The Debt 7 (Club Alpha) (6 page)

“This is a calculated attack on my
reputation.
 
My label’s going on the
offensive, starting a PR war to chop me off at the knees.”

“We can fight back,” Raven said, her
spine stiffening.
 
“Let’s get an
interview, something long—like an hour special—where you can give
your side of things.”

But Jake just shook his head no.
 
“I don’t think so,” he said.

“But why not?
 
You can’t just let Courtney and the
label trash you in the media.
 
They’re lying.
 
She made it
sound like you’ve gone nuts.”

“Maybe I have,” he said, a glint in his
eye.

“Jake, this is serious.”

“I know it’s serious,” he said, turning
away from her and looking out the window.
 
“But I’m done with that life, Raven.
 
When I said I was finished, I didn’t
just mean that I was finished with the tour.
 
I’m finished with all the bullshit
surrounding it—the interviews, the fancy awards shows, the dinners,
sucking up to executives, making sure my public image is squeaky clean.
 
I’m not doing it anymore.”

“Than what are you doing?” she asked him.

He stared out the window for such a long
time that she thought maybe he was ignoring her question, or perhaps angry with
her for asking it.
 
But finally, he
turned and faced her.
 
“I think you
meant to ask, ‘what are
we
doing?’”

She felt her cheeks flush.
 
“Of course, I meant we.
 
I meant us.”
 
She smiled at her own
self-consciousness.
 
“You know what
I was trying to say.”

Jake came forward and grabbed her around
the waist.
 
“We’re getting the heck
out of here, Raven.”

“And go where instead?”

He smiled and it was as if all the anger
and tension left his face.
 
“Florida.”

“Florida?”

“I have a house there.
 
It’s beautiful, right on a private
beach—the water is crystal clear, and you can see dolphins swimming.”

“Sounds amazing.”

Jake rubbed her back lightly as he
continued.
 
“It’ll be just the two
of us, and no bullshit paparazzi, no tour dates, no crazy singers knocking down
our door.”
 
His voice became
hypnotic as he continued.
 
“We’ll
get up every morning, go for a run, then eat a healthy breakfast, lounge by the
pool, make love, read a book, go for a walk, make love again…”

Raven giggled as his hands grabbed her
lower, squeezing her buttocks.
 
“Jake, be serious.”

“I’m being serious,” he told her,
slapping her ass playfully.

“Are you sure this is what you want to
do?” she asked him, staring into his eyes.
 
“Because if you’re having second-thoughts…”

“I’m not having second-thoughts.
 
Are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then pack your bags,” he said, breaking
away from her and taking a deep breath as he looked out the window again.
 
“Because we’re heading to sunny Florida
today.”

***

Something strange happened at the private
airport where Jake’s jet was waiting for them.

As they were approaching the airplane on
foot, a man in a suit intercepted their path.
 
“Mr. Novak?” the man said.
 
He had a bushy mustache and looked quite
serious.

“Is there a problem?” Jake asked.

“My name’s Ronald Mattingly, and
I’m
in charge of accounts.
 
Unfortunately, it seems there’s been a
problem with yours.”

Jake had been pulling his suitcase along
the tarmac, and now he took his hand off his luggage, crossing his arms, his
jaw tensing.
 
“I don’t understand,
Mr. Mattingly.”

Ronald seemed to shrink ever so slightly
under Jake’s fierce gaze.
 
“Sir, I’m
not sure how to tell you this—“ he glanced nervously to Raven and then
back to Jake once more.
 
“But you’re
account’s been frozen due to lack of funds.
 
Apparently, the payments have stopped
being made, and so we’ve been ordered to disallow use of your jet until the
matter is solved.”

Jake sighed, and then reached into his
pants pocket and pulled out a billfold.
 
“Listen, Ronald,” he said, counting out hundred dollar bills as he
spoke.
 
“I’ve been a very loyal
customer for over three years now, and I’ve spent a lot of money on your jets.”

“That’s true, Mr. Novak, and we do
appreciate your loyalty…”

Jake continued counting.
 
“Since this has been an inconvenience
for you, I don’t mind paying a penalty.
 
Here’s two thousand dollars for your trouble.”

Ronald shook his head, his mustache
trembling.
 
“Mr. Novak, I really
can’t. This isn’t my decision, it’s corporate policy and my hands are tied.”

“I need to go to Florida today, do you
understand?
 
I’m going to Florida
today, Ron—with or without your help.
 
If you don’t help me, then I’m going to
remember it and I’m going to make sure you remember it too.”
 
Jake stared at him, his hand out, the
thick collection of bills tucked between his fingers, waiting to be taken.

“I can make an exception for this one
flight.
 
But just this one,” Ronald
told him.
 
Sweat had broken out on
his forehead and he wiped it away with his thumb, taking the bills from Jake.

“See you next time,” Jake told him,
giving a quick smile, then grabbing his suitcase and starting for the
plane.
 
Raven walked quickly to keep
up with him.

“Mr. Novak!” Ronald called, as they began
boarding the private jet.

Jake turned and looked at the man.
 
“Yeah?”

“There won’t be a next time.
 
This is your last flight with us, Sir.”

Jake nodded, waving, and then they were
inside and sitting down, as the stewardess closed the door and gave them a
strained smile.

It was clear that everyone on board knew
what was going on, and the reception was chilly to say the least.

The inside of the jet was
amazing—like a flying hotel room, with huge plush seats, a wet bar, a
flat-screen television, even a bed.
 
Raven and Jake took their seats next to one another and Jake took her
hand as the jet began taxying down the runway.

“Usually the captain comes by and says
hello,” Jake whispered.
 
“I guess
not this time.
 
The word is out on
us.”

“I feel like a criminal,” Raven muttered
back, as the stewardess sat on a seat just outside the cockpit, giving her an
appraising, judgmental stare.

Jake laughed.
 
“Yeah, we’re a regular Bonnie and
Clyde.”

She looked at him.
 
“Are you worried?”

 
“Am I worried about losing my flying
privileges?”

“That man said you were missing
payments.
 
Your lawyer told you that
this could bankrupt you completely.”

Jake squeezed her hand as the plane
started to lift off the ground, making Raven’s stomach drop as the nose tilted
almost straight into the air.
 
She
looked out the window and saw the ground receding, and in a way, their problems
with it.

Jake finally spoke again.
 
“Actually, I’m not thinking about my jet
or my money or the tour—none of it.
 
All I’m thinking about is you lying in white sand wearing nothing but a
string bikini.”

Raven felt her nipples stiffen as he said
it.
 
She was picturing Jake in
nothing but a bathing suit, water dripping down his muscular torso and rock
hard abs, his hair slicked back.

She licked her lips, trying not to show
how turned on she was.
 
“That sounds
nice.”

“I think so too.”

The plane banked to the right side,
rolling so that it almost looked like their window was pointing straight at the
ground.
 
And then, after a few
seconds, it straightened out and, other than a few bumps of brief
turbulence,
they were seemingly floating on air.

The stewardess got up and
approached.
 
“Would either of you
care for a drink, or something to eat?”

“I think a couple of glasses of champagne
will do just fine,” Jake told her.

The stewardess flashed Jake a wide grin,
and then another quick icy glare in Raven’s direction, before walking away
towards the other side of the plane.

“She doesn’t like me very much,” Raven
told him.

“Who, the stewardess?” Jake waved it off
as silly.
 
“You’ve got to stop
worrying so much about what other people think of you,” he said.
 
“Especially strangers.”

Raven nodded.
 
“I know.
 
I just hate how people make assumptions,
and they always seem willing to believe the worst.”

“That’s how a lot of people are, but not
everyone.
 
And that’s their
problem.
 
Don’t make it yours.”

Raven gave him a sidelong glance.
 
“You’re pretty smart for a musician.”

“Well, I did read some philosophy books,
so maybe I’m not as dumb as you’d assumed I was.
 
See? Now you were the one making
assumptions.”
 
He grinned at her.

She couldn’t believe how handsome Jake
Novak was—but more than that, he was beautiful inside.
 
She was staring into his eyes and it was
as though she could see his soul.
 
Raven realized she was staring for too long when Jake averted his gaze,
seeming uncomfortable with her attention, pulling his hand away.

The stewardess was back with two full
glasses of champagne.
 
“Please let
me know if you need anything else,” she said to Jake and only Jake, as she
handed off the glasses.

Raven thanked her and was ignored.

Jake turned and clinked glasses with her,
smiling warmly.
 
“Here’s to
Florida,” he said.

“To Florida,” she agreed, then brought
the glass to her mouth and sipped.

“To warm sands, warm bodies, and you
lying naked in my arms all night long,” Jake whispered.

Raven felt her arms break out in goose
bumps as he spoke.
 
“You’re making
fun,” she said.

Jake shook his head no.
 
“I’m not, Raven.
 
You have no idea what I’m going to do to
you.
 
It’s going to be just the two
of us, in my house, and nowhere to go.
 
I hope you can handle it.”

“I’m pretty sure I can,” she replied
confidently, tipping the glass to her lips and drinking a large sip of
champagne.
 

“Good,” Jake told her.
 
“Because this is the beginning of the
rest of our lives.”

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and
she even caught a little sleep before they landed.

The ride from the airport to Jake’s house
on the island of Siesta Key, Florida, was stunningly beautiful.
 
Everything was so crystal clear, and the
colors so bright, as if the dial had been turned up on the world itself since
landing.

They were driving in a rented Jeep, the
wind in their hair, their luggage stuffed in back, as Jake drove, wearing
sunglasses that made him look even more like the movie star he was.

Raven had bought a pair of sunglasses at
the gift shop and was sporting them as she looked off to her right at the
ocean, while they crossed a large bridge.

Birds flew by them and landed beak first
on the water, trying to hunt for fish.

Boats drifted toward the horizon.

Around them, palm trees drifted to and
fro, blurring as they sped by on their way to Jake’s home.

“This is the island,” Jake told her, as
they exited the main highway, and then turned off onto an even smaller road
that led them into a slightly more remote area.
 
There were plenty of tourists walking,
cycling and driving, and the air smelled of salt water and magic.

Raven’s entire body relaxed as she
watched the world passing by as if in a dream.

After a few more minutes, Jake pulled the
jeep over in front of a tall wall with a wrought iron gate.
 
He approached the gate and unlocked it,
swung the doors open and then got back into the jeep.