Too bad I’m too much of a bastard to do what’s right for her twice. At least I can justify keeping her with the fact not keeping her almost got her killed.
Her walls have pictures full of her and her family, all of them smiling and laughing. Except for one. There’s one where she looks like her heart has been yanked out of her chest, and she’s a million miles away in it. Distant, cold, hurt… It’s the only one not framed, but it’s taped to her wall.
Curious, I pull it off, and flip it over, seeing the date. Doing the math isn’t hard. This is right around the time her sister died. It’s probably the moment something in her changed and shifted, something bitter that spread inside her like a disease.
Something that made her trust and love a guy like me.
The bubbly girl in all of these other pictures wouldn’t have ever been strong enough to endure what she has since coming to me. Losing her sister might have saved her life, considering Marshall fucked this family over, and would have no matter what the circumstances.
Then again, if her sister’s hospital bills and funeral costs hadn’t been so high, her father might not have been desperate enough to ever get involved with us. It’s all a row of dominos, remove one, and they can’t all fall. Everything was pieced together to bring her to me.
My eyes flit to the crisp white dressers that also sport flower designs on them. Cheery. Bright. Young. Carefree… This was her before she lost her sister.
Walking over to the dresser, I flip open a sketchbook. Every page is dated, all of them within the past year. Every picture is mildly disturbing, showing pain, grief, anger, rage… Nothing flowery or cheerful in these drawings. I bet I’d find butterfly pics in the sketchbooks prior to her sister’s death.
Eve wasn’t made for me, but life molded her for me later on. It’s pretty fucked up that I became her light. No one probably even noticed she was suffering. Add in her father’s supposed suicide, and you have someone bitter, resentful, angry… Someone like me.
Blowing out a breath, I turn to see Eve leaning against the doorway of her room, watching me silently.
“Please tell me you don’t want fucking flowers in our place,” I say, trying to lighten the air.
Her lips turn up in the faintest of smiles. “Our place? As in your warehouse room?”
I shrug, leaning back on the dresser and crossing my arms over my chest. “There and our house, when I buy another one.”
“Our house?” she muses, smiling a little bigger.
“I think I made it clear I wasn’t letting you go again. So yeah… Our house.”
She looks down, smiling bigger, and her dark, shiny hair falls over her face.
“So how does this work?” she asks, looking back up as a flicker of fear tries to show itself, but she does well to act tough. I don’t like that.
Blowing out a breath, I glance around. “You stay here until he shows up. We drive away like we’re leaving you on your own. Snake spreads the word that I’m done with you. Since he’s the most bitter, he can sell it. Pop won’t make a move in the burbs. No worries. He’s smart enough to smell a trap anyway, and he’ll think it’s been set for him. He’ll avoid this entire situation. The only ones who will be drawn in are Ben Jr. and Marshall. Probably Ben Jr. only. I doubt Marshall is actually going to do any physical confrontation on his own. But once we have Ben, we can locate Marshall.”
“But you won’t be far away?” she asks hesitantly.
“Not far at all. Just down the road. Keep your phone on you at all times. The house is bugged, but I still want you to hit my number on your cell and drop the phone if someone shows up. Got it? We can’t be too close or they’ll figure shit out.” I groan deep in my throat. “Fuck it. I can’t go through with this. It’s too fucking dangerous, Eve.”
She walks toward me, and that determination spreads over her face, eclipsing every ounce of doubt she was wearing.
“I can do this, Drex. We can. It’s the only way to end it. We have enough to worry about with Herrin to have to worry about this as well.”
Brave. That’s one word for her. Stupid is the word for me.
“I don’t like this,” I grumble, watching the way she smiles up at me because she knows I’d do anything she asked. Pretty sure I’d fucking set the world on fire if she asked me to. “I also don’t like knowing this could take a few days or weeks. I prefer having you under me at all times.”
“I like being on top on occasion,” she quips, smirking up at me.
I grunt as she snickers softly, and I roll my eyes before peering out the window. Dash and Snake are waiting on me. The last thing I want to do is leave her here alone.
“So I can’t talk to you until this is over?” she asks, slipping her arms around my neck.
I may have fucked her twice this morning before coming here, but I really don’t want to go all night without having her again. It’d probably ruin the illusion if I stay much longer though.
“We have to guess they’ll be tracing any calls leaving this house. We have some tech toys, so I’m sure Ben does too. There’s a scrambler in here right now that is keeping any and all bugs from working, including ours. But once I’m gone, that scrambler will be deactivated and anything you say or do can be monitored. Cameras are in here too.”
“Will you be watching those cameras alone?” she muses.
My dick stirs in my jeans, and I narrow my eyes on her as her grin turns wicked.
“Don’t get naked anywhere but your closet. It’s the only place cameras can’t see. No, I won’t be watching alone.”
“What about when I shower?”
“The shower stall doesn’t have visibility, but the rest of the bathroom does. No one will be monitoring those screens when you’re in there, though. It’s just for when you’re not in there. That room has a window. We’ve locked every window in here and tested the alarm, but it’s just a precautionary measure. No one should be able to enter without triggering the alarm unless you let them in.”
She nods, biting down on her lip, and I lift her face back up by her chin and push my lips against hers. She kisses me back, hungry and desperate, and I groan into her mouth when her hands start roaming south.
“I can’t fuck you right now,” I grumble against her lips. “I should have left ten minutes ago.”
She sighs before stepping back. “Then you better leave before I don’t let you stop me.”
My lips twitch, and I bend to kiss her once more, keeping this one chaste, before walking out of her room. She follows and prepares for the scene she has to make. Our vacant house sets across from her, but we can’t watch from there. We’d be too noticeable. I really fucking wish I could stay here or just across the street. But we know there are other bugs in the house.
As soon as I step onto the porch, I turn to face her, and I see her angry mask in place. It’s a damn convincing mask.
“I’ll see you in a week regardless of what happens,” I whisper softly.
She nods, but her expression doesn’t change. Good girl.
As I walk toward my bike, she calls out the rehearsed line.
“This is the last time, Drex. You don’t get to pull me in and push me away anytime you feel like it.”
It’s just loud enough without being too loud and too obvious. The jogger across the street who is stretching is much more obvious. He’s been stretching for a while, showing no finesse.
As I toss my leg over my bike, I look back up at my girl who looks really sexy while pretending to be pissed.
“Got it,” I tell her. “Stay safe, Eve. And be smart. Don’t stay here. Get out of town while you can.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sick of doing what I’m told. This is my home. Herrin isn’t going to run me out of it. Neither is Ben. Neither are you.”
So hot. So angry. So… good at making me worry she’s actually pissed at me. Not liking that part. She’s not too great of an actress, so it’s definitely disconcerting to see real anger directed toward me right now. I feel like I’m supposed to apologize.
I pull on my helmet and go through the routine of turning on my ride, revving it a few good times. Eve bites down on her lip, and I wink at her, since she’s the only one who can see my eyes. As I turn the bike around, I feel her eyes on my back. I don’t even glance at the jogger, making sure not to let him know we’ve spotted him.
I wait until I see her front door close in my side mirror before I drive off her lawn, and I floor it down the street. As soon as we reach the warehouse, we’ll be taking the tunnels out and driving back around in dark SUVs. I don’t like leaving her unattended for even that long.
There’s a sick feeling in my stomach about all of this. I really hate that fucking feeling too.
Chapter 42
EVE
Five days without seeing Drex… Yeah. It sucks. It feels like an actual breakup. I haven’t left the house. In fact, I’ve been so paranoid that I’ve ordered my groceries and had them delivered here, which fits in with my act. I’ve barely showered, since I’m worried I won’t hear someone enter while my head is under the water—I’ve watched horror movies before. I’m glad no one I want to see has dropped by, since I probably don’t smell too pretty.