Tangled In Lies (Tangled & Torn #1)

38. Evangeline

Chapter 38

Evangeline

D espite still feeling lousy, I go rigid the moment my brain registers not just the words spoken behind me but also the voice. On the outside, I’m utterly paralyzed. On the inside, fear threatens to squash my chest in a tight fist. My heart is rapping against my ribs so violently, it’s ringing in my ears.

My breaths come in quick, rasping inhales, and I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping against all odds when I open them again, I’m at home tucked away safely in Phoenix’s arms where he’ll hold me the entire time I tell him about my nightmare.

But when I blink them open again, nothing has changed. Phoenix is now sitting behind me but still tied to the bed like an animal. Just like me. He’s giving me the saddest look I’ve ever seen, as if he knows what I just did in my head, and he’s devastated for me. With me. Because, surely, he doesn’t want to be here anymore than I do.

A metallic sound vibrates at the bottom of the bed. I flinch, snapping my gaze toward the noise. I immediately wish I hadn’t.

Tyler, my Tyler, stands mere feet away from me, watching us with a broad smile and unmistakable glee in his eyes.

“Evie, I’m so happy you’re awake. Sorry about the circumstances, but we’re all finally together. At last.” He paces the length of the bed, never taking his gaze off us once.

I track him with my eyes like he does, and his smile widens.

Am I hallucinating? This cannot be real. No. I . . . no.

My brain is trying to make sense of this, but I’ve got nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“Ty, what’s going on? Let us go, please. Whatever it is you want, you’ll get it. Anything. Please?” My voice isn’t as strong as I’d like, but who am I kidding? I barely got the words through my trembling lips.

Phoenix stiffens at my words, and I’m unsure if it’s because I said anything at all or because of what I said.

Tyler stops and regards me with pouty lips. “Aww, Evie, thank you for asking so nicely. But I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

The backs of my eyes burn at his reply.

Never in a million years would I have thought this guy, my friend, would do anything to me.

Not just your friend, but your friends. Plural.

I’m not even remotely stable enough to think about Ruby right now, and I’m glad she’s not with him at this moment.

I try to focus on Phoenix’s breathing to get my own under control. He’s glaring daggers at Tyler, which I’m sure isn’t helping our situation, but I can’t blame him either. It’s not every day you get kidnapped by people you considered your friends for years. Well, for me, at least. They’re my friends, not Phoenix’s.

I drag my attention away from my fiancé and focus on the real problem, trying to keep the panic at bay that wants to creep up my chest. “Why are you doing this, Ty? What do you want?”

“What do I want?” Tyler repeats my question in a mocking tone. He drags a chair across the floor and sits. “There are so many things I want. Most importantly, I want you to suffer. You both deserve everything that’s been happening to you.”

The sluggishness caused from the injection is still lingering, but my brain is fighting to catch up. A beat later, the word he says finally sets in. “You called . . . you called me?—”

Tyler chuckles. “Ah, yes. I called you pet.”

“No . . . no. That’s impossible.” The puzzle pieces rearrange in my brain until they form one really messy and horrifying picture. Even though I don’t want to, I let go of Phoenix and push into a sitting position. I need at least a little bit of control. Even if it’s nothing more than an illusion at best. “ You’re behind all the messages? All the . . . all the . . .”

“I will fucking kill you.” Phoenix growls next to me and yanks at his chain.

My lungs struggle for air, but there’s no oxygen. Soon after, it all sinks in, and I can’t hold back the violent tremors that shake my entire body. “You . . . you killed my sister.”

My breaths come too fast. Inhale, inhale, inhale.

Phoenix rattles the entire bed frame so hard, I shift on the mattress several times .

Tyler watches us with an amused smile.

I bite back the sobs that want to break free because Tyler doesn’t deserve the satisfaction of watching me break down. He won’t take more from me than he already has.

My sister.

Phoenix going to prison.

All those years I lived in fear for myself and my friends.

My engagement to Phoenix.

The explosion.

Thinking it was over when the police arrested Ben.

How stupid.

How utterly, utterly stupid.

All the while the real monster was right in front of me, watching the puppet show he created from the front row. My friend. My best friend’s boyfriend.

Bile rises in my throat, and I barely turn my head in time to puke over the edge of the bed. I heave until my stomach is empty. Saliva drips out of my mouth while I try to catch my breath.

Footsteps come closer.

Someone pulls my hair hard enough for my head to snap back. Tyler’s face appears only inches from mine. “Maybe things would have gone differently if you had listened back then.”

“Take your fucking hands off of her.” Phoenix’s voice is menacing, and the bed shakes like we’re in the middle of an earthquake.

Staring at Tyler, and into his familiar hazel eyes that are now filled with nothing but darkness, I let words slip free that I’ve never let myself say, let alone think. “It is not my fault she’s dead. It is not my fault. You killed her. You . ”

I don’t just say them, I yell them. Right in his face.

I was holding on to that guilt, to that grief, for so long it became a living part of me. Always clinging to me, a shadow weighing me down. And now, that heavy weight slowly lifts off my shoulders.

Tyler lets go of my hair and shoves me back toward the mattress.

The air stalls in my lungs.

With his hands in his pockets, he stares at me with narrowed eyes.

My skin crawls.

The corners of his mouth lift into a poor imitation of a smile. “I don’t care what you tell yourself, but it was your choice. You played with your sister’s life, and you lost. I only did what I had to. You made me kill her. You .”

One beat.

Two beats.

Three beats.

“You’re a fucking monster.” A scream rips from my throat.

I yank on my restraints to grab him, but he jumps out of reach. The metal bites into my skin, trying to bury itself deep in my flesh. I welcome the pain and the anger that comes with it. It doesn’t burden me like the fear and panic. Instead, it fuels me.

I want to kill him.

I have to kill him.

If Phoenix and I make it out of here alive, I know deep down in my soul that Tyler won’t.

And that’s a promise I intend to keep.

Tyler’s headshake is accompanied by a crazy smile. “ Well, as much fun as this was, I’ve got things to do. But I’ll be back later so we can talk more. Try to behave until then.” He strolls toward the door and says, “Babe, clean up the mess she made.”

And then he’s gone, leaving behind a wreckage that is invisible to the naked eye.

My entire body shakes, convulsing. My mind isn’t helping either, replaying what just happened in a loop.

Ruby walks in with a bucket and some wipes, jolting me out of my appalling thoughts.

I stare at my best friend in utter disbelief, lost for words until betrayal takes over and the pounding in my ears becomes almost unbearable. “Ruby, what the fuck is going on? Get us out of here. Now.”

She glances at me, her eyes shining with tears, and shakes her head the tiniest bit.

A bead of sweat runs down my nape. I’m struggling, trying to keep my hysterical emotions under control. But it’s no use. They bubble to the surface, and I yell, “Is he forcing you to do this? For fuck’s sake, Ruby. Help us. Please.”

When I think she might finally say something, she lowers her head and ignores me, cleaning my vomit in silence.

I want to shake her and scream in frustration.

Why the hell isn’t she helping us?

Did I do something wrong for her to do something stupid like this? Is this the universe getting back at me for keeping so many secrets from her? Or is this about Phoenix and me? It would make sense since we’re both here, both stuck in this fucked-up situation.

Phoenix told me Ruby drugged me and helped Tyler kidnap both of us, but I still can’t believe it. None of this can be real.

She drugged me.

My best friend.

She had tears in her eyes when she just looked at you.

Shit. She’d never do something like this willingly. I refuse to believe that.

I sense Phoenix’s presence behind me, offering me silent support.

He probably wants to yell at Ruby too, but he also knows the chances of her talking to me are much higher than his.

Lowering my voice, I tell myself to stay collected and try one more time. “Ruby, please. Talk to me.”

I watch her for a sign, anything.

But nothing.

Without another word or glance, she leaves. I fall back onto the bed in a mix of anger, fear, and hysteria, staring at the ceiling and trying my hardest to calm down my erratic heartbeat and shaking limbs.

“Angel.”

My name is barely a whisper and laced with pain; the anger Phoenix showed Tyler gone now that it’s just us.

Without uttering a word, I turn toward him and shuffle as close as my restraints allow. I’m forced to stop with several inches between our heads, but at least I can intertwine my fingers with his.

My wrists burn from yanking on my cuffs, and one quick look at Phoenix’s wrists confirms we have matching red marks.

Being able to touch him is the only remnant of peace I have left in this fucked-up mess .

Phoenix holds on to me like he’s afraid I’ll disappear the moment he lets go.

I know the sentiment.

I don’t ever want to let go of him either.

There’s so much turmoil in his eyes, it’s almost painful to see, but I don’t avert my gaze. At least the pain means he’s here with me, and while I should feel nothing but regret and devastation over his presence, I’m not strong enough to cling to anything but comfort and relief.

We might not make it out of here alive.

The terrifying thought hits my mind. A sledgehammer out to obliterate me.

No, no, no. No matter how much truth is in that one small sentence, I can’t think like that. Tyler will let us go. He has to. He wouldn’t really hurt us, would he?

He killed your sister.

Fuck.

My stomach churns, but I push the nausea down.

Phoenix rubs over the back of my hand, attempting to smile. “Tyler installed cameras, so he’s probably watching us. Are you okay?”

Of course he’s watching us. Considering everything he knows about me, about us, he probably has for years.

I swallow and nod. “Other than waiting to wake up from yet another nightmare? Yeah. Just a little headache and some nausea.”

I take him in, cringing when I get another glimpse of the red marks on his wrists. They are a lot worse than mine. “You’re hurt.”

Another brush of his fingers. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Even better once we’ re out of here.”

A shiver courses through me, my clammy skin cooling off.

“You think he’ll let us go?” My voice breaks, and I hate it. I want to be calm and collected, I want to be smart and savvy and figure out how to get us out of here. But fear clogs my brain, and it is hard to focus on anything else.

“I don’t know if he will.” Phoenix brushes his lips against my palm. “But he will pay for everything he did, I can promise you that.”

I bite my lip to keep it from wobbling. “Yes.”

My eyes sting, but I still refuse to let a single tear escape, holding on to them like they’re my choice of rebellion.

Phoenix lets go of my hands and cups my face instead. “I can see your brain going a mile a minute, so I want you to listen to me very carefully right now.”

I nod, placing my hands over his to savor as much of this connection as possible.

“I need you here with me, and there’s no room for any of the guilt you’re feeling. I don’t blame you for anything that happened, and you can’t change a damn thing either, regardless of how much you beat yourself up over it. It takes you away from me, and I won’t allow it. I’m here, and I’ve got you. You can let go of all of it. You hear me? I. Got. You.”

I blink at him, ignoring the taste of copper in my mouth that’s slowly been collecting from biting my lip so hard.

His fingers move to my mouth, gently prying my lip from my grasp. “Once we’re out of here, I want us to go after what we really want because I’m done denying myself. Life keeps leading me back to you because you’re my end goal, my ultimate destination. I want you by my side forever, as my wife, and I cannot wait to show you how much I love you every single day until we’re old and gray. It’s you and me, Angel.”

One tear slips out at his declaration. Phoenix lets it roll down my cheek and presses a gentle kiss to the back of my hand.

“I love you so much.” Five whispered words are all I’m capable of getting out, but they are the most important words.

Phoenix’s eyes brighten at my words. “I wanted to make you mine from the first time I saw you. I was delusional to think I could ever fight this pull between us. Even when I hated you, I still loved you.”

Pain blossoms in my chest at his words because I know exactly what he’s talking about. But just as quickly as the pain started, it’s receding, extinguished by something much bigger, much more powerful. Trust. Trust in Phoenix. Trust in us. And trust in our love.

We’ve gone through so much, and we will not end here. We still have the rest of our story to write, and I will fight for every single word of it.

This little burst of hope is enough to calm the panic inside me. I’m sure it won’t last for long, but I take any peace it offers me.

Phoenix raises my hands back to his mouth, peppering them with more kisses. The gesture is so comforting that a yawn escapes me.

He frowns at me. “You look exhausted. I wouldn’t be surprised if you still had some leftover drugs in your system.”

I yawn again. “I feel like I got run over by a bus.”

“Try and get some sleep. I won’t let anything happen to you. ”

I know he can’t keep that promise, regardless of how much he wants to, but I nod anyway and close my eyes.

My thoughts are too loud, and just when I’m about to give up and open my eyes again, Phoenix brushes over my hands. I focus on the repetitive strokes, which slowly drown out my thoughts.

I wake up to yelling and pain.