King(32)

Her usual time for arriving at his apartment was two a.m. At one thirty, Henry’s car pulled up in front of the building. Her hands curled in the pockets of the coat as she let her weight shift to lean heavier into the shadows.

King came out, his arm circling the waist of a beautiful blonde. She appeared younger than her with a blue, ruched dress so tight Evie was amazed she could walk. King opened the car door for her and then bent down to give her a lingering kiss before helping her into the car. Shutting the door, he tapped on the roof, signaling Henry to drive away.

He didn’t wait for his car to pull out before going back inside his building. Evie made herself relax her hands when she felt the sticky wetness of blood. She knew as soon as Henry dropped off the blonde, he would go to Penni’s to get her.

She took her cell phone out of her pocket, calling a cab to pick her up. Thankfully, it was close by. As soon as it pulled up, she slid into the back seat. The driver gave her a startled look, which she ignored, giving him Penni’s address.

As soon as the cab came to a stop, she got out and handed the driver the cash. Evie practically ran through the lobby to the elevator, controlling her rampaging emotions until she could get inside the apartment.

Penni turned around on the couch at her entrance. “Back so soon?”

“Change of plans. I decided to stay in; I wanted an early night. See you in the morning.” Evie went into her bedroom before Penni could pose the prying questions Evie could see she was about to ask.

Inside her bedroom, she pulled off the coat, throwing it down on the floor and then kicking it away before taking off the red stripper outfit. She was so angry she wanted to tear it into pieces. Only the fact it didn’t belong to her had her controlling her temper. Evie blinked back tears, not understanding why she was so upset.

Pulling on a t-shirt, she sat down on the end of her bed. She had fucked The Last Riders with the other women of the club, not giving a shit. Hell, she had been happy when they had begun getting married. Never once had she felt a pang of jealousy until she had seen King’s mouth touch the blonde’s.

When her cell phone vibrated next to her hip, she looked down to see it was a message from King. Henry’s waiting outside.

Evie sat, staring down at the message.

Tired. Going to stay in. Goodnight. Evie pushed the send button.

Setting the phone down carefully on the nightstand instead of throwing it against the wall, she lay back on her bed and then turned off her bedside lamp. In her mind, she replayed King and the woman walking out of his apartment building. She wondered how many times over the last few weeks Henry had dropped off one of King’s lovers just to pick her up afterward.

She curled into a ball. The most upsetting part was why she even gave a rat’s ass. What had started out as a clear-cut mission of finding out if King’s activities could in any way hurt Lily had developed into more. He had slid under her guard, seducing her into caring about him.

Evie remembered Beth’s face when she had come to the hospital after being released, seeing Razer with Bliss. The pain of betrayal, both from Razer and herself as a friend for not standing beside her, had been something Evie had regretted for years. She had been loyal to the club and hadn’t stood up for Beth, who had been terribly hurt. She wished she had Beth with her now.

Evie had always held part of herself back, keeping her past private. She needed Beth’s quiet optimism to tell her everything would go back to normal. To convince her she really didn’t care King had been fucking other women. The problem was, she did care.

Desperately, she clung to Levi’s image. They had grown up together. He had been her first kiss, her first love. They had learned to ride bikes together, did Algebra together, went in the service together. He could fix a truck motor, install a kitchen counter and hunt, but at the same time, he could be as sweet and gentle as a spring breeze.

She hadn’t been close to her parents or sister, always feeling on the outside. Levi had been her family, and when she had lost him, she had become a basket case.

When he had died, the woman she had been had also ceased to exist. She had survived her rape and losing Levi by becoming the antithesis of herself. She was no longer shy, timid or virginal; everything her sweet Levi had loved about her was gone, buried under years of parties, alcohol and men.

King had been resurrecting that woman, making her laugh again, making her care again. Well, he had shown her he could keep his emotions under control. She could, too. It was time she got back on track and did the job she had been sent to accomplish.

* * *

“What do you think?” King looked up from his phone at Desmond’s question.