Saintsville

by Brittani Louise Taylor

  Identical, each is set up with a round table and padded booths adorned with beaded curtains. Mirrors are on all sides, the lighting a low pink with a glass table in the middle. Luca doesn’t stop until they reach the very last one, and moving the beads aside, he brings her in.

  “Luca, what are you doing….?”

  Eve sighs. The music is lower back here, and she can speak without yelling. He still holds her right hand, his thumb tracing circles on the back.

  Torn, Eve is so incredibly torn. Wanting to go back to Rowan, but needing to be next to Luca, she simply waits to see what happens next.

  “Were you trying to make me jealous? Because it sure as hell worked.”

  Luca steps closer to her, and her mouth goes dry.

  “No, what?! You were with Sophia. I was just enjoying myself.”

  He steps even closer.

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I am not into Sophia? Our parents were friends. I’ve known her most of my life and I care about her, but not in the way that you think.”

  Luca is right in front of her. His breath smells of mint as he leans down toward her.

  “You are so beautiful….”

  Eve takes a step back, putting a bit of distance between them.

  “I don’t think we should do this,” Eve whispers, trying to convince herself as well.

  Luca steps forward, closing the gap once more.

  “I have wanted to do this since I first saw you in Seattle. The first day we were on assignment. You had taken Maggie for ice cream, and the two of you were sitting on a bench by the waterfront. You just sat there, holding the melting cone, the wind tossing your hair and your eyes on the Ferris wheel. I could tell that you were hurting, but you were doing it for Maggie. That is who you are, Eve. The kind of person who puts everyone else first. Eve, I see you.”

  And that is the last thing he utters before she kisses him.

  Fighting isn’t the only thing Luca is good at, as he teases her, biting her lower lip. His fingers run down her spine, giving her goosebumps as they end up on the couch. Luca is grabbing her right shoulder, softly kissing her neck, when Eve screams in pain.

  Leaping from the couch, hands in the air and eyes wide, he says hoarsely, “What’s wrong? What did I do?!”

  Eve is hunched over in agony, holding her shoulder.

  “Nothing. You…didn’t do anything. My arms.”

  Eve’s eyes are tearing, a pain response, and a cold sweat has soaked her bangs. She rocks back and forth in anguish.

  Luca rushes forward, kneeling in front of her. Moving her bangs off her forehead, her cups her face. Tilting her head back, her pupils are blown.

  “Shit, stay here, don’t move.” Running from the booth, he is back within minutes. Three Quinns—Luca, Martin, and Tate—break into the room and hurry to help.

  Opening a black case, Martin throws on surgical gloves and retrieves a pair of small scissors. “I am going to cut your dress at the sleeves. I need to see what is going on.”

  Eve only nods, her teeth chattering. Martin deftly slits each one past the shoulder, and hears fibers ripping as he pulls them away to expose her inflamed skin.

  “Tate, get the Humvee! Now!” Martin barks. Tate doesn’t hesitate, sprinting from the room.

  “Eve, you are having an allergic reaction. We need to remove the solar cells,” Martin explains calmly, checking her pulse.

  “What? No… No!” She starts to crumble.

  Luca sweeps her up in his arms, rushing her from the room and screaming at anyone in his way to move. Eve spots Maggie dancing with West, but her sister freezes, the blood draining from her face. She sprints over, an impressive feat in her tall heels, worry riddling her exquisite features.

  “Eve? Are you okay? What is going on?!” She hears Maggie’s voice cracking somewhere behind her.

  The pain is unbearable. Biting her lip to keep from crying out, Eve tastes blood. Tate grabs the keys from the valet and hops into the driver’s side. The car roars to life. Luca gently sets her on her feet, and Rowan is there, holding her up.

  “West, get Maggie into the second car. We need to move.”

  The lovebirds do not hesitate, grabbing another set of keys from the valet and hurrying to the second Hummer.

  Seeing her gentle friends’ faces, she can no longer hold back her tears. Rowan makes soothing noises, running his palms up and down her cold exposed back.

  “They have to take them out, Rowan….”

  Her arms are not the only thing hurting.

  “We’ll fix it, okay? Martin will fix it. He always does….”

  Luca steps up into the backseat and turns, holding out his hand to Eve. She takes it as he helps her in. Opening the back end, Martin grabs more cases and then slams it shut, joining Eve and Luca.

  Rowan barely makes it into the front passenger side before Tate floors it. Peeling out of the parking lot, they fly onto the main road. Ignoring traffic lights, stop signs, and the basic rules of driving.

  “How far are we from Evergreen?” Luca barks.

  Checking the map on the screen built into the dash, Tate quickly says, “Hour and a half, give or take.”

  “We need to be there in forty-five….” Hearing the urgency in Martin’s words, Tate floors it.

  Eve’s throat is starting to swell. Her breathing is laborious, wheezing in and out of her constricting vocal cords. Opening a kit on his lap, Martin locates a syringe, turns quickly, wiping Eve’s exposed leg, and stabs her in the thigh.

  She screams once more, but it comes out more as a strained gurgle. And then her body begins to relax. Her eyelids feel so heavy as they start to close, and the last thing she sees is Luca as he whispers, “Sleep.”

  And then nothing.

  Chapter 30

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  Eve’s eyes are still shut, but she hears the sounds of machines beside her.

  Groggily, she stirs, the ceiling lights in the room blinding her sensitive eyes.

  A chair grates as someone gets up beside her, standing.

  “Eve? It’s Maggie….”

  Hearing her sister’s voice, she looks over. The petite redhead has a blanket wrapped around her, but the straps from her borrowed orange dress peek through. Her mascara is smeared, and from her swollen eyes, Eve can tell she’s been crying.

  “You scared me, you idiot.”

  Seeing her trying to sit up, Maggie grabs a remote control, adjusting the bed’s back until Eve nods that she is comfortable.

  “What happened after Martin drugged me?”

  Her voice is gravelly, vocal cords strained from her ordeal.

  “Martin had to remove the battery strips in your tattoos. For some reason, your body rejected them. He said it’s never happened before.”

  No surprise there. Martin had already told her in the club that they had to be removed, but she had reserved a shred of hope that maybe, if they had gotten to Evergreen in time, that something else could have been done.

  Life wins again. Eve Abbott is once again a failure.

  “Okay,” she mumbles numbly.

  “But, hey! He’s already started working on it. Martin said he’ll figure it out and that he’ll try again. For now, you just get really cool scars.”

  Both her limbs are heavily bandaged, but when Eve applies light pressure with her fingertips, there is little to no pain.

  “Martin said you can leave whenever you’re ready. Might be better to be back in our room?”

  Eve knows that Maggie is trying, but she just wants to be alone.

  “Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll get changed, and then we can go.”

  Swinging her bare legs to the floor, Eve turns her back to Maggie. She hears her exit as Eve reaches for her temples, lightheaded.

  How could one of the best nights of her life turn into one of the worst? What must everyone think of her now?

  Feeling an impending headache, she gingerly stands, retrieving a stack of clean clothing from a table be
side her. She pulls on sweatpants, and then, carefully, a soft t-shirt over her head. Lastly, sliding her feet into a pair of flip-flops. Pink, with hearts—they have to belong to Beth.

  Exiting the room, Eve recognizes the tunnel. Evergreen has a secret hospital as well near the laboratory? Trickily concealed by another fake wall, its existence makes sense with how dangerous their jobs are.

  Or were. For Eve, this might be the end of the road.

  Shuffling around a corner, she grimaces upon seeing who has gathered.

  West, Luca, Rowan, and Martin are there, as well as Riley. All the Quinns are still in their clubbing clothes, dark circles marring their tired faces. Riley steps forward in his usual uniform, as Eve mentally begs him not to give a speech.

  “We…all had a bit of a scare last night. Your body’s rejection of the procedure is, I’m sure, disappointing. But we will get to the root of it.”

  Staring at her toes, she starts to walk…and keeps walking, her head down. Eve hears her name being called. It might have been Luca or Rowan, but she doesn’t stop to find out. Making her way up the three flight of stairs to their room, she keeps walking all the way into the bathroom and turns the lock.

  Turning on the tub, she sits on the edge, lowering her pounding head into her hands. Several minutes pass, and if Maggie has seen her and followed, she thankfully doesn’t knock.

  The mirrors in the bathroom start to fog as Eve rises, discarding her clothing. Standing naked, she removes the bandages as well—first her left, then the right. Using a towel, Eve wipes the steam from the mirror, giving her a clearer view of the damage done.

  The black lines are gone, replaced with light pink, puckered scars. Still in the same shapes and patterns…they tease her. Broadcasting her unworthiness. They’re hideous, but they don’t hurt. Even as she lowers herself into the scalding bathtub, her raw flesh only stings slightly.

  The water turns cold, but Eve doesn’t move.

  “Hey, you still in there?”

  Startled by Maggie’s worried voice, Eve causes a small tidal wave of water to cascade to the tile.

  It takes a moment before she responds with a hoarse, “Yes.”

  “Do you need anything?”

  “No.”

  Eve hears her walk away, and she shakily dries and dresses, finding Maggie sitting on her bed.

  “Can I see?” Maggie inquires, direct as always.

  “They’re scars, Maggie….”

  “And I want to see them!”

  “They’re not yours to see! Back off!” she croaks.

  Angrily, Eve storms toward the door, stopping mid-stride when she realizes she has nowhere to go. Nowhere she can be alone on this camera-infested property.

  “Just show them to me. Get it over with, rip off the Band-Aid!” Maggie demands, getting right in her face.

  “Maggie….” Eve’s raw voice cracks as angry tears spring to her eyes.

  “Take off your goddamn shirt, but leave your bra on. I don’t want to see ‘that’….” Maggie has tears in her eyes as well as she snickers at her own joke. But she means it.

  Too weak to fight her, Eve does as she is told, tossing her long-sleeved shirt onto her plaid comforter.

  Eve is crying in earnest as Maggie studies her newly formed fibrous tissue.

  “Good. Now, never cover up again. Anyone that has a problem with you, shut them up. You don’t need their batteries, Eve. You’re a bad bitch all on your own, and you will not let this, or anyone, stop you.”

  Wiping the tears from her eyes, Eve can’t help but giggle.

  “Was that supposed to be a pep talk?”

  “Yup.”

  “It was pretty good,” Eve states, impressed.

  “I know. Now hug me, because I need to get the hell out of this dress.”

  Laughing, Eve squeezes her baby sister tightly. Then a relieved Maggie escapes for her turn in the bathroom as Eve crawls into her inviting sheets.

  How she misses her books in this moment. It would be glorious to read without needing the assistance of her glasses. Her vision correction had nothing to do with her allergic reaction to the solar cells, and her body seems to be handling that change perfectly.

  Unsure of what to do next, Eve starts to count the boards in the ceiling when she hears a quiet knock.

  The door opens, and a freshly showered Luca enters, back in their standardized garb.

  “Hey,” he says, awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

  Swinging her feet back to the floor, she gets up and walks over to him.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be in the cave?” Eve asks.

  “Yes.”

  “And yet, you are here.”

  “I am.”

  “Aren’t you going to get in trouble?”

  “Probably not.”

  “What do you want?”

  Luca steps closer, so close that their toes are almost touching. With one hand, he tilts her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

  “You. I want you.”

  Eve goes to shake her head, but both of his hands stop her dismissal. And then he kisses her. Tenderly, and soft, before enveloping her into a careful hug.

  “Gross, take this somewhere else!” Maggie exclaims, pretending to barf. Towel wrapped around her, she digs through the oak dresser for her underwear.

  Smirking, Luca nudges Eve, and asks, “Do you want to see my room?”

  “Yes, she does! Bye!” Maggie answers for her, still not able to find whatever she is looking for in the drawer.

  “As long as you have somewhere to sit.” Eve’s response is joking, but serious. Putting his arm around her, he patiently helps her down the stairs to the second floor, leading her to the first door to the left of the landing with an eagle carved upon it.

  Luca’s room is nothing like Beth’s or Eve and Maggie’s. The layout is the same, but the walls have been painted dark blue. No four-poster or canopy bed, just a mattress and box spring on the floor in the center of the space. On his dresser is a record player, and covering the floor is crate after crate of records. The only messy part about his room is the actual bed, the rest seems to be well organized.

  “You promised me a place to sit,” Eve teases hoarsely, her complexion turning gray from fatigue.

  Luca takes her hand and leads her over to rumpled comforter and pillows.

  “Best seat in the house,” Luca flirts as Eve plops down.

  Walking away from Eve, he seems to be looking for something among his records. It only takes him a minute before he pulls out a disc, placing it onto a turntable. The music that it starts to emit is unfamiliar.

  “This is nice….” Eve finds herself laying down, tucking one of his soft down pillows under her throbbing head.

  “Nice? This is more than nice—this is Miles Davis.”

  “Who?” Eve mumbles, half awake.

  “I will pretend you didn’t say that….”

  Luca heads back over to her and crouches down.

  “Do you need anything? Water?”

  Eve’s eyes have closed, but she is still awake and listening.

  “Water would be nice.”

  Eve opens her crystal-blue eyes and looks at Luca. He takes in her pale skin and pink lips. Her thick eyebrows partially obscured by her fringe.

  Luca has never wanted to protect someone more in his life than he wants to protect her. What a fool he has been. A total jerk, really. This stunning, resilient woman didn’t deserve his rejection or aloofness.

  He had his reasons, and tried to get her out of his mind, but it was impossible. Luca has run out of excuses for why they shouldn’t be together. She doesn’t even know how incredible she is, and it just makes him want her even more.

  Luca is in love with her.

  And he knows that being in love with an Abbott will prove costly.

  For now, Eve will stay in the dark. She will not find out the one thing they are still holding back. Because if Eve ever discovers what her parents did to his…

 
; It would ruin everything.

  Chapter 31

  I am in a car, in the station wagon.

  My hair has been cut short—right below my chin, eliminating the matted evidence.

  In my time in the white room, my eyesight has begun to deteriorate.

  Thick, new glasses sit on the bridge of my nose, unwelcome but necessary.

  A man adjusts the rearview mirror until I notice him looking at me in the back seat.

  “How you doing, kiddo?” asks Orion. My father.

  I will not speak. What they have done to me is unforgivable.

  “Leave her alone. She will adjust.” Adel fixes her bun with her delicate hands, her red nail polish unmarred.

  How dare my mother be so relaxed.

  How fake she is, coming to my defense now.

  Those nails.

  I saw them injecting me over and over again with thick needles. I saw those nails dragging me from the white room. I saw those nails covering my screams as they drilled into my bones.

  I saw those red nails securing my shackles in the glass tank.

  I hate those long, crimson-painted fingers.

  My mother turns toward me. Love and concern in her eyes, as she reaches back to pat my knee.

  I flinch.

  “It is okay, Eve. You will forget all of this. Trust me. It will be nothing but a bad dream….”

  Eve sits straight up, disoriented. It’s nighttime and the moon peeks through the window, illuminating crates on the floor. Despite the cold temperature, her body is covered in sweat. A hand touches her leg, and she recoils.

  Luca, it is only Luca.

  Shirtless, he’s lying on his stomach, but he is wide awake.

  Eve wants to forget. She wants to forget everything.

  She kisses him. Turning so that he is on his back, she climbs on top, straddling his waist, and his powerful hands grab her hips. Breaking the kiss, he helps remove her thermal. She’s about to take off her sports bra as well, but then she notices them.

  Her new scars.

  Looking down, she sees the pink, thin, raised lines covering both of her limbs and freezes.