Tangled In Lies (Tangled & Torn #1)

22. Phoenix

Chapter 22

Phoenix

P er hospital protocol, a nurse is accompanying us to the car, pushing Evangeline in a wheelchair next to me. Their snail’s pace is testing every ounce of my self-control, and it takes all my willpower not to toss Evangeline over my shoulder and run to the waiting car with her.

My only goal is to get her safely into the car and away from the hospital as quickly as possible. To get her home and hide her away. Especially after someone sent her another bouquet of wilted roses. Eve’s pretending it’s not a big deal, but I can see right through it. Would she act the same if she knew I’m aware this wasn’t the first one she got?

Better question yet, how would she act if she knew what Holden found on her mirrored phone?

We finally make it to the garage, where my best friend is already waiting for us next to a shiny new blacked-out SUV. I’ve never bought a vehicle as fast as I bought this one. When I was going to ask Holden to take care of it, he showed me three different models and told me to pick one .

There’s no way in hell I would have any of us set foot in a vehicle that isn’t the safest one out there, bombproof and all.

He sees us and steps forward.

Evangeline lets go of my hand, and I instantly miss the contact.

We’re only a few feet away from the car, and the nurse stops. Evangeline takes that as a green light, gets up, and speed-walks to Holden.

The two of them embrace like long-lost friends, and even though I logically understand there’s nothing between them, and we’ve all just gone through some trauma, I still don’t like seeing her in another man’s arms.

I huff an annoyed breath and shoot daggers in my best friend’s direction.

Holden sees it and rolls his eyes, whispering something to Evangeline. He opens the car door for her, but she hesitates, staring at the car like she’s never seen one before.

I step up behind her, shoving Holden out of the way. Not so subtly either.

Evangeline shoots me a glare over her shoulder but doesn’t comment. Holden brought her one of my shirts and the smallest sweats he could find in my closet. I don’t think that’s what she had in mind when she asked for something comfortable and baggy, but she didn’t complain either. Neither did I, because for some strange reason, I like seeing her in my clothes.

I put my hand on her arm. “You can get in. I promise it’s safe.”

“It’s the best armored vehicle on the market right now. We would never risk your life,” Holden chimes in.

She flinches and nods, staring at the ground.

Holden and I exchange a look.

Did we say something wrong?

Without another word, she steps up to the car, ducks her head, and slowly slides into the back seat, just like the doctor told her to.

Too bad, I have zero patience for it.

Something I have to deal with somehow.

I get in after her and shut the door while Holden slides into the front.

Our gazes meet in the rearview mirror.

“Is everything ready?” I ask.

He nods. “Yup. Just like we talked about.”

A glance at Evangeline confirms she’s buckled in. “Perfect. Let’s go then.”

Focusing on something other than Evangeline is nearly impossible. Her presence alone is a distraction, but now we also have the recent events hanging over us like a dark cloud. It’s enormous and depressing, and hiding so many secrets it will inevitably hit us with a storm.

Evangeline and I are like that: two lives intermingled across so many paths, our lives could never be entirely disentangled.

Movement draws my attention to her fingers as she taps them rhythmically on her right leg. The motion is soft but fast until it stops.

What I wouldn’t give to hear her play again.

“Hold,” Evangeline sits up straighter in her seat, “did you bring my phone by any chance? Phoenix said you got a new one for me.”

He clears his throat and gazes at me for a second, glancing her way when he’s at a red light. “It’s in your room. ”

“Oh.” Her shoulders slump.

“Sorry, Princess. I wanted to bring it but then forgot.”

The light turns green, and he focuses back on the road.

She waves him off. “No worries. Thanks for taking care of it for me, I appreciate it.”

“Of course.” He pauses. “Ruby wants you to call her when you can.”

I’ve given up on stealth and switched to openly watching her conversation with Holden. It’s so different from how our conversations go. They talk like two ordinary people, almost like . . . friends.

The way she and I used to talk.

Even though it was only several years ago, it feels like a lifetime.

But then, time goes by differently in prison.

I learned that one real quick.

But it gave Holden and me a lot of time to figure out my revenge plan. Maybe too much time. He was actually the one who suggested I should marry Evangeline. It was a joke at first, but then we realized how much she’d hate being my wife after the past we share.

We laughed about how ironic it would be for her to put me in prison, only to end up bound to me for the rest of her life. The situation would offer me unlimited access to her, allowing me to infiltrate her life and brain to figure out how to hurt her the most.

Now, I can confidently say that might have been the stupidest idea we’ve ever had.

Holden seems to be friends with her.

And me?

I have no clue what Evangeline and I are .

A mess, that’s for sure.

I wouldn’t consider us friends—though I’m not sure we were ever truly friends anyway—but I also haven’t considered us enemies for a while either. This last week has changed everything I thought about her, about us. Now it’s all upside down. To top it off, she just saved my life, and at this point, I’m pretty sure she didn’t call the police that fateful night out of hate either.

There’s still a mountain of lies and secrets between us, but somehow, we might have started to carve a small pathway toward each other. It’s not an easy path to maneuver, and I’m sure we’ll hit plenty of roadblocks along the way, but maybe, just maybe, there’s a microscopic chance we could end up in a good spot together.

But first, I need answers. And I have to get Evangeline to give them to me. I need her to be the one who tells me what happened. I don’t know why that’s so important; I just know it is.

We wind up the driveway, and she exhales audibly. I don’t blame her. Even though I know the entire house and property have been turned over with a fine-tooth comb and deemed as safe and secure as possible, I can’t suppress the slight pressure that settles on my chest either when we drive past the house to park in the garage.

Holden pushes the button that closes the garage door behind us and gets out.

I look at Evangeline, making sure I have her attention. “I had the best security teams out here to ensure it’s all safe, you hear me? You are mine to protect, and I will never let anything happen to you again.”

She nods, but I can’t disregard how she chews on the corner of her bottom lip or how her hands have stopped drumming, both now clenched into tight fists.

I exit the car and open the door on her side. She blinks up at me with her big eyes but doesn’t move.

Only when I offer her my hand does she slowly unclench her fingers to put them around my waiting palm. Her grip on me is tight, but I don’t say anything about it, not even when she stands next to me and still holds on to me like her life depends on it.

She just went through something traumatic, we both did.

And I’m not here to judge her or tell her how to feel about it.

If it wasn’t for her concussion and the headache she’s been plagued by, I would have demanded answers at the hospital the second Holden told me what he’d discovered. And while it’s killing me to wait even longer, I’ll give her tonight to rest, but tomorrow all bets are off. At this point, figuring out this shit show—who’s trying to kill us but also what the hell we are—is the only thing I can think about.

She tilts her head back to gaze at me. “Could you take me to my room, please? I think I need to lie down.”

I dip my head. “Of course. Huxley made sure you have everything you need, and I’ll have him get some food ready for you, okay?”

Her throat bobs with a swallow. “I’d like that, thank you.”

“Anything in particular?”

She thinks about it, then we both blurt out, “Waffles!”

Her cheeks turn a soft pink, and I huff a surprised breath.

Holden comes up behind us. “Waffles? First pancakes, and now waffles? Do I even want to know?”

For a moment, Evangeline and I stare at each other with our gazes locked. The corners of her eyes crinkle slightly, and I can’t look away.

She’s so damn beautiful.

The second the thought races through my mind, she breaks eye contact and focuses on Holden.

“Waffles used to be my go-to food. I don’t know why I was so obsessed with them, but I could eat them morning, noon, and night. Blueberry, plain, or chocolate chip. You name it, I loved them all.”

“She went through phases where she ate them with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles or bacon and melted cheese.” My voice is quiet.

There’s a rare peaceful expression on her beautiful face.

These memories are from an easier time, from a time in our lives when there was a real possibility of us ending up together, where I wanted more from her and told myself there might be a way to make it work. If anyone had told me she’d be the reason I ended up in prison one day, I’d have called them delusional and possibly punched them in the face for saying it in the first place.

But then, she’d probably feel the same if the roles were reversed and someone had predicted my engagement to her sister.

I didn’t think I’d ever want to talk to Evangeline about Connie, but maybe I should. Unless I’m mistaken, she doesn’t seem to know what happened between her sister and me.

Evangeline snorts, staring at Holden with her nose wrinkled. “Of course, the bacon and melted cheese was only on the plain waffle, you monster. I wasn’t that gross with my concoctions.”

Holden grins at her and hums under his breath.

Evangeline shakes her head at him and winces. “Ah, damn it, I forgot about my headache.”

Like that, the bubble we escaped in for a few minutes pops, and we’re back to reality. Back to where we’re both injured. Since Evangeline got it worse than I did, I squeeze her hand and pull her after me into the house.

“You need to rest.”

With her solemn expression firmly back in place, she whispers, “Okay.”

Holden stays on the first level to check in with the security team while I walk up the stairs. At the top of them, I have the inexplicable urge to turn right to go to my bedroom, but I ignore it and swivel left to the other wing.

We enter her room, and she immediately stops, letting her gaze roam across everything.

I don’t see anything amiss, so I ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s the same. It’s weird.”

Realization sinks in. “But nothing feels the same anymore.”

She sighs. “Yeah.”

While Holden took care of the mess out front, and our injuries will heal over the next few days and weeks, the place that suffered the most significant trauma is invisible to the naked eye. It’s impossible to know how long those wounds will take to heal. The doubt, the fear, the confusion, the anger. No one can see that damage, but from the sound of it, Evangeline feels the change too. The essential makeup of myself, the person I thought I was, changed the second she threw herself at me and that bomb went off.

Many people deal with near-death experiences, but I’m not entirely sure what to make of mine or how to handle it.

Evangeline tugs her hand back, and I let go of it, instantly missing the connection when her fingers slip free from mine.

At the hospital, she told me she didn’t want me to die and she was sorry.

My reaction was to kiss her.

If there was ever a fucked-up relationship, it’s ours.

She goes to the nightstand and picks up the new cell phone. Glancing at me. Swiping across the screen. “Thanks again for this.”

I take that as my cue to leave. “Of course. I’ll make sure you’ll get some food. Let us know if you need anything.”

I want to say, “Let me know if you need anything,” but I don’t. I’m not sure where that ridiculous need to take care of her suddenly comes from, but it’s loud and persistent. Just like it used to be when we were younger.

After knowing her for so long, I knew I could never get rid of my memories of her, but I thought my old feelings had successfully vanished with her betrayal. It turns out I was wrong, and they were only dormant this entire time, waiting for the first sunlight to kiss their skin so they could bloom once again.

“Thank you, Phoenix.”

“No problem.” I nod and step out of her room, forcing myself to walk away.

This is the first time I’m leaving her side since they allowed me into her hospital room, and it’s almost painful to put distance between us. What if something happens to her while I’m gone? A few years ago, especially when the anger was fresh and taking over my brain, I would have said “good” and run the other way without looking back.

But I can’t pretend that’s who I am anymore. Despite my revenge plan, by the time I was released, my need for retribution was a mere baby flame compared to the inferno it was when I first learned about Evangeline’s involvement in my arrest. Seeing her hasn’t helped either, spending time with her even less. Holden and I suspected something wasn’t right soon after she moved in here. What complicates things further is that, at her core, she still seems to be the same sweet girl I had a thing for when we were younger.

Holden waits at the landing for me, intercepting my frustrating attempt to organize my thoughts. “Office.”

I follow him, going straight to the liquor cabinet to pour both of us a drink. The amber liquid burns down my throat, and I welcome the sting.

Holden drains the contents in one go as well, sighing loudly when he puts the glass back on the tray. “Much better.”

He leans back against the large bookshelf and crosses his arms. “How’s she doing?”

I shrug. “Honestly? No clue. The doctor doesn’t expect any complications, so she’ll be okay physically and should be back to normal in a week or two with plenty of rest. She was lucky.”

I close my eyes, pushing away images of the explosion and how badly things could have ended.

“You both got lucky. Phoenix?—”

I stare at my best friend. Waiting. “Show me.”

He pulls two black phones out of the top drawer of the desk. They’re identical, except one of them has a note stuck between the phone and the clear case on the backside that says “old.”

His fingers fly across the screen of the old mirrored phone, and after a few seconds, he hands it to me. “This is the text message she got right before the explosion. It’s the reason you’re still standing here.”

My fingers squeeze the hard material as I read the words on the screen, then reread them.

Freddy

What a shame to have that beautiful black car blown to pieces in a minute. Your fiancé could be gone alongside it, solving all your problems at once. Decisions, decisions. Tick tock, pet.

With my gaze still on the message, I say, “What. The. Fuck?”

Holden told me about the message when he found it but didn’t mention the exact wording.

“I know.” He goes back to crossing his massive arms over his chest. “I took apart the entire phone—the trash, the cloud, everything. This is the only message I could find from that sender. Of course, the number is untraceable, probably a burner phone, but it’s saved in her contacts under that name, which makes me think this might not be the first time they contacted her.”

“Why would someone plant a bomb on my car but then warn her with enough time to save me?” My head is spinning with this new information. “It makes no sense.”

“It doesn’t, no.” He shakes his head, and a deep frown creases his forehead. “Also, the message only shows on the old phone, but it’s gone on the new one. And it transferred everything else one to one, which makes me think these messages from him vanish, but this one somehow got captured. Maybe a glitch because of the explosion.”

“That would explain why you couldn’t find anything else from him anywhere.”

“Yup.” His frown deepens. “If we want to figure out what’s going on, we need to get her to talk.”