by Lee, K. N.
“Thank you,” she said. “You remembered.”
Leaning on the counter top, Elliot put a straw in each glass. “How could I forget? You and Parker used to come in here in your school uniforms every day after school and order the same thing.”
Evie’s smile widened. Those memories were her favorite. She didn’t know how she would have survived growing up in Scarlett Hall without Parker’s friendship and the kindness of her family.
“Good memory,” Evie said, taking a sip of the cold drink before her.
Elliot looked from Parker to Evie, his face becoming serious. “How are you holding up? I keep hearing so much about the whole Prince trial and his death today that I could barely focus on putting out orders for worrying about you. Tell me you’re ignoring all of that gossip going around.”
“I’m fine,” Evie said. She sat up straight. “It is just gossip after all. I just ignore it.”
“Good girl,” Elliot said.
Parker rubbed her back again, relaxing her. “She’s been pretty strong through it all.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Elliot nodded. “So, what are you two having for dinner tonight?”
“We’re actually getting take out. We want to go to Nightmoon Creek for a bit to watch the sunset.”
“Now doesn’t that sound nice?” Elliot looked from Parker to Evie. “You know he gets his romantic side from me, right?”
Evie laughed. “I believe it. Sue’s a lucky woman, and I’m a lucky girl.”
He winked at her again. “Let me guess, a double cheeseburger with bacon and mushrooms and fries for Parker, and my famous fried chicken sandwich with tomato and avocado for the pretty lady.”
“Sounds about right,” Evie said. “I’ll take an order of sweet potato fries too.”
Her stomach grumbled. She couldn’t wait to get their food and leave. To eat her dinner in peace with the man she loved would be the perfect ending to her night.
Elliot tapped the counter twice. “Coming right up.”
Evie watched him head to the window into the kitchen and dictate their order to Parker’s Aunt Sally, the diner’s cook.
“It’s packed in here tonight,” Parker said as he looked around.
“I noticed.” Evie focused her eyes on her root beer float. “That’s why I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Who cares what anyone here thinks? Let them look at you. Let them talk. They’re just jealous and have boring lives.”
“I know. I’m trying to ignore it all.”
“Let’s think about something else,” he said, turning her bar stool toward him. He took her hands in his. “What is Evie Scarlett going to be at the Halloween party this year?”
Evie scrunched her nose. “Do I have to go?”
“We go every year, don’t we?”
She shrugged, thinking about how she really wished she didn’t have to be in town for Halloween this year. Parker had no idea what it was like for the wizards and shifters of Woodland Creek.
The entire month was a nonstop excuse to play tricks on each other. She was grateful that her family had been spared so far. Of course, one could say her father’s murder could have been the ultimate prank since it happened the first day of October.
How crazy would that be? Evie didn’t put it past the Prince family. They were bold enough to pull something like that. Avalon’s face flashed in her mind. She wondered if what tricks he had up his sleeve.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I haven’t put too much thought into it.”
“Well, I’m going as King Leonidas from 300. Airbrushed abs and all.”
Evie burst out laughing. She covered her mouth, realizing that she laughed a little too loudly. “You’re hilarious. You don’t even need to airbrush your abs, goofball.”
She poked him in the stomach, feeling the hard muscles beneath his long-sleeved black shirt.
“Oh yeah,” he said, grinning. “You’re right.”
Evie gazed into his eyes, unable to stop smiling. Parker could do the impossible. He could make her forget her troubles whenever she was with him.
“You should go as my queen,” he said.
Evie didn’t reply. She just smiled at him and returned to finishing her drink. She envied Parker for being human. Humans could live such carefree lives.
She had other plans.
Plans to escape the dangers of Woodland Creek.
THE SUNSET SENT an eerie orange and red haze across Woodland Creek’s sky. Someone played their guitar around a campfire at the other end of the campgrounds.
Evie and Parker sat on a blanket on the soft grass before a fire pit. They ate burgers and fries from Drake’s Diner. They watched as the sun set over Nightmoon Creek’s still waters.
A young girl’s laughter made Evie smile as she glanced over her shoulder toward the family sitting around their campfire not too far away. Evie and Parker were comfortable with each other. The silence didn’t bother either of them. As children, their families would come out here on some summer weekends, and Evie and Parker would run and play in the woods that they looked upon at that moment.
Memories of her first time seeped into her mind, making her blush as she chewed her fries. It had happened in one of Nightmoon Creek’s cabins over the summer.
She would never forget it. She’d waited so long, and couldn’t be happier with her choice. Every time she thought of that magical night she smiled.
Evie was happy despite what was going on in her world.
A soft breeze flew through, bringing the smell of pine along with it. She gave him a sidelong glance and he noticed. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.
She couldn’t lose him. Whatever Avalon had in his mind worried her.
Her attraction to him worried her even more.
She sighed and closed her Styrofoam takeout box. “Thank you for this, Parker. I know you wanted to take me out and show me off, but there’s no way I could’ve faced the townspeople so soon after what happened to Hugh.”
“I know. People can be so obnoxious sometimes. It’ll all blow over in a few weeks, and I will show you off then,” he said with a smile.
His smile was contagious. She looked off to the forest. Sometimes she was drawn to it. She just wanted to run free like a child, with no worries or cares. It was as if something pulled her to it, and yet she resisted.
“You ever think about leaving Woodland Creek?”
Parker took a sip of his root beer and shrugged. “Sure. Sometimes. What about you?”
Evie nodded. “I love Woodland Creek and all, but I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere else.”
“Like where?”
“Maybe New York, Paris...I don’t know. There are a million places I’d like to see.”
“So, you’re saying you want to leave now?”
Evie rubbed her. “Maybe.”
Parker set his drink down and reached for her hand.
She didn’t resist when he pulled her onto his lap. She straddled him and looked deep into his eyes. “Would you come with me if I left?”
“In a heartbeat,” he said.
A smile stretched across her lips as she searched the hazel depths of his eyes. She could see herself having kids with him. She could see a life with him—one where she could be her own person, and do what she wanted.
Maybe Wes and Adelaide would be all right without her. Wes and Olivia could have children and there would be happiness, hope, and laughter in the halls.
All she knew was that something deep down inside urged her to get away. She’d never felt the warning so strongly before.
Too many secrets were buried in that town—and her father’s secret haunted them all.
Parker brushed her hair from her face to get a good look at her. “I knew you wanted to see the world, but you’re making it sound as if you want to leave tonight.”
Evie wanted to tell him everything. Tears stung the back of her eyes. She fought to keep them at bay. She’d never been so afraid in
her life.
“If I did, would you come?”
He searched her eyes, worry filling his own. “What’s wrong? Are you about to cry?”
She closed her eyes and leaned over to bury her face in his neck. “So much is wrong, Parker. You can’t even imagine. Why can’t I live a simple life with a normal family?”
“Your family is a little weird, but they aren’t that bad.”
Evie snorted. “You have no idea.”
“But why the urgency? What aren’t you telling me?”
“I just want to go. I want to be free. I just can’t go without you.”
“What about classes? We only have a few months left.”
Evie pulled back. She cradled his face in his hands and looked pointedly at him.
“I don’t have a few months left.”
Alarm flashed in his eyes at her words. He gripped her by her shoulders.
“What’s going on, Evie? Did someone threaten you? Tell me who and I will kick their ass.”
She shook her head. The look in his eyes frightened her. He was serious. She knew better than to tell him the truth. Boxer or not, she knew he would be defenseless against a wizard.
“Then what is it? Are you sick or something?”
Biting her lip, Evie tossed her head back and looked up at the moon.
“I can’t tell you too much. Not unless you go with me.” She looked back down at him. “I’ll tell you everything if you come with me.”
“Everything?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “Everything.”
Parker pulled her into his chest and hugged her tight. She felt safe in his arms even though she knew he couldn’t protect her.
“Fine,” he said. “We can leave tomorrow.”
Evie shook her head. “Tomorrow might be too late.”
“It won’t. You’re staying with me tonight. One last night in Woodland Creek. I’ll protect you. I won’t let you out of my sight.”
She sighed. He would never understand until she told him the truth. She had to try once more. “Why not tonight?”
He kissed her. “You’ll let me at least say goodbye to my parents, won’t you?”
Evie closed her eyes and kissed him back. His hands went up her dress and smoothed her back.
“Okay,” she said. “We say goodbye to your family, and then we are gone?”
“That’s right. We can go wherever you want.”
“You promise?”
“Promise.”
Evie prayed that he was right.
EVIE SAT UP in the passenger’s seat of Parker’s Challenger when they approached the Albrecht Mansion. She stared out her window as she saw Avalon get out of a black sedan with tinted windows.
There were two other cars parked inside the gates. Four men stood there as Avalon headed up the stairs to the front door. The men followed behind him, each looking serious.
“What in the world is going on there?”
Parker glanced as they passed by.
“Oh yeah. My father mentioned that earlier. Hugh Prince’s son came back from Scotland and bought the Albrecht Mansion.”
“It’s a historic landmark. You can’t buy a museum.”
“Apparently you can. He’s living there now.”
Evie strained to get a better look as Parker drove down the road that connected the university to Old Town. They hit the fork in the road and headed to New Town.
“I can’t believe it.”
Parker reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “It’s okay, babe. I know how your family feels about the Princes. We’ll be out of here tomorrow.”
Evie settled in her seat, those words comforting her. “Yes. You’re right.” She looked ahead as her mind tried to make sense of Avalon’s actions.
Does he mean to stay?
Evie remembered how scary things were during her childhood. Wes didn’t realize just how much she remembered about their father’s business. He thought he could shield her from the truth, but she knew much more than she let on.
Who were those men?
Avalon’s taking over Hugh’s business?
Evie pursed her lips. Her mind raced with every possibility. She’d only seen four dangerous looking men and she’d concluded that he was organizing crime in Woodland Creek again.
She tried to drown out her thoughts by the music on the radio as Parker drove them to his condo building.
She got out and stretched.
“I’m not even tired,” Evie said as she followed Parker up to the front entrance of his building.
He pushed in his code and the glass double doors opened for them. Inside a doorman waited and nodded for them as he kept watch.
They got on the elevator and went up to the fourteenth floor to his condo. Inside she walked directly to his kitchen and pulled a bottle of wine from the rack.
Parker took off his shoes at the door and grinned as he walked over to her.
“Thirsty?”
She shook her head, cracking a sheepish grin.
“Stressed,” she said. “I need a shot really.”
He took the wine bottle from her hand and put it back on the rack. She stood there and watched as he went to his freezer and pulled out a bottle of tequila.
A grin stretched across Evie’s lips as she eyed the frosty bottle. “Yes. You read my mind.”
He chuckled and took two shot glasses from the cabinet beside his fridge. “I knew you’d appreciate a little Patron.”
She took her hair from its ponytail and pulled off her tie. She sat on the granite counter and watched him pour the shots.
Parker handed her a shot and stood between her legs as she sat on his countertop.
“We might as well celebrate, right?”
Evie nodded. “Absolutely. Who knows where we will end up on Monday?”
“Cheers to the unknown,” Parker said and they both clinked shot glasses and downed the contents.
“No limes,” Evie said. She wiped her mouth, grimacing. She held her shot glass out. “One more.”
Parker poured two more shots and they drank them both.
“So,” Parker said. “Tell me where we are skipping out on college to go.”
“I’m not exactly sure,” she said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “Carry me,” she said with a grin.
He shook his head. “You really are spoiled,” he said and he picked her up.
“Is something wrong with that?”
“Not at all,” he said and carried her up the metal stairs. His bedroom was in the loft that overlooked his living room and kitchen.
He sat her on his king-size sleigh bed, turned on his mounted flat screen, and handed her the controller to his video game system.
Evie grinned, pressing the buttons on the controller while he scrolled through the options of games that they could play.
“Stop that,” he said with a laugh. “You know you’re not doing anything yet.”
She giggled. “We are such nerds,” she said. “Sitting at home on a Saturday night, playing video games.”
“I’m okay with it,” he said with a smirk.
When he selected a fighting game she got excited. Evie sat cross-legged while he laid down beside her.
“I can’t access my inheritance until I graduate. All I have is my credit card which Wes pays for me.”
“You’re sure you want to give that up right now?”
“No. I don’t. We can finish school somewhere else. Only a few more credits and we are done. We don’t have to finish them at HAU.”
“I don’t think you thought this through. We have to apply to another college, transfer credits, and all kinds of stuff.”
Evie shrugged. “That’s what we will do.”
Parker stared at her, his brows furrowed. She wondered what he was thinking. For a moment she was worried.
“You’re lucky I love you.”
She snickered and dropped her controller. She jumped onto him, gripping his shoulders
as she pressed into them. He let his controller fall, not caring that it fell off the bed.
She leaned down to kiss him on the lips, almost getting lost in the intensity once his tongue licked her lips, and went deeper to tangle with her own. Her hair fell over her face, seemingly shielding them both, and tickling her cheeks.
One kiss had him ready to rip her clothes off, but she sat back up, pulling her hair into a bun on top of her head.
“Good,” she said, a little breathless. “We can take off the rest of this semester.”
Parker sighed, trying to pull her back down for more.
She had an idea. “Wait. We can finish online! I don’t even really need to be present for my classes. They can be accessed online if need be.”
Parker gave her butt a squeeze, sending shivers along her entire body. Every touch excited her. This new chapter of her life; the one where she was a sexual being was new to her, and she couldn’t get enough.
At that moment however, she couldn’t help but turn her focus to their future away from her family and their drama.
“I guess I can do that too.”
She bit her nails. “Good. We can really do this.”
Parker took her hand from her mouth. “Stop biting your nails.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I’m thinking.”
He sat up on his elbows, his blond hair falling just above his eyebrows.
“Promise me that when we leave you’ll tell me what you’ve been hiding. You already said that you would. Did you mean it?”
The tequila made its way into her bloodstream making her feel warm all over. She bit her lip as she looked away from his gaze.
“I promise,” she whispered.
“Good.” Parker took off his shirt and tossed it aside.
She ran her hands along his abs.
“But where will we go with no money?”
“There isn’t a problem,” he said. “I can cover what we need.”
Evie smiled up at him. “And I thought I was the wealthy one in the relationship. I thought I was going to take care of us.”
He stepped onto the floor and took off his pants. She got under the covers and he joined her.
“Well, I kinda earned my wealth over the years.”
Evie raised a brow. “And I didn’t? You try to grow up in a family like mine. I earned mine as well. They’re just holding my money hostage for now.”
