Chapter Two Ambushed
“Tommy!” she called, sprinting across the sidewalk and throwing her arms around his neck. He laughed and swept her up off her feet, spinning her once before setting her down again.
“Hey, Princess,” he said warmly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s so good to see you! Miss me?”
“Always!” she laughed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Berlin for another two weeks.”
Their families had been close for as long as she could remember.
Her mother, Della, and Tommy’s mother, Mary, had been inseparable since childhood, and their fathers’ business partnership had turned into genuine friendship.
Mary and Henry Sloane were Evie’s godparents and had spoiled her rotten, a tradition Tommy had happily continued after their deaths in a car accident ten years earlier.
He’d leaned on her parents for support afterward, spending more and more time with her as she grew up, taking her on day trips and little vacations whenever he could.
She watched in confusion as he gave her a surprised, almost concerned look at her question and wondered if she’d missed something.
“Have you forgotten what day it is?” He asked, tilting his head at her. Evie stared at him blankly for a moment, her brain scrambling as she tried to figure out what he was talking about, and then it hit her.
“Oh, my God!” She clapped her hand over her mouth in dismay. “I'm so sorry, Tommy! Exams... I've completely lost track of the days.” It was his parents' death anniversary, and they always visited their vault together to pay their respects.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” He rubbed his hands gently along her arms, then pulled her hand away from her mouth with a reassuring smile. “Do you have study plans? We can go tomorrow. University comes first.”
“No, we’re going today,” she said quickly, shaking her head as she dug for her phone.
Now that she remembered what day it was, nothing would keep her from going.
She was the only family he had left, and after everything he’d done for her, she wasn’t about to let him go alone.
“Give me two seconds to let my study group know I won’t make it. ”
“You’re sure?” Tommy tilted her chin up, worry creasing his brow. “Don’t feel like you have to drop everything for me.”
“I’m sure.” She met his warm brown eyes and smiled. “I’m really sorry, Tommy. End-of-semester exams have been ruling my life. I could use the break.”
“I’ve been there, Princess. Not for a while, but I get it.” Tommy brushed her hair back from her face, then stepped away to open the passenger door. When she climbed in, he closed it gently and jogged around to the driver’s side.
“So, any boyfriends I need to meet and vet?” Tommy grinned as he shifted gears, voice teasing.
Evie laughed and shook her head. No one in her classes had caught her attention. She’d gone on a few dates with some very nice guys, but there had always been something missing, something important she couldn’t quite name. None of them had excited her enough to want a second date.
“No, I’m not seeing anyone.”
“Really?” Tommy raised an eyebrow, shooting her a sidelong glance, disbelief written all over his handsome features. “You’re telling me that there hasn’t been a single guy on the entire Columbia campus who’s managed to get your attention?”
“Well…” Evie tilted her hand back and forth. “There sort of was this one guy at a mixer at the beginning of term…”
She trailed off, remembering the tall man with dark brown hair and flashing grey-blue eyes.
They’d literally bumped into each other - she was on her way to the bathroom; he came around the corner and almost knocked her off her feet.
He’d caught her by the hand to steady her, and the jolt that shot through her had been almost electric.
He’d apologized, asked if she was okay. She’d smiled, told him she was, apologized too, and had just started to introduce herself when a brunette appeared, slipped her arm through his, and led him away without a word.
He’d given Evie an apologetic look over his shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.
“I was going to talk to him, but he was with a girl,” she said with a small shrug.
She hadn’t seen him again, and Columbia was big, but when you were in the same program, you tended to cross paths eventually.
The fact that she hadn’t run into him since made her think he might have been visiting someone. “Anyway, he seems to have vanished.”
“So, you’ve been there almost five months and haven’t had a single relationship or fling? Not even some experimentation?” Tommy looked amused as he shook his head. “You and I are very different.”
Evie burst out laughing. Tommy was, for lack of a better word, a complete man whore.
Women, men, it didn’t matter. If they caught his eye and could hold a decent conversation for more than twenty minutes, they were fair game.
His relationships never lasted long, something he freely admitted was his fault, which had earned him the nickname Casanova from Evie.
After six months or so, he’d usually get bored, or someone else would catch his attention, and he’d end things. But he’d never cheated. He’d been very clear with Evie about that, telling her firmly that cheating, whether physical or emotional, was the lowest thing a person could do to another.
“If you want to be with someone else,” he’d told her, “You owe it to everyone, including yourself, to end what you’re in. Dragging it out is cowardice.”
They spent the rest of the hour-long drive catching up.
Evie talking about her courses, Tommy about his latest project: a new smartphone design he swore would be affordable for almost everyone.
After a quick stop at the florist to pick up the bouquets of Christmas roses he’d ordered, they reached the cemetery, parked on Sassafras Avenue, and started down Viburnum Path toward the Sloane family vault.
“You know, if you ever want help with your courses, I’m just a phone call away,” Tommy said, pulling out the key as he led the way.
Laughing, Evie hurried to match his longer stride and tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. “That would be an unfair advantage, having Tommy Sloane, CEO of Sloane Technologies and resident computer genius, as my tutor.”
“Should I take back all that Sloane Tech I gave you when you switched from law, then?” he teased, flashing a wicked grin. “Or is that not an unfair advantage?”
“No!” She looked up at him, horrified. The computer he’d given her could handle every program and simulation her classes demanded, letting her ace projects with ease. “You know I’ll call if I need you.”
“I’m just saying, I haven’t heard from you much since September.” His grin softened into a playful pout, but she could tell there was a trace of hurt beneath it.
“You’ve been busy and out of the country a lot,” she pointed out. It was true, but also a little excuse; she’d thrown herself into her studies, determined to prove that his investment in her hadn’t been wasted.
“Do you have that international plan on your phone just for decoration?” Tommy asked, giving her a look.
Evie winced and shot back quickly, “Do you?” She smiled, and he laughed. He wasn’t wrong, they’d both let the months slip by with only the occasional text or call.
“Alright, fine,” he said as they reached the vault. “We’re both guilty of not keeping in touch. So, we’ll fix that.”
“Sure, Casanova.” Evie smiled, squeezing his arm as they came to a stop. He handed her his bouquet of flowers and stepped forward to unlock the vault. “You’re still coming for Christmas, right?” she asked.
Her mother had already called, begging her to come home, promising her father would behave and wanted her there as well.
Evie hadn’t bothered asking if he planned to apologize for kicking her out and cutting her off, she knew he wouldn’t.
Oscar Stanley was incapable of admitting he was wrong, even when the truth was staring him in the face.
“Ah, well, actually…” Tommy pushed the door open and turned toward her, his expression sheepish. “I was hoping you and I could get together on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for a few hours.”
“Are you and Dad still fighting?” Evie frowned. No one had given her the full story, but she knew it was about more than her father being upset that Tommy had stepped in to pay for her tuition and expenses. “What’s really going on with you two?”
“We just had very different visions for the direction of Sloane Tech,” Tommy said with a sigh. “He’s been pigheaded about the fact that I’m in charge. He hasn’t been ranting about me to you?”
Evie could tell by the way he avoided her eyes that he wasn’t telling her everything, but she let it go - for now. “A) He knows better. B) I haven’t been home since the semester started. And C) we haven’t talked since the last blow-up about me switching majors.”
Tommy nodded, looking pained, and gestured for her to step inside first. He took one of the bouquets back as she passed, and together they tidied up the vault, replacing the old flowers beside the two urns and lighting fresh candles.
They stood in silence for a few moments, heads bowed, before turning to leave.
Tommy locked the door and offered his arm again as they started back toward the car. “Can I buy you dinner?”
“Absolutely.”
They grinned at each other, happy to steal a few more hours together. Evie was especially glad; she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until now.
They were almost to the car when a mountain of a man stepped out from between the trees and blocked their path. Arms folded across his chest, he looked down at them with a faint, unreadable smile.
Evie froze. Despite his good looks and the calm expression on his face, something about him screamed danger.
“Tommy,” she murmured, tugging at his arm as he kept walking.
He was looking around at the snow-covered grounds, not paying attention to the path in front of them and hadn’t noticed the man.
“What is it?” Tommy followed her gaze and froze. In an instant, Tommy stepped in front of her and pushed her back, shielding her with his body. “Can I help you?” he asked, backing up just enough to keep her hidden behind him.
“Mr. Sloane.” The man inclined his head politely, his voice low and carrying a faint Eastern European accent. “I have been asked to pick you up and bring you somewhere. No harm will come to your friend, but I suggest you do so quietly.”
He smiled again, his cold blue-green eyes flicking over Evie with quiet curiosity. Despite every instinct in her body screaming to run, she found herself momentarily caught, drawn to something about him that she couldn’t name.
“Tommy. No.” Evie gripped the back of his jacket. She didn’t know how she knew, but if he went with this man, she would never see him again.
“Evie.” Tommy turned, his expression calm, almost gentle. He cupped her cheek with one hand, pulled his car keys from his pocket with the other, and pressed them into her palm. “I’ll be okay. I’ll see you over Christmas.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
The blond man was watching them, not impatient or angry, just faintly puzzled, as if trying to understand what he was witnessing.
“Evie. It’s okay.” Tommy gave her that same reassuring smile as he gently pried his hand from hers. “I promise. Go home. I’ll be in touch soon.”
She let him go, her fingers closing around the keys as he turned away and walked toward the stranger. The man met her eyes once more, the smile returning—quiet, polite, almost kind.
“I have to ask that you give me your phone,” he said, holding out a massive hand. Evie hesitated, clutching it tighter. She didn’t want to give it up, but when the man beckoned again, impatience flickering across his face, she pulled it from her pocket.
“You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?” she asked softly. She already knew the answer; those eyes, an icy green blue, told her he was going to do more than hurt him.
“Not today, little one,” he said, the faintest edge of impatience in his tone as he motioned again.
Evie took a step forward, but Tommy stopped her, taking the phone gently from her hand. He walked it over himself. “You don’t go near her,” he said firmly, glaring up at the man. “She’s not part of this. She has nothing to do with it.”
The big man chuckled, a surprisingly warm sound given his size and demeanor. “I said I would not harm her. Don’t worry. Come on, Sloane, I haven’t got all day.”
Evie’s chest tightened as Tommy’s eyes narrowed, then softened when he looked back at her. “Go home,” he said quietly. “Stay out of this, okay?”
“Tommy…” She bounced anxiously on the balls of her feet. She didn’t want to let him go.
“I promise I’ll see you soon.” He gave her one last reassuring smile before turning to face the stranger. “Let’s go.” His voice was steady, but she could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands curled slightly into fists.
Evie forced herself to breathe, memorizing every detail she could: the man’s height, his hair, his eyes, the way his lips curved faintly, almost kindly.
“Wait ten minutes,” the man said gently, gesturing for Tommy to walk ahead. “Then you can be on your way.” She nodded numbly. He had chosen this spot carefully, the trees blocked the road, hiding whatever vehicle he’d brought. If she ran or followed, she’d never get far, and she knew he’d notice.
So, she stayed still. She was the only shot they had of the police knowing what happened and looking for Tommy as soon as possible, she stayed very still, listening closely as their footsteps crunching on the snow faded away.