Chapter 34
EVE
The rest of the week was a blur of classes, family dinners, and nights on a rotating sleep schedule dependent on which of the boys wanted to share, and which were busy with their own shit. With five boyfriends, I never had to sleep alone, and almost always had at least two of them by my side.
This poly relationship should feel like an impossible situation, but somehow it felt perfectly normal as we made it work. In our way. The nightmares were even giving me a bit of a break, lessening in intensity, until I was almost sleeping like a normal person.
Almost. Close enough that it felt very much like a win.
Sunday night, after an amazing dinner, roast as usual, always cooked to perfection by Andrew, I woke uneasily around midnight.
Haze and Andrew were on either side of me, sound asleep, a hint of moonlight from the slightly parted curtains highlighting their faces.
I couldn’t remember a nightmare or dream, and I wasn’t sure what had woken me, until I heard another slight creak and the distinctive sound of the front door closing softly.
It was only the unending silence of the witching hour that allowed me to pick up that sound, and I managed to crawl out of bed without disturbing the two sleeping men, placing a pillow between them so Andrew wouldn’t accidentally touch Haze.
We hadn’t quite reached the easy touching for him and all the others, though he was working pretty hard on it.
Still, in sleep when he was vulnerable was the most precarious of times to be testing his limits. I didn’t want to get Andrew choked to death by accident. Six months ago, sure, but now I’d grown quite fond of the asshole.
“Evie Marie?” Haze whispered, and I shook my head at thinking I could sneak out on him. He slept like he had one eye open.
“Just going to the bathroom,” I murmured, stroking my hand down his arm gently. “Go back to sleep.”
He mumbled softly, and his eyes were already closed as he let me relax him.
When his breaths were even, I hurried out into the hall, walking as quickly as I could without making a ton of noise.
I reached the window that was at the end of the hall and faced the front of the house, just in time to see a very familiar set of broad shoulders and inky hair heading out in the low moonlit night.
Connor.
Him venturing out at this time again, on foot and without warning any of us, could mean any number of things, but for some reason my mind was flashing back to that encounter with Elijah and the Crusades, the one that had ended up with me stuffed in the trunk of a car with Connor while I spiraled into a panic attack—the same time he’d kissed me for the first time.
I mean, maybe he was just heading out to see his father.
Or a very late-night meetup with Lacey, though I really hoped that wasn’t the reason.
Worse would be if he was going to meet with Elijah again.
Just because he hadn’t mentioned them to me in recent days didn’t mean they weren’t out there causing issues still.
Bouncing from foot to foot, I looked down at the panties and crop top I’d gone to sleep in, and was already hurrying into my room—which was empty, since we’d chosen Andrew’s deliciously soft and perfectly pressed sheets to sleep between tonight.
I threw on sweats, a hoodie, and a pair of runners with the old socks that had been sitting next to them.
I didn’t have time to find any others, and honestly, gross or not, I wasn’t going out wearing my shoes without some form of socks.
As I all but raced toward the stairs—quietly of course—my mind remained on the details of the last time Connor had pulled this shit and almost got himself shot—when I’d foolishly intervened with no plan and no skills to back me up, and we both could have died.
In reality, I’d been less than useful to Connor, despite my protests that I’d saved his life.
A curse ripped quietly from me as I paused, deciding that I wouldn’t do the stupid girl thing this time.
Spinning on my toes, I crept into Ethan’s room, finding him sprawled on his back in the middle of the bed, his delicious bare chest visible above the sheets.
He looked like he’d only just gone to sleep, if the phone in his hand was an indication, and I hesitated to wake him.
In the end, it was the urgency of the situation that had me rushing forward and shaking his shoulder.
“Eth,” I whispered, and he came awake with a start, shooting up in bed.
His worried green eyes, much darker in this light, locked on mine, until I almost couldn’t differentiate the pupil and iris. “Eve?” he rasped. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what to do,” I said, wringing my hands, the long sleeves of my hoodie getting in the way until I pushed them back.
“Connor just took off into the night on foot, and I’m worried that he’s out there getting himself shot at again.
It might be nothing of course, but I can’t help but flashback to the time he went and dealt with the Crusades alone. ”
Ethan’s sleepy worried expression dissolved, to be replaced by a harsh, very alert one. “Fuck. That idiot thinks he’s fucking invincible.”
The first thing he did was yank the phone in his hand up closer to his face and unlock it. His eyes darted across the screen, and he pressed a few buttons, letting out a snarl.
“He sent me a message two minutes ago. Elijah and the others were seen outside the college grounds. One of them was detained trying to break in, so he’s gone to sort them out.”
My fingers moved faster together, a nervous twitch I couldn’t seem to get under control, and Ethan wrapped his free hand over them, stilling my movements.
“I’ll go and help him,” he said, and the immediate reassurance of that had my pulse easing a touch.
“Thank you for coming to me and not just racing after him.”
My laugh was low and strangled, filled with a lot of unsaid darkness.
“I didn’t want to be the idiot this time who raced into danger because one of the men I love decided to play hero.
” Or villain, more accurately for Connor.
“Should we wake the other guys too? I don’t want you getting hurt either and it feels like the more the merrier when it comes to taking down the bad guys. ”
Ethan was shaking his head before I even finished, already moving out of bed and pulling on his own sweats and hoodie over his boxers.
Shoes and socks for him too, since I knew we shared the sentiment of no bare feet in runners.
“With Vinnie watching us so closely, we can’t risk bringing the others into Sullivan business.
It’ll just…yeah, it’ll just cause more issues than it’s worth right now.
” When my expression fell, he shot me what appeared to be a reassuring smile.
“Don’t you worry, Lillith, we’re not easy to kill.
I’ll bring both of your boyfriends back in one piece. ”
With a kiss on my cheek, he hurried to his side table to grab his gun, and slipped what looked like brass knuckles into his pocket. “You wait here for me.”
That was the smart thing to do. I didn’t particularly want to head out into the night to danger, but I had to ask, “Do you know where the secret side exit of Meadowridge is? Or the clearing where Connor met them last time?”
I had to figure with the boys pretending to be mortal enemies most of their lives, Connor hadn’t been taking Ethan along on gang business in recent times. Or any times.
I wasn’t sure he’d heard me until we reached the bottom of the stairs and he turned back.
“Look, I don’t know, but I’m sure I can figure it out.
Don’t forget that the last time you followed along on one of these missions you got yourself kidnapped.
And right now, there’s far more danger out there for you than fucking Elijah and his band of misfits and cretins. ”
Cretins. Excellent fucking word, Professor.
Forcing myself to focus, I tried to figure out the best way to get us all safely in and out of this situation.
“Okay, what if I go with you as far as the gap in the fence, to save you time on searching. It seemed like a familiar meeting ground. At least you’ll be able to eliminate that area fast. As soon as you know the way, I’ll head my ass right back to the house.
We could wake one of the guys to come with me, but frankly, there’s not enough time.
Connor has at least a ten-minute headstart on us already.
Just text Haze, and he can meet me halfway or something.
He always grabs his phone as soon as it buzzes. ”
Ethan still looked torn, but he couldn’t deny the time urgency we were facing. “Fuck, okay. I’m texting all the guys as we walk, so one of them meets you halfway, and you do not step any closer to the fence than is needed. You’re lucky this school is almost an impenetrable fortress.”
The almost was the key point, but I wasn’t too worried. I wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks, and honestly, to ensure Connor was okay, I was more than happy to make my way back to the house alone. Though I had no doubt Haze or one of the other guys would come for me.
Ethan, still looking unhappy with my involvement, started sending his message while ushering me out the door. We closed and locked it behind us, and he dropped the key in my palm.
“So you can get back in,” he said.
Putting them in the front pocket of my hoodie, I focused on our surroundings, remembering the fastest way to the fence exit.
Even though it had been weeks since I’d taken this path, I found the gap in the fence easily enough, and when I silently pointed it to Ethan, I also indicated which direction he needed to head once he was out the gate.
“Home,” he ordered, so softly I barely heard him.
With an over-the-top salute, I smirked at him, and he looked like he was debating how long he had, and if he could structure a suitable punishment for me before he left. Alas, sadly for us both, there was no time.
Blowing him a kiss, and whispering, “Be careful,” I spun on my heel and hurried back into the darkness, heading right for Bluebell House.
My path back remained on the outer areas of the college, and I didn’t have to cross into the main campus.
Being after midnight through the week didn’t mean that no students would be around—there was plenty of partying from what Nina had told me—but most of them stayed in the dorms.
The dark was eerie, but I also enjoyed blending into the night. My worry for Connor and Ethan increased with every step, and it was only the knowledge that having me there would be a liability that kept me from turning around and sneaking back to ensure they were okay.
Those two were highly trained. I doubted they could have survived in Vinnie’s world without being ruthless and vicious.
And Elijah would never risk pissing off the biggest criminal organization in the state by killing his sons, right?
He hadn’t wanted to last time, so surely this was just another warning.
A little push and pull in a territory dispute?
As I reasoned away their safety, Bluebell House finally came into view, and even dark and creepy on the outside—we’d done nothing to fix that part up yet—it felt like home the moment I saw it.
A smile spread on my face when I noticed a light on upstairs.
I figured someone had finally gotten the message.
Odd that none of them had come out to me yet, but considering they were all sound asleep when I left, it was probably just the time to wake up and check their phones that was the delay.
Either way, I’d almost made it back safe and sou—
The front door of the house opened right at the time a screech of tires had me spinning on the spot, less than a hundred yards to safety. I squinted at the dark SUV, unable to tell who was driving, until I heard my name bellowed.
Haze shouted my name and sprinted for me, and I was already running, but the car pulled in between us.
The back door was yanked open and I met a familiar, smirking face.
Screams ripped from me as I tried to back up, but my forward momentum had been so great that I ended up tripping right into his arms.
“Evelyn Cromwell,” Elijah breathed, sounding pleased as fuck with himself. “You’re one hard chick to get a hold of.”
I fought his hold, my nails scratching his hands as I used my legs to brace myself against the side of the car.
Elijah twisted us both until I felt what could have been a crack in my wrist, and when I shrieked in pain he yanked me sideways, the side of my head hitting the panel of the car as he got me in through the open door.
The car was moving before the door even closed, and no matter how hard I fought, there were two men on either side of me, holding me down and sending more panic through my chest and pounding head.
Through the window, I saw Haze racing after us.
He was so damn close, that I could have cried.
My eyes held on to that sight for as long as I could, and I’d briefly stopped fighting, pain and distress holding me immobile.
It was stupid to tire myself out when there was no opportunity to escape yet. I had to be patient and bide my time.
“What are you doing?” I bit out, focusing on Elijah. “Weren’t you meeting with Connor?”
His teeth were yellow, and I tried not to grimace as he flashed his grin at me again. “That was a distraction. Depending on what you did, I had men there in case you decided to follow him again. We fucked it up last time, thinking you were a random slut, but we wouldn’t make that mistake again.”
“I didn’t follow him this time,” I breathed, wishing I’d just stayed in damn bed tonight.
“We have men at the house too,” he said, leaning back since I’d stopped fighting. “We have men all over the grounds tonight, after finally finding a security guard with a vulnerability. It wouldn’t have mattered where you were tonight, Ms. Cromwell. We were taking you.”
With that, I decided fuck patience and dove over him to latch onto the door handle.
There was a click as I got it open, right before the other man, who I hadn’t even looked at to know anything about him, yanked me back.
Yellow teeth flashed again, then there was a crack on the side of my head, and everything went dark.