This Life: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

anything but controlling her and
spending her money. I thank God for sparing me, Blake, and for sparing you,
too. Now kiss me good night and go pack your bags for New York .”
    Blake stood and leaned
down, brushing her lips against her mother’s cheek. “Good night, Mami . I
love you so much.”
    “Will you do me one
favor before you go?” From the sound of her voice, Jacinta was already
half-asleep.
    “Anything. You just
name it, Mami.”
    “Put your father’s
record in the CD player for me, then. Good night, sweetie.”
    Blake went to the
entertainment center lining the wall across from Jacinta’s bed. She could have
found the CD of the only record her father’s jazz band ever made by touch alone—the
plastic case had concave spots worn into it where thumb and forefinger had held
it so many times over the years. For a moment she studied her father’s face
again, in the band portrait that comprised the cover art. Theo Bertrand wore a
guitar-shaped keyboard strapped over his shoulder, his band mates surrounding
him. Raven Glory, the band’s name had been.
    “In Old French, Bertrand means ‘glorious raven,’” Theo had told four-year-old Blake, when she’d asked
why he gave his band such a weird name.
    She plugged the CD into
the player and descended the stairs as the first sensuous notes of “Nothing But
You” began to play.

 
    Chapter Three
     
    February 23
    Miami , Florida to New York , New York
     
    No matter how many
times Blake got on an airplane, she always loved the whole experience. Her
favorite part was takeoff: the acceleration pushing her back in her seat, the
nose of the plane tipping up as the aircraft flirted with peeling away from the
ground, the roller-coaster thrill in her gut as the Earth appeared to fall away
from her. She always requested a window seat for the best possible view and,
until the plane reached an altitude at which scenery details were no longer
visible, she sat with her nose pressed against the glass.
    “The glorious raven
flies again,” she murmured.
    “Say again?” Matt, one
of the three bodyguards assigned to accompany Blake to New York , lifted one earpiece of
the headset he’d plugged into his smartphone.
    “I just love flying.”
Blake glanced at him and bent her head, realizing she was as excited as a small
child and feeling a bit embarrassed about it.
    “Buy a private plane
and earn a pilot’s license,” suggested Suki, another bodyguard newly assigned
to Blake, from the seat behind her.
    With a shock, Blake
realized she’d never considered that idea before, and for a moment she wondered
why. Then the obvious answer occurred to her: Oh, right, Lang never would
have let me have that much freedom of movement while we were married. But —she
grinned at the thought— that’s not an obstacle anymore!
    “You know, I think I’ll
do that.” Blake turned half around in her seat and gave Suki a thumbs-up. “Thanks
for the suggestion!”
    “Eh, you would have
thought of it yourself, sooner or later.” Suki shrugged. Half a second later
she appeared to be deep in meditation.
    Blake shivered, a
little unnerved by the suddenness of Suki’s altered mental state. She turned
her gaze to Antonio, her other bodyguard for her stay in New York . The manager of Blitz
Security told her he’d chosen to send Matt, Suki, and Antonio to New York with
Blake because the three frequently worked together and had such a good rapport
that they seemed to communicate without speaking. Antonio glanced from Blake to
Suki and back again. He mouthed the words, “She does that.”
    Antonio then waved one
hand in front of Suki’s closed eyes. “Don’t make me break your hand off your
wrist,” Suki said sweetly, blank-faced and eyes still closed.
    “She could really do
that,” Matt told Blake. “Suki is a third-degree black belt in combat jujitsu.”
He paused, then added, “That’s what American and British special ops soldiers
use.”
    “If Lang gets close
enough to touch