Chapter 19 Aiden #2
Evie stood at the edge of the parking garage, silhouetted against the lights of the town below. Her arms were crossed, her stance sharp and defiant, but I caught a faint slump in her shoulders.
I stepped up beside her, the sound of my boots on the concrete breaking the silence between us. “Still doing okay?” I asked, my voice low. My hand twitched at my side, aching to reach for her, to grab her hip and pull her into me.
“I’m fine,” she said, the words clipped. “Annoyed, but fine.”
I leaned closer, lowering my voice so only she could hear. “And you’re sure you’re not hurt?” My arm brushed hers, and I felt the smallest moment of her leaning into me before she pulled herself upright again, silent now.
I wasn’t getting anywhere. I knew when she got quiet like this, there wasn’t going to be much to pull her out of it—luckily, I knew what would.
“Here.” I pulled a bag of M&M’s out of my jacket and handed it over. “I think this is the part where the guy makes it better with chocolate. He brings candy, she forgives him. Do I need to cue the romantic music while I feed you one to really bring the full romance movie scene?”
“Shut your damn mouth,” she hissed, checking that no one was around. I didn’t say anything and finally her lips twitched, a reluctant smile breaking through. “It’s almost like you don’t hate me.”
“Not even a little,” I mumbled.
Hero, Mason, and Kane walked up before I could say any more, and Evie spun on her heel, heading straight for Regan and Harper without another word.
“She good?” Hero asked, nodding toward her. She stood with Regan and Harper now, her back to us, arms crossed tight over her chest.
“Yeah,” I said. “Fine enough. Evie’s more annoyed by life-altering events than traumatized by them.”
Rook snorted. “Any boyfriend we should be calling to come get her?”
My shoulders stiffened, but I forced myself to stay casual. “No boyfriend right now. The last one dumped her because she hangs around us too much.”
Rook’s brows furrowed. “Yeah, but why would that piss him off unless he saw something to make him think . . .” His gaze sharpened, suspicion flickering to life as he looked between us.
“You can’t be serious.” Hero gave a hard eye roll, his head nearly going with it.
Rook shrugged, still watching Evie. “Unless one of you lost your minds, I would hope not. Everyone here knows I’d kick them out of the house, the shop, and the damn group if they so much as thought about it.”
I nodded, keeping my face neutral while my chest twisted with the weight of the lie. “Exactly. No one’s that stupid.”
“Good,” Rook said, his voice hardening. “Family first. Glad the boyfriend’s gone if he couldn’t understand that.”
They walked off, packing up and leaving me standing there, his words echoing in my head. Family first. It was a phrase I’d lived by for years, but when it came to Evie, it felt like a chain tightening around my neck.
I looked back at her, my chest twisting again at the sight of the blood on her jeans. She shouldn’t have come here alone at all. The thought of her taking a risk like that—putting herself in danger without backup—lit a fuse inside me.
I stalked toward her, barely keeping my anger in check. I didn’t want her in danger. I didn’t want her doing these things alone, or getting hurt. I couldn’t lose Evie.
I pulled her to the side, out of earshot of the others. “You really couldn’t stay out of trouble for one night, could you? I swear, if you ruin one more of my nights, Evie, I’m going to—”
“I told you that you can punish me,” she said, grinning.
“This isn’t a joke. You put yourself at risk. Not only that, but I had to come down here and clean up your mess. You can’t do this. You can’t run off to dangerous places and expect that I will somehow be able to show up and save you.”
She moved closer and I could see how badly she wished she had a knife to threaten me with. “You can be nothing to me, Aiden. You can turn away and say no to protecting me. You don’t even have to clean up my mess.”
“You know that isn’t true.”
“Isn’t it? You can walk away at any time.
You’re not forced to be anything to me.” Evie’s gaze stayed steady, her chin lifting slightly, that stubborn fire burning in her eyes.
“You don’t owe me anything, Aiden. If cleaning up after me is such a burden, then don’t.
I can take care of myself, and tonight proves it. ”
The words were like a punch, and I could feel them sinking in, twisting deeper. She thought she didn’t need me. Hell, maybe she didn’t. But that didn’t change anything—I needed her safe. And seeing her like this, blood-stained but standing strong, had me caught between pride and frustration.
I took a step closer, lowering my voice more. “You think that’s what this is about? Me feeling burdened? If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be breaking every damn rule I set for myself to make sure you’re okay.”
She softened, only a bit, a flicker of something in her eyes that almost looked like understanding. “Maybe you should start putting yourself first, then. Start thinking about what’s best for you, not everyone else.”
My jaw flexed, fighting the urge to pull her close and remind her exactly why I couldn’t walk away, why I would always care about her more than myself.
But with everyone around us, I couldn’t do that, and I couldn’t do it even when everyone left.
Instead, I forced myself to back off, nodding toward the exit.
“Get out of here, Evie. The body’s moved. Go home. We got it now.”
For a second, she didn’t move, her gaze lingering on me, and I realized how many things I would have loved to hear from her at that moment, but I didn’t expect any of them.
I expected angry Evie, who didn’t want to be told what to do.
Instead her words came like a wrecking ball, taking one more hit to the resolve I thought I still had.
“Thanks, at least,” she said, her words soft. “For always being here. Maybe I don’t always need you, but it’s nice to know I don’t have to do things alone.”
She walked off toward her car, Regan and Harper trailing behind her, and I felt the ache settle deeper.
She was grateful—she wanted me to protect her and some days I believe that’s what I was born to do.
But that made everything so much worse.
The blood dripping down my temple had dried, the small puddle it had created on my jeans and the floor next to me still wasn’t, but it wouldn’t be long now.
I had trailed after our target for two days—a gnawing hunger for success keeping me going long after I wanted to quit. I wasn’t even far from home—our apartment in Valeport couldn’t be more than ten minutes from here—but distance didn’t matter in a large city where no one knew where I had gone.