by C. M. Owens
“Why do I feel like we’re trying to crack the fucking Da Vinci code?” I groan.
“Because this shit is all kinds of woven together and fucked up. Your girl was a wild card that set Ben over the edge. After she went to you, whoever was holding his leash lost control over him. Ben’s mom supposedly ran out on them four years ago, because the woman thought he was sick and twisted like his father. But he alluded to actually killing her on the video. That’s fucked up. Your girl has been the only female in his life for years, so he has an unhealthy obsession with her.”
My jaw grinds, and his lips twitch. It’s like he’s trying to piss me off. Not fucking smart.
“Ben wanted to quit playing the long game when there was suddenly a sense of urgency,” Axle goes on. “With Eve stuck with our crew, he lost his patience. He organized the attack, using his loyal followers from the Hell Breathers. Even set Drake up to play the unknowing pawn who led them to you. Then, from what I can gather, he planned for them to piss you off enough to attack back—since you have a volatile temper and react immediately instead of thinking. Your reputation makes you sound stupid, by the way.”
The amusement is back in his eyes, and I flip him off. When he snorts out a laugh, I adjust Eve, feeling my eyes grow heavy.
“Is most of this conjecture, or is it said word-for-word on the video?” I ask.
“Most of it is what we’ve pieced together from the conversations Mikey and Ben had in front of the camera. Some parts are verbatim, other parts are educated guesses. It’s an elaborate scheme by two masterminds going in two different directions. Ben is tired of being someone’s lapdog. He’s unpredictable right now. The longer we’re in the hospital, the easier it is for him to get to her. I’m surprised he hasn’t made a move yet.”
“How did Aaron come to us?” I ask him randomly.
Eve doesn’t react, so I know she’s really asleep.
Axle’s eyebrows go up, but he shrugs. “Your dad hired him. Why?”
“How did Pop find him?”
“Hell if I know. Sledge probably knows. Again, why?”
“Just curious,” I say on a sigh. “Eve’s tangled up in this, and there are just too many coincidences surrounding her. I’m curious if someone put her on this path, even if it was by mistake. Someone got Aaron involved with us, even though from what she’s told me, he was a good guy with good morals and values before he came to us.”
“She’s probably already a target to the second mastermind,” Axle says on a heavy breath. “It’s because of her Ben went a little crazy and killed the slow, subtle game they were running.”
“Back when all that shit went down, I tracked down Marks after he left our clubhouse that day, and he played dumb in the middle of the diner where I’d found him. At least I thought he was playing. He acted like he had no clue what I was talking about. He swore he didn’t steal a dime. The next day, every dollar missing was back where it was supposed to be. I knew that fucker had something to do with it then.”
“Then he went missing,” he points out.
“Yeah. He did. But he wasn’t too damn far away. He managed to hide his entire life from us, yet he couldn’t hide the eighty million he stole until he could get away with it? And he came to work the day after it was stolen? It didn’t add up back then, but I thought he was just a stupid fuck. Now I realize he was a genius and had a family he cared for. He lived at home, Axle. He was briefly separated from his family, but he lived at home during a chunk of the time he worked for us. He knew when we were tailing him, and he went to his shitty apartment instead of his nice home. So how does a genius do something that stupid?”
He shrugs, and I mull over the facts that don’t add up. My head actually starts hurting from trying to squeeze in all the variables and coming up with… nothing.
Maybe Aaron was just a fluke. Maybe Eve landing here really was a coincidence. Maybe all this is just the universe’s sick joke or a dash of karma for all the hell we’ve spread.
Or maybe I just want there to be another reason Eve is here so that I don’t feel like shit for keeping her when I know I’m going to seal her fate just by being in her life.
Chapter 28
EVE
“Your pussy must be made of fucking gold. No wonder Drex wants you away from me,” Drake grumbles, shifting awkwardly in his bed and wincing. “I’d be scared of taking a dip in the damn haunted thing at this point. Men seem to go crazy around it.”
I glare at him, and he laughs, then he groans because laughing hurts him everywhere.
For the past three days, I’ve been sneaking into his room, thanks to Axle pretending to sleep while I slip out of my own room. Drex only comes around after I’ve gone asleep, and I wake up to him every morning just in time for him to withdraw from my side and mutter a “See you later.”
I’ve spent the past three days trying to talk to Drake for a few hours, but it’s been packed with people coming to see him now that he can finally talk and not want to strangle anyone in the room with him. Rush has hauled me out of here twice on behalf of Drex. Asshole.
But today, I finally got to tell him everything. And he’s also an asshole. Not that I expected him to be different, because… Well, it’s Drake.
“Ben was always a friend, and now you’re mocking me after I’ve been betrayed?” I hiss.
He cocks an eyebrow. “The fuck nugget crashed us, kidnapped you, and has a twisted version of romance because he thinks he was going to get you in the end. Drex has probably started skinning people alive in your name, and there’s no doubt he’s been tracking that cunt puddle to make him pay. I’m not mocking you. I’m praising you. Well, I’m praising your pussy.”
I roll my eyes while he grins that cheeky smile of his. Drex is anything but obsessed with me, but this isn’t about my relationship issues.
“My vagina has nothing to do with this. Ben’s mom always said he was sick, but I thought she was just a bitch and wanted to console her conscience by making an excuse to leave him. Maybe he was sick. I… I think he killed her.”
“Probably. He was more than likely killing kittens and eating their entrails from a young age,” Drake deadpans.
That vivid imagery makes my stomach churn. Ben did hate kittens…
“Anyway,” I say, shaking my head and getting out of Drake Land. “The feds still don’t fit in. I can’t make the puzzle pieces go together because it feels like I’m working with two separate puzzles.”
“You’re assuming Ben would know a fed only if Benny did,” Drake says around a hiss of pain, trying to adjust again.
I go to help him by adjusting a pillow under his elevated leg, fixing it so that his leg is higher. He curses when I move him wrong, but I ignore his glower. I’m not a nurse, so he can get over my lack of finesse. At least his leg isn’t sliding off anymore.
“True,” I say, thinking that over. “But Ben wouldn’t want a fed working inside the Hell Breathers if he was planning to takeover. It would just put instant heat on him.”
“Instant heat,” Drake grunts. “Listen to you.”
Rolling my eyes, I sit down on the edge of his bed, ignoring my “gown” issues. I really freaking wish they’d let me wear my regular clothes here.
“I can see your ass,” Drake confesses, grinning as his eyes roam down my back. I continue to ignore his words while looking over my shoulder at him, because I’m sick of fucking with the backless gown, and putting two on at once is a pain in the ass—no pun intended. And my robe is in my abandoned chair because I’m burning up.
At least I’m cooling down now.
“What about Drex’s guy? Think he’s a part of it? The fed he knows, I mean?”
“Your ass is actually very nice. Well, at least what I can see of it. If your ass is that nice, no wonder they have an obsession with your—”
“Concentrate,” I grumble, snapping my fingers in front of his face.
“I’m trying,” he lies, still staring down at my ass. I start to turn to face him inste
ad of sitting comfortably on the bed, just so my ass will be facing the wall, but the door flies open and slams into the wall.
Drake curses, then he grunts a, “Fuck me.”
“The fuck is going on in here?” Drex growls, letting his eyes drop to my exposed back, and apparently my exposed ass. Not my fault this hospital keeps the ridiculous slit in the back of their gowns.
“We’re having a conversation,” I say with a sweet smile. “It’s full of dirty innuendo and intriguing assumptions about my pussy.”
“No the hell it isn’t,” Drake refutes, looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.
“But you were just saying that my—”
“Damn it, you crazy woman! Don’t give him a reason to break my arms while I can’t fight back!” Drake barks.
My lips twitch, and Drex glares at Drake like he’s debating if he could really hurt a guy who can’t defend himself. I roll my eyes.
“It’s not like Drex still wants me. Remember?” I ask Drake, but I keep my eyes fixed on Drex.
Very slowly, those chilly blue eyes turn to meet my gaze, and I cock an eyebrow as if I’m daring him to deny it. Considering he won’t even freaking speak to me, I’m pretty sure I’ve hit the nail right on the head.
“Sarah will bring you some fucking clothes. Get back to your room. We’re leaving in ten.”
“Quit bossing me around,” I grumble, turning back to face Drake, who is seething a little since I put his balls at stake. I decide to keep talking like there isn’t a murderous VP standing right behind me, and I pretend Drake isn’t silently condemning me to hell with his eyes.
“Anyway, so there’s a chance—”
My words end on a squeal when I’m suddenly being lifted, and Drex curses while covering my ass a little better.
“Put me down, damn it! I’m talking.”
“You’re shutting the fuck up and getting your clothes on like I told you to do,” Drex growls.
Anger and embarrassment hit me hard when I struggle in vain and hear the snickers all around us, realizing we’re in the hallway where all of the Death Dealers are getting a show. Drex narrows his eyes on a few of them, ending the chuckling.
As soon as we’re back in the room, Axle jumps like the kid who has just been caught. He grins at Drex, who glares at him.
“What happened to you promising not to let her out of the room again?” Drex snarls.
“You’ve made her stay in here much longer than necessary. I think she deserves to walk around. Just so happened that Drake was finally feeling good enough for company, and she’s one of the few he actually wants to see.”
“What?” I snap, whipping my eyes to Drex. “You said the doctor told me I wasn’t ready to leave.”
Drex’s jaw tenses. “Do you think I’ve gone soft or something?”
His voice is cold, but Axle doesn’t even blink. “I think you’re not thinking at all. Eve isn’t a little girl. She’s capable of making her own decisions.”
“She’s not capable of making decisions that she doesn’t understand the consequences of.”
“And there are consequences for her speaking with Drake? The guy she works for? The guy she was in a wreck with? The guy who cares about her in a non-sexual way? Or are we talking about other consequences involving her decisions, Drex? Hard to tell anymore.”
“I’m right here!” I bark, struggling to get away from Drex.
He finally deposits me gently onto the bed, and he grabs Axle by the shirt before slamming him against a wall.
“You don’t want to fucking push me right now,” Drex seethes.
For Pete’s sake.
“And you want to get your fucking hands off me,” Axle says in a chilling way that has the hairs on my body rising to attention.
Just because I’m getting worried they’re close to throwing punches, I try to lighten the tension.
“When you two get finished seeing who has the bigger dick, would you care to get out so I can get changed?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. Sarah hasn’t even brought my clothes yet, but my words have both of them easing away from each other like attack dogs being pulled back by their leashes.
I don’t understand these guys. I really don’t. And I’m getting a headache from the constant confusion they induce.
Axle turns toward me, giving me a look that lets me know he knows what I just did. He’s a hard guy to read since he usually doesn’t wear an expression. As soon as he’s gone, Drex turns to face me again.
“Eve, you seem to keep forgetting who I am. I’m not sure when you thought you were suddenly in charge, but you’re not.”
My mind and body refuse to cower to him. Slowly, I stand from the bed, and watch as all of his muscles tense when I get closer. Tilting my head back, I stare up at him when I’m inches away.
“What are you going to do if I don’t listen to you?” I prod. Yes, I’m trying to provoke him. I’m stupid like that.
His jaw tics as he leans down, and my breath leaves in a rush when he roughly grabs my side and pulls me to him. It’s distracting, because now I can feel something very hard jabbing into my stomach, and that something is barely being restrained by his jeans.
“If you keep pushing me, I’ll fucking consume you. That’s what I’ll do. Neither of us want that, Eve. Trust me.”
He turns and opens the door, moving aside for Sarah to walk in, and I watch as he slams the door much harder than necessary on his way out.
“What did you do to piss him off this time?” she asks.
“Same shit, different day,” I mumble.
She puts my clothes down, but she grows quiet. It’s then I notice she’s not the bubbly, smiling girl she normally is.
“Something happen?” I ask her.
She jumps a little like I’ve startled her, but she shakes her head.
“No. You should get changed. The sooner you’re out of here, the better. This hospital has too many cameras, and the feds are here to question Drake about his accident.”
“Since when do feds give a damn about a tattoo artist in a wreck? And what’s wrong with cameras?” I ask her, wondering if anything has been said or done in front of them. Surely Drex and the guys would have been aware of the cameras in the hall. I know none are in the room.
“Nothing.” She forces a smile before leaning forward and hugging me. “You’re tougher than you look. Drex is lucky.”
She looks almost sad when she pulls back, and I tilt my head.
“Sarah, are you okay?”
She keeps that fake smile intact, but all the life in her eyes seems to be gone. I swear she’s on the verge of crying.
“I got you another phone. Your old one was smashed in the wreck. It’s in your bag. I’ll call you later.”
Great. That means Drex is putting me on lockdown somewhere if she’s not even going to be allowed to come see me. Or he’s kicking me out again. Fuck it. Fuck him. Fuck this. I’m sick of feeling like I need permission to live my own damn life.
“You can come to my motel and see me. Snake wouldn’t get pissed, would he?”
She gives me a look that borders on confused mixed with amused. “You won’t be at your motel. Good luck trying to get Drex to let you go anywhere that isn’t right under him.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, he’s trying to stay as far away as he can.”
She shrugs, picking at something on her shirt like she’s a million miles away.
“If I could explain how cold-killers love, I would. They push you away, then they pull you back. If there’s any heart in them at all, they try not to drown you in their own personal hell. If they can change, they will. But not all of them can change. Most just hide who they are for the sake of someone they’ve loved. Sometimes they even manage to get lost in the illusion, and for the briefest of moments, they become someone they love too.”
She’s not making any sense. Or maybe I’m just not understanding.
“Sarah, you’re really confusing me right now.”
<
br /> She gives me a watery smile while pulling me to her, and I hug her awkwardly when she holds me as tight as she can. It almost feels like she’s seeking comfort, so I hold her closer, standing there with no clue as to what’s going on all of the sudden.
When she finally pulls back, she clears her throat and wipes a tear from her eye.
“Why do I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me?”
She laughs humorlessly while turning toward the door.
“In this kind of life, Eve, no one ever tells anyone everything.” She turns to face me. “Remember that. It’ll save you the trouble of ever feeling betrayed. You’re the only one of us who is truly honest. It’s why so many are suspicious of you. Because the rest of us have secrets we live to protect.”
Chapter 29
DREX
Eve is asleep in my bed, but she seems to be sleeping peacefully instead of struggling. I keep checking on her like she’s suddenly going to disappear if I turn my head for too long.
She’s pissed at me. Which is better than continuing to look at me like I’m her fucking hero instead of her condemnation. This… All of this is my fucking fault. I should have sent her away on day one. Unfortunately, I didn’t give a damn about her on day one, so doing what was best for her wasn’t on my priority list.
Then I get to wondering what Ben might have done later if I wasn’t around… If she hadn’t been sent to me.
“You going to just keep staring at her like a fucking creeper?” Axle asks, raising an eyebrow at me as he walks toward me.
Clearing my throat, I shut the door to my upstairs place, and turn to lean over the railing as he joins my side.
“I’m still figuring out what to do. It’s not like I can keep her, but she’s not safe on her own. Did you get the money and place for her mom?”
He nods. “Dreading that conversation. I don’t see her mom being willing to move to Colorado just because we tell her she needs to get far away from Texas.”
