Chapter 42 Evie
The first thing I noticed was the cold.
Not the slow creeping kind, but the deep, bone-aching kind that made it hard to move, hard to think.
My limbs were heavy, my head foggy, the ache in my skull sharp enough to cut through the haze to bring me more pain.
I tried to move, but my wrists were bound behind me, the rough bite of zip ties digging into my skin.
They were tight enough to cut off circulation, my fingers already tingling with numbness. My ankles were bound, too, pressed against the chair legs at a painful angle.
The last thing I remembered was riding. The hum of my bike, the wind in my face, the bitter taste of regret still thick in my throat. I had been pissed, reckless, needing space, needing anything other than the suffocating weight of everyone treating me like a problem they had to fix.
And now I was here.
I nearly laughed. I was here, wherever here was, and somehow managed to become even more of a problem.
I forced my breathing to slow. Taking in everything. The cold, the damp, the faint scent of mildew and something metallic. A basement, maybe? A warehouse? Somewhere underground?
I couldn’t tell now, but I knew the floor was hard beneath my feet. Concrete. And the air was stale and unmoving, like the space hadn’t been touched by fresh air in years. I blinked against the dim light, my vision finally clearing enough to make out the space around me.
There was nothing of use, no furniture to rub the zip ties off and no handy knife or gun lying around that I could get to.
Skipping Hero’s lesson about how to get out of zip ties seemed like a big mistake now, and he was going to be pissed to find out I didn’t know what to do.
The slow, measured scrape of a chair dragging across the floor grabbed my attention. A shadow shifted in the darkness.
“You’re awake.” The voice sent an ice-cold spike of fear through me. I knew it from somewhere. It wasn’t familiar enough, but it was familiar.
And then his face came into view.
The one I had seen once before while it was attacking Aiden and me.
Jack Anderson.
My stomach twisted.
This wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t random. He had been waiting for me.
I shifted, testing the restraints, but there was no slack, no give. My ribs protested at even the slightest movement, pain radiating through my side as I tried to straighten in the chair. I bit back the groan threatening to slip free, keeping my breathing slow and steady.
“Where am I?” I asked, my voice rougher than I intended.
Jack chuckled, stepping closer, his figure finally coming into focus. He was dressed in a clean suit, the collar unbuttoned. I was surprised he looked so disheveled, like he hadn’t been planning this.
“Hello, Evie,” he murmured, crouching down beside me. “Always so direct. So sharp. Always looking for answers.”
My jaw clenched. “Maybe you should try giving me one. I thought you were trying to help me.”
“Help you?” he asked, cocking his head. “Why would you think that?”
I didn’t answer, but still stared at him, not sure what to make of the man in front of me.
“Because of our last meeting?” he asked, a laugh of disbelief curling at his lips.
“That argument—it shocked me. A blip in my plan that almost wrecked everything. I panicked and told you about the Order when I shouldn’t have.
I was terrified you’d figure out who I am and what I’m doing, so I threw you off with the first thing I could think of.
A mistake, yes, but it worked. They were almost pleased I dropped hints—they think it’ll help you absorb the rest more easily. ”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my chest tightening.
He stepped closer, tilting his head down with a strange satisfaction. His fingers traced my jaw slowly, lingering on every inch he touched, his intense gaze making my stomach twist.
He was enjoying this. Savoring it.
“Do you like cats, Evie?” he asked, the words a hushed whisper, sending my brain into another panic.
“What does that mean?”
He dug into his pocket and produced a tiny white cat figurine—a companion to the little black one perched on my dresser.
“Why do you have that? Why do I have a matching one?”
“A gift, Evie. Do you not understand what that is? Is it because Aiden never gives you nice things?”
“Tell me what you want. Tell me what you’re talking about,” I pressed, my thoughts spinning, too many questions and not enough answers, all while trying to figure out if I was about to die.
“You know,” he mused, ignoring my demand, “I thought you’d figure it out sooner. You’ve been digging so deep, pulling at threads you had no business touching, and yet . . . you never really saw it, did you?”
I swallowed the sharp spike of fear climbing up my throat. “Saw what?”
His smile was slow, smug. He had me exactly where he wanted me.
“The truth,” he said simply.
The silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.
Jack leaned in, his voice dropping to something more intimate, more venomous.
“You’ve spent all this time thinking you were hunting answers, Evie.
That you were getting closer. But you weren’t the hunter.
” His fingers lifted, tracing the air between us, like he was savoring the moment before the kill. “You were the prey.”
My blood turned to ice.
Jack tilted his head, watching the realization sink in. “And guess what?” His grin sharpened. “I finally got you.”
I jerked against my restraints, rage and panic tangling in my chest. This felt like more than only coming after me for digging into my parents’ lives.
“But why?”
“It started with your exploration into Veritas and the Order. You started off not causing any issues, but I had to check into it. Then it got worse, and worse, until you were getting close to digging up secrets that would destroy me.”
“So you are a part of the Order?”
“No, and that’s why I had to stop you. I offered to help them stop you in exchange for letting me back in.”
“The Order,” I forced out, my breath coming faster. “They knew I was looking?”
“After I told them, of course,” Jack said, his expression almost proud.
“You don’t really think we’d let you play detective and not notice, do you?
But see, the funny part is—they didn’t think you were a threat, but they still wanted you and I couldn’t figure out why.
I knew you were digging for our secrets.
I know if you found them out and if I didn’t stop you, you would tell everyone, but they wanted you. ”
“So they wouldn’t help you, and you what? Want to threaten me to stop looking? You want to give me to them?”
“Yes. Without their protection, you are a threat to me.”
I clenched my teeth, trying to stop the chattering. “Then why bring me here instead of killing me?”
“Killing you myself has been off the table since they decided you were an asset. I almost did once, when I first watched you, but then I realized how perfect you truly were. I could understand why the Order wanted you and I didn’t see the harm in keeping you alive in exchange for protection.
We would both be safe, they would end your nosy tendencies, and we could get to know each other on a .
. . closer level. It seemed like a perfect plan. ”
“You think I’m going to go along with this?”
“You are because, in exchange, I am going to tell you all the information you wanted to hear.”
“About what?”
“About you and your parents.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” He leaned closer, his breath brushing against my cheek. “Or are you scared of what you’re about to hear?”
I held his gaze, refusing to look away, but wanting to puke.
“Your parents,” he whispered, “weren’t innocent in any of this.”
I inhaled sharply, my entire body locking up.
Jack grinned. “You think they were forced into working with the Order? You think they were victims?” He clicked his tongue. “No, Evie. They went to the Order first.”
“No.” The word fell out of me before I could stop it.
Jack continued, undeterred. “They needed help. They needed something no one else could give them. And they agreed to help the Order in exchange for it. They were like me. They needed protection and would do whatever it took to get that.” He smiled, letting the moment hang between us.
Jack leaned back, stretching, casual as ever.
“Oh, they didn’t hand you over, of course.
That would’ve been cruel, right?” His grin widened.
“No, they just made a deal. They promised to help. To do favors. To belong to the Order in whatever way was needed. And in return, the Order made sure no one could hurt you or them.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Jack watched me, his smile growing as he took in the way my body stiffened, the way my breathing hitched.
“I thought you were smarter than this, Evie,” he murmured, standing. “Thought you would have put it together already. But I guess it’s more fun this way.”
He turned toward the door, pausing long enough to deliver the final twist of the knife.
“You’ve been running from the wrong people, sweetheart,” he said, his voice almost kind. “Because the only monsters you needed to fear? The ones who put you in danger from the very beginning?”
He looked over his shoulder, eyes dark, his voice laced with something cruel and victorious.
“We were right in front of you the entire time.”
The door slammed shut, locking me in the dark.
My mind raced, trying to put the pieces into place, but I couldn’t find where they went.
Was I supposed to know who was in the Order? I remembered the list of names I was given and couldn’t picture a single one of their faces.
I guess in our life, that didn’t mean much. We had plenty of friends and even more enemies, most of them unknown to us.
My head rolled back as I stared up at the ceiling. I had no plan. This was when Aiden usually stepped in and saved me, in my ridiculous plans.
Aiden.