by Ali Parker
“What was the job?”
“Lawyer.”
I couldn’t stop my eyebrows from creeping up my forehead. “You? A lawyer?”
“Prosecuting.”
“I figured.”
Evelyn shrugged. “My parents made all the decisions for me. They thought I was throwing my life away. At the time, I thought it was my only option. I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, and I wanted to find something that would fulfill me. I think I just wanted to believe law school was the right choice. It would have been so much easier if I liked it. And I tried. For two years. I tried.”
“I can’t see you doing that. The stuffy suits and the uptight courtrooms? Not to mention there’s no fun in it. So serious. You’re a free spirit.”
“Thank you.” She smiled, but it was a sad smile.
“How did your parents react when you dropped out?”
Evelyn looked down at my chest and started playing with my hair again. She bit her bottom lip, and it was easy to see that this question bothered her. I waited to see if she would answer. When she did, her voice was quiet. “They kicked me out of the house and told me not to come back unless I was going back to school.”
Assholes. That’s not what parents were supposed to do. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. It’s water under the bridge now. I’m lucky to have Penny. She took me in right away and helped me find a job. I don’t know where I’d be without her.”
“I’m sure you’d have figured it out. You’re a tough girl. You tried to kill a man with a fire extinguisher tonight.”
Her bubbly laughter surprised me. She met my eyes with a warm smile and nodded. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Hell, yeah, you did. It was something else.”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. I’m not going to lie. It was kind of a turn-on.”
“Stop.” She laughed, burying her face in my chest. She looked up at me when I tucked a strand of hair between her ear. “Derek?”
“Mm?”
“Are you really just a Treasurer of your club?”
This question gave me pause. It was not like me to come clean with a woman and bare my soul to her. Keeping everything locked away was usually my strategy. People could hurt you with knowledge, and I’d never been good at laying down boundaries with women.
“You don't have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Evelyn said hurriedly.
“No,” I said. “I can tell you.”
She watched me expectantly as I considered how much I wanted to tell her. Even a little bit would be more than I’d told anyone in … ever.
I put one hand behind my head to prop myself up to better look down at her. Evelyn’s green eyes were sparkling in the moonlight coming in through the window behind me. She was stunning. Too good for me. Being honest might make her realize that. It would be for her own good. “I am the Treasurer. But it’s only because of my history dealing with accounts and finances. I used to… move money for some pretty bad guys.”
“Move money?”
“I’m not going to tell you any more than that. Details make shit complicated. But yeah. I moved money for people. Sometimes, people didn’t want their money moved. So I would take it by force.”
Evelyn blinked. “Oh.”
“I’ve hurt people, Evelyn. You should know that about me. A lot of people. It’s not who I am anymore, but it’s who I was. I was really fucking good at it. And sometimes,” I paused, unsure if I should say what was on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes?” Evelyn encouraged.
I sighed. “Sometimes, I miss it.”
Evelyn propped herself up. There was a frown on her full lips, and her brow was creased. “What part of it do you miss?”
I shrugged and wished she wasn’t looking at me. “I don’t know. All of it. The adrenaline rush. The moment right before the fight. Winning.”
“Everything you’re saying should make me want to run,” she whispered.
“Then, why aren’t you?”
Evelyn searched my eyes. She licked her lips and rested her cheek in one hand. “I don’t know. I just feel safe with you, I guess. I feel like I’m just me, and I feel like that’s enough.”
I pulled her up to me and kissed her. She smiled into the kiss and, when we parted, she nuzzled her face under my chin. This feeling right here was the kind of shit that always got me into trouble.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
I blinked my eyes open and squinted under the blinding sunlight coming in through the window behind me. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes and looked up to where a blond-haired young woman was standing behind the sofa, staring down at me like I was a dog who’d just rolled in rotten fish and slept on her sofa.
Evelyn was pushing herself upright with her hands on my chest. Her hair was a wild mess with curls plastered to one cheek and strands sticking up all over the place. Her lips were swollen, and her eyes were heavy with fatigue. She looked cute as hell. If Penny hadn’t been standing over me like a pissed off lioness, I would have told her so.
“Penny,” Evelyn said thickly, using her whole arm to push her thick mane of hair back. “What time is it? I’m sorry. I planned on waking up earlier and—”
“And sneaking him out before I noticed?” Penny snapped.
“No. Well, yes, I guess so. But—”
“Nice, Evie. Really nice.” Penny narrowed her eyes at me.
I tried to sit up, but Evelyn was still resting against my chest. I took her by the wrists and pushed her back so I could sit up. I had never been so thankful to be wearing boxers in my life.
Evelyn got to her feet, and I rolled off the couch to collect my clothes from the floor. I could feel Penny’s eyes burning holes in my back as I stepped into my pants and pulled my shirt over my head.
Then, she growled. The girl literally growled. “Is that blood on his shirt?”
“Erm,” Evelyn started.
“It is, isn’t it? For fuck sakes, Evie, are you out of your mind? You brought a criminal home and fucked him on my couch!”
“I did not,” Evelyn said defensively.
I turned around, and Penny shot me an ominous look. “Is she telling the truth?”
I held my hands up and started backing away. “This conversation is over my head, I think, so I’m just going to duck out if that’s all right with you.”
“Tell me,” Penny said.
“I’m a criminal, remember? Even if I told you, why would you believe me?”
Penny rolled her eyes at me. Evelyn giggled. Praise her.
I backed away to the front door, and Evelyn followed me out as Penny paced angrily behind the sofa. I knew she was going to lay into Evelyn after I left. Evelyn unlocked the front door for me, and I stepped out into the hall. She joined me and closed the door behind her. “Sorry about that,” she apologized. Her hair was still a disaster, and I wanted to run my fingers through it and kiss her.
“I can’t say she’s wrong. She’s just looking out for you.”
“I can take care of myself, remember? I tried to kill a guy with a fire extinguisher.”
We both shared a laugh after that one, and I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah. Well, I’d better get out of here anyway. I have shit to do after that fiasco last night. People will be looking for me.”
“Your friends?”
“Lost Breed members. Yeah.”
Evelyn nodded and rubbed her arm nervously. “Well. Thanks for coming to help me last night. I’m sorry you got your ass handed to you.”
“I did not get my ass handed to me.”
Evelyn grinned. “A matter of perspective, I guess. Regardless, I’m thankful, and I’m glad you spent the night last night. Really glad.” She reached out and touched my wrist. Then, she stretched up to the balls of her feet and kissed me.
I wanted to stay with her. Oh god, did I want to stay. She was soft and lovely and everything my life was not right now. Her warmth had reminded me of all I was missing, a
nd I wanted to claim her as my own and declare it to the world.
Not yet.
There were barriers I had to knock down first. Then, when the battle was behind me, she would be mine.
If I could wait that long.
Chapter 18
Evelyn
After Derek got on the elevator and the doors closed, I stood out in the hallway for a couple minutes processing everything that had happened.
I’d had sex with a man who should have sent me running scared in the other direction. I’d let him in and been vulnerable with him. And he’d shared some deep, dark secrets of his own that should have frightened me even more, but they hadn’t. They’d only drawn me to him even more like a moth to the light, intrigued by the brightness and oblivious to the burn.
I pressed my back to the door and sighed.
I was in big trouble.
I was also in for a serious scolding when I went back inside, and I needed to get myself in the right frame of mind to face Penny’s wrath. She was going to lay into me for this one for sure, and I couldn’t blame her for it. Because she was right. Just like every other time. She was right. There was nothing I could say to defend my actions.
Well. There was one thing I could say, but it was completely insane.
I heard Penny’s footsteps pounding down the hall on the other side of the door, and I pushed myself off it right before she yanked it open. She was wearing her blue pajamas, and her hair was up in a bun. She gave me a wild look and peered behind me down the hall, looking for Derek.
I slipped by her and went inside. “He’s gone, Penny.”
She whirled around and slammed the door.
I went to the stove and filled the kettle with hot water. As it filled, I glanced over my shoulder at her. “I know everything you’re thinking. Trust me. I know. I thought all the same things.”
“And yet you still fucked him.”
“Can you please stop saying that?” I pleaded as I put the kettle on the stove and turned on the gas element. The blue flame licked the bottom of the kettle, and I put my back against the counter and crossed my arms. “You might not believe me, but there was more than just sex last night. We talked.”
“Oh, you did? How romantic!” Her sarcasm was thick.
I sighed and hung my head. “Is there anything I can say to get you off my back about this? I know how it looks from your side of things, okay? I get it. But there’s more to him than just his gang ties, and if you spent a little time with him without attacking him, you might be able to see that.”
Penny blew a strand of hair off her face. “I highly doubt that. I’m a good judge of character, and he’s easy to pin down. He’s mean. And dangerous. And everything you don’t need in your life right now. Wouldn’t you rather have a nice guy with a reliable job and, you know, fewer scars?”
“Derek is a nice guy.”
Penny snorted.
“He is. You don’t know him. Remember how you hated that everyone used to judge you in high school because you wore all black and buckled boots and had purple hair?”
“That’s different,” Penny said.
“It’s really not.”
“I wasn’t fighting criminals in back alleys, Evie.”
She had me there. The kettle started boiling. I grabbed a paisley patterned mug from Penny’s cupboard and grabbed a tea bag. “Do you want tea?” I offered. Penny shook her head, so I dropped the tea bag into the mug and then poured the hot water over it. I turned off the stove and set the kettle down on a cool element before turning back to my friend. “I care about him.”
“What?”
“I do. I can’t explain, but I do. I think he cares about me too.”
“Evie—”
“I know,” I said sharply, cutting her off. “I know, okay? To be honest, I’m getting pretty sick and tired of everyone thinking they know what’s best for me. I know you have good intentions, and you just don’t want me to get hurt. But I can make my own decisions. This is something I’m choosing on my own. I care about him. I trust him, and I know he wouldn’t ever hurt me. I’m done justifying my decision, okay?”
Penny looked at her feet. I wondered if she was ashamed. Then, she met my eye again and nodded solemnly. “Okay. It just scares me. I can’t help it.”
“I know, Pen.” I went to her and held her shoulders. “But you trust me, don’t you?”
Penny nodded. “Of course, I do.”
I smiled and pulled her in for a hug. “I’m sorry for getting upset. I love you. You just have to leave this one alone. I’ll be safe. I promise.”
Penny hugged me back and buried her face in my shoulder. “I love you too. Just be careful, okay? Even if he’s a good one, he might be surrounded by guys who are bad. You hear what I’m saying?”
“I do,” I whispered.
I hated to admit it, but it had never occurred to me that I was putting myself at risk by being close to Derek simply because of the crowds he hung around with. Sure, The Hand was probably a rare exception, but I would be a fool to overlook the glaring fact that somehow, Derek and his MC had gotten tangled up with a guy like him. There had been crossover at one point, and that sort of thing probably happened more often than not to Derek and men like him.
It sucked to realize that, and it was all I could think about as I headed to work later that afternoon. I dreaded seeing Bruce again after everything that had happened at The Stokes the night before.
When I walked in, I stopped short. The place was still in disarray. A clean-up crew had been called in, and Bruce himself was wandering around, moving tables an inch to the left and then back to the right to try to make it look like two men hadn’t tried to kill each other in here twelve hours ago. It wasn’t really working.
I bit my bottom lip and walked up to him. I held my hands tightly together in front of myself when he looked up at me. He didn’t look angry. If anything, he looked relieved to see me. “Hey, Evelyn. How are you holding up?”
“Good. Better than expected. How are you?”
He nodded and scratched the back of his neck as he looked around his lounge. “I’ve been better. It’s going to take a lot of work to get this place back in shape to be open to the public again.”
“We’re closed?”
He nodded once more but didn’t look at me. He only had eyes for the destruction. “Yeah. Just for a night or two. I was going to call you and tell you to take the night off, but there are two cops over at the bar. They want to speak to you.” He pointed his chin to the bar behind me.
I turned around.
There were a man and a woman sitting at the bar, sipping lemon waters. They were dressed in navy blazers and black suit pants. I saw the flash of a gold badge on the hip of the female cop, and as I stared at her, she looked back over her shoulder like she knew I was staring. She had dark hair and a smile that was much warmer than I’d expected to see on a cop.
She slid off her barstool and approached. When she extended her hand for me to shake, her grip was firm. “Hello, you must be Evelyn East?”
I nodded. “Yeah. That’s me.”
“I’m a detective with the NYPD. You can call me Dani. This is my partner, Tom.”
Tom, a tall sandy blond-haired cop, shook my hand as well. “Hey, Evelyn.”
“Hi,” I said nervously. I’d never spoken to cops before. Not unless you counted the time an officer came to my elementary school and let kids sit shotgun while he flicked on the lights and the sirens.
Dani clasped her hands in front of her. “We don’t want to take up much of your time, Evelyn. This is just routine stuff. Do you have a minute for us to ask you some questions?”
“Yes, of course,” I said hurriedly. Nobody said no to a detective, right? At least no goody-goodies like me did.
Dani motioned for me to walk forward to an empty table and chairs. She followed me, and the three of us took a seat. Dani crossed one leg over the other and fixed me with another one of her warm smiles before the interview started. �
��Could you tell us what happened last night in your own words, Miss East?”
I recounted the events of the evening as thoroughly as I was able. I had to pause a lot to collect my words, but the police were incredibly patient with me. I said “um” at least a hundred times, and my lips were dry from licking them anxiously as I told the story by the time I came to the end. Which was not the true end.
“Then, I hit him with the fire extinguisher,” I said.
Dani blinked at me and glanced at Tom. They both looked amused. “You hit him?” Dani asked.
I nodded. “I felt like I didn’t really have a choice. Derek was in trouble, and there was no one else around to help him. So … I did.”
Dani’s eyebrows crept upward, and I had the impression she was impressed. It felt good to have a woman like her appreciate what I did. I couldn’t explain it, but I wanted her to like me. I wanted her to see me as someone who was strong and could handle herself. Maybe because I was finally starting to feel that way myself.
Tom cleared his throat. “I trust you realize the danger you were putting yourself in by doing that, Miss East. This man is no petty criminal. He’s killed people.”
I grimaced. “Yeah. I only thought about that part of things after I hit him. It was more of a reflex than anything.”
“A fighter, not a flighter,” Dani mused.
“Apparently,” I said, feeling the heat in my cheeks.
“And after you hit him,” Tom said, “then what happened?”
“Um,” I stammered for the hundred and first time. I raked my fingers through my hair. Nervous sweat had broken out on the base of my neck. “Derek left. And so did I. I went home to my roommate and showered and went to bed. I was exhausted after everything that had happened. I probably shouldn’t have driven myself home, in hindsight.” I had no clue how I managed to lie through my teeth to a detective who was looking at me like she knew I was full of shit.
Dani got to her feet, and Tom followed. It was obvious she was the one calling the shots in their duo. She smiled down at me. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to us. If we need anything else from you, will it be all right if we reach out?”
