by LS Anders
Beer always made her eyelids heavy. Giving into the lethargy, Evana fell asleep almost immediately and found herself in a bizarre space, void of anything except a hazy cloud that floated around her. She felt the hardness of the ground beneath her feet, but her eyes couldn’t penetrate the billowing fog lapping at her ankles.
A lone figure appeared, growing more visible as it moved closer. The figure stopped some distance away, the mist evaporating from around the silhouette until she recognized the girl.
It was Avie, and her hair was pink with cream colored strands showing underneath.
Avie waved and Evana smiled, waving back. Her subconscious told her she was dreaming and there was nothing to fear despite the cloudy disorientation.
Gesturing with her hands, Avie was trying to explain something, but her words weren’t reaching Evana’s ears. Trying to move towards the other girl, Evana found her feet rooted to the spot.
“I don’t understand. I can’t hear you.”
Giving up, Avie put her hands on her hips until her face lit up with an idea. She began to act out her words using charades until Evana guessed correctly and spoke the word aloud.
“Move?”
Avie shouted a silent, yes, and acted out the next word.
“On?”
Nodding her head, Avie clapped her hands together, but the celebration didn’t last. Abruptly looking over her shoulder, Avie became frantic, shouting at Evana, but it was no use, she couldn’t hear a damn thing that was being rushed past Avie’s lips.
Suddenly, Avie was propelled forward by some unseen force. Standing toe-to-toe, fear consumed Avie’s huge, whiskey colored eyes as she continued her silent speech.
“Avie, I don’t understand.”
Avie closed her eyes seeming to focus. Without warning, Avie’s eyes flew open as she gripped Evana’s arms, shouting at her. Finally, the sound reaching her ears.
“Evana, he’s coming. Wake up!”
Jason lay awake mulling over every word they had exchanged that evening hoping to find any clues that she felt more for him than friendship. Maybe he was thinking too much into her actions. Evana was genuinely a nice person. Maybe friends was all he would ever be to her.
His cell let out a ding. Glancing at the lit screen, he snatched it up when he saw it was her.
Holy hell, it was really late, she must be thinking about him, too. A wide smile stretched across his face as he swiped his thumb across the screen to answer the call.
“Hey—”
“Jason, there’s someone here.”
Evana’s whispered voice was so shaky, it took him a moment to comprehend what she’d just said.
“Oh god…” His blood turned to ice. “In your apartment?”
Not waiting for her to answer, he threw back the covers and ran to the closet to throw on clothes.
“No. Out on the fire escape. I think it’s just one person. After they checked to see if my windows were unlocked, they started up to the third floor. Oh god, Jason, I’m so scared.”
The fear in her voice slithered down his spine, sending a rush of adrenaline that energized his entire body.
“Is there some place you can hide until I get there?” Jason was already down the hall banging on Vehn’s door.
“In the cellar.”
“Go there now and if you have a gun, take it with you. I’m on my way there now. Don’t hang up. Stay with me on the phone.”
Vehn opened the door rubbing his eyes.
“Can you call the cops and send them over to Exotic Ink. Someone’s trying to break into Evana’s apartment.”
“Oh fuck! I’m on it,” Vehn turned leaving the door open, running back into the room to get his cell. “Be careful.”
Putting his own physical abilities to the test, he sprinted out of the penthouse. Hitting the stairwell, he hopped up on the banister, sliding on his ass most of the way down the seven stories to the ground level. Busting through the exit, he put his adrenaline rush to good use as he hit the pavement, nearly tripping over his own feet as they ate up the sidewalk.
There hadn’t been a cab outside, and he sure as fuck wasn’t going to waste a moment calling one to him. He’d run the entire way to get to her.
Pressing the cell to his ear, he could hear her harsh breathing as she scrambled around making shifting sounds.
“You still alright?” he asked as his legs pumped beneath him, ticking off the blocks he had left until he could reach her.
“I’m almost to the cellar door.”
His heart broke at the terrified sound of her voice. He wished he was with her right now, because he would kill whoever the fuck it was that was scaring her with his bare fucking hands.
“Let me know when you’re hidden.”
More with the shuffling and a click. “Ok. I’m in the cellar.”
“I’m about halfway there, baby, just hang on.”
She didn’t scold him this time for the familiar pet name.
He didn’t think it was possible, but he picked up his pace as she began to softly weep. Her tears were like a shot of gasoline being pushed through his veins.
An unoccupied cab caught his eye as he raced down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of people that were too stubborn to move. He ran right past it. The traffic was unpredictable this late at night, and him sitting on the edge of his seat waiting to get to Evana wasn’t going to go over well with his stress level and neither was the don’t walk sign at the corner of W Houston and Sullivan Street.
Straight arming the horn blows as he darted across the street, he leaped into the air, sliding across the hood of a car. A move that would have made the Dukes of Hazard proud.
There was a police car already in front of her building when he arrived. He’d been running so fast that it took him a few strides before he actually came to a complete stop.
Peering around the side of the building, he found two cops checking the cypher lock on the gate with their flashlights, like that shit was going to open up by illuminated willpower.
“Evana, you still there?” he asked, putting the cell back to his ear.
“I’m here.”
“I’m out front. You have a couple of cops checking out the courtyard.”
“I’m too scared to move, Jason.” Her voice so shaky it squeezed his soul.
“I have the key. I’m coming to get you. Where’s the door to the cellar?”
“In the storage room.”
Strange he’d never noticed it before.
Opening up, he didn’t wait for the police, just disarmed the alarm and ran down the hall. His running shoes squeaking on the marble floor.
Swinging open the storage room door, he could have ripped the damn thing off the hinges, he was so pumped with urgency to get to her.
“Evana!” he yelled into the space when he didn’t see another door.
The shelving at the back of the room gave way like an Alfred Hitchcock movie and there she was, a beautiful, trembling mess.
He didn’t wait for her to come to him, but lunged forward, grabbing onto her and crushing her to him. Her sobs turned to wails as she clung to him, crying so hard she barely made a sound.
Evana had never been so glad to see anyone in her entire life. She could hardly catch her breath, tears chocking her. Relieved that she was no longer alone, but still terrified over the entire ordeal, she couldn’t stop shaking.
Jason held her tightly to him. He shifted around, the rumble of his words moving out of his chest were lost to her, caught up in her own turmoil.
He wasn’t speaking to her anyway, but over her head to the police officers that had found their way inside.
“…found a body in the courtyard dressed in all black. We’ve got homicide and forensics on the way to take a look at the scene before we can let you out there.”
That got her attention.
“A body?” Jason questioned.
“It appears the suspect fell from the fire escape. Ma’am, we will need to get a statement from you
,” the cop said.
“She needs to change clothes, and then we’ll meet you back here.” Jason didn’t wait for permission from law enforcement as he removed his shirt and pulled it on over her head reminding her of the short gown she was wearing.
Trembling, her legs barely worked as she climbed the spiral stairway.
They had finally found her, the members from the Satan’s Disciples MC had come to exact their revenge. Now that there was another one dead, they would be gunning for her with a vengeance.
She was totally fucked.
Her time living in one place was over. She was going to have to pack up and move again.
Maybe she would be safer going into a witness protection program if that was even an option. But then she’d had to leave all her friends, the tattoo studio, and the apartment she loved.
Stepping into her apartment, she didn’t think she’d ever feel safe in this place again. Even with Jason tight on her heels, her eyes darted around the space, every shadow a hiding place for her enemies.
Her hands shook as she flipped through the racks of clothes in her closet, her mind not tracking. Jason reached out a hand startling her. Pulling her back against him, he took over choosing a plain cotton shirt and jeans.
“Here you go.”
Taking what he offered, she closed herself in the bathroom to change. Being alone was nearly crippling. She’d never dressed so fast in her life. Jason had barely sat down on the edge of the bed when she’d swung open the door and ran over to him.
“Damn, Evana, you’re really fucked up over this. Are you alright to talk to the police? Maybe they can wait until morning and give you a chance to calm down.”
“No,” swallowing hard, she didn’t recognize her own reedy voice. “I need to do this now. If the MC is on to me, it won’t be long before they come back and try again.”
“Ok. Let’s go get this over with.” Jason clasped her hand in his.
Heading back down, she was on him like a second skin. Her legs still wobbled, but something about Jason made her feel safe and put her at ease.
In the short time they were upstairs, a half a dozen other people in uniforms and badges were milling about. Returning to the breakroom, she took the seat Jason held out for her as the police officer joined them at the table.
She gave the cop all kinds of information, but held back about the MC and her mother’s involvement. This still could just be a robbery gone wrong, and she sure as shit didn’t need any spotlights shining on her.
A lady with a jacket announcing she was part of a forensic unit came in through the back door giving the cop a nod. The cop made a few more notes before flipping closed his notepad, thanking Evana and followed the forensic lady out the back.
“What do you think that was that all about?” Jason asked.
She hadn’t a clue, but her brow knotted with worry.
The cop reappeared through the door carrying a wallet. Pulling free the driver’s license, he held the photo up for her inspection. “Have you ever seen this guy before?”
Awash with so much relief she sagged in the chair. Jason held onto her as if she would fall to the floor.
She nodded. “That’s one of my employee’s ex-boyfriends.”
“Would there be any reason he would want to break into your building or maybe cause you any harm?” the cop inquired.
Yes there was, but she hadn’t told anyone about that incident between her and Callie’s now dead ex-boyfriend, Ryder. That had been a few months ago and most likely the reason he hadn’t been loitering around her shop anymore.
Slowly shaking her head, she wasn’t about to rehash out the threats she’d made. The guy was dead behind her building, so he wouldn’t be reporting her to the police.
“No. I can’t imagine what he would be doing here.” She hated to lie, but after all this time no charges had been filed against her, she figured Ryder had been too embarrassed to turn her into the police for assaulting him.
She had thanked her luck that he had stayed away. Obviously, he’d been chewing on the incident these past months and decided to come after her.
“The two of you will need to keep this man’s identity to yourselves until we can contact his next of kin.”
“Of course.”
Tegan sauntered in, a pissed off look etched across his face. “You alright, E?”
“I’m good. Please tell me Rayna stayed in bed.”
“She’s at home. I promised I’d give her an update. Pfft, but I had to fight my way in through all the uniforms or I would have been here sooner,” he said, shooting the cop a glare.
Gabriel, Cale, Avie, Vehn, and Callie were next to file in behind Tegan.
Frowning, she did a double take at Avie’s pink hair. It was the same shade from her dream with the cream-colored pieces showing underneath.
Avie approached her, concern knitting her brow. “Are you alright?”
Evana stood and hugged the girl to her.
“Thank you,” she whispered close to her ear.
“You’re welcome.” Avie pulled away, passing her off to Callie.
She returned the red-heads tight hug. Searching Callie’s face, no words came to mind. What the hell was she going to say to the girl once the police released Ryder’s name to the press? He had been an abusive boyfriend, but that didn’t mean Callie wouldn’t be upset about his passing.
Technically, she had made good on her threat even if she hadn’t actually pushed the guy off the fire escape.
Someone had made coffee and had placed a mug in front of her. She’d sipped at it, but mainly used the heavy ceramic to warm her freezing hands.
Once all the commotion had died down, she was ready to fall flat on her face. Her energy expended from the fright, then profound relief that it wasn’t the Satan’s Disciples there to kill her.
Looking around the room, Jason stood conversing with Tegan. She definitely didn’t want to be alone tonight even though the threat was over, but Jason was the only company she wanted.
Feeling her stare, Jason finished up his conversation, coming back over to sit with her.
She shouldn't ask him to stay the night with her, but she was still rattling around in her own skin. Grabbing onto his hand, he furrowed his brow.
He was her hero, running all the way from Greenwich to save her. She knew he would have put himself in danger to protect her and that scared her. She had just found him again after all this time. She wasn't ready to let him go.
Tegan leaned down and hugged her. "You can come stay with me and Rayna tonight, E."
"I was hoping to talk Jason into staying here," she admitted, looking shyly over at Jason.
"Pfft,” Tegan smirked. “Going by that dopey look he’s had plastered on his mug since he started working here, I’d say you won’t even have to ask.”
As the nightmare was wrapped up, the police began to disperse and so did her friends. Her eyes stayed glued to Jason the entire time as he let Tegan and the rest of the group out the front door locking up behind them.
With everyone gone, the quiet pressed down on her, giving her the voice she needed to ask him to stay. "Would you mind...staying the night? Well, what's left of it."
"I don't mind." Jason smiled at her. "Mind if I use your shower? I need to get all the sweat off of me."
Making their way back up to her apartment, she was comforted knowing Jason would be keeping her company, but it felt awkward being alone with him again in her bedroom.
Stepping out of her jeans, she slipped into a t-shirt and panties. Propped up in bed, she couldn’t stop scanning the windows in her bedroom, not that she could see anything with the blinds tightly closed. Just knowing anyone was capable of climbing the fire escape to get to her from the second floor had her pulling the covers up to her chin as she waited for the water to shut off in the adjoining bathroom.
Jason walked out with a towel slug impossibly low around his hips. She swallowed hard at the sight of his defined muscles disappearing beneath th
e plush terry cloth as he briskly toweled his short hair.
A flood of wetness immediately eradicating any awkwardness. The need to have him again, intense. Hungrily ravaging him with her eyes, her gaze paused and held onto one of his tattoos.
Leaning forward to try and get a better look at it, she recognized her name inked inside the ribbon like banner that crossed diagonally over a heart with a dagger through it.
"When did you get that tattoo?"
"Which one?"
"The one just above the towel," she said pointing across the room.
Jason ran a hand over the design dedicated to her and gave her a grim look. A myriad of emotions crossed his handsome features as if deciding whether to answer the question. "It was the first tattoo I ever got. Right after you left town. The dagger was added later."
"Later? When?"
"When I found out you had gotten married."
Tears pricked behind her eyes. Surely he had not been waiting around for her all this time.
"Jason, I—”
He held up his hand stopping her. "Let's go to sleep. That's a discussion for another day. I think you've been through enough."
Making his way over to the bed, he took one of the pillows and asked if he could take the blanket on the end of the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“To sleep on the sofa.”
"You can stay in here with me. Please…"
"Alright, but I'll be naked, so try to contain yourself, and don't take advantage of me while I'm asleep."
"You sure do have a high opinion of yourself,” she laughed. “I wasn't thinking anything of the sort."
Jason bit down on his bottom lip to hold back a grin as he climbed into bed next to her. Pulling the covers across his lap, he pulled the towel off and dangled it high in the air before dropping it to the floor. He mouthed the word “naked” and made a show out of scooting down into the bed, the wide smile never leaving his face.
She shook her head at his silliness and turned off the lamp next to her.
"Goodnight, Evana," Jason said, moving around before settling in.
It was an odd feeling to have another person in bed with her after all these years of sleeping alone, but it was a secure feeling, too.
