Bad Girls Finish First (30 page)

“Sure thing, but my time is going to be tight over the next few weeks.” Raven smiled radiantly. “Can you believe it? I'm going to be the governor's wife! This is just the beginning for Michael and me. I tell you, David, this has to be the happiest day of my life,” she said, accustomed to being able to tell him anything. Raven was oblivious to the pain in David's eyes.

“I love you, Raven,” he said.

“Yeah, I love you, too,” she said absently, her eyes roving the room. She pinched David's butt and left his side to be with her husband.

 

 

“Come back here!” Michael said early the next morning as Raven got out of bed. She playfully slapped his hands away. “Please, no more. After last night it's a miracle I have the strength to move.”

Michael lay back on his pillow and cradled his head in intertwined hands. “It was like when we were first married, or when we were dating.” He looked at her with awe. “I've never seen you so . . .”

“Reckless?” Raven pulled on sweats and put her hair up in a ponytail. “I know, Mr. Governor-elect. And you loved every minute of it.”

“That I did,” Michael said as he recalled how Raven had climbed all over him as soon as they got into their limousine after the debate. She sexed him during the entire ride from Dallas to Austin. That Raven was something else.

“You really think Sweeney is finished?” he asked.

“Of course. You won the debate anyway, but Sweeney's meltdown ended the governor's race.” She put on a baseball cap and pulled her ponytail through the back. “I'm headed to Starbucks, back in a minute.”

 

 

Raven lingered in Starbucks, drinking coffee with a dozen newspapers by her side. The headlines were all the same:
JOSEPH WILL BE TEXAS' GOVERNOR
!
SWEENEY WITHDRAWS
AM
ID SCANDAL
.

Raven flipped through the paper until she found another, smaller headline:
MAN FOUND DEAD. POLICE SUSPECT SUICIDE
.

The latter article said, “Last night patrons of a Sixth Street bar called the police when a man walked in with a sawed-off shotgun. The man reportedly announced, ‘This is my last bugle blow,' put the gun in his mouth, and fired. Police are withholding the man's identity pending notification of next of kin.”

David's going to take this pretty hard,
Raven thought as she sipped her latte and read the article again.
He's going to need me.
She thought about it some more and decided that David didn't really need her. It wasn't like she could
do
anything.
Michael's going to be upset too, maybe even more than David. Now that he's practically the governor I really must put him first.

Raven picked up the
Los Angeles Times
, which featured her and Michael on the front page. She sighed and said aloud, “Life is good.”

“Is it, now?” a man replied.

Raven's blood froze in her veins. She turned and found herself staring into the gold-flecked eyes of Omar Faxton.

“You look surprised,” he said. “You had to know I'd turn up sooner or later.” He sat down across from her.

“But I thought—” Raven blurted and abruptly stopped.

Omar shook his head. “I've got more lives than a cat. You of all people should understand that.” He thumped Raven's newspaper. “Congratulations. Word to the wise—enjoy it while it lasts.”

“What do you want?” Raven asked, trying to sound tough.

Omar's smooth voice stayed even, but his eyes turned cruel. “I thought about letting bygones be bygones, but I couldn't do it. I changed my last name, but I guess I'm still the same old Omar, and you know how I roll.”

He leaned toward Raven, and when she flinched, he grabbed her ponytail to hold her close. Omar's lips brushed against her ear. “I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere until we're even,” he whispered. “I hope for your sake you're prepared.”

Omar stood and threw Raven the smile that used to drive all the women nuts back when they were law students.

“See you around,” he said, and walked away.

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