10. Eva
10
EVA
After driving all night, I pulled up to the gate of Reed Security and rolled down the window as the guard approached.
“Eva Owens. I’m here to see Hudson Knight.”
“Let me see if he’s available.”
“Thank you.”
I shifted nervously in my seat. After such a long drive, I just wanted to get out and stretch, but this was too important to put off for even a minute. I was buzzed through the gates and I pulled through, not sure where to park. I didn’t have to look too far. Knight was waiting out front for me. I could see the curiosity in his eyes as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest.
As soon as I got out, I felt the enormity of driving straight through wash over me. My muscles protested staying in one position for so long. Knight strode over to me, his eyes wandering over me curiously before checking out the car.
“What’s going on?”
“We need to talk.”
Those dark eyes of his read me for a second before he nodded and led me to the parking garage. I didn’t bother saying much as he let us into the building. I was too exhausted to think of anything other than what I came here to do.
Once we were inside, I realized we would not be having this conversation in private. Two other men were in the conference room where Knight was taking me. They were talking, but quickly stopped when they saw me walk in.
I recognized Sebastian immediately, but the other man was someone I didn’t know. “Sebastian, it’s good to see you again.”
“You too. Do you remember Hunter?”
I looked at the man again, and this time, I recalled seeing him around when I stayed here before the trial. That had been years ago. “Yes, I remember you. It’s nice to see you again.”
“So, do you want to tell me why you drove all the way out here to see me and didn’t bother calling?” Knight asked, taking the seat across from me.
Hunter snorted. “Way to welcome your sister-in-law.”
It was strange to hear that in reference to Knight, but it was true, which was precisely why I was here. “I came here because what I need to ask you couldn’t be done over the phone.”
“Why do I not like the sound of this?” Sebastian muttered, taking his own seat.
I licked my lips, trying to figure out where to even start. “Cash has not been taking Rafe’s death very well.”
“I would imagine not,” Knight retorted.
“And…he didn’t tell me that he…” I looked at the table, ashamed that Cash hadn’t trusted me enough to tell me what happened. “—that he was the one who pulled the trigger. I only found out recently.”
My eyes flicked up to meet Knight’s gaze, but I saw no judgment there.
“He’s doing things he wouldn’t normally do. He put one of his men in danger, asking him to do something that could get everyone killed—Basically, he’s acting like Rafe.”
“How did you expect him to act?” Knight asked.
“I don’t know. But he’s not the man I married.”
“You have to give him time.”
I pressed my lips together, shaking my head. “I can’t. He’s gone.”
Knight’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that Fox tried to get him to come around. And instead of it working, Cash walked away. He left us. He put Fox in the hospital, and he’s lucky he’s still alive.”
Knight shoved to his feet, rubbing his hand over his jaw. “When was this?”
“A few days ago. Knight, he’s not coming back. He as good as told me he was leaving.”
He shook his head. “He wouldn’t do that. Not to you and the kids.”
Hunter cleared his throat and Knight whipped around to face him. “Like you?”
“That was different.”
“Not really.”
I didn’t know the specifics, but Knight had left also, not too long before we found out he was Cash’s brother. But he was back now, so what made him return?
“I need you to get him and bring him back.”
“He won’t do it,” Knight snapped. “Not until it’s done.”
“Until what’s done?” I argued. “Until he gets himself killed? Until your father finds redemption of some kind? Whatever’s going on, it’s bigger than he thought.”
“Then tell me what’s going on,” he spat out.
“I don’t really know,” I sighed. “Kavanaugh’s father is a senator. You know that. He made a deal with his father to work on the campaign trail in exchange for the names of the men who were supporting The Syndicate. Only, when the senator gave Kavanaugh the name, the guy gave him nothing. The senator said someone bigger was behind it. He said we wouldn’t be able to take them down, but if we still wanted the name, he required Kavanaugh to work with him until he won the presidency. Kavanaugh turned him down. He wasn’t willing to risk the heat it would bring down on everyone at the company for the information. And then Cash fired him for it.”
“Seriously?” Sebastian asked. “That doesn’t seem like Cash at all.”
“That’s what I’m telling you. It’s like he’s turned into Rafe. He’s so focused on revenge that nothing else exists. And now he’s gone. I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.”
Knight’s dark eyes slowly rose to meet mine. “What exactly are you asking me to do?”
I looked at Sebastian and then to Hunter. I knew it was asking a lot, but there was no one else to turn to. His father was just as hell-bent on getting revenge, and Rafe was dead. There was no one else who had a stake in this. And Fox had already done everything he could.
“I’m asking you to go after him. I’m asking you to save your brother.”
“You’re asking me to risk my own family,” he argued.
“Cash is your family.”
“Would you ask Cash to risk his life for me?”
“I wouldn’t have to,” I countered. “I’m not saying that to pressure you. I’m telling you that’s the kind of man Cash is. Or was. And I’m not judging you for your hesitation. What I’m asking is a lot. And I know what it could cost you. But…”
My chin quivered as tears welled in my eyes. I was so tired of fighting. Since the day Rafe died, nothing had been right. The man I loved, who had saved my life, was essentially a stranger. I didn’t know how to reach him, and he was so cruel when I tried. I was afraid that he was already too far gone for anyone to save him.
“We could put a team together,” Sebastian started.
“No,” Knight cut in. “Just me.”
“And me,” Hunter added. “Where you go, I go. That’s the way it’s always been.”
Knight nodded to him. “We’ll see what we can find.”
“Thank you,” I choked out, barely holding it together. I got the feeling the meeting was over, so I stood.
Then he surprised the hell out of me, walking over to me and wrapping me in his arms. “I’ll do everything I can.”
I held him tight, trying not to lose it as I sucked back the tears. But it felt so damn good to have Knight make such a promise. I knew if anyone could find him, it would be him.
I stepped back and wiped the tears from my face. “Thank you.”
“I guess we’re family now, right?”
“Are you sure this isn’t putting you out?” I asked Knight as we walked through the tunnels of Reed Security.
“Trust me, there’s plenty of space.”
As much as I didn’t want to impose, I was exhausted, and the thought of finding a hotel right now was just a little too much. As with everywhere else in this place—and just like at OPS—there was a code to get practically everywhere.
“This room only opens from the inside unless you have the code, so if you need to go out for a while, you’ll have to find one of us to let you back in.”
I nodded and followed him inside, then stared in wonder at the massive space around us. “Holy shit.”
I was standing in the enormous opening to a living area, but I could see beyond it to other areas, all of them open. Hallways spread out in every direction, leading to other doors, which I could only assume were rooms or offices.
“Like I said, we have plenty of space.”
“I can see that.” I still couldn’t believe it. “Why do you have all this?”
“Why do you have your operations set up in a missile silo?” he retorted.
“Yeah, but…this is like a base of operations in a base of operations.”
He didn’t respond as he moved past me to the right, leading me down a hallway. He pointed past me to the left. “The kitchen is that way. Mrs. Cartwright stays here and does all the cooking. She’ll help you with anything you need.”
My eyes widened as I spotted yet another living room that had to be twice the size of the first one. Lush couches and chairs filled the space and a TV was in the corner, hanging on the wall. This place was crazy.
“You can stay in this room,” he said, stopping and opening a door on the right. “None of the rooms have locks, but there aren’t that many people staying down here. Only the Cartwright’s, Isabelle, and the occasional guy who gets kicked out of the house for the night,” he smirked.
My breath caught in my throat, and I placed my hand on his without thinking. “Isabelle is here?”
“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head. “You didn’t know?”
“Cash never said. I assumed she was with her mother.”
He nodded, pushing the door open. “Claire was here for a while, but she had to go home and take care of a few things. She should be returning in a few days.”
I couldn’t believe Isabelle was here. After all this time, the woman who started this whole thing was just down the hall from me. It was insane. “How is she?”
Instead of looking at me, Knight studied the room as if he was looking for something. I glanced around, noting not a single thing was out of the ordinary. It looked perfect.
“She’s…getting by.” He finally turned, his eyes flicking to the door. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about it when she could walk by at any moment. “Mrs. Cartwright put fresh sheets on the bed and there should be everything you need in the bathroom. If you need clothes or anything, you’ll find some things in the closet. Hopefully, there’s something in your size.”
I had my bag with me, but the offer was so nice. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Well…I’ll leave you to it. I’m sure you’re exhausted. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
He stared at me for another moment before striding to the door and closing it behind him. Sighing, I plopped down on the bed and glanced around the room. A deep ache settled in my chest the moment Cash walked out the door. But the unease had been brewing since he returned, looking defeated and lost. I knew then that nothing would ever be the same. I just hadn’t expected the fallout to be this bad.
Of course, I hadn’t known from the beginning that he had been the one to kill his brother.
With all the heartache running through me, all I wanted was to take a shower and fall into bed and pass out. I flopped back on the bed, melting into the comfort of the mattress. It was like laying on a cloud. I snatched the pillow and tucked it under my head, sighing at how amazing it all was. I had to get up now before I fell asleep without cleaning up.
I quickly showered, brushing my hair as I wandered around the room. I couldn’t believe how nice this place was. They really thought of everything when they built this place. And the beds…I was going to have to find out where they got those.
Along with the pillows. If I wasn’t mistaken, they were hypoallergenic.
A deep rumble rippled through my belly as I wandered around the room. There was no way I would fall asleep when I was this hungry. I just hadn’t thought about food when I was too concerned with getting Knight on my side. But with that settled, all the other important things—like eating to stay alive—came rushing back to the forefront of my mind.
I opened the door, peeking out into the hallway. Knight said not many people stayed down here, but I still didn’t want to disturb anyone else. I glanced at my watch. It was past eleven. Hopefully, everyone would be asleep by now.
Sighing, I walked down the hall, peeking around corners as I went. The sitting areas were all empty and not a single sound followed me as I crept down the hallways. I found the kitchen easily enough and started digging through the fridge for something to eat, tempted by the dozens of containers, labeled with the most delicious meals. I pulled out the lasagna just as a voice startled me.
“I thought I would be the only one up at this time of night.”
I spun around, nearly dropping the container on the floor. Isabelle. I knew it as soon as I laid eyes on her. She was the right age and had that look in her eyes, the confused kind of lost expression that I felt deep in my soul. But did she know me?
I shook my head, realizing I was just staring at her. “Uh…hi. I’m Eva. You must be Isabelle.”
She stiffened immediately. “And why is that?”
“Because Knight said it was only you and an older couple down here. I figured you weren’t half of the older couple,” I smiled, hoping she found that humorous. He hadn’t actually told me that Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright were older, but I took a gamble on that. Why else would he address them that way?
“Eva. You’re visiting or…”
“Just here to see Knight,” I answered. “He offered to let me stay here for the night before I head home.”
She nodded. “How do you know Knight?”
Man, this was awkward. She didn’t know who I was. “Um…He’s my brother-in-law.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she cocked her head in thought.
“Cash is my husband,” I continued, not making her wait for the answer. “He’s?—”
“Rafe’s brother,” she finished for me. “I met Cash in the hospital. I don’t remember much. I was…on a lot of drugs.”
He told me as much, not that he gave me anything else to go on. I held up the container. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
I stuck it in the microwave as she grabbed plates, then waited awkwardly for the food to finish cooking. I didn’t know what to say to her. I had no clue what she knew or what she was comfortable talking about. I didn’t want to make things worse. But she was Cash’s family, and I wanted to be there for her in any way I could.
When the microwave dinged, I pulled the food out and set it between us on the counter. After digging out our portions, we both sat and ate in silence. The tension was too much that I finally set down my fork and just went for it.
“I came out here to talk with Knight because Cash left. He kind of lost it and went on some tirade in search of whoever was involved in helping The Syndicate. And now I need Knight to go find him and drag him home before he does something stupid and gets himself killed.”
She slowly set down her fork, swallowing her food before clearing her throat. “Wow, that’s…He just left?”
I nodded once. “He hasn’t been the same since Rafe died.” I let out a humorless laugh. “As his wife, you would have thought I would have known the reason behind such grief, but he kept me in the dark the whole time.”
“What was it?” she asked curiously.
My eyes met hers. “He pulled the trigger and killed Rafe. He was being burned alive, so it was a mercy, but still…It’s eating him alive, and he didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”
“Or he felt he couldn’t,” she offered. “Maybe…maybe it had nothing to do with you. We all hide things for different reasons.”
I cocked my head to the side, studying her for a moment. “What do you hide?”
Her smile was dim as she looked at her plate. “Too many things.”
“I can only imagine.” Not that I thought my experiences would help her in any way—in fact, they were quite different—but maybe they would help. “I met Cash at a very low point in my life. I was on the run from some very bad men, and I really didn’t think I would live another year. But he just wouldn’t let me go. He kept pushing and pushing because he’s like that,” I huffed. “And he wouldn’t give in until he broke down my walls and practically forced me to trust him and his whole merry gang of misfits.”
“What is he like?”
“Cash? He’s…strong, loyal, fierce?—”
“He sounds like a dog,” she retorted.
I smiled because I did describe him in a bad way. “I don’t know. He’s very determined to make everyone happy and keep them going in the right direction. And he loves his business and keeping all of his men safe. It absolutely kills him when something goes wrong on his watch, which is why this thing with Rafe is tearing him up inside. But he’s also funny when he’s relaxed. He likes to joke with the guys, even when he’s on the job. They have this tendency to pick on each other in heated moments and get into arguments over the stupidest things at the worst times,” I smiled, remembering how I argued with him over getting on the horse when we were escaping Jones’s house. Okay, maybe it wasn’t just him.
“He sounds great,” she said, reaching across the table to grip my hand.
Tears pricked my eyes at the contact and I sucked in a breath, squeezing her hand. “He is.”
“If anyone can get him to come home, it’s Knight.”
I smiled at her as my lips trembled. I pressed my fingers to them, hoping to stop myself from breaking down in tears. “I hope so.”