Chapter 15 #2
“Who the hell have you gotten me involved with? Or what, rather, because the thing we saw a few hours ago sure seemed more like a what than a fucking who.”
Maya tensed as though Harper had just hit her. And despite the anger still burning in her chest, a twinge of guilt pierced through it.
She looked back at the car. Nell and Patricia had both exited, Nell fidgeting with her jacket sleeves and ignoring Patricia’s attempts to make eye contact.
They hadn’t stopped driving at any point, not even when the car got dangerously low on gas. Nell had barely said a word the entire time, keeping her eyes locked on the back window, looking for signs of them being followed.
Patricia hadn’t been much better. She’d held onto Nell’s hand, ensuring her that everything was fine, but those promises were undercut by the several phone calls she made to Lucas. Not to tell him what happened. Just to hear his voice.
It would be one thing if Harper had been the only one in danger. If Nell and Patricia were nothing more than bystanders. But they were almost taken. Whatever taken meant in this context.
“I didn’t know all that would happen.” Maya lowered her voice as a pedestrian walked by, but she shouldn’t have bothered. The guy was wearing earbuds and had his eyes glued to his phone. Big cities were full of people who minded their own business.
“I know you have questions. A lot of questions.” Maya gestured at a nearby doorway. “It’s better if we talk inside.”
Harper had been so preoccupied with shouting that she hadn’t inspected the building Maya was just leaning against. Club Lotus had been little more than a point of direction until now, but she never would have imagined anything like this.
It looked recently renovated, with a clean and sleek exterior, decorated with sprawling vines and a pink neon lotus above the entrance.
It fit the neighborhood, filled with bars and other nightclubs, but there was something more about this place.
Something that made your gaze pause and your heart quicken in rhythm.
A beautiful building. But Harper had run out of patience hours ago, and not even the prettiest distraction could dull her desire for quick answers.
“You can explain yourself perfectly fine out here,” she snapped. “Now. Otherwise, I’m leaving.”
Maya didn’t speak. Then she turned, limbs stiff, and walked into the Lotus.
Harper stared after her. She hadn’t really thought this morning could get any worse, but now she was being ignored?
Hell fucking no.
“Don’t walk away from me!” She hurried inside. Patricia called for her to stop, but listening to reason was a lost cause at this point. “You said you’d give me answers once I got here. Well, I’m here, and I’m dying to know why.”
Maya continued inside, past the empty wardrobe, and into a hall. A staircase led up to another floor, and a set of drapes hung in front of a wide doorway.
“You don’t want to talk to me.” Maya pushed through the drapes. Harper followed before it fell back into place. “I’m not the most knowledgeable person on the subject. I was just supposed to keep you safe and—”
“Safe?” Harper’s voice almost turned shrill. “Are you fucking kidding me? I didn’t feel safe a few hours ago, when I was nearly kidnapped by a bunch of cops. Who were talking about hunts, and Chains, and other weird fucking things.”
Harper cut in front of Maya, finally making her stop. “Tell me what’s going on. And what you needed to keep me safe from, because, from where I’m standing, my life didn’t get dangerous until you barged into it. So stop being vague and explain this to me now.”
Maya stayed quiet, pain shining in her eyes. As though Harper had put together the exact string of words needed to make her heart break into pieces.
Then she looked to the side. Brows furrowed, and fully prepared to spit out more biting comments, Harper followed her gaze. And froze.
The room wasn’t just fancy but lavish in its design. Everything looked luxurious, from the heavy drapes padding the walls to the clean, modern furniture. Soft lighting deepened the shadows, the dark colors interrupted only by bright pinks and polished steel.
But the aesthetic wasn’t why Harper’s breath had caught in her throat. Why shock had surged through her body in such a rush that it felt like she was falling even though she was standing up.
Two other women were present, standing on the opposite side of the room. One of them was a stranger, though a recognizable one, given that Harper had seen a photo of Natalya only a few hours earlier. Except now she wasn’t wearing sunglasses, showing a pair of bright violet cat eyes.
And right next to her, holding onto her hand, was Evie.
“They’re in here.” Nell’s voice. Close yet far away. Footsteps approached, and then Patricia was by Harper’s side, Nell following right after.
Harper didn’t acknowledge them. Maybe they weren’t even there. She had hit her head pretty hard, and a concussion might have caused a few dreams to slip into her waking hours.
“Harper?” Patricia grabbed her arm. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a gho—”
She stopped. Nell did the same, her hands flying up to cover her mouth as Evie turned towards them.
Her grip on Natalya’s hand tightened to the point where her knuckles turned white, but Natalya didn’t even react. She just squeezed Evie’s hand back, making her let out a trembling sigh.
The longer Harper stared at her, the less recognizable she became.
This wasn’t the same woman who had left for New Orleans two years ago.
Her strawberry blonde hair was still full and wavy, but it was longer.
She was also thinner than Harper remembered.
And, worst of all, her pale, freckled skin was covered in scars.
Jagged marks, straight lines, and what looked like puncture holes covered almost every inch of her body. A tapestry of terror that only her face had been spared from.
But one thing was the same. Her eyes. Her beautiful mossy green eyes that, despite filling with tears, held nothing but warmth.
“Hey…” Evie said, voice shaking. But it was hers. Even though it was weak, it was hers. Small, shaky, and so painfully familiar.
Natalya whispered something in her ear. She brought Evie’s hand to her lips, kissing it, and then gave her a gentle push forward. Evie stepped closer, tears glinting in her eyes, though they didn’t fall until Natalya let go of her hand.
“I know this isn’t what you expected,” Evie said. “I wanted to do it differently. To get you here sooner, but… we couldn’t find you and it…” Her lip started trembling, and she bit down on it to make it stop. “I’m sorry for not calling. For not saying anything, but I—”
Nell rushed forward, pulling Evie into a hug far tighter than Harper had thought her capable of giving.
“I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew it. I knew you were alive.”
She kept repeating it as Patricia hurried over to them. She put her hands on Evie’s face, staring at her as though shocked she wasn’t a mirage. Questions stumbled out of her mouth, all of them dying before they could be fully voiced.
There were too many. Far too many. But they all stemmed from one key phrase.
“How?” Harper turned towards Maya. Her vision had unfocused from rising tears, but she still saw the regret filling Maya’s eyes.
“I think Evie would like to tell you herself,” Maya said. “I’m sorry I hid this from you. I was under orders, so I couldn’t—” Her hands closed into fists. She shook her head, turning away. “I’m sorry.”
She walked off without another word, heading back towards the hallway. Normally, Harper would have followed or yelled more questions, but her body was battling so many contrasting emotions that she couldn’t even move.
This couldn’t be real. People didn’t come back from the dead. That was a fact, one so certain that even seeing Evie being embraced by Nell and Patricia didn’t feel as assuring as it should.
They were all laughing now. A choked-up, breathless kind of laughing, the sound of which brought agony with it. As though a dagger had been plunged into Harper’s body and now guilt was twisting it in place over and over again.
“You were dead,” Harper whispered, and even though her voice was all but inaudible, it still made Evie look her way.
Harper took a step back. “No, you were… you were gone. You disappeared, so I… I thought you were…”
Evie untangled herself from Nell and Patricia. She crossed the room, stopping when she was so close that Harper could see tears beading in her eyelashes.
“I know you did. For a while, I wished I was.” Evie’s voice cracked. “And for a while, I thought you were, too.”
Evie took Harper’s hand. The touch was so careful, as though it was Harper who had been believed dead. As though she had been referred to as missing for over two years, even though everyone knew it wasn’t the right term to use.
Evie pulled Harper close, hugging her as though she’d feared she would never get to do so again.
“I missed you so much.” Evie’s body shook, uneven breaths hitting Harper’s skin. A frail statement, contrasted by how tight her hold was.
Maybe it was her words that made everything fall apart.
Or maybe the embrace was to blame. That feeling of Evie’s arms around her—something both familiar and indisputable.
But, most likely, it was that combined with Nell and Patricia joining them until they stood in a small huddle with Harper at its center.
Logic had no power against that. No statistics, reason, or cynicism born of experience could stand against it. She had no defenses left. No way to shield her heart from the hope that had refused to die these past few years, even though she’d done her best to kill it.
So Harper gave in. She closed her eyes, clutched Evie tight, and broke down in tears.