Raging Blue Read Online Free Page A

hotel. Thanks for the offer, though.”
    “It’s not a problem.”
    “I’ll be fine.” She tried to make her voice sound light. “Maybe I can just rest for a little while. Then I’ll go and get a room for the night.”
    “Okay, but just know the offer still stands.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Well, you know as soon as he gets up, I’m going to get a call.”
    “I know,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck while squeezing her eyes shut.
    “Maybe you should try to get some rest.”
    “I’ll be fine,” Blue replied with all the cheer she could gather. “Thank you. Thanks for looking out for me, as always,” she said, giving him a big friendly hug. Instead of letting go, she laid her head against his broad chest. “Friends like you don’t come easy.”
    Blue cried and sniffled softly into Gavin’s chest. When the kettle screeched, she pulled herself from his embrace, and he headed toward the kitchen. He took his time preparing her tea, then carried the steaming cup out the balcony.
    As Gavin turned to leave, the telephone rang. Blue swung her head in his direction. With her eyes, she pleaded with Gavin to keep her visit a secret in case it was Jay on the other end of the phone. She'd expected Jay would lay in his stupor for the better part of the night, giving her time to be long gone before the sunlight hit and he noticed she was gone. Assuming he wouldn’t remember much anyway, she rolled her eyes at the thought of him trying to put together all the pieces of his drunken outburst.
    “Hello,” Gavin said into the receiver, attempting to sound as normal as possible. “Jay…okay…calm down…okay…relax, man. Where are you?” he asked Jay while his eyes locked with Blue’s.
    Gavin’s eyes widened and Blue took a step closer with bated breath when Gavin repeated Jay’s response to his question aloud. "You're in the lobby...of my building? Right now?"
    Without a second thought, Blue grabbed her bags and trudged several flights down the hollow stairwell. The loud clank of her heels reverberated off the cement walls. When she reached the first level, she peered past the door into the lobby for any sign of Jay. Then she hurried past the doorman and through the gold-trimmed glass doors. Once outside, she hailed her own cab. She moved with such haste that the doorman didn’t have a chance to open the door for her when the taxi rolled up.
    As she climbed into the car, she turned back to the building and locked eyes with Jay as he peered out of the glass-enclosed elevator. His eyes narrowed and then sparked with realization before he exited the elevator and came running toward her.
    Blue slammed the door, flung her bag across the seat, and yelled at the taxi driver, “Go! Hurry! Go now!”
    “Where to, miss?” the driver asked.
    Within arm’s length of the car, Jay reached for the door.
    “Drive, dammit!” Blue screamed. “Drive!”
    The taxi driver caught sight of Jay’s lanky, commanding frame and panicked. He threw the car into “drive” and sped off. Blue’s heart felt like it would pound right through her chest. She hopelessly tried to catch her breath.
    “Where do you want me to take you, miss?” the driver asked nervously once they were a few blocks away.
    Blue hadn’t given her destination much thought. She wiped her hand down her face and sucked in a deep breath. As her hand pressed her bruised cheek, she winced from the pain. She definitely couldn’t go to her family members’ house with her face looking the way it did.
    “What hotel is close by?” she asked.
    “There are quite a few. There’s a very nice boutique hotel right along Central Park called The Pierre,” the driver suggested.
    “Take me there!”
    The driver stepped on the gas and made his way toward the exquisite Pierre, a Taj Hotel, while Blue rested back against the seat. Thoughts of the night’s events flapped through her mind. Everything about the past few hours blazed through her head so quickly that she