38. Evie
38
EVIE
“I’ll tell them everything tonight.” I practice the words in my bathroom mirror, one hand resting on my still-flat stomach. The test showed positive six weeks ago, but morning sickness is getting harder to hide. “About the money, the running, the baby…”
My reflection offers no answers. Down the hall, I hear my girls getting ready for school, their voices carrying the normal morning chaos I’ve grown to love. They don’t know about the dangers that lurk outside our newfound home.
“Mama!” Violet’s shout breaks through my thoughts. “Can’t find my other shoe!”
“Check under your bed,” I call back. “Where you always kick it off!”
Daisy appears in the doorway, already dressed in her uniform and with her hair neatly braided. “I packed my fruits,” she announces proudly. At six, she’s becoming so independent it makes my heart ache.
“Good job, baby.” I kiss her forehead. “Help your sister find her shoe?”
The morning routine flows like always—breakfast, backpacks, and last-minute homework checks. I walk them to the bus stop like I do every day, watching other parents gather with their children. Except now, Black Wolves follow behind us, a heightened security detail for my girls, and the other children of the MC.
I came to Wolf Pike looking for safety, but the dangers have followed me here. The threats to our peace and safety only make me more grateful for the family we’ve found. And more determined to protect it.
Three months ago, the brothers gave me a Harley for my birthday. Now, I can’t imagine starting my day without the wind in my hair and the rumble of the engine between my legs. The morning sickness eases somewhat when I ride, as if the baby already knows this is freedom.
When I arrive, the gallery’s parking lot is half-full. Skylar’s contract termination papers sit on my desk. She called last night about a family emergency back home. “I’ll finish the piece when things settle,” she said.
It happens often enough in the tattoo world—life sometimes gets in the way of art.
Chase is with a client in his private room, the familiar buzz of the tattoo machine oddly comforting. Rick stands at the front counter reviewing paperwork while Zane reorganizes displays.
I make it halfway to my desk before the nausea hits. I barely make it to the bathroom.
When I emerge, Zane’s waiting, concern etched on his face. “You okay, beautiful?”
“Fine.” I try to smile. “Just a stomach bug.”
“Evie.” He catches my arm gently. “With everything that’s happened—Draven’s kidnapping, you being so quiet lately…” He studies my face. “Is there something you need to tell us?”
My heart hammers against my ribs. “Actually…yes. But not now. Tonight? After closing?”
He nods slowly. “All of us?”
“All of you.”
The morning progresses with deceptive normalcy. I schedule appointments, handle paperwork, and try not to throw up every time someone walks past with coffee. That viral TikTok video plays on repeat in my mind—the video that has possibly destroyed this life I’ve built in Wolf Pike.
Just before lunch, after Mrs. Henderson leaves with her fresh butterfly tattoo, the bell above the door chimes.
“Welcome to Cross Brothers,” I say automatically, not looking up from the appointment book. “Do you have an appointment?”
“Hello, Elena.”
My world stops spinning.
Luca stands in the doorway, exactly as I remember him. Expensive Italian suit, Rolex glinting on his wrist, that cold smile that never quite reaches his eyes. Six months haven’t changed him at all.
“What’s wrong, querida ?” He moves closer, each step measured and precise. “No kiss hello for your husband?”
Behind me, I hear Rick and Zane go still. The tattoo machine in Chase’s room stops buzzing.
“You need to leave.” My voice comes out stronger than I feel.
“Leave? When I’ve just found what’s mine?” His eyes take in everything—the gallery, the brothers now moving to flank me, my hand unconsciously covering my stomach. “Though I must admit, Elena, three men at once is ambitious even for you.”
“Get out.” Rick’s voice holds deadly promise.
“Now, now.” Luca adjusts his cuffs—a gesture I remember from a thousand threats. “Is that any way to speak to a man who’s come to collect his property?”
“Property?” Zane moves closer.
“My wife.” Luca’s smile widens. “My daughters. My money.”
The sound of motorcycles approaches outside, but these aren’t the familiar rumbles of Black Wolves bikes. Death’s Head is right on schedule.
“You have one chance,” Luca continues pleasantly. “Return what’s mine, and perhaps I don’t burn this piece of shit to the ground.”
“They’re not yours.” The words tear from my throat. “Not anymore.”
His expression hardens. “Everything is mine, Elena. The girls. The money.” His gaze drops to my stomach. “Though we’ll have to discuss that particular indiscretion.”
Rick steps forward, voice razor-sharp. “She said get the fuck out.”
Luca chuckles, a slow, deliberate sound that sends ice down my spine. “That mouth on you, Cross. No wonder she spread her legs for you and your brothers. Tell me, does she whimper the way she used to when I owned her?”
Zane moves first—no thought, just rage. He lunges for Luca, but one of Luca’s men is faster. A gun is drawn, and the metallic click of the safety flips off, slicing through the tense air.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Luca drawls, smug as ever. “Unless you want your precious little pack to start dropping like flies.”
Zane freezes, chest heaving. Rick and Chase shift closer, ready to pounce. I know that look. They’re seconds from tearing this place apart.
“Go ahead,” Luca taunts, stepping forward. “Make a move. Give me a reason to put a bullet between one of your eyes. Because truth be told, I don’t give a fuck about your little love nest. I don’t give a fuck about her.”
His eyes snap to mine, cold and cutting. “You think I came all this way because I miss you, querida ?” He sneers. “You’re just a bitch who ran off with my money. You could have drowned in a ditch, and I wouldn’t have blinked.” He smirks, lips curling in disgust. “But my money? That’s worth chasing.”
Something in my chest fractures. The way he dismisses me so effortlessly, like I was never anything to him, like our daughters mean nothing—it isn’t new. But it still burns.
“And the girls?” I push, voice tight. “They mean nothing to you either?”
“They’re mine by blood.” He shrugs. “But let’s be real, Elena. They’ll turn out just like you. Whores for any man willing to give them a little attention.” He clucks his tongue. “Just like their slut mother.”
Chase swings first, catching one of Luca’s men in the jaw. Zane follows, tackling another. Rick grabs Luca by the collar, slamming him against the counter so hard that the glass shatters.
Luca’s men react instantly. Guns come up. Too many.
“Back the fuck up!” one of them shouts, pressing a barrel into Chase’s ribs. Another levels his aim at Zane.
Rick doesn’t move, his fist still clutching Luca’s collar, breathing hard. One wrong move, and we’re done.
“Tsk, tsk,” Luca breathes, unaffected. “So predictable.”
Then, the back door creaks open.
All heads snap toward the sound.
Rose steps in, her presence an immediate disturbance I wasn’t expecting.
She doesn’t rush. Doesn’t speak. Just walks inside, slow and deliberate, looking like nothing anyone in this room has ever seen before.
Luca’s men hesitate, their grips faltering as they take her in. She isn’t afraid.
She looks like a problem they don’t know how to solve.
And for the first time, I see something close to wariness flicker across Luca’s face.
“Agent Martinez.” His voice holds almost amused contempt. “Or whatever name you’re using these days. I was wondering when you’d show yourself.”
My breath catches. “What are you talking about?” My voice wavers despite my best effort to keep it steady.
Luca’s smirk deepens as he turns his gaze back to me. “Oh, querida , you didn’t know? Of course you didn’t.” He tilts his head in mock pity. “You’ve been running all this time, thinking she was just some street-smart PI, haven’t you?” His eyes flick toward Rose. “Tell her, Agent Martinez. Tell her who you really are.”
Rick swears under his breath. Chase goes rigid. She played us.
Rose doesn’t even flinch. “I’m offering you a choice, Luca,” she says, her voice steady and calm.
Luca laughs, amused. “A choice? Let’s hear it then, Agent.”
She takes a step closer, ignoring the guns still raised around us. “Walk away,” she tells him. “Disband your operation. Step down quietly. Avoid serving a life sentence in federal prison.”
Luca’s amusement flickers, something dark settling behind his eyes. “And if I don’t?”
Rose doesn’t blink. “Then you go down for everything,” she says. “I have evidence of your crimes spanning nearly twenty years. Money laundering, arms dealing, drug trafficking, human trafficking. I have names, locations, and financial records. I have enough to bury you so deep in the system you won’t see daylight again.”
Luca stares at her for a moment before shaking his head, exhaling slowly like she’s an annoyance rather than a threat. “I don’t think you understand how this works, querida.”
Then, without missing a beat, he snaps his fingers.
His men move instantly—one lunges at Rose, another draws a gun. She twists, disarming the first man with practiced ease, her elbow smashing into his jaw before his body hits the ground.
A second later, Rick fires a warning shot. Where did he get the gun from? The gunshot sends the other man stumbling back.
The room is on the edge of chaos, tension coiled so tight it could snap at any second.
But all I can think about is my daughters. Getting to them before Luca does.
Not about Rose’s deception. Not about the three men I love, standing rigid with barely restrained fury. Not even about Luca’s threats.
Just my girls.
I need to reach them. Now.