Chapter 16 #2
“Natalya may have been involved,” Evie said. “But I didn’t really mind. It helped. Having her close. I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with her.”
Harper let out a theatrical sigh. “Then I have bad news for you. Your membership to the ‘trash dating habits’ club has been revoked. Shame. There’s been a lot of activity lately.”
“How tragic for me,” Evie chuckled. “But seriously… A cop, Harper? Really?”
Harper cringed. They’d discussed the police stop earlier, and Harper had admitted why it had happened. Which might have received a more shocked reaction if it wasn’t immediately overshadowed by the reveal of those officers being goddamn werewolves.
“When have you ever known me to make smart decisions about anything?” Harper said. “It’s a mistake I won’t repeat, I can say that much. It was a new low. My standards have apparently dropped so much that I started dating a dog.”
Evie snorted, putting a hand to her mouth as though to suppress incoming laughter. But even if she’d let it escape, it would have been short-lived. Her eyes had gone distant again.
“Speaking of dating… That thing Nell mentioned. About you and Maya. Is that true?”
Was there even a thing to discuss? The evening before had felt like a wonderful beginning. One that had been cut off before it could gain proper footing, which should make it easy to dismiss.
But it just hurt.
“Kind of.” Harper had intended to spit out the words, but they came out as a whisper. “It wasn’t planned. We just… We clicked.”
“You have to remember that she was under orders,” Evie said. “She was supposed to gain your trust. To protect you and get you here safely.”
Evie settled her hands in her lap, running a finger over the puncture scars around her wrist.
“She’s violent. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway. And based on what she did to those cops, the rumors weren’t exaggerating.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “Maya did that?”
She’d assumed the Chains had something to do with that carnage, but Harper thought a whole group had been involved. Not just one person. Not Maya.
How much of herself had she hidden? Just how vicious was she, that she could tear through a bunch of people in such a devastating way?
But… she hadn’t done that until she had to. Until waiting would have resulted in Nell and Patricia getting hurt. Until Harper had been shoved against that police car, one she would have been trapped within only seconds later if no one had intervened.
“She’s done worse. Before she got here. She was enslaved by Night for a while, like I was.” Evie looked away. “Well, not exactly like I was. They only used her for feeding, as far as I know.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s just important that you know what she’s like. She killed a lot of people before joining the Chains. Everyone steers clear of her because of it. Or, she steers clear of them.”
That didn’t sound like Maya at all. No matter how good she was at playing a role, certain things couldn’t be faked.
It wasn’t pretend that Maya could remember everyone’s drink of choice after serving them just once. That she could make conversation with the same natural affinity as one had with breathing. Could make you feel so comfortable that you shared things you never told anyone.
“Did Natalya tell you that?” Harper asked. The violet-eyed woman was a bigshot around here and had been overseeing the mission to get Harper and the others to Chicago. She would know more facts than most.
Evie shook her head. “It’s mainly stories. There are a lot of them, and everyone says—”
“Everyone?” Harper scoffed. “I don’t want to hear what everyone has to say. They tend to get their sources wrong.”
She knew all too well what happened when rumors got out of hand. When the truth became something separate from reality.
This might be another case of dumb stubbornness. She was looking for negatives before and had just been presented with an ideal one. The revelation that Maya was a violent liar who had gained Harper’s trust only as a means to an end.
But she couldn’t believe it. Not after the kiss the night before. The laughs and the smiles they’d shared. That first conversation by Harper’s car, when Maya hadn’t even known who she was.
All of that felt so real that Harper’s heart ached.
Evie’s brows furrowed. Then she leaned back, mouth falling open.
“You like her. Don’t you?”
Harper scowled at the snow. “Funny. Nell said the exact same thing.”
Evie stared at her, shocked. Fear took over her gaze as she grabbed Harper’s hand.
“Please stay away from her. It’s not fair to ask, I know that, but I only just got you back. I can’t lose you again. I just can’t.”
The pain in her voice was so raw, pouring fuel on the doubt burning into Harper’s mind. But despite its persistence, it couldn’t find purchase.
Was that stupid? Possibly. It was at least impractical that she couldn’t set aside these feelings and give Evie the reassurance she wanted. All she could offer was honesty.
“I don’t think I can,” Harper whispered.
“Why not? You barely know her.”
“It feels like I do.”
“But you don’t. You were just a job to her, one she shouldn’t even have been doing. She was only allowed to handle it on her own because of chance. She’s a vampire, Harper. They’re dangerous.”
Harper couldn’t argue with that. Even without the context of Evie’s stories, she could have assumed as much.
She’d also be lying if she said that wasn’t part of what made Maya so intriguing. That strange, dangerous quality that Harper hadn’t been able to place before. Something that should have made her run away but which always made her do the opposite.
Harper’s silence said more than any words could have done. Evie’s eyes glinted, and she took a deep, trembling breath.
“If you really can’t stay away… If you have to talk to her, then… please be careful.”
Harper almost said she wasn’t good at being careful, but the fear in Evie’s eyes didn’t allow for that kind of quip.
“I will be. Promise.”
Evie smiled, and it looked like a mask. Forced on and tense, with her lip trembling and her eyes shiny with tears.
It wasn’t just Harper, Nell, and Patricia who had lost someone these past few years. Evie had, too. She had feared she would never see them again, and in her eyes, that risk was still present.
“But before I deal with that, I need your help for something.” Harper stood and extended a hand towards Evie. “I’m new here, so I’ll need a tour. Both around town and around the Court that’s just offered me employment.”
Evie’s smile relaxed. She wiped at her eyes, before taking Harper’s hand and getting to her feet.
Things might still be messy. But they were safe. Safe together. If the only thing keeping Harper from resting in it was a lack of answers, she could do herself the favor of seeking them out. If they matched the rumors, then she could walk away, like Evie encouraged her to do. If they didn’t, then…
Then that would make everything a lot more complicated.