Scarless & Sacred (The Chicago War #3)

by Bethany-Kris

  Lily glanced up from the book she was reading. “Yeah?”

  “Theo just called. He’s settled and safe.”

  Evelina felt the tension leave her body as Lily sunk into the couch. It was two in the damned morning. Lily refused to sleep until Damian gave word about Theo. Evelina wasn’t in much better of a spot.

  “Yeah?” Lily asked.

  “Yes. Will you go to sleep now, sweetheart?”

  Lily laughed. “I’ll think about it.”

  “I will carry you upstairs, Lily,” Damian warned.

  She waved her husband off. “Give me a few more minutes.”

  “Fine.”

  Once Damian was gone from the doorway, Lily went back to her book.

  Then, very quietly, Lily asked, “When are you going to tell me, Eve?”

  Evelina looked away from the sitcom playing on the television. “About what?”

  “About you and my brother.”

  No words formed.

  Evelina tried—God, she tried—but nothing came.

  “You’re not even denying it,” Lily noted, never once taking her eyes off her book.

  “I wouldn’t lie to you. You’re my best friend, Lily.”

  Finally, Lily looked up and met Evelina’s stare. “You know, you’ve sat in that spot for hours and barely moved. You haven’t talked to me really since we got here. You’ve stared at your phone like you were waiting for a call. You have no romantic interest in Tommas, and anyone with two brain cells can see it. You’re worried, you’re unsettled, and you’re fidgety. Because of someone. Just like me. The only person who deserves that right now is Theo.”

  Evelina swallowed the lump in her throat. “He is, you’re right.”

  “When were you going to tell me?”

  “It wasn’t like we were anything. There wasn’t much to tell.”

  “You’re something,” Lily said. “I know Theo. You’re something, Eve. How long?”

  Evelina had to think about that one. “That’s hard to answer, Lily.”

  “Try me.”

  “Ever since I turned eighteen, Theo has been in the background of my life in one way or another. Flirting, pushing my boundaries, teasing me, and nonsense like that. He’s asked me out and I refused him. He’s approached me and I shut him down. I’ve even bailed on him a couple of times when I did agree to a date. So yeah, it’s hard to answer that because it’s been on-going for years. At least from his side of it.”

  “I think from your side of it, too, obviously.”

  Evelina glanced down at her hands. “I wanted to say yes to him every time. I wanted to let him take me out and see what would happen. But I’ve been stuck wearing the princess’s tiara even though I never wanted it. Theo wasn’t the right kind of prince and I wasn’t ready to take the tiara off. When I was, it was too late.”

  Lily sucked in a deep breath and tossed her book aside before resting her hand on her still-flat midsection. “So when did things change?”

  “Shortly before my mother died, Theo asked me out to the ballet and I agreed.”

  “Giselle?”

  “Yes. You got the tickets because I flaked on him for the dinner where my mom was killed. And then last month … last month I ended up in a hotel with Theo for days.”

  Lily cleared her throat, asking, “And?”

  “And it was the best three days of my life.”

  “Okay then.”

  Lily grabbed her book and opened it back up.

  “Just like that? Okay?” Evelina asked.

  “Just like that,” Lily echoed softly. “I learned with Damian that sometimes, we just don’t get to choose who we hand that part of ourselves over to, Eve.”

  “What part?”

  “Our hearts.”

  Evelina straightened on the couch. “I’m not … in love with Theo.”

  Was she?

  She cared about him but she wasn’t in love with him.

  “Sometimes, it takes you a while to figure it all out,” Lily said like she knew exactly what was going through Evelina’s head. “That doesn’t make whatever it is any less real, Eve.”

  “Love is a dangerous word and not one I would use right now.”

  “Let me know when that changes.”

  Evelina fixed a smudge of eyeliner in the ornate mirror. The private room had been designated for the bride’s party to get ready, but Evelina was alone in the room. Abriella had apparently decided to get ready elsewhere.

  It wasn’t like Evelina blamed the girl.

  A knock on the door was the only warning Evelina got before Lily poked her head in.

  “Hey,” said her friend.

  Evelina turned and waved her arms wide. “How do I look?”

  “Gorgeous.” Lily smiled, held out a cell phone, and said, “Here, take this. Call it a late Christmas present or whatever.”

  Evelina took the phone. “What for?”

  “He’ll call back in a minute. Five minutes until we meet at the doors, okay?”

  Still confused, Evelina agreed. Lily closed the door, leaving Evelina alone once again. Thankfully, the day had gone by mostly smoothly. Her father had left her alone and Tommas kept a safe distance. Abriella didn’t say two words to her, and Alessa was just hoping for a quiet wedding day.

  Interestingly enough, Joel had not shown up yet to his sister’s wedding. Evelina wasn’t surprised. Riley was probably soaking that up.

  Going back to the mirror, Evelina fixed a wayward curl. The cell phone vibrated in her hand, nearly making her jump out of her heels. Without looking at the caller ID, Evelina picked up the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Princess,” came a familiar, honey-rich voice.

  Evelina backed into the mirror with a sigh. “Theo.”

  “Who else, babe?”

  She had known he was okay and safe. She had known the news reports about the dead, burned body found in Theo’s ruined Stingray had been a lie to distract Riley. She knew all of those things.

  It was only once she heard Theo’s voice that Evelina finally believed it.

  “Eve?” Theo asked.

  She came out of her daze quickly. “Where are you?”

  “A plane ride away. The wedding is today, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sorry to miss you in your dress. I bet you look damn good.”

  Evelina laughed. “I’m sure you would have only come for me.”

  “Well, you’d have been the best sight, but I also would have come for wine and cake.”

  “You’re awful.”

  “I know,” Theo said, chuckling. “I’m sorry, Eve, I should have called before this. Lily let me know that you were worried.”

  “I was.”

  “You told my sister, huh?”

  “She figured it out.”

  “Yeah, Lily is smart like that,” Theo said quietly. “How is everything else?”

  “The Outfit?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dangerous,” Evelina replied. “It’s dangerous and I don’t trust anyone.”

  “Good. You shouldn’t.”

  “I’d trust you.”

  Theo grew silent for a moment before he said, “Well, who else is going to save you, princess?”

  “Exactly.” Evelina kept an eye on the door as she asked, “Have you talked to Damian?”

  “Yes.”

  “So you know—”

  “Everything,” Theo interrupted quickly. “I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with it all right now. I was sure it was Joel. It made sense for it to be him. But I’m not surprised it was Riley, and sadly, I’m not shocked that Tommas had a hand in certain things. It’s still a lot to take in.”

  “It was for me, too.”

  Then, in the background of Theo’s call, Evelina heard the sound of a woman’s laughter ringing out. A door was shut and it stopped. Instantly, like a shot of hot lava straight to her bloodstream, jealousy waged a war inside Evelina’s body.

  “What was that?” she
asked.

  Theo hummed. “Hmm, what?”

  “I heard a woman, Theo. Who is it?”

  “A friend.”

  Evelina choked on his answer, hurt. “A woman friend? I didn’t realize you had friends who were women that you stayed with, Theo.”

  Suddenly, Theo barked out a laugh. “Wait, wait … are you jealous?”

  “No,” Evelina said.

  “Liar, you are. You’re jealous. That’s new.”

  “Well …”

  “Come on, Eve, you can do better than that,” Theo goaded.

  “Go to hell, Theo.”

  “Hey, listen for a second. You’ve got no reason to be jealous, Eve. What did I tell you the night of the Christmas party, huh?”

  Evelina picked at her fingernails and used her shoulder to hold the phone. “That you cared.”

  “And that I was interested in you,” Theo added, sounding far too smug for his own good. “I’m not looking elsewhere, Eve. We don’t have to fuck around with all the title nonsense right now because it’s not important, but I’m not looking at anyone but you right now.”

  “Who was that?”

  “A friend’s wife. Kim is her name.”

  Married.

  The woman was married.

  Evelina’s little green monster climbed off her back. “Oh.”

  “And Gio would kill me if I even looked anywhere but at his wife’s eyes, trust me,” Theo said with not a lick of humor in his tone.

  “He sounds like an interesting man.”

  “All the Marcellos are.”

  “You’re in New York,” she said.

  “Yeah. Eve?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I like it when you’re jealous.”

  Theo’s voice sounded entirely wicked and it felt like sex had just washed over her senses.

  Evelina wet her lips and asked. “Do you?”

  “Yes, but you still don’t need to be.”

  “Only looking at me, right?”

  “Right,” Theo agreed.

  “Theo?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about your uncle and my father?”

  Theo coughed. “Tell you what?”

  “About the abuse and whatnot. Why didn’t you—”

  “I have to go,” Theo said quickly.

  “No, wait a minute. Don’t hang up on me just because you don’t want to talk about something, Theo. This is important. You could have told me.”

  Theo sighed heavily. “I would have eventually. I still will someday.”

  “Not today?”

  “Not today,” he repeated. “One more thing.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Be safe.”

  Evelina’s anxiety was back in a blink. “I’m trying.”

  “Good, because it’s fucking killing me to know you’ve got nobody watching your back right now.”

  “You do,” she whispered.

  “But I’m not there, Eve.”

  “You’ll be back.”

  Theo made a dark noise. “Do you remember what I said in the car driving to the hotel? About the king and the prince?”

  Evelina didn’t even have to think about it. Every word, every touch, and every second she spent with Theo had somehow imprinted itself on her memories. It wouldn’t leave.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “What was it, Eve?”

  “That the king should have left you locked in the tower.”

  “He’s really going to regret letting me out when I get back,” Theo said.

  Evelina’s father was the king wearing the stolen crown, after all.

  “Don’t forget the princess, Theo,” Evelina said.

  “I thought you didn’t want to be the princess anymore?”

  “I’m just waiting to take off the tiara.”

  “And burn it,” Theo muttered.

  “I’ll let you light the fire.”

  “Eve, you already did.”

  He was right.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Tell me something nobody knows about you, Theo.”

  Theo blinked and suddenly, Evelina was across the room, watching him with those expressive green eyes of hers. The scene felt familiar to him, and at the same time, new somehow. But in the back of his mind, he knew he’d done this with Evelina before.

  A dream, maybe?

  She sat on a plush bed, her back against a cushioned headboard, and with her knees drawn up to her chest. In just his dress shirt, her legs were on display for him to admire.

  “You’ve got beautiful legs,” Theo said.

  Evelina shifted on the bed, letting the shirt ride up higher. The movement allowed Theo a flash of her bare sex between her thighs and the rounded shape of her ass. Evelina ran her fingers through the damp strands of her hair, mussing up the waves even more as thick lashes fanned her cheeks. Beautiful. The girl was goddamn beautiful and every part of Theo knew it. The more of Evelina that Theo got to see, taste, and have, the more he wanted.

  He was starting to wonder how much more this girl would give. He might take whatever it was.

  Two days …

  They’d been in the hotel together for two days. Tomorrow evening, he would have to let Evelina go back home. At least, that’s what she said after another phone call to her brother. Theo wasn’t sure he was ready to let her go. It was easy to forget about the outside world when right then, it was nothing but him, her, sex, a hotel room, and quiet peace.

  The monsters didn’t live here.

  He liked it far too much.

  “I said a secret about you,” Evelina said, smiling. “But thank you.”

  “About me, huh?”

  “Something cute or funny.”

  Theo laughed. “All right. My first kiss was one I stole from a girl who was a couple of years older than me when I was twelve. Nobody knows that.”

  Evelina’s nose scrunched. “That is kind of cute.”

  “She was also the girl I lost my virginity to when I was fifteen.”

  “Theo!”

  “Hey, she came back for more,” Theo said, smirking. “Speaks of my talent, Eve. Your turn.”

  Evelina’s smile fell. “What, a secret?”

  “Don’t you have any?”

  “I guess. None that are very … worthy to tell.”

  Theo didn’t believe that, but he wouldn’t push her. “Favorite color then?”

  “Yellow. It’s warm.”

  “And bright,” Theo said.

  Evelina shrugged. “Somethings are meant to stand out more than others.”

  “I suppose that fits you quite well, then, doesn’t it?”

  Her lips curved with a sensual little smile, but she didn’t respond to his statement.

  “What about your fondest memory?” Theo asked.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, give me it.”

  Evelina looked up at the ceiling before saying, “When I was six, Riley took us all to Bora Bora. I’ve always remembered it and it was one of the only vacations we ever went on.”

  “Why is that your favorite?”

  “Because for a week, there was nothing but us. We were just a family. I don’t remember my mother ever being happier, and that was the one time I think my father acted like a father and nothing else.”

  “And then you came back home.”

  “Yep,” Evelina said, letting the word pop from her mouth. “What’s with all the questions, Theo?”

  “Curious, maybe.”

  “Oh?”

  “Or maybe I’m trying to learn more about this woman sitting across from me,” Theo admitted.

  Evelina bit her lip before she pushed forward until she was on her hands and knees. Then, quietly with her stare leveled only on him, she crawled to the edge of the bed. The tight shape of her ass swayed as she moved and her delicate collarbones peeked out from under his shirt.

  Theo’s cock hardened. “I can’t say there’s ever been a woman who looks quite as good as you do on your
hands and knees, Eve.”

  “No?”

  “No.” Theo took his time to admire the opening of the shirt where Evelina had left the top three buttons undone. The swells of her breasts peered out at him with her movements. He was fucking memorized by smooth, peachy skin and dark waves of hair. “Your favorite food?”

  “Poutine, but it has to be authentic, not some remake.”

  “Isn’t that like fries, gravy, and cheese all messed onto one plate?”

  “Essentially,” Evelina said.

  “Sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen.”

  “Or art for the mouth.” Evelina grinned at him. “Maybe I’ll cook it for you someday. Come on, Theo. You can do better than that.”

  Theo pushed up from the chair and tugged off the T-shirt he wore without a word. He always kept a small bag for overnight in the trunk of his Stingray just in case. It’d finally came in handy for him when he needed a change of clothes. He didn’t mind letting Evelina wear his other stuff.

  Tossing the shirt to the couch behind him, Theo asked, “Biggest regret?”

  Evelina stilled on the bed. “I’ve never taken a lot of risks that left me feeling guilty or ashamed, Theo.”

  “That’s not an answer, Eve.”

  “You’re right.”

  “What is your biggest regret?”

  Evelina pushed back on the bed to sit on her ass as Theo came to stand at the end of the bed. “You.”

  That was not what he expected to hear.

  “Me?” he asked.

  “Well, never giving you that call when I was eighteen. I’ve always wondered what might have come of it, Theo. So yeah, it’s probably my biggest regret.”

  Theo leaned down and placed his palms at the end of the bed. Like this, he was nose to nose with Evelina and was able to see every little emotion flicker in her eyes. “Don’t bother regretting that anymore, babe.”

  “It never happened, Theo. Of course, I’m going to wonder.”

  “Don’t. You saw what could have come of it. We’re here, aren’t we?”

  Evelina blinked. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

  “Do you often overthink things?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  Theo moved forward even more until his hands were on Evelina’s thighs, his knees were resting at the edge of the mattress, and he was forcing her to lean back. “Do you want to just feel for a while instead?”

  “Sometimes I overthink sex, too.”