Evade (The Ever Trilogy)

by Russo, Jessa

  The guy from the pool! I tried to get a look at him, but he held my head forward, and I couldn’t even manage a peek of his clothing to see if it was the man in the suit.

  Something inside me told me I already knew.

  The arm around my waist moved to circle my neck, tightening around my throat. My movements were useless. My arms and legs kicked and flailed, but then my fighting became sluggish and weak. My hope of escaping shattered as I realized that his arm cutoff my windpipe. As my chest heaved up and down, and I grew desperate for air, the man remained still, his hold on me unwavering.

  My eyes fluttered closed, submerging me in darkness.

  My head throbbed. I heard voices around me, but darkness rendered me blind. I couldn’t feel my limbs. I tried to wiggle my toes, but nothing happened. I curled my fingers up, without response. No, wait… I think it worked. My fingers twitched.

  At least I thought they did.

  “She’s coming to.”

  A man’s voice. One I didn’t recognize. I expected my kidnappers to speak Spanish, or at least have a heavily-accented voice, but this man’s English was perfect.

  I struggled to see, to locate my captor, but darkness still shrouded the room.

  “Open your eyes, Eleanor.”

  Eleanor! How does he know my name? Who was he? What did he want? My pulse sped up again, and I started to panic. I was being held captive. In Mexico! Nothing good could come of this. I tried to move, but my hands and feet were tied up. Panic rose in my chest, and I heard myself cry out.

  “Sleep now. Rest.” A hand touched my forehead, sliding down over my eyes in a gentle motion, and my body shut down in response to the unwanted contact. I lost myself to the darkness again.

  This time, blackness welcomed me like an old friend, surrounding me in the safety of my oblivion. But before long, I dreamed of Toby, his presence calming me. He showered me with sweet kisses on my face and neck, and that trademark amusement sparkled in those sapphire eyes. He touched his fingers to my face, ran them down my cheek.

  Then he shouted.

  “Where is she?”

  That was weird. I’m right here, my dream-self tried to tell him.

  His mouth distorted in my mind, and his face pulled tight with rage. He shook me, shouting my name. Then his words became soft again, slow. I could barely hear him whisper my name, a soft prayer on his lips. Please wake up, Ever. Can you hear me? He started to blur around the edges.

  I heard voices again, and light began to glow through my closed eyelids.

  A hand smoothed my hair. I flinched at the sudden contact and tried to pull away. I was awake again, and I didn’t want my kidnappers touching me. I knew I needed to open my eyes but I was scared. Scared of what I would see when I finally did. My imagination conjured images from human trafficking specials I’d seen on television. Scenes of dirty rooms in dirty hostels in third world countries…mattresses strewn about haphazardly without sheets or blankets, and dirt smudges all over them. Then there were the depictions of young girls splayed out around the dirty mattresses, waiting for death or rescue, but knowing neither one would come soon enough.

  Oh my God. I was going to die in Mexico.

  “Open your eyes, Ev.”

  Toby?

  Toby!

  Toby kidnapped me? What was he doing here? I opened my eyes.

  A dull light emitted a soft amber glow over the face peering down at me. Toby. He was here. In Mexico. I tried to reach out to him, only to realize my hands were bound in front of me. My eyes widened as I quickly inhaled a breath.

  Toby’s brows drew together in response, and he looked down at my wiggling hands.

  “I’m untying her. She won’t run.”

  “How do you know?”

  He looked down at me, and I shook my head from side to side. I didn’t know what I was saying no to: running, or the situation itself.

  “She. Won’t. Run.” He practically growled at the man, and his face was hard, barely hiding the rage that floated just beneath the surface. I was reminded of my dream Toby, the one who’d yelled for no reason. Had that been real?

  “Well, you’re here now, and you know what must be done. She is your responsibility, Tobias.”

  Toby closed his eyes quickly, his mouth forming a thin line. Then he reached down and untied my wrists. My hands flopped down to my sides. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Why had they kidnapped me? Why was Toby here? Who was the other man in the room? Toby’s hands found my ankles and I realized they’d been bound as well. A tear slipped down my cheek as I squeezed my eyes shut tight. I would not cry.

  After unbinding my ankles, Toby gently ran his fingertips over my cheek, wiping that lone tear. His dark eyes bore into mine as he looked down at me. They glistened.

  “Are you hurt? Can you move?”

  I wiggled my hands and feet, stretching as I did so. Everything ached. How long had I been out? Toby’s eyebrows raised expectantly as he waited for a response.

  “I…” My mouth was dry and raspy. I swallowed, ran my tongue over my teeth a few times—gross—then tried again. “I… I’m not hurt.”

  His face visibly softened, relief evident in his eyes. He turned away from me.

  The man behind him, who I still hadn’t found the courage to look at, cleared his throat. He clucked his tongue in disapproval. “She is your responsibility, Tobias James. Stone insisted on your behalf, and though he failed where his daughter is concerned, we do trust his judgment in this. I’ll be on my way. Remember we aren’t far if you need us. Keep her safe.”

  Keep me safe? My kidnappers worried about my safety? How ironic.

  And totally absurd.

  A muscle in Toby’s jaw twitched when he turned his head back to me.

  What was that guy talking about? What was going on? I suddenly had the biggest urge to see who my captor was. I tried to sit up but winced as pins and needles danced their way up my legs. Great. Not just my feet were asleep, but my entire bottom half prickled with the evidence of my body having been in deep slumber. I wondered if that was because of the drug they’d used to subdue me.

  Subdue me?

  “Toby, what the—?”

  “I know, Ev. I know what you’re thinking.”

  “No, I don’t think you do.”

  He helped me sit up, then sat back, slowly looking me over. He carefully ran his fingers over my ankles and then my wrists, as if he felt compelled to double-check that I actually was unharmed.

  “Toby. I’m fine. Honest.”

  He rubbed soft circles on my wrists with his thumbs, where the bindings had left light pink marks, and when his eyes found mine…in that split second, I recalled the charge he’d once made me feel inside. The spark of excitement and anticipation. His eyes were dark pools of pain, regret and…and longing. I knew the look, and I knew what he wanted.

  He licked his lips, and something fluttered in my chest.

  No. I couldn’t let him kiss me.

  “Toby, no. I’m… I’m with Frankie.”

  He sucked in a breath, then gave me a curt nod. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even thought it.” He didn’t let go of my wrists though, and part of me was thankful for the connection. I was terrified. Nothing had been right in so long, it seemed, and now, here I was in…

  “Wait. Toby, where am I?”

  “You’re in a hotel room. In San Felipe.”

  “San Felipe? Is that like, part of Cabo or something?”

  “No, Ev. We’re way back up toward the states. You were in an airplane today to get here.”

  “What?”

  “I know. Calm down. You’re safe. You were never in any danger.”

  “Never in any danger? I was kidnapped, Toby! Kidnapped!” I jumped up off the bed, suddenly unable to sit still any longer. My arms flailed around as I paced the room, and my voice was at an octave I’d never heard myself reach before. “Never in any danger! Someone strangled me and I passed out! I passed out, Toby! And then, I end up in a hotel room i
n some other part of Mexico after a plane ride I can’t even remember? How is that not in any danger?”

  “Ev,” he whispered, slowly approaching me. “Please, let me try to explain. I know it seems scary. Their ways of doing things are…less than conventional—”

  “Less than conventional?” I screeched. “Toby, I was kidnapped! That’s not less than conventional…that’s illegal!”

  “I know, I know. But please, let me explain. You are not in danger now. But you were.”

  “Obviously. I was kidnapped. Or haven’t you been listening?”

  I let him approach me, and he pulled me into his arms.

  With his nose in my hair, he inhaled, and I was struck with a memory of Frankie doing that to me the first time he’d seen me after becoming human…again. I pushed away from Toby, then walked back to the bed and sat down, crossing my legs underneath me and resting my hands in my lap.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  I thought for a second, remembering dream Toby coming into this room and demanding to know where she was. Where I was. Oh. That obviously hadn’t been a dream. I reached back further, trying to remember anything I could about being on an effing airplane. Had I been comfortable? Had I been—?

  “Wait. How’d they get me onto a plane? I must have looked completely comatose!”

  I couldn’t remember anything from the plane ride.

  “Private plane. What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Swimming, I guess? The ocean was warm and blue and then I took a shower in the pool bathrooms. And then…” I shrugged. That was it. I had nothing left after that. Just the hand on my mouth and the blackness of passing out. “I was kidnapped. From the women’s restroom showers.”

  I shook my head. It was absurd.

  “They grabbed you in the shower?” Toby’s eyes narrowed; his jaw clenched.

  I followed his eyes down over my body and realized I still had my bikini on. Luckily, I had my gray cover-up over the top of it, so they’d at least done that much for me. But I could guess where his thoughts had headed.

  “I wasn’t naked, Toby. I was just rinsing off. My bikini was still on.”

  He sat across from me on the bed. “You don’t remember anything else? Why were you alone?”

  “I was mad at Jessie and Greg. Shit! Jessie!” I jumped off the bed again and paced the floor. I was going to dig grooves into the vibrant floral carpet at this rate. I started doing the math. If I’d been gone for—

  “How long have I been here? How long have I been out of Cabo?”

  “Five, maybe six hours.”

  “Holy crap, I stayed out that long because that guy strangled me?”

  “No, I think they probably gave you some sort of sedative.”

  Hmm. I didn’t think I wanted to ponder that. “I have to call Jessie.”

  He reached out and grabbed my arm, halting my back and forth rotation. “Wait. Did you say Greg? You were mad at Jessie and Greg?”

  I sat back on the bed, my panic over Jessie momentarily trumped by the strange tone of Toby’s voice.

  “Yeah. He found us in Cabo. Apparently he’d followed Ariadne there. Who apparently followed me. Because she’s desperate and…well, I don’t really know what that means. What does that mean exactly?”

  “Shit. This is ten kinds of fucked up.”

  “I hadn’t guessed. But what do they have to do with this?” I waved my hands around the room. “Why is Ariadne following me, and Greg following her, and random men trying to kidnap me from shower stalls? No. Never mind. I have to call Jessie, now, Toby. She’s probably freaking out.”

  “Greg most likely received the same phone call I did. If he was with Jessie, then we can assume she’s aware of the situation as well. I just hadn’t realized he’d gone down there.” Toby shook his head as if clearing his thoughts, and continued. “Okay. This is good. This means she’s not in danger, and they’re probably heading back up to the states as well. Okay…”

  He paced the floor where I’d been pacing a few minutes earlier, dialing Greg’s number.

  “Shit. Busy signal.”

  “Busy signal? What year is it, Toby?”

  “It’s Mexico,” he said, shrugging. “They’re probably fine, okay? I’m sure they’re on their way back to the states already.”

  I sighed, not satisfied with his assumption.

  “Grab your stuff—”

  I scoffed. “My stuff? This is it, Toby. This is all I have.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. We’ll stop and get you clothes and stuff in the lobby. But we have to go now.” He grabbed my hand and began to pull me toward the hotel room door.

  “Toby?”

  “What?”

  “I have to pee.”

  “Oh! Of course you do. Sorry. I’ll try Greg again while I wait for you.”

  He followed me into the tiny bathroom and sat on the side of the tub.

  “Toby?”

  “Yeah,” he said, looking up from his cell phone.

  “Um, could I have some privacy?”

  His eyes widened as he stood. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Oh man, what was I thinking? Sorry.”

  He waited for me outside the bathroom door, not even willing to go into the hotel hallway, and insisting I leave it open a crack. I’d tried to argue, but he had far more energy than I did, so I eventually gave up. I turned the water on to mask the sound of my pee hitting the toilet.

  Toby’s reluctance to leave my side while I used the bathroom triggered my fear. My hands shook as I rinsed my mouth with the little bottle of complimentary mouthwash and tried to straighten my hair. I looked tired, dark circles under my eyes and redness across my nose.

  Kidnapped. I’d been kidnapped. My breath became shallow, and I had to brace myself on the bathroom sink. I closed my eyes and tried to get a handle on my fear, my breathing.

  Toby knocked on the door. “Greg didn’t answer, but it wasn’t a busy signal this time, so I just sent him a text.”

  I tried again to control my breathing, with little effect.

  “Ever? Are you okay?”

  “No.” My voice came out barely a whisper.

  Toby pushed open the door, and within seconds his arms were around me, supporting me. He pulled me into him, hugging me tightly and curling himself around me.

  “You’re shaking.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know. But you have to listen to me, Ev. Things could get really messed up in the next few days. I don’t know where we’re going, or who to turn to at this point. The men here earlier, the men who took you, they’re the good guys.”

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise, though my face was smashed into his chest so he missed the action.

  “I know it doesn’t seem that way, but they had to get you out of there fast, and if they felt that it was important, I trust them. But it also means we have to move. Now. And you have to trust me.”

  I sucked in a breath. Could I trust Toby? After everything that had happened? After all of the chaos that he’d brought to my life? The lies, the secrets…

  He squeezed my shoulders. “Can you trust me?”

  “Yes.” No hesitation. I’d surprised even myself.

  He smiled—that half smirk, half smile I used to love. For a moment, everything was okay. I was back to being seventeen-year-old Ever. Before my world had turned upside down.

  “Then let’s do this.” He grabbed his duffel bag in one hand, my hand in the other, and with that, I was whisked through the hallway of the hotel, led by the boy I’d once loved. Possibly still did. Somewhere deep down inside.

  We stopped in the hotel store—if a countertop and an old non-English-speaking woman could qualify as a store—to grab some snacks and water, then made our way to the back of the parking lot, to a silver Chevy cobalt, so unlike Toby that it was obviously a rental. He buckled me in as if I was helpless, then locked the passenger door before walking around to get in on the drive
r’s side.

  “How’d you get here so fast?” I asked him when he was buckled and ready to go. Had he been stalking me like Ariadne? I turned to him, searching his face for any signs of something sneaky.

  “I flew.”

  “And the car?”

  “They rented it for us.”

  I shook my head, still lost. “What the hell is going on, Toby? Why am I in danger? What does Ariadne have to do with all of this?”

  “I’ll explain everything soon, I promise. Just please, eat something, okay? And let’s get the hell out of Mexico.”

  “Fine. But I want answers.”

  “I know.” He turned the key in the ignition. “And Ever?”

  I looked over at him once more, noting the sincerity in his eyes. I raised my eyebrows.

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  Who wanted to hurt me? I wanted to ask, but fear ate at me, and I was still groggy. I’d demand answers soon.

  Somewhere between San Felipe and the California border, I found my courage. Maybe it was my full stomach, after our quick stop at a roadside taqueria. Maybe it was the familiar, soothing sounds coming from the Black Keys CD Toby brought with him. Maybe it was just time I sucked it up and took control. If people were after me, wanted to hurt me, I couldn’t just sit back and be Toby’s damsel in distress.

  “Who wants to hurt me, Toby?”

  His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel at the same time he exhaled. I tried to brace myself for whatever crazy explanation would come. I mean, I’d already learned that ghosts exist with Frankie, and then the existence of soul collectors with Toby, so what could be next? Vampires? Zombies? Why not?

  “Okay, well, there are collectors like Greg and me, who aren’t brand new, but we’re still pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole. Then, there are others who have more power than us, and are above us in ranking, so to speak.”

  “Like your boss? Like Ted?”

  “No, not like Ted. Although…well, let’s just stick with explaining one thing at a time. These collectors aren’t happy with what Ariadne did to Frankie, or the threat she placed on you.”