Chapter 39 Silas
SILAS
“To help the ache,” I murmur low enough for only Evie to hear as I slide three tablets and a glass of water across the kitchen counter.
“Thanks,” she says, faint traces of pink stealing across her cheeks. I love the way she blushes, knowing she’s thinking of all the ways I bent, fucked, and used her last night. And this morning.
Tempest pads into the kitchen, reaching for a coffee mug as she takes a seat beside Evie.
I give her a smile before turning, finding Erik.
His blonde hair is a mess, bite marks covering his chest and neck, and he’s tying the drawstring on a pair of grey sweatpants like he only just remembered to put on clothes.
Odd that he’s coming from the east wing when his room’s on the opposite end.
They must’ve invited people over after all.
I catch a glimpse of Noctis in a teal-blue T-shirt and jeans, his put-together ensemble and wide awake gaze completely opposite of Erik.
He’s perched on the edge of a built-in lounge beneath the three large windows overlooking the canyon, his computer open and already humming.
A pair of French doors lead out to the backyard, the combined light bringing life to the colorful Spanish tiles and wooden accents throughout the house.
One day, I’ll get to Spain. Morana will be found, the trafficking circuits destroyed, and I can fucking run to the Mediterranean Sea with Evie at my side.
I’d planned on Italy, but Evie mentioned wanting to see Spain, something in a book that caught her eye.
And just like that, my dreams of Italy were replaced.
Made better. Fuller. More whole with my little fox beside me.
I take a seat next to Noctis, waiting while he types. He looks peaceful, but I need to make sure Evie’s dickwad of a brother gets what’s coming to him.
“Robert’s been taken care of,” Noctis says, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Shane’s still working that shitty above-the-table job. No signs of the circuit contacting him yet, but I still don’t believe our little vacation downtown in the holding cells was all because of Jonathan—”
He stills, the clicking of keys going silent as his gaze shifts to Evie. She’s peeling an orange beside Tempest, leaning in close as she hangs on every word my sister says. Another piece of my armor melts, knowing just how long Tempest has waited for a friend like her.
“She seems to think it is,” I say slowly, watching my little fox.
Her mouth closes around a slice, a bead of juice catching on her lip just before her tongue licks it clean.
I adjust my pants, and force myself to focus.
“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.
You forwarded his calls to a ghost number, right? ”
Noctis nods. “Yep. That motherfucker’s definitely obsessed in a creepy sort of way. The mailbox I linked to it filled in a day.”
My knuckles crack as I flex my hands, wishing I had his face in front of me to pummel. His bones to break. “Has anyone listened to the messages yet? Evie’s afraid of that fucker, which already makes him a problem in need of solving.”
“No, but I’ve done a full sweep on him. He’s an entitled prick hiding behind the guise of the church, but he’s clean. Never even had a parking violation.”
“He wouldn’t, though, would he?” I ask, meeting Noctis’s skeptical stare. “Not if the cops are on his side. Not if his daddy’s rich and the church thinks he’s a golden boy.”
Noctis starts to shake his head, then pauses.
“I’ll go through the voicemails and see what I can find.
Between what Erik said about Tempest feeling uneasy with Evie’s family, and the possibility of her brother having enough influence to get us arrested, it’s worth another look.
But I still feel like we’re missing something. ”
“Something new?” I ask after a moment. “We’ve closed all leads. Unless you think Shane—”
“No,” Noctis cuts in. “Mavros and I were reviewing recent reports of missing women, including the ones that fit the southern circuit’s profile, and a lot of shit is pointing to someone sounding a lot like Mark.”
It takes me a second, but when it clicks, I have to fight to keep my voice low. “Mark, as in the asshole whose brain I put a bullet through weeks ago?”
After I used his short bout of suffocation to get Evie off. That motherfucker was granted the best last minutes of his life, buried so deep in my girl’s pussy he couldn’t breathe. My jaw clenches as the familiar tendrils of jealousy claw up my spine.
“Maybe I just want it to be him.” Noctis sighs, shaking his head as his eyes dart across the screen. “It would mean we already took care of the leak.”
“But that wouldn’t explain why the cops were bold enough to make a move on us with no evidence,” I counter.
Noctis nods, frustration tightening his features. He doesn’t care how long it takes. Once he’s caught the scent of something, he’ll track it until the trail ends in a kill.
“Maybe look into Evie’s parents. And their church,” I add after a beat, eyes narrowing as Erik takes a seat beside Tempest and Evie.
There’s nothing wrong with the way he’s speaking to them, but something about the exchange, about the way Evie smiles fondly when looking between Erik and my sister, or maybe the way Tempest laughs, bright and open over her freshly refilled coffee mug that sends pricks of alarm vibrating beneath my skin.
Not envy or even concern… but a protectiveness, all the same.
“Sure thing,” Noctis says just as Evie’s phone lights up next to her.
The laughter in her eyes dims. Her beautiful lips, tilted in a soft smile moments ago, tug down as she swipes to read the message.
And then her eyes find mine.