I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 305: 305:Another problem coming.

Ravenna stared through the window.

There were dozens of different pastries displayed inside. One of them immediately reminded her of something Silver had bought during an earlier checkpoint stop.

"He’d like this place."

Mallory smiled.

"Then we’re going inside."

Ravenna looked at her.

"I’m not hungry."

Antony appeared beside them.

"I am."

"Nobody asked you."

Five minutes later, they were inside. Ravenna eventually bought something anyway telling herself she was simply curious. Mallory didn’t challenge that explanation

By late afternoon, Ravenna’s earlier resistance to leaving the house felt almost ridiculous. She still thought about Silver, constantly.

She saw things he would like, foods he would want to try,places where he would probably stop, and stores he would spend too much time inside. Everywhere they went, some small thought about him appeared but those thoughts no longer felt like knives; instead, Ravenna found herself memorizing places.

She even took several pictures. Mallory caught her doing it outside one scenic garden.

"What are those for?"

Ravenna lowered her phone.

"Nothing."

Mallory looked at the screen.

"You’ve taken twenty-three pictures."

Ravenna frowned.

"Why are you counting?"

"I’m not. It says twenty-three right there."

Ravenna looked at the screen.

"Oh."

Antony leaned closer.

"Are those for Silver?"

Ravenna immediately locked the phone.

"No."

Antony smiled.

"They’re definitely for Silver."

Ravenna walked away.

"Keep talking and you’re walking home."

"I’m driving."

"I’ll drive."

"You don’t know the way."

"Mallory does."

Antony looked toward Mallory. Mallory raised both hands.

"I’m staying out of this."

They continued walking.

Ravenna smiled when neither of them could see her face.

By the time five o’clock approached, even she was tired. Her legs weren’t the problem; she could walk for considerably longer than this. It was simply the amount of things they had done.

Mallory checked the time.

"We should eat somewhere before heading north."

Ravenna immediately looked at her.

"How long?"

Mallory checked again.

"We have time."

Ravenna frowned.

"How much?"

"Enough to eat."

"That’s not a measurement."

Antony laughed. Mallory ignored him.

"We’ll find somewhere nearby, eat, and then leave for the academy."

Ravenna considered protesting, then her stomach betrayed her. Mallory heard it, she looked away.

Antony grinned.

"Interesting."

"Say anything and I’ll kill you."

"I didn’t say anything."

"Your face did."

Mallory laughed.

They eventually settled on a hotel not far from one of the major roads leading toward northern Alpha Three.

Ravenna noticed immediately that it wasn’t cheap. The entrance alone was enough to tell her.

Tall glass windows covered much of the front of the building, uniformed attendants stood near the doors, and expensive vehicles regularly stopped outside.

Ravenna looked at Mallory.

"Here?"

Mallory shrugged.

"We’re already here."

Antony glanced at the building.

"I support this decision, we’ve eaten enough street food for the day."

"Of course you do."

They entered.

The restaurant occupied a large section of the hotel’s lower floor. It was quieter than most places they had visited that day, and Ravenna immediately appreciated that.

They were shown to a table.

Ravenna sat beside Mallory while Antony took the seat opposite them. Menus were handed out.

Ravenna opened hers, then closed it. Antony looked at her with confusion in his eyes.

"What?"

"The prices."

Mallory smiled.

"You can afford it."

"That’s not the point."

Antony opened his menu.

"Silver can afford it."

Ravenna looked at him. Antony immediately lowered the menu.

"I’ll stop."

"Good."

Ravenna opened hers again. Despite complaining, they ordered. Ravenna leaned back once the waiter left, her gaze moving toward the windows.

The day had been good. She almost felt guilty admitting that. Silver was trapped somewhere beneath Death Row Valley while she had spent hours playing games, eating food, and walking through parks.

Then she remembered what Mallory had said; sitting inside and suffering wouldn’t help him but finding Shawn might. Ravenna touched the tracker through her pocket. A little longer, then they would go.

She looked toward Mallory.

"What time is it?"

Mallory sighed.

"You asked five minutes ago."

"Things change in five minutes."

"Usually by five minutes."

Antony laughed.

Ravenna was about to answer when a small commotion near the entrance caught her attention. It wasn’t particularly loud, just a few greetings, some laughter, and several people moving aside. Nothing that should have mattered.

Ravenna glanced over anyway, then her expression changed. Her body went still, which Mallory noticed immediately.

"What?"

Ravenna didn’t answer.

A young woman had just entered the hotel restaurant.

Brown hair fell neatly around her shoulders, framing a beautiful face Ravenna knew far too well. Her green eyes resembled her mother’s almost perfectly, and there was an unmistakable confidence in the way she walked, as though she had entered a place where she naturally expected people to notice her.

Five girls surrounded her.

They laughed when she laughed, listened when she spoke, and seemed almost desperate for her attention. Ravenna slowly leaned back in her chair.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Mallory followed her gaze. Her expression immediately hardened, since she recognized the woman too. Antony looked between them.

"Who?"

Ravenna didn’t answer immediately.

The woman continued walking. For one hopeful moment, Ravenna thought she hadn’t noticed them, then those green eyes shifted and landed directly on Ravenna.

The woman stopped, her eyes narrowing as recognition appeared. And then, almost instantly, the coldness disappeared beneath a beautiful smile.

A smile Ravenna knew very well. She sighed.

"Shirley."

Antony glanced at her.

"Friend?"

"No." Mallory answered before Ravenna could. "Her stepsister."

Antony looked toward Shirley again.

"Oh."

Ravenna watched as Shirley whispered something to the girls around her before changing direction and coming straight toward their table. Ravenna reached for her drink.

"So much for a peaceful day."

Mallory’s expression hardened further.

"Do you want to leave?"

Ravenna took a slow sip.

"No."

Shirley was already approaching. And judging from the smile spreading across her face, Ravenna knew exactly what she wanted.

A reaction.

Unfortunately for Shirley, Ravenna had spent far too many years dealing with her to make that mistake again.

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