“What if I arranged a call to your family?” Chadwick asks.
“That’s possible?”
“Difficult, but yes, possible.”
My heart jumps at the prospect.
Even just hearing their voices, letting them know I care, might strengthen them and help them in battle. Or I could give them advice for fighting chaos.
“I would like that,” I say. “How does it work?”
“I’ll set it up with the oracle,” Chadwick says. “We can’t do it often, because any link between our worlds has the potential to draw chaos, but if you’re that worried about your family, I think it’s the right thing to do.”
“Then thank you. I appreciate that very much.”
“Sure. And, Tanner?”
“Yes?”
“Be careful with this human, Bill. He’s the kind the company or the police need to handle, at least at this point. Not us. Don’t get in any more trouble than you have to.”
“You sound like Eva.”
“She sounds smart, then,” Chadwick retorts.
I laugh. “She is. You’d like her. Isabella would too.”
“Can’t wait to meet her when things calm down a bit.”
“That sounds nice.” I look up to see Bill Steinman, of all people, peeking through the window next to the door to my office. “Uh, Chad, I gotta go.”
“What?”
“That guy we talked about? He’s standing outside my door.”
“Be careful—”
But I hang up on Chadwick because I can’t afford for Bill to overhear anything.
I walk over to the door and open it. “What do you want?” I fold my arms as I glare at him.
“Can I come in for a second? I think we need to talk.”
I sigh as I hold the door open, then walk around the desk to sit back and glare at him, leaning away from his general direction but keeping my eyes pinned on his. “What is it?”
He’s the only person who doesn’t seem to get nervous around me, though he should be.
“Look,” he says, loosening his tie as sweat beads on his balding forehead. “I used to be a young gun once. You’re a hot commodity, Tanner. Everyone knows it. You listen to the employees, make them think you’re on their side. It’s a valuable skill as a CEO.”
“I am on their side,” I say, staring at him warily.
He waves a hand. “Right. Right, of course. But anyway, you need to think about your future.”
I raise an eyebrow. “My future?”
“After the merger,” Bill says. “You could stay on, you know. I think the company will do well under you.”
“What’s the catch?” I ask, leaning back in the chair as if interested. Truthfully, if not for Eva, I wouldn’t be able to get out of this company fast enough.
“Well, I heard you’re having a hard time with my little Eva issue.”
“Which one? The one where you tried to assault her or the one where you plan to merge the company and lay her off after years of loyal work?”
Bill’s eyes snap to mine, and despite the dull blue color, I see sharpness there. And greed. “Don’t be foolish about this. I’ve known Eva much longer than you have. She refuses to conform to the corporate environment, so she’s not a good fit.”
Thank heavens for that.
“But you could be, so think this over carefully,” Bill says while I just try to stay calm and not launch over the desk to strangle him.
I feel darkness building in me, killing magic, the kind that makes someone never see light again. I push it down, remembering Chad’s warning.
I lean back, trying to look relaxed. “So what, you want me to look the other way about all of this and you’ll keep me as CEO?”
Bill leans back in his chair, looking pleased and relaxed now that he seems to think I’m on his side. “More or less, yes. Though, I won’t mess with her again if that makes you angry. She’s just another woman, after all. Not worth so much aggravation.”
I want to stand up, grab him by that tie, and jerk him over the desk to headbutt him out of existence, but I use all of my self-control to stay down instead.
“I don’t agree, but you’re saying if I stay on as CEO and don’t make trouble, you’ll keep things smooth until the transition?”
He nods. “I think you’ll truly be an asset, Tanner.”
“Eva is the asset,” I say firmly. “She would have done anything for this company.”
He shrugs. “It’s just business. Look, let this whole unpleasant harassment issue go, and I’ll make sure she gets a recommendation and a good severance package.”
“What am I going to tell her?” I ask, glaring at him, unable to believe he actually thinks I would do this to her.
He looks annoyed now. “Tanner, when you’re CEO after the merger and you come out with me and the other boys, you’ll realize you could have done so much better. Eva is a nice woman, but—”
“But she rejected you,” I retort. “So I guess you thought she was worth it.”
His expression hardens. “In a moment of weakness.”
I glare at him, waiting for more signs of chaos, but it’s harder to feel from a human. At least without touching them. Brett said that the fae princes’ ability to see into hearts still works in this world. He did it to know how to punish a human domestic abuser.
But I don’t know if I want to touch this creep.
Besides, maybe this is what I need to take the pressure off everything before I blow up.
If Bill agrees to behave and leave Eva alone, then I can at least let him think I’m going along with his merger until I manage to work things out.
I can figure out what to do about my kingdom.
I can help Eva see why the fae world would be a much better place.
I just have to wait a little bit longer and, yes, pretend I don’t want to choke Bill until he dies.
“Fine,” I say. “When’s the merger?”
“In a month,” Bill says, relaxing slightly now that I’m asking questions that seem to imply I’ll go along with him. “We can work everything out before then. If you do want to keep dating Eva, you can help prepare her for what’s coming. But I recommend—”
“I don’t need your recommendations on who to date. I’m only agreeing to this because you said you won’t bother Eva.”
“I won’t,” he says quickly, putting a hand up. “I told you that was a mistake. One I don’t intend to repeat. I have plenty of women begging for access to what I have to offer. What do I care about some snotty little—”
“Careful.” I warn him, and this time he seems slightly unsettled by what he sees in my eyes.
He smiles nervously. “You’re an interesting person, Tanner. Definitely. Even if your loyalty is misplaced right now. In time, you’ll come to see the light.”
I doubt it, as the commander of darkness.
I come around the desk to open the door for him because I can’t wait to get away from this chaotic, selfish, immature mess and figure out how to tell Eva about all of this.
He smiles, no idea what I’m thinking, and sticks out a hand for me to shake it.
I’m just as unthinking as I reach out to do the customary handshake, but the moment I touch him, my eyes go wide in shock at the images that rush through me.
His chaos is so close to the surface that without even trying, I can see his thoughts, his intent, his memories.
And know that everything he just promised me is a lie.
Wrapped in lust and a sense of warped triumph, I can see what he’s already planning to do to Eva once he has isolated her from all allies.
He thinks that by getting me to leave her, by offering me what he thinks is better, she’ll end up desperate and alone.
He sees himself threatening her, telling her she’ll never have a job again, forcing her to her knees in front of him.
Stripping her and pulling her hair back as she screams.
I jerk back from his hand, homicidal rage surging through
me, chaos threatening to overwhelm my heart.
I was taught to fight evil with every fiber of my being. Protecting those I love is imbued in me, down to my soul.
When I wasn’t certain he was toxic, I could let this issue slide.
But now that I know what I know, his fate is sealed.
I can feel something in my mind screaming, warning me back, saying this is stupid. But all I can hear is the roar of my heart telling me we must defend our soul bond.
Slowly, I reach past him to shut the door, locking it behind him.
Finally, he looks slightly nervous as he stares from the door to me.
I come closer, liking the way his pulse races at the base of his neck. The way his pupils dilate in fear.
He’s going to pay for even thinking of doing that to my soul bond.
“I’ll make this fast, though you don’t deserve it, you evil piece of shit.” I snarl at him, getting ready to do what I need to do as he struggles to open the door.
“Someone help! He’s crazy!” Bill yells, though he knows damn well my office is soundproof and far from anyone who could hear.
It’s too late for anyone to help him anyway.
No one else is going to stop this man. No one can take him down. Even when I leave this place, taking Eva with me and out of his reach, he’ll probably hurt someone. Anyone who dares to tell him no when his life has been full of yeses.
Sorry, Eva, I think as I let the room go perfectly dark around me. It’s not how it I wanted it to happen, but if I don’t take out this rotten bastard when no one else can, chaos will overwhelm my heart.
25
Eva
A scream rings through the office, ruining the peace and quiet I’d been enjoying for most of the morning.
I sit up abruptly, wondering if I truly heard that or if someone was playing a video too loud or—
“What was that?” my secretary exclaims, sitting up in his chair immediately.
“I don’t know,” I say, already making my way in the direction of the sound. Whatever it was, it can’t be good.
By the time I’ve entered the hall, though, several other people are making their way toward Bill Steinman’s office at the far corner of the building.
I can hear mutters of exclamation and worry, and when I reach his door, I can already sense an impending dread, based on the faces of the people around it.
I peer inside, and several employees move out of the way for me. Through the receptionist area, I can see directly into his office.
And sprawled out on his big, cherrywood desk, I can see the limp shape of Bill, facedown, as if he were dumped haphazardly on top of it. Next to him, his receptionist, Joan, has her hand over her mouth as several other employees assess the situation.
“He’s out cold,” someone says beside me.
“Like someone knocked him out clean,” another replies as I listen in to what updates they can give me.
“What’s going to happen?”
“Who did this to him?”
I immediately look around, my mind already settled on a good idea for who could have possibly done this.
Only one person I know would be so reckless.
“Make sure someone’s called an ambulance,” I yell to the group of employees next to me.
“They’re already on their way,” one replies, and I make my way down the hall, past the quickly gathering crowd of onlookers.
I’d tell them to get back to work, but having the COO of a company unconscious on his desk isn’t an everyday occurrence, so I can’t really fault them.
I rush into Tanner’s office, and finding it empty, I make for the lobby of the building, jamming the main floor button about a thousand times before the elevator finally acquiesces to my wishes.
I’m not even really sure how I know where Tanner is, but somehow, I just kind of do.
The elevator opens, and I stride out just in time to catch a tall outline with dark hair shouldering his way through the outside doors of the Qualtechnics building, hands shoved in his pockets.
I give chase, my heels clicking on the marble entranceway.
By the time I get outside and reach Tanner, he’s standing at the edge of the curb, pacing back and forth. His shoulders are hunched, and his brow is furrowed, the deep creases around his eyes giving him the look of some dark, avenging angel.
Regardless of how wonderful he makes me feel, he’s officially gone too far.
“Tanner?” I ask, my heart desperately wanting to believe he didn’t do this.
For a moment, he keeps looking away, staring at nothing as if his mind is elsewhere. When he turns to me, his expression is darker than I’ve ever seen before.
Haunted.
“I’m sorry, Eva.”
For a moment, I pity him. He looks so miserable. But I can’t ignore the fact that I let my guard down and he betrayed my trust.
Upstairs, my company is in shambles. Everything I feared is now happening, just when I was starting to relax.
Why does Tanner have to have everything his way? It meant a lot to me that he would let me have a say, because so many men in my life have made decisions like they knew better.
I didn’t want Tanner to be like that.
I want a partnership. Someone I can trust when they say they won’t go behind my back and decide things without me.
I don’t want the chaos of my home, with constant fights and no compromise or teamwork at all.
My heart is hollow but aching as I stare back at him. “Why?” is all I can ask.
His eyes are tortured. “Eva, there’s so much to tell you.”
“No,” I say. “This isn’t some complicated thing. You said you wouldn’t do this. You broke your promise.”
“I’m trying, okay?” His tone is harsh, but he’s turned away from me now, hands in his pockets. “I’m not perfect.”
“True, because punching out the COO just because you lost your temper is pretty far from perfect.” My words are harsh, but my heart is hurt. I’m putting walls up because Tanner’s inability to act as a team with me is making this feel all too familiar and chaotic.
I’ve had people try to push me around and say they know better my whole life.
I didn’t want this with my soul bond.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” he says, turning to face me again, eyes so pained I just want to run to him and wrap him in my arms.
Despite all of this, he’s my soul bond, and I can feel that powerful connection.
“Tell me why you did this.”
“I was trying to protect you,” he says, everything about his expression and posture begging me to understand.
But I’ve seen what happens when someone keeps allowing their needs and wants to be smothered by a more dominant partner who won’t take their input.
I’ve seen the tug-of-war that ensues, and I don’t want any part of it.
“You’ve set us so far back,” I say. “Now I have to focus on Qualtechnics. Making sure that—”
“They’re going to fire you,” he says abruptly.
His words linger on the silent morning air between us, and for a moment, I’m too shocked to speak.
“What?”
“In the merger,” he says, pacing now as he runs a hand through his hair. “I talked to Morgan about the situation, and he mentioned it.”
“When?” My heart feels like it’s going to break out of my chest with a sledgehammer.
He looks slightly guilty now. “Yesterday.”
I let out a ragged breath. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I thought I could fix it,” he says desperately. “I thought—”
“How could you hide this from me?” My hands curl into fists. “Don’t you see that this is the whole problem? You’re still Commander Tanner, making all the decisions and expecting me to just be fine with it. You aren’t trying to understand that it’s important to me to have some control over what happens in my life and my world.”
“Eva, I w
as going to tell you once I knew there weren’t options…”
“You should have told me when you knew!” I’m practically spitting because now I’ve been betrayed from two sides.
I let my guard down with Tanner, gave myself to him, and he broke his promise a day later.
I’ve given Qualtechnics my whole adult working life, and they’re going to throw me away in a merger like garbage.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” he says brokenly.
I let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Aren’t we supposed to be united? A team? I could have been trying to fix this with you.”
He looks at me, shocked, as though he hadn’t even considered such a possibility.
“It’s not your job to handle everything, Tanner,” I say frustratedly. “You’re not God, making decisions for us all.”
He strides up to me, taking me gently by the shoulders. “Eva, I don’t think I’m God over you. And I wasn’t trying to break a promise or betray your trust.”
I push away from him. “But you did! And you didn’t even think about it, did you? You decided what you were going to do, and you just did it.”
He exhales slowly, then nods.
“How am I supposed to go to your world with you? Trust you with my heart when you don’t think I’m worth consulting?”
“It was an odd situation,” he says. “One I’m not used to dealing with, and—”
“That’s why you should have let me help.” I shake my head. “This is my world. Or does my world not matter since you assume we’ll go to your world, anyway?”
His silence is damning. “You’re a fae princess, Eva. You don’t belong here.”
“This is my world!” I yell. “I don’t know how else to get you to understand this.” Tears fill my eyes as I think about the mess upstairs. I’m not saying Bill didn’t deserve that, but I’m already dealing with so much.
Learning I’m a fairy.
Trying to trust a new relationship.
And Tanner just exploded that trust.
“I can’t think right now,” I say, pacing as the fog of the past swirls painfully in my mind, bringing up more awful memories. “I didn’t want to fight with you, Tanner. I thought you were the best thing to happen in my life.”
Defended By Darkness: Wings, Wands and Soul Bonds Book 2 Page 15
