

No fucking way. Darius’s head was spinning with the implications, but no so fucking fast that he couldn’t peep her game plan.

“Don’t think to wrestle with me, Raven. I can have a court order in thirty minutes,” he growled. “I want my son with me.”

If this was an attempt to run and leave his family in shambles, he’d…well, he didn’t know, but damn it, she would pay.

Raven met his eyes. “I’m leaving, Darius. Our home is not with you.”

Okay, that hurt. But, fuck if he’d make it easy for her to disappear again. With a newfound purpose, all the components of the will and the letter aligned, revealing the truth. Lexington’s last wish had been for Darius to claim his family. He swore, no, vowed, he would have his son, and Raven.

“I swear,” he grumbled, “I’ll shut down the whole fucking airport.”

She looked up at him, eyes hard. “Why are you really doing this?”

Because…they weren’t over. She felt as deep as he did. He wanted a reboot, a new installment. Whatever it took.

“You know the answer. Now, let’s go get our son.”