Tangled In Lies (Tangled & Torn #1)

40. Evangeline

Chapter 40

Evangeline

M y eyes fly open, and I start.

“What was that noise?” I stare straight at Phoenix, and his wide eyes mirror mine.

Unease darts through my body, and I hastily glance over my shoulder to see if someone’s behind me.

My poor heart. I’m not sure how much more of this stress and anxiety it can take.

Tyler is responsible for this entire fucking mess. Everything that happened in the last few years, everything that led to this moment, it was all him. He changed my life in ways that can never be reversed or amended, and this entire time, he was my friend. At least, that’s what he made me believe.

I blow out a breath and turn back to Phoenix to give him a small smile. “Hi.”

He smiles back at me, reaching out to caress my cheek. “Hey.”

This is what I need to focus on. My person. He’s here with me, and I don’t have to go through this hell alone. Not this time .

I have him to touch, to talk to, and to tell me stories like last night.

I don’t remember falling asleep during his story, but I remember the warmth in my chest when I shut everything out and listened to his silly, over-the-top version of our fairy tale. Of course, we had a happily ever after. I wouldn’t accept any other option.

Loud footsteps bounce down the stairs, and our moment of peace is gone. When the person gets closer, obnoxious whistling immediately identifies Tyler.

The weight on my chest grows heavier with each approaching footstep, and I inhale deeply in an attempt to lighten it. It doesn’t work.

Phoenix is quiet next to me, both of us listening and anticipating what will happen next. Not knowing what nefarious thing Tyler might do. Not knowing if we’ll survive to see another day. It’s its own kind of torture.

With every footstep, my heart beats faster, harder, louder, and I hear my heartbeat everywhere. In my ears, my throat, even my mouth. It’s loud. Suffocating.

Everything I thought about Tyler clearly went out the window, and now he’s as predictable as any other psychopath. Ergo, not one single bit.

And to think I had . . . I did . . . with him. No, I can’t.

“Rise and shine, my friends. It’s your big day.” Tyler strides into the room and claps, stopping at the foot of the bed with a big grin.

Every time I see him, it’s like a brutal slap to the face. For years, Tyler played not just with my life but also with Phoenix’s, and threatened my friends’ lives, with my sister paying the ultimate price .

“What are you talking about?” Phoenix sends Tyler such a murderous glare, I’m disappointed he doesn’t drop dead.

“Aww, come on. It’s a surprise.” Tyler raises his arms, the gun gleaming in the sunlight.

I swallow and move as far away from the edge of the bed as possible.

I don’t like the gun or that nothing Tyler deems a surprise will be good.

“Evie, you’re up first since you’ll take longer.” He walks to the head of the bed and uncuffs me.

“No, Tyler. Please. I . . . please let us go.” My voice breaks as I shake my head and try to scoot back even farther.

Phoenix twists and gets on his knees, glaring at Tyler. “Come on, Tyler. We’ll forget this ever happened.”

He scoffs. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Let’s go, Evie.”

Phoenix’s nostrils flare. “Where are you taking her?”

“Down, boy.” Tyler shoots Phoenix a pointed look, grabs my chain, and hauls me up. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring her back in one piece because Evie will be a good girl.” He lifts the gun to my face and brushes the cool metal over my skin in a disturbing caress. “Won’t you, Evie?”

My entire body shakes uncontrollably but I manage a nod, not daring to take my eyes off Tyler and his gun.

I don’t ever want one this close to my face again.

He finally lowers it and moves backward toward the doorway, pulling me with him.

“Please, Ty.” My eyes sting.

Tyler ignores me.

He winks at Phoenix before he walks out of the room. “I’ll be back for you soon. Behave until then. ”

I cast one worried look at Phoenix, who’s standing beside the bed now, his chain extended as far as it goes.

“Tyler, touch her and you’ll die,” he yells, his face contorted in a mixture of terror and fury.

I’m propelled through the doorway.

Tyler chuckles and leans close to me as if we’re sharing a joke. “I think he hasn’t quite grasped this concept of captor and prisoner, has he?”

My chest rises and falls with rapid breaths while Tyler leads me up the stairs. Instead of stopping in the kitchen, he yanks me up another flight to the second level.

Where is he taking me?

He’s not going to do anything to me, is he?

My scalp prickles at the horrible thought, and my breaths quicken.

A loud noise comes from behind a closed door, and Tyler kicks it. “Stop the drama, Mason, or I’m going to do something worse than just gag you.”

Nausea pools in my belly.

Mason. Mason is in there. And Tyler gagged him.

A harsh yank at my chain propels me forward, almost tripping me.

Tyler leads me into the room at the end of the hallway, a spacious, orange-and-red bedroom that appears to be the main bedroom. Ruby shoots up from the small chaise at the foot of the bed, wringing her hands in front of her.

What is she doing here?

Their gazes briefly meet before she averts hers, her hair covering half her face.

“She’s all yours, babe. You know what to do, right?” Tyler watches Ruby nod before he grasps my left hand. “You’ll look spectacular.”

With the gun still in one hand, he gets something out of his pocket with the other and gives it to Ruby.

I gasp when I see it’s a small key. “Wh-what’s going on?”

Ruby unlocks my handcuffs with trembling hands.

Tyler smiles at me widely. “Surprise, Evie. It’s your wedding day. You’re going to get married.”

He puts the key back in his right pocket, and I watch him like a hawk. Right pocket. I need to remember that. Maybe there’ll be a chance later to take it from him?

Tyler’s words crash into my thoughts.

Surprise, Evie. It’s your wedding day. You’re going to get married.

Black dots dance across my vision, and I try to blink them away. A wave of dizziness follows, and I reach out to steady myself. Unfortunately, Tyler is closest to me, and I grab his arm. I want to flinch away from the contact, but my survival instinct has taken over to keep me from fainting. I don’t ever want him to catch me unconscious. Who knows what he’ll do to me.

Tyler frowns at me, holding on to me with both arms. “Don’t worry. Everyone is nervous on their big day, and Ruby is here to help you get ready. I worked very hard to get my officiant license and a marriage license for you guys. It’ll be great.”

I shrink away from him and shield my body with my hands. “A marriage license?”

He gives me one of his twisted smiles. “Yeah, for you and Phoenix. Don’t you want to get married?”

“Phoenix and I are getting married?” I mutter the words more to myself, unable to wrap my head around this situation.

Why would Tyler want Phoenix and me to get married? To the extent that he gets an officiant license so he can do the ceremony? Is this another one of his twisted games? Marry us before he kills us?

It feels like the walls are shifting closer, and the desire to puke all over him is almost too strong to resist.

“Well, I’m going to leave you ladies to it.” He trains his gaze on Ruby. “I’ll be back to check on you guys. You know the rules. Don’t disappoint me.”

She nods, and he pats her head. Ruby closes her eyes and shudders in response. Her hair shifts to the side with the movement, revealing a split lip and the beginning of a bruise forming on her cheek. I press my lips together to keep from gasping out loud. He put his hands on her.

What I wouldn’t give to push Tyler away from her, to slap him, or to force him to feel even a fraction of the pain and chaos he’s caused in the last few years. To make him pay.

No, that wouldn’t be enough. I want him dead. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone in my life, not even hit them. But Tyler? My Freddy? I need him dead. I have to know he’ll never be able to hurt another soul ever again.

He leaves the room with a wave, and the door lock clicks from the outside.

I frown at Ruby, opening my mouth to say something, but she shakes her head and points around the room.

Cameras.

I spot three at first glance, but who knows how many more there are?

This fucking asshole.

I nod to tell her I understand and take several deep breaths, trying to calm down as much as possible now that Tyler isn’t around. I need to use this time wisely, get as much info out of Ruby as possible. Maybe she has an idea. Maybe we can figure out together how to get out of here.

“Let’s get you cleaned up. The bathroom is over here.” She points at the door on the side of the room.

Ruby leads me to the bathroom where she disappears behind a stone partition in the back. My hands grow sweaty, and I wipe my damp palms on my leggings when the shower turns on.

A shower. Only a shower.

Ruby comes back and hands me a toothbrush.

I stare at it, and Ruby says, “It’s new.”

“I’m sorry.” The apology flies from my lips, but Ruby shakes her head.

“ You have nothing to apologize for.”

I want to say, “Oh, but I do. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess,” but I’ll save that conversation for another day.

Telling her I’ve been a shitty friend for the last few years, and that I’ve been keeping a million secrets from her, won’t do me any good right now. Especially since I still don’t even know what’s going on.

I shove the toothbrush into my mouth and try to get a handle on my emotions.

After seeing the camera lineup in the bedroom, there may be more in the bathroom.

Ruby and I stare at each other as foam builds in my mouth.

Her throat moves on a swallow. “After your shower, I’ll help you with your makeup, hair, and dress. I also have some water and food for you in the bedroom. We have three hours.”

I lean over the sink to spit out my toothpaste and rinse my mouth.

Ruby hands me a hand towel. “There’s a small toilet room in the back, opposite the shower.” She flinches. “Sorry, I probably should have told you that first.”

“No worries.” I put the towel down and take care of business before returning to Ruby.

A silent exchange occurs between us, and I take off my clothes, drop them on the floor, and step into the shower.

Yes, it’s a bit weird, but being naked in front of Ruby right now is the least of my problems.

Once my hair is wet, I grab the shampoo bottle, but Ruby beats me to it. “Turn around. Let me do it.”

I do as she says, stepping back to block most of the water from her.

She’s close enough for me to feel her warm breath on my shoulder.

“I don’t know what to do, Evie. He has his gun around me nonstop. Earlier, he . . . he tried to kiss me, and I cringed out of reflex. He backhanded me so hard I thought my cheekbone broke.”

That explains the mark on her face and the split lip.

Sniffles break through her uneven breaths. All I want to do is turn around, wrap her in my arms, and tell her everything will be okay. But I don’t do it. I can’t. The last thing we need right now is to make things worse. The fact Tyler hit her when she refused to kiss him is bad enough, and we don’t want to escalate his behavior .

I exhale loudly, the hold on my emotions slipping after her confession. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am that you got dragged into all of this, Ruby. Truly.”

“It’s not your fault he’s crazy.” Her hands leave my hair.

I step aside for her to wash off her hands.

“Rinse.”

I step under the spray and wash off my hair, wishing the water could wash away my worries and problems alongside the shampoo. But when I reopen my eyes, I’m still in the same bathroom, still held prisoner.

Ruby puts conditioner in her hands, and I lean my head back to make it easier for her to apply. “Is Mase okay?”

“I think so.” Ruby works the cream through my strands before massaging the leftovers into my scalp. “He made a bunch of noise, hoping that someone outside would hear him, so Tyler gagged him.”

Oh, Mason.

“I think he also punched him, but I was in the kitchen when it happened.”

“Ruby, why are you still here if he left you?”

She stops but doesn’t take her hands out of my hair. “Evie, he said he’ll kill all three of you if I try to run away. And I believe him.”

Tyler’s threats are simple yet effective. And the bastard knows it.

She sniffles again. “At the café, Tyler, he . . . he, after you left the booth for the bathroom, Tyler pulled me into the hallway. I thought he wanted to make out or something.”

My body is feeling numb and utterly overwhelmed, but I welcome it at this point.

She laughs humorlessly. “When I got there, he covered my mouth and told me what he wanted me to do. I thought he was crazy, so I shook my head. There was no way I was going to drug you and lead Phoenix to some house Tyler broke into. But then he held a gun to my head and showed me a picture of a gagged and bound Mason in his trunk. I was so terrified. I didn’t want to do it, but I didn’t want to die either. Or Mase. I couldn’t risk it, Evie. I’m so sorry. Tyler said this was just a fun little game and it would all be over soon if I listened.”

I don’t point out that Tyler might have told her the truth and this will be over soon.

There’s only one problem: he never told her we’d all make it out alive.