Chapter 4 - Evan
EVAN
Ilook around the parking lot as Jericho goes inside the diner.
I’m surprised it’s open, given that it’s nearly three in the morning.
I guess that would explain why it's relatively empty, only a few cars scattered about. The nearby streets are still asleep, not yet full of daily commuters. Thankfully, the white sedan isn’t anywhere in sight.
Jericho returns ten minutes later with a brown paper bag and a foam cup. He hands them to me before starting the van.
“It smells good,” I say, opening it. Inside is a hot, greasy hamburger, onion rings, and a giant cookie of some kind. “How’d you coax a burger out of them in the middle of the night?”
He starts the car to reverse out. “It’s not that hard. There are always diners open for shifters these days.”
True. I remember seeing a few when I lived in Spokane before going away for college. There just aren’t many in Comstead, since it’s mostly humans there.
I munch on the onion rings while Jericho drives out of town. With every bite, I become more aware of my surroundings. More alert. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.
He eventually turns off the highway, onto a quiet road winding out into the backcountry.
After a moment, he slowly pulls the car to the shoulder and kills the engine, dark brows pinching together in a hard line.
I’ve seen that look on him several times, especially when he wants to avoid something uncomfortable.
“I’m gonna look around,” he tells me.
When he opens the door, I hear the swelling rush of a nearby creek. It’s too dark for me to see anything, but I wonder if Jericho can.
Cold air swirls around me, and I set the milkshake aside.
Reaching for a napkin, I wipe my mouth and watch Jericho.
It’s strange to recognize someone so completely, yet feel like you don’t know them at all.
He walks along the edge of trees with such graceful strides now, so different from the guy who used to stumble over his feet.
When Jericho stops, he stares into the trees for a long time, then bends to pick up a rock, twirling it around in his fingers. I get the sense that he’s stalling.
Frustrated, I climb out of the van, shoving my hands into my pockets as I approach.
He glances at me, then the van. “I’ll be right there.”
“Yeah, I’m done waiting,” I say, stopping a few feet in front of him. How has it only been a few hours since he walked back into my life? It feels like a lifetime and mere seconds, all at the same time. “Tell me what happened to you and who that asshole in the car was.”
“I already told you what happened.”
“No. You told me you struck a deal with a vamp so you could leave but something happened, and that’s what made him turn you.”
When Jericho doesn’t reply, I step in closer. “Tell me what happened, Jer. Who turned you?”
He lets out a resigned sigh. “The vamp’s name is Alexander Foxx. I saw him the moment I walked into The Iris—that’s the club I went to. He was gorgeous. Blond hair, light eyes, easy laugh. His confidence was intoxicating. It made me want to get to know him, you know?”
I clench my teeth. How could he have anything nice to say about the man who changed his life?
“I didn’t realize how drawn to me he was until it was too late.”
“When you figured out he was a vamp?”
He nods. “He was their leader. I could tell. I honestly can’t remember what clued me in, but there was just something about him.
They all… reacted to him.” He turns the rock a few times before continuing.
“When I saw a vampire feed from someone, I realized my mistake. I tried to leave, but Foxx said I owed him.” Jericho’s eyes close.
“I knew he meant blood, but fuck, Evan. I just couldn’t do it. ”
“So you offered sex.”
He looks at me, like he’s trying to gauge how much I can handle, and I hate it. I hate that my trust, my loyalty, is even a question.
I lean in. “Tell me everything.”
“He took me downstairs, and once we were in bed, I—I couldn’t.
.. relax. I wanted the sex, but something about him…
I don’t know. I felt like a possession more than a partner.
I was so uncomfortable, but I thought of someone else and that made it easier.
” He stares out at the water, his voice distant and cold.
“Foxx figured out what was happening, and then he lost it.”
I know it’s a detail that shouldn’t matter to me, but I can’t help but wonder who he was thinking about while having sex with Foxx. “What did he do to you?”
He glances at me before twisting the rock again. “He dropped his fangs.”
The fear in his voice makes my heart clench. For Jericho to be caged in a bed with a blood-thirsty vampire and have no way out... It sickens me. The milkshake in my stomach is inclined to agree.
Jericho shifts his weight. After a minute, he chucks the rock into the water with a soft splash.
“Is that when he turned you?”
“Yeah.” He looks away, ashamed. “I don’t remember much about it.”
“Just tell me what you do remember,” I say.
“Do you really wanna know?”
“Please. You don’t have to carry this alone. I’m still your best friend.”
He sucks in a breath, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Foxx went into a rage. It was rough. Violent. He told me he would make sure I would never forget who I was with. Stuff like that. I tried to get away, but he was so damn strong, Ev. I couldn’t budge.
I couldn’t do anything. Foxx drank from me until I was too weak to fight, then he bit me over and over again to inject his venom.
” He points to his neck, arm, and legs. To scars that I couldn’t see in the dim light but knew would be there.
“Did you know what he was doing?”
Jericho nods, still without looking at me. “I figured it out, yeah, but like I said, I was too weak to stop it. Couldn't even turn my head away when he…” He grimaces, wiping at his lips like he wants to get rid of the memory.
I want to wash it away too. I want to wash all of this away. Without even thinking about it, I reach for his arm, but he jerks away.
“Don’t. Don’t pity me. It was my fault.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I went willingly, Evan.”
“No, you didn’t! You tried to stop it, and he didn’t. So don’t you dare try to lighten what he did to you! He’s a monster.”
He’s quiet for a long moment, reaching for another rock to roll between his fingers. He’s probably wishing for a pencil right now. It’s what he always used to twirl when we talked.
“How long did it—” There really is no delicate way to talk about any of this, is there? “I mean, how long were you…”
“How long was the transition?”
I nod.
“I don’t know. All I know is Foxx stayed in the room with me until it was done, then forced me to drink some of his blood. Not a lot. Just enough to heal me. He said that if I told anyone what he did, he'd hunt me down and finish the job.”
“Did you?”
“Fuck no. I was terrified. Besides, I was still too weak to do anything, so I went back to the hotel and slept. Woke up the next day with a hunger for blood and a new set of teeth.”
He looks at me through his dark lashes, then turns around, creating distance. I want to follow, but I don’t. Deep down, I know what he’s about to say.
“I killed three people that day, Evan. And there have been three more since, if I count the guy at your house.”
I fold my arms over my chest. I figured Jericho would’ve hurt people after being turned, even killed some. But that many? It’s hard to fathom.
“That's something I won't ever be able to undo.”
“But you’re different now, Jer,” I say. “You’re more in control. I can see it.”
In the blink of an eye, Jericho has his arms around me, his face at my throat as he bends me backwards. Blood pounds in my ears as I feel his teeth graze along my skin, sending chills up my spine. A rush of fear and adrenaline, and something else—something I can’t quite place—surges through me.
“I’m hardly in control,” Jericho whispers, his breath warming my skin. “You need to remember that.”
I put a hand to his side, becoming acutely aware of how close we are. His lips are warm against my skin, his hips against mine. I can feel him everywhere.
I swallow hard.
“Then save it for Foxx,” I say, hating the tremor in my voice. I don’t want to sound afraid, because I’m not. I trust Jericho, even if it makes no sense. “He’s the one who’s after you.”
Jericho slowly pulls away from me, licking his lips.
From bloodlust?
“Do you know why he won’t let you go? Or is that just how covens work? He turned you, so he thinks he owns you?” If only schools taught vampire hierarchy. I wouldn’t feel so stupid right now.
Jericho shoves his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know what he wants,” he admits. “But he hasn’t left me alone.”
“He must want something. It’s been ten months.”
He sighs. “Foxx found me about three days after I was turned. He cornered me after I… never mind.” Jericho cups both hands on his face in a tight hold. “He held my face and stared at me, like he was waiting for something to happen. But then he just grinned and said one word: Definitely.”
I shake my head, confused. “What does that mean? Definitely what?”
Jericho shrugs. “I didn’t stay to find out. He let go of me for a second, and I took off. Two of his men chased me, but by some miracle I got away. He’s been after me ever since.”
“Why didn’t you kill him?”
He scoffs. “Taking down three vamps is not as easy as you think. I only got away because I was high on blood.” His voice goes up a pitch, like the admission pained him. But it confirms a suspicion I already had. Vamps are most powerful right after feeding.
I reach for his arm again, and this time, Jericho doesn’t pull away. When he finally looks at me, I meet his gaze and leave no room for doubt about where I stand. “Foxx needs to pay for what he did to you. And I don’t care what it takes, but I’m going to make sure that happens, okay?”
His expression hardens. “You can’t, Evan. You’re human. You shouldn’t even be in this mess! Now that they know you’re connected to me? They’ll torture you and probably kill you if you go anywhere near them.”
I shake my head. “They won’t get to me if we stick together.”
The muscle in his jaw flares. “You aren’t hearing me. You need to stay far, far away from them.”
“So do you, from the sounds of it! So let’s stick together until we can come up with a plan to take them down.”
Without warning, Jericho snaps his head to the left. “We should leave. It’s not safe out here.”
I can’t hear or see anything in the dark forest, but his posture stiffens. All I can see is my exhausted friend who hasn’t caught a break in ten months… or longer.
So much longer.
“Let me drive,” I say.
“What?”
“You look like you haven’t slept in weeks. Let me drive. I’ll keep going until I run out of gas or get tired. Then we can switch. Okay?”
For a moment, I think he’s going to argue, but to my surprise, he hands me the keys. Either he agrees with me, or he really is that tired.
Before he turns away, I pull him toward me, unable to resist hugging him. It’s all I’ve wanted to do since he busted through my door.
Jericho hesitates before folding his arms around me. I pour everything into that hug, trying to tell him how much I’ve missed him. How much I still care for him. That no matter what, he’s still my best friend.
“You’re no killer, Jericho. You hear me? I refuse to see you that way. And I’m so fucking sorry for what happened to you.”
This time, when he tucks his face against my neck, I get the sense it’s more for comfort than anything else. His breath shudders slightly before he calms. When we break apart, he looks a little more like himself.
We climb back into the van, and I drive for a long time while Jericho sleeps in the back.
It gives me time to think. To process. Because there is so much to wrap my head around.
I’d suspected, ever since Davey told me, that Jericho was turned by force.
He’s never been super keen on vampires, and he sure as fuck never seemed comfortable around them.
So I always suspected whatever happened wasn’t his own choice.
But that? To be coerced into bed and stripped of his humanity at the same time?
It makes my blood boil. If I ever meet that asshole…
No. I won’t meet him. Because I am going to make damn sure Foxx never gets anywhere near Jericho again, no matter what. I know I’m only human, but I’d rather die than see my best friend hurt again.
I drive aimlessly along the highway and let my thoughts wander through the early morning, only pulling off when I can’t keep my eyes open any more.
Climbing into the back, I prepare to wake Jericho up for his turn to drive, but his back is pressed against the wall on the soft mattress, and he looks so peaceful.
I can’t bring myself to bother him. Besides, there’s enough room for me.
Gently, I lay down next to him and close my eyes, falling asleep within seconds.