Chapter 10
Evie
Sammy turned her head, snarling something in a language that was so familiar, yet I couldn’t understand a single word. Was that Russian?
He had spoken to me in Russian that night.
More memories flooded in, invading my head, drawing me back to the day I’d almost ended everything. Thinking of the events of that fateful day was easier than hearing other girls whisper about how much they had enjoyed Chance’s dick. How much they still craved him.
Nearly deleting my own existence was an easier memory to face than my current reality.
Pathetic.
It wasn’t William’s taunting voice berating me this time, but my own. Abi had forewarned me that Chance was popular. I should have listened.
You’re too stupid, Evelyn. Too gullible.
The real world will gobble you up and spit you out, and then you’ll be nothing.
Less than nothing. I was merely trying to help you, protect you from yourself.
Why won’t you listen? Why do you constantly make me the villain in your story when you are only proving how right I was all along?
Even in death, William was such a fucking asshole.
But…
Unfortunately, the bastard was also right.
Whatever Sammy said had those girls shutting their mouths with audible snaps. They all stood a little straighter, turning so they weren’t giving her their backs, scared of not seeing her coming.
“Don’t worry about those skanks,” Sammy advised, loud enough that everyone in line could hear her. “They know he found his one and are pissed because now they know they were never good enough.”
You’re not good enough either, Evelyn.
Crushing that thought down, I kept my face blank as we made our way back toward the front of the bar.
Avoiding looking toward the pool tables, I turned to where I’d last seen Abi, but she wasn’t there.
I wasn’t confident I could return to the pool tables without crying.
Matt had been sweet, and then he’d warned me as a kindness.
If I had to sit with him again, though, I was going to fall into the dark void within myself. There was no way I could fight the maelstrom inside me, not when my heart was already in shreds and my body still ached for Chance’s touch.
“I need another beer. Do you want one, or are you going to stick with the Bellinis that Chance has been shoving at you for the last hour?” Sammy asked, steering me toward the bar as if she didn’t realize I was studiously avoiding the pool tables and the men waiting for us.
It was sweet of her to pretend and let me hold on to a little dignity.
“I gagged on the one and only beer I’ve ever tried. It was disgusting.” We stepped up to a random clear spot at the bar, and although we weren’t the next that should have been served, the bartender stopped in front of us.
“Sammy, you locking that bathroom door is fine until my pregnant daughter-in-law has to use it. We gonna have problems, kid?”
“I apologized to Demi,” Sammy told him, batting her lashes. “If I’d known she was the one in need, I would have opened the door for her, Raider. I swear.”
His green eyes drilled into her for a long moment before he grunted and reached down to extract a cold beer from a fridge. Only then did he look at me, his grumpy face easing into a charming smile. “You’re the Bellini girl.”
“Evie,” I corrected, and his lips ticked up.
“Tonight, you are the Bellini girl. Because of you, every woman in the county not currently locked down has been ordering Bellinis for the last hour or so. I just mixed up five of them myself. We’re about to run out of peach puree.
Haven’t used this much prosecco since River’s wedding more than a decade ago. ”
“Um, sorry?” I offered.
Raider laughed. “Are you going to be a regular around here, Evie? If so, I’ll make sure to keep the peach puree well stocked.”
It was impossible not to return his smile. Something in his eyes made me feel safe. “I do enjoy anything peach, but sorry, I’m not sure if I’ll be making this a regular occurrence. And just between us, I didn’t know what a Bellini was until tonight.”
“Don’t think Chance knew what it was either, honey, but he told Jack he needed something girlie and peach-flavored.
Now it’s gonna be a Friday night special.
” He rested his forearms on the bar top and leaned forward.
“Never seen that guy order anything but beer, and never for anyone but himself. We all thought his brain got cooked at work until we saw you.”
While I was digesting that, picking it apart in hopes there was something good in there, Raider tipped his head to someone behind us.
“Here he comes now, Miss Bellini. Got your fresh drink in hand too. Unless you’re ready for something else.
I have some peach schnappss back here. Or a peachy frozen margarita.
Hell, kid, you tell me what ya wanna drink, and I’ll whip it up. ”
“Maybe some water for now, so I don’t have a headache tomorrow.”
“Smart girl.” He filled a glass with ice then sprayed water into it. “Stay hydrated, Miss Bellini. And you let me know if you need anything.” He glanced at Sammy. “You got her?”
“Abi’s attached to this one, so yes,” Sammy assured him. Raider gave another nod and returned to serving the other customers waiting nearby.
Wrapping both hands around the cold glass, I took a gulp just as a firm hand slid around my waist. Whimpering at the sheer rightness of his touch, I didn’t fight the urge to melt back into Chance’s body.
William’s voice shouted in my head, calling me a worthless fool.
I took another drink of water, slamming up a wall to block the noise, along with the continued burning of jealousy in my chest.
Touching his lips to the side of my head, he placed my fresh drink in my hands. “You okay, peaches? Dad said you and Sammy disappeared into the bathroom.”
“There was a line,” Sammy answered for me before I could flounder for an excuse. “Did you get me a beer earlier? I’m almost done with this one.”
Chance stroked his fingers up and down my ribs, tipping his head toward her for a moment. “I got you one, but Tanner drank it. You two were gone so long, they’re ready for another round. Figured I’d grab the beers and my girl while I was over here so you couldn’t hide her away from me.”
“If I wanted to hide her, you sure as fuck wouldn’t ever find her,” Sammy told him, taking my arm. “Come on, Evie. You should learn to play pool. Tanner is the best teacher. He and Elias taught me.”
Chance tightened his hold on me. “If anyone is going to teach her, it will be me. Stop hogging all her time. I’ve barely gotten five minutes with her.”
“You’ll have plenty of time with her later. We’re having girl time, bonding.” She tugged lightly on my arm, and I set my glass of water on the bar top, keeping the Bellini in the other hand.
Giving Chance a smile, I let Sammy pull me away, half relieved to have an excuse to put distance between us, yet missing him a little more with each step that took me farther from him.
“Sammy,” Chance snarled as we walked away.
“Get me another beer too!” she told him, giving him one of those finger-waves that were equal parts cute and bitchy.
“I want to be you when I grow up,” I confided. “Including your perfect ass.”
“Abi has such good taste in friends. Keep this up, and I’ll want you for myself and not just to share with Abs.”
“Thanks?” I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, but it sounded sweet.
After the crowd swallowed us, Sammy turned us off course for the pool tables. “Abi is over here,” she explained.
And then I found myself being pushed into a chair in a quiet corner.
Abi was sitting there, giving me her soft smile, but I barely saw her.
It was impossible to see anyone but the man seated beside her.
Memories flooded my mind. Some real. Some hallucinations.
It was difficult to differentiate which was which.
A sob bubbled up. “You’re real.”
“Hello, Evie,” Ghost said quietly in that dark voice that had terrified me even as it had soothed my fears of the unknown. “I’m pleased to see you looking healthier.”
All I could do was sit there and stare at him, my throat too tight to release a single sound.
I wasn’t going to waste energy asking how.
This man had endless resources. Not just anyone could have done what he’d done.
Slipped William Adams, a man who should have been untouchable, a drug that would induce a heart attack.
And still had time to rescue me from myself.
He’d pulled it off, though.
I’d been so angry with him that night. Hated him for playing the white knight when all I’d wanted was to end the excruciating loneliness that was always there, making every inch of my body ache.
Each day, it became harder to get out of bed, to make it through the hours of being on my own.
Or worse, spending more time with the father who filled our time together telling me how lucky I was to have someone protect me from the horrors of the outside world.
Too stupid to make it on my own. Reminding me daily that I was nothing without him.
There had never been a single day when I had any power over my own life.
Until that night.
Death was the only answer, and it was mine. I finally had a choice. And I made it.
Only for Ghost to take that away too.
But later, after I’d woken up in the hospital with Evy right there waiting for me, I was thankful. Erasing my existence would have been my out, but it would have devastated my sister. Nothing could have destroyed me more than letting her down.
It was difficult to look at him, yet I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
He’d been such an asshole that night. Forcing me to take the medication that had induced vomiting.
His hold had been firm, almost painful. And then he’d just sat there with me while I’d puked my guts out, along with all the pills I’d swallowed.
Talking like it was the most natural thing to do.
Telling me about how he’d met my sister.
Something in his face had shifted, a gentleness in his voice when he mentioned his wife and his own sister. I’d thought that part was a hallucination, but now that I saw him beside Abi, I couldn’t deny how real every moment of that evening had been.
“Evie.” Abi’s voice coaxed me to look at her. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you when we first met today. But I kind of set all of this up.”
Surprised, confused, torn, I blinked at her. But if she expected me to speak, she was out of luck. My mouth opened then closed, still incapable of making a noise. I couldn’t give her my words.
“This is my husband, Vaughn. Just let me explain, and then you can decide if you still want to be my friend,” she suggested, her eyes hopeful. I nodded, and she glanced at the man beside her.
He tucked a few wisps of hair behind her ear, and she relaxed. “Everly was getting herself into trouble online. Considering who your father was, I think you can guess the type of trouble I’m talking about.”
Before that night, I hadn’t known who my father was. Not the real him. Not William Adams, the human trafficking king.
Now, however, I was all too aware of who he’d been and the crimes he’d committed. I shuddered, disgust roiling in my stomach.
“Vaughn keeps track of certain activities on the darker side of the web, and one night, your sister popped up on his radar. It was a chaotic evening. I still don’t know if it was that I needed to escape what was going on with the people I loved or if I was just nosy, but I got kind of focused on what he was doing and asked him to step in. To help Everly. And you.”
Hearing my twin’s name, I felt the pressure in my throat ease enough so that I could speak. “You helped Evy?”
“Some of the things she was searching for would have put her on the kinds of lists that would have gotten her attention from some not-so-nice people. Vaughn was only going to wipe her history and plant a virus so she couldn’t do it again, to protect her.
But that was when I got curious. Her signal was close to where we happened to be that night, and as I said, things were a mess for me personally.
” She grimaced. “I asked Vaughn to fix whatever was going on with Everly, thinking that would be it. Only, I got invested. It’s probably the pregnancy hormones, or maybe you and your sister were meant to be here all along.
Ugh, I don’t know anymore. I sound crazy, and again, I’m so sorry. ”
“Abi, stop,” I whispered, sucking in a fortifying breath. “Please. You don’t have to apologize to me. God, you saved Evy. And me. You’re responsible for reuniting me with my sister. That is everything. Freaking everything. I’m so grateful. So, so grateful.”
She twisted her fingers together. “I shouldn’t have played around, though.
My continued curiosity is why you are here now.
I asked Vaughn to guide you and Everly to Creswell Springs.
It’s a safe place, and I wanted to meet you both.
That we became friends was an added bonus.
Not that I expect you to still want to be my friend. This crosses so many lines.”
“Do you even understand that you are a real-life guardian angel?” I demanded quietly, aware of the people around us, frustrated with her for torturing herself over being such a good person.
Sammy had disappeared after pushing me into the chair, but there were still curious people at other tables.
None of them could ever know about what had happened that night.
Too many people had risked their futures to ensure I had one.
“If you sent your husband to help us, then you know what happened that night, right?” Tears filled her eyes, and she nodded, telling me without words that she knew all about what had transpired. She knew my shame. “Can you please stop apologizing for saving my life?”
Fingers trembling, I placed my hand palm up on the table that separated us. Without hesitation, Abi placed hers in mine. “I really want us to be friends.”
“Me too.”