by A. J. Macey
“Ready?” I asked Kane, buttoning up my coat. Kane’s lips thinned, but I knew he didn’t want to talk about it, and frankly, I didn’t want to go digging through his thoughts right now. So, I decided to take another approach. “How was the day with Evera?” My question asked both out of curiosity for Kane’s perspective and for my own selfish need because Acer had been right—I did want Evera. She was beautiful and feisty, and I had seen all the sweetness and concern she held deep within her. She never lets anyone get behind those walls she’s built up. Evera might be jaded, but she had a heart of gold behind those cynical world views, and I was determined to see that light shine out from her.
“Good.” His tone was short and clipped, and by no intention of my own, I was hit with what he was going through. His pent-up desire swirled with guilt as he beat himself up for having feelings for Evera, for teasing her and wanting to flirt with her while she was supposed to be off-limits. His desire only served to fuel my own.
“Just good?” I prodded, walking out with him to the waiting car and slipping into the back seat behind the partition. “She seemed pretty happy when you guys got back.”
“She did?” he questioned, his eyes lighting up.
“Had a cute little smile on her face as she wandered through the halls. So, are you going to tell me how it was dealing with wanting to fuck her the whole time? Because your pent-up shit is leaking into my head,” I joked, but in reality, I was glad I was wearing compression shorts under my jeans; otherwise, I would be very obviously showcasing my hard-on.
“It doesn’t matter,” he grumbled, his good mood disappearing in an instant. “Not with Acer around or knowing about her history with Carson.”
I bit back a sigh. That did seem to be the issue when it came to Evera, but within that bright mind of hers, I had seen how much she cared about each and every one of them, despite being so angry. I honestly didn’t think Evera would ever choose between them, and while they would need to come to an agreement, they could, in fact, share her, they had to remember she was the one who would make the ultimate decision.
“Evera is a grown woman, and she can make the choice of who she’s with,” I reminded him. He sighed, staring out the black tinted windows, not justifying my argument with a response. Letting him stew in his internal conflict, I flipped through the small notebook I had in my pocket. “Well, if we’re not going to talk about our new house guest, we should talk about the charity event you have coming up next Friday evening.”
“First, a topic that’s hard to talk about, and now a topic you know I hate to talk about. If I didn’t know you better, I would think you’re just here to torture me.” Kane forced out a laugh before rubbing his jaw. “I’ll be attending, of course.”
“Do you want me to add in a plus one to your RSVP?” I asked, scribbling down what he was saying.
“Who would I possibly take?”
“You could call Ms. Mallory,” I offered, knowing he had gladly taken her to events before. Why am I even suggesting that? We both know what he’s going to say.
“Eh,” he grumbled as the car slowed. The memory of Evera clothed in an unzipped, black, skintight dress filtered into my mind. Seconds later, it was replaced by the image of her in a long, elegant evening gown, her arm linked through Kane’s as he escorted her to the event. Most of the time, I could filter others’ thoughts out of my mind; they might pass through, but I had no reason to let them take up real space in my brain. This one, though... this one burned with such intensity, such desire, I gladly let it sear itself into my memory.
“Kane,” I started, opening my door, “ask her. The worst she could do is say no.” I slipped out of the car before he could argue with me, my mind whirling with thoughts of a certain blue-eyed Phenom with the spark that could kill and the heart that could enslave.
We’re screwed.
Kane
Take Evera to the event, I grumbled. If only it were that easy. Nothing would capture the attention of the media or rich and famous of the city like having a woman who was fifteen years younger on your arm. I shook away all the reasons why it would be a terrible idea to pursue Evera and focused on getting out of the SUV. The other two vehicles that came with us slowed before the three men climbed out of the cars. All three drivers stayed with the idling cars as we started toward the building.
Blue has been living in a complete hell hole. Is staying off the grid really that important to her? Why? My lip curled in disgust as I looked around the face of the building and down the hall. The anger of seeing how she’d been living only grew as we made our way to her studio apartment. It was dingy, and there were water stains and cracks littering the walls and ceilings. Her bed looked like full-sized, the dark gray sheets unmade with a worn plaid quilt on top in a heap. Scanning the rest of the tiny space, I could barely contain myself when I saw a broken glass on the floor from when the men had tried to take her.
“Grab all of her clothes and anything inside the dresser and bathroom,” I directed everyone, my eyes focusing on her desk. It was worn wood, stained and cracked, and covered in piles of notes and folders. “Silas,” I called over my shoulder, flipping shamelessly through her papers.
“She was investigating her brother’s murder,” he murmured, coming to the same conclusion I had. “You have to tell her.”
“We’ll have a meeting tonight. Go over what we know and the next steps of the plan,” I decided, dread slowly growing in my stomach at how she’d respond to the fact we’ve known, mixing with the freshly renewed grief that clenched my chest at the thought of Rett.
The house was quiet, the sound of the breeze whipping through the windows the only noise as I flipped through the mail, needing any semblance of normalcy to ease the panic gripping my chest. Silas got the best. The situation will be handled, I mentally chanted. The silence only lasted for a few minutes until the shrill ringing of my phone blared from the pocket of my slacks.
“Yes?” I barked.
“It's done,” Silas said, his low tone finally easing the anxiety that had constricted around my chest. “I'm on my way.”
“Good, they'll be back in just a few minutes.” Glancing at the clock, unease quickly replaced the short-lived relief. Rett is not going to be happy.
“Less than a minute out,” Silas stated before we hung up, his car pulling up before Rett and Carson got here. Thank hell for Evera having choir practice. I sighed, nodding to Silas as he walked in. “Ready?”
“Ready to tell Rett the one thing he wanted to avoid happened? As ready as I'll ever be,” I mumbled, seeing Rett's blonde hair next to Car's short cropped black curls.
“Hey, Kane, Silas!” Rett called out when they saw us around the counter, Car waving over his shoulder as he shucked his bag in the corner of the front hall. I gave a half-assed glare at his laziness, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him to pick it up.
“How's it going...” Rett questioned, his statement trailing off when he saw our hard eyes and thinned lips. “What?”
“First, I want you to know the situation is remedied,” I started.
“What situation?” Rett hissed, immediately picking up on the tension filling the room. Carson stood off to the side, confused and silent as he watched us since he had been left out of the conversation of what happened. Explaining quickly, I told Rett everything, his face growing harder and angrier with each sentence. He quickly outlined his stipulations, his voice low as we listened.
“I know this isn't your fault, Kane, but you have to swear to me.” He glanced at Silas and Carson. “All of you.” When Rett was satisfied with our agreement, some of his anger left, but his shoulders still stayed tense.
“I need to get to work,” Silas explained as soon as it was done, heading toward the door. “I'll see you three later.”
“Bye, Silas,” Car and Rett called out, smiling slightly, saying it at the same time before the tension of what was revealed settled back over us. We stood awkwardly in silence as we listened to the rev of the engine fad
e down the street.
“Hi, boys!” Evera's bright voice called out, her happy gaze falling on us standing in the kitchen. Guilt washed through me at her nearly skipping down the hall. She's safe, my mind whispered, but try as I might, I couldn't calm the worry in my mind as I pulled her into a hug.
Too close.
Evera
I was exhausted and wired as I scarfed down my dinner in my room. After spending the majority of the day with Kane and Stanley, I didn’t want to be around anyone unless it was required. Spending years alone had made it difficult to adjust to a building full of Syndicate members. I had just finished when my door opened without warning. Jumping up, my arcs danced dangerously around my fingers in preparation for whoever was on the other side of the door.
“Baby Blue,” Carson greeted with a cocky smile, knowing he had just scared the living hell out of me, “we’ve been summoned.”
I glared, my arms flopping down to my sides when I realized it wasn’t anyone who was a threat. My heart continued to thud painfully in my chest, the tingling of my adrenaline pounding through my veins as I grabbed the black jacket off of my chair.
“You really need to learn how to knock,” I bit out, storming past him and down the hall. He chuckled, half jogging to keep up with my angry strides.
“Aww, did I scare you?” he teased, nudging my shoulder.
“No, you asshat, I could have been naked,” I snapped. He leaned in close, his woodsy cologne tickling my nose and sending a pulse of need to my core.
“I know,” he whispered.
“Fuck off,” I hissed, shoving him and his cocky grin back. “Where the hell are we going, anyway?”
“Well, if you hadn’t practically run away from me, I would show you,” he fired back, reveling in amping me up. I waved a hand impatiently down the hall for him to go, getting only a laugh in return.
“God, you’re so infuriating,” I huffed, entering the room when we reached it a few seconds later. “You could have just told me it was down the hall.”
“I could do a lot of things,” he challenged with a wink, his cocky smile turning devious.
Crossing my arms, I jutted my hip out in an attempt to show him he couldn’t sway me. I’m not the sweet teenage girl who could be swept off her feet at the flash of his sinful smiles anymore.
“Yeah, like learning how to fucking knock!” I nearly shouted but try as I might I couldn’t stop the chuckle from bubbling out of me. I had no idea how, but every time we went at it like this, it always ended up in us laughing even if we were pissed.
“Aha! There it is,” he said victoriously. Rolling my eyes, I sank into the same seat I had taken the night before and ignored Carson.
“Angel,” Acer called out, running into the room and sinking into the seat to my right.
“You okay?” I whispered, leaning into him. The hard look in his eyes and obvious scowl set me on edge; in all my years of knowing Trace, I hadn’t once seen him so fired up. His hands tightened around a Manila folder as I looked at him.
“Evera,” Acer started, but Harrison’s and Granger’s boisterous arrival cut him off.
“Okay, everyone’s here,” Kane started, effectively silencing the two men. “Let’s get started.”
“Uh, yeah, I have something. Found it during a very interesting search,” Acer ground out. Holding the folder out for me, I took it cautiously before opening it.
An overwhelming sense of fear, sadness, and anger flooded me as I flipped through, scanning the papers inside until I finally found what he had wanted me to see.
“You know who killed Rett,” I murmured to the men of The Syndicate. “You’ve known for years.” The hurt warred with anger, swirling around in my veins as my powers flared. This time, I didn’t bother to conceal them. Let them see what I’m capable of.
“Evera,” Kane’s voice pulled my eyes from the documents to him. “I was going to tell you last night, but—”
“But what? What possible excuse could you have to keep this from me?” I shouted, a wave of watery shapes filling my eyes as a wall of unshed tears built. “You should have told me when I first stepped foot in your office!” Years of looking, of dead ends and failed attempts to find out who’d murdered my only family, and they’d had it for years.
“Blue,” he tried again, his voice cracking. He stood and tried to reach out for me, but right now, I didn’t want to be touched, too upset and betrayed to find any comfort from him. I tried to shout, to verbalize how truly angry I was, but my mouth couldn’t make the right words come out.
“Don’t,” I murmured, my word wavering in rage and grief as I held my hand up to stop him. “Just… don’t.”
“Baby,” Carson called out as I walked out of the room. My mind was too busy filling with painful memories to pay attention to where I was going, and before I knew it, I was standing in the doorway to a gym.
I didn’t stop, not even seeing the other men and women around the room as I walked right up to one of the punching bags and started in on it. My power raged around me as I beat the bag, the rhythmic thudding of my usual routine taking over the swirling emotions. I don’t know how long I was lost in my anger, punching and swinging at the battered material, but in what felt like a blink of an eye, Carson appeared next to me.
A hazy bubble a couple inches from his skin was around him, a force field to protect against my unrestrained power. Brought out of my thoughts, I was met with the scent of burned plastic, the crack and pop of static swirling around us as I glanced at him.
“Go away,” I bit out, ignoring him until he grabbed me, stopping my fist mid-swing. “Let go,” I hissed, finally looking at him. His face was closed off, no emotion seeping into his expression. When he didn’t release me, I pulled, but it was still no use. “I know what you’re trying to do, Carson.”
“Which is? Because last I checked, we haven’t been around each other for more than a few minutes in the last decade, so how could you possibly know?” he challenged.
I tried not to rise to the bait to take that thread of argument, he was purposely starting and run with it, but try as I might, I couldn’t stop myself. Carson always knew the best way to get me to talk.
“And whose fault is that?” I shot back, twisting my arm and yanking it out of his grasp. “Because last I checked, you were supposed to meet me after Rett’s funeral, but you never came. No goodbye, no NOTHING! I lost the three people I loved in the course of twenty-four hours, and now that you’re finally here, all I get is secrets!”
“We were going to tell you,” he stated, circling me as I did him, neither of us focused on anything other than each other. I knew what came next, so before he could throw the first punch, I did.
“My, my, someone has gotten confident,” he taunted. Fury flared in my veins at his self-satisfied smirk.
This time I didn’t rise to the bait, biding my time so I could make my next strike count. Grinding my teeth, I moved in. It had been a long time since I had fought with a truly practiced partner, but the unpredictability of the assholes on the street had kept my skills up to par. His force field kept my powers from hitting him, and after a few back-and-forth blocks and punches, it was clear we were evenly matched. Turning a portion of my attention around us, I pretended to be looking behind him with wide eyes and stepped back.
“What are you looking at, Ev?” he questioned, turning. That’s when I moved. The kick to the leg distracted him long enough, his force field flickered, thinning enough for me to get one extremely controlled arc through the barrier. Grunting, Carson’s body froze as the shock radiated through before collapsing on the floor. While I had pulled most of my power, it still would have felt like being hit with a taser, so he laid there and groaned slightly. The gym was silent, a crowd collecting around us to watch in awe.
“You know that wouldn’t work out on the streets, right?” Kane’s voice nearly echoed through the room as he stepped forward. Glancing at him, I noticed Silas and Acer flanking.
“Yeah, but
I didn’t need it to work on the streets, just Carson,” I added. Carson let out a pained laugh, sitting up from where he had curled on the ground while one hand lightly massaged his leg.
“Jerk,” he teased, looking up at me. “Feel a bit better?”
I ground my teeth, but I couldn’t lie, nodding my head slightly.
“Yeah, we can talk now,” I murmured, holding a hand out to Carson. As soon as his calloused palm wrapped around mine, I helped him off the ground. He adjusted his shirt, untangling it from the twisted mess it had become, without letting go of my hand.
“Holy shit,” Acer breathed, “that was fucking impressive. Your electricity was going all over the place, and you kicking this dick’s ass was amazing.”
“Fuck you, hacker,” Carson snapped. “Let’s see you go five minutes in the ring with Ev.” I rolled my eyes and leaned into Acer.
“Thank you,” I whispered, “for you know, finding that for me.”
“Of course, only the best for you, Angel,” he spouted, kissing my cheek quickly as he smirked at Carson. Well, if the sudden death grip is any indication, these two aren’t going to be best friends any time soon.
“Both of you, knock it off,” Kane barked as we stepped into the room where we had been working.
“Somebody’s jealous,” Acer sing-songed under his breath. Silas tried, but he wasn’t able to completely hide his laughter, and Kane’s glare did nothing to deter him. My cheeks flared with heat when Kane didn’t argue Acer’s point, only turning to pull up something up on the projector.
“Meet Councilman Fredrick Rosen and his right-hand man, Devon Carter,” Kane started. Looking at the screen, I was greeted with the same photos that were in the file Acer had given me. “We are fairly positive that Devon was the one in the alley.”
“Any reason he was there?” I murmured, swallowing the lump in my throat as my reprieve ended, and grief returned in a vengeful wave. I sat and looked back through the papers I had left on my chair when I left a half hour ago, giving me a nice excuse not to look at anyone, not wanting them to see the tears building. Fuck, can I go five fucking minutes without the start of a breakdown? I sneered, totally unused to and totally uncomfortable with all these recent displays of emotion.
