No Greater Loyalty Read Online Free PDF Page A

momentarily."
    Nikki looked at him in surprise. She wasn’t aware of anyone else joining them. "Oh? Who?"
    Still staring at Raven, Angel waited until the maid refilled his cup with more coffee before answering Nikki. "Just some...associates."
    Nikki's eyes went from Angel to Raven, who was now on the alert. She, like Nikki, sensed there was more to his answer than he was saying.
    Before Nikki could question him further, Jonathan walked in, followed by two men. Nikki's gaze sharpened. She immediately shot a suspicious look towards Angel. This was the reason why he'd been so vague. Angel never looked away from Raven. Nikki now knew it was because he wanted to witness her reaction to Lucas and Hawkins Pattel's arrival.
    "Sorry we're late," Lucas said, a half-smile resting on his face. "There was an accident on the interstate that had traffic hella backed up."
    Mouth agape, Raven twisted around in her chair to stare at them. However, Lucas wasn ’t the Pattel who held her attention. His brother, Hawk, had that honor.
    Sauntering in behind Lucas, Hawk greeted Nikki then nodded to Keisha as Nikki introduced everyone. He waited until after he'd shaken hands with Angel and Dominick to affix his sharp gaze on his prey: Raven Randolph.
    Raven was momentarily frozen. With an almost super human effort, she closed her mouth and lowered her eyes in order to regroup behind the safety of her long lashes. She was at a disadvantage and didn't like the feeling one bit.
    Her first thought was what in the hell was Hawkins Pattel doing there? Raven shot Angel a furious side-glare. Her temper soared to a boiling point at the look of satisfaction on his face. Her manicured nails dug into the soft palm of her hand when he mockingly saluted her with his coffee cup. The smug son of a bitch.
    "Well, well, well. If it isn't my city's beautiful ADA." The amusement in Hawk’s voice reclaimed her attention. "Hello, Raven."
    Hearing Hawk's arrogant proclamation caused her spine to straighten. Sitting forward, Raven pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin as she scowled at his choice of words. " Your city?"
    Hawk chose the chair directly opposite hers. Raven knew the choice was intentional. Now, she would have to look at him across the table throughout the entire meal.
    "You heard me," he answered. "Thought you knew. New York has always been my family's city." Hawk sat back with a cocky grin meant to deliberately goad Raven into reacting. He didn't have long to wait. 
    "In what lifetime? You're delusional, you know that? Just because the Pattels have managed to avoid prosecution all these years doesn't mean you 'run' New York. Your time is coming. Believe me, you'll get yours."
    Hawk's eyes grew hot as they dipped low, visually caressing the outline of her breasts beneath the casual, white top she wore. "Oh, I most definitely intend to," he all but purred. He reminded Raven of a big cat roaming through a jungle with absolutely no fear of his surroundings because he knew he was king. "I always get what's mine. Always." His innuendo was not lost on anyone at the table.
    Raven gasped. For a good five seconds, his eyes held hers hostage before she summoned the strength to look away. What was wrong with her?
    Raven's gaze went around the table, noticing everyone's attention was on them. Taking a deep, slow breath, she picked up her cup of coffee, or at least tried to. Her hand trembled so badly, the hot liquid sloshed over the sides, staining the snow-white tablecloth. Swallowing, she set the cup back on the saucer.
    As if drawn to him like Adam to Eve's forbidden apple in that damn garden, Raven’s eyes lifted to meet Hawk's again. Just as quickly she cursed herself for doing so. When she saw the amused expression on his face, it was all she could do to stop from scrambling over the table and slapping the ever-loving hell out of him.
    Unbeknownst to Raven, Nikki's thoughtful eyes lingered on her sister. The last time Raven had come face to face with