18. Evangeline
18
EVANGELINE
ANONYMOUS TIP TO FBI [Delivered with single playing card—Queen of Spades]
The organization isn’t what you think. Ask Davis about the Deveraux twins. Ask him why one had to die. Ask him what a father’s willing to do to keep his secrets.
But ask quickly. Some truths are written in blood, and New Orleans is about to bleed.
Dawn bleeds across Lucas’s hidden lab, painting shadows in shades of gold and guilt. Jazz sleeps fitfully on a makeshift cot, his trumpet within easy reach. Lucas moves between his equipment and his phone, giggling about perfect timing and chemical evolution. And I sit perched on a lab stool, watching the sun rise on what might be our last day together.
My phone buzzes. The image that appears steals my breath – Ally, bound and bloody, in what looks like a warehouse office. Alex’s message follows.
Alex: Time’s up, little shadow. Come alone, or your friend dies first.
Innocent sweet Ally. My coworker at the Magnolia. The one I refused to befriend. And despite keeping my distance Alex knew. He saw what no one else saw.
A woman desperate for friendship.
“No.” Jazz’s voice makes me jump. He’s awake, reading over my shoulder. “You ain’t facing him alone.”
“He’ll kill her.” My voice breaks. “Just like Lauren. Just like Celeste.”
“Fascinating timing.” Lucas appears at my other side, practically vibrating with barely contained excitement. “The warehouse district, by the old shipping office. The same location where Lauren Blake died. And just when our other experiment is reaching its most crucial phase...”
“What other experiment?” Jazz asks sharply, but Lucas just grins, checking his phone again.
“All elements combining beautifully,” he mutters. “The catalyst, the reaction, the transformation... Oh, this will be exquisite.”
“Fascinating timing.” Lucas continues, his eyes gleaming with that particularly unhinged light that usually means he’s ten steps ahead of everyone else. “You know what I’ve discovered in my recent experiments? Sometimes the most powerful transformations aren’t really changes at all—just... revelations. Permission to be what was always there.”
Jazz and I exchange looks. “Lucas, what exactly have you been up to?”
His laugh borders on hysterical. “Oh, my beautiful Chimera, let’s just say our dear Saint isn’t so saintly after all. Never was, really. He just needed someone to... unlock those particular chains.”
Before I can dig deeper into that cryptic statement, another message arrives—this time from an unknown number:
Unknown: Everything in position. The ghost is about to become the hunter.
“Well,” Lucas grins, checking something on his phone that makes him practically bounce with glee, “isn’t this delightfully complicated?”
I stand, my decision made. “I’m going. But I need you both to trust me.”
Their protests overlap:
“Like hell you’re going alone?—”
“But you’ll miss the best part of the experiment-”
“Listen!” I grab their hands, forming a circle of desperate connection. But before I can continue, Lucas interrupts with an intensity I’ve never seen before.
“My Chimera, for once in your beautifully deadly existence, trust that I’ve orchestrated something magnificent. Something worthy of both your shadows and his darkness.”
“His?” Jazz catches the emphasis. “Lucas, what have you done with Ethan?”
Lucas’s smile turns feral. “Nothing he didn’t already want done, I assure you. Sometimes the most effective catalyst just gives permission for what’s already there...”
“You’re talking in riddles,” I snap, time pressing down like a physical weight. “Ally is?—”
“Going to be fine,” Lucas cuts me off, that manic certainty blazing in his eyes. “Because Alex is about to learn a very important lesson about assumptions and control. You see, he thinks he knows all the players in this game. Thinks he understands all the pieces on the board.” His giggle has an edge of pure delight. “He has no idea that his intended victim has become something far more... interesting.”
Jazz straightens, something clicking. “That’s why Ethan’s team has been operating without him. You’ve had him this whole time, haven’t you?”
“Had him? Oh no, my musical friend. I simply... provided an environment where certain truths could emerge. Rather like cultivating a particularly fascinating strain of bacteria.” Lucas checks his phone again, practically purring at whatever he sees. “And now that culture is ready to be introduced to a wider sample group.”
“We don’t have time for this,” I move toward the door, but Lucas catches my arm.
“On the contrary, my Chimera. We have exactly the right amount of time. You see, while Alex is expecting Sarah’s shadow to come crawling back, while he’s preparing to teach you a lesson about control and consequences...” His grin turns predatory. “He’s completely forgotten about what happens when you push a righteous man too far.”
Understanding hits me like a physical blow. “Lauren.”
“Precisely!” Lucas spins me in a quick, manic dance. “He killed the love of our Saint’s life, and then had the audacity to use it as a bargaining chip. Rather unwise, don’t you think? Especially since our dear Ethan has recently been... freed from certain moral constraints.”
“Jesus,” Jazz breathes. “You didn’t break him. You just showed him what he already was.”
“The best experiments simply reveal existing properties,” Lucas agrees. “Now, shall we go watch the results? I do so love a good chemical reaction, especially when it involves revenge and revelation in equal measure.”
I look between them—my steady musician and my brilliant madman. “You’re sure about this? About him?”
“My dear Chimera,” Lucas practically vibrates with dark joy, “our Saint has been hunting monsters his whole life. Did you never wonder why he was so good at thinking like them? At predicting them? Some people are born to walk in shadows.” His grin turns knowing. “You of all people should understand that.”
“And you just... what? Helped him see it?”
“I simply provided the right conditions for truth to emerge. Like watching a flower bloom in toxic soil.” He checks his phone one final time. “Speaking of which, we should go. The reaction is about to reach critical mass.”
Jazz grabs his trumpet case—the one I know contains more than just instruments. “I still don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to like it,” Lucas says cheerfully. “You just have to appreciate the beauty of what’s about to unfold. A righteous man embracing his darkness, a mentor facing his greatest mistake, and our lovely Chimera...” he kisses my cheek with manic affection, “finally understanding that some monsters are born, not made.”
We move through pre-dawn streets, Lucas leading us through a maze of alleys toward the warehouse district. His usual chaotic energy has focused into something sharper, more predatory. Whatever he’s orchestrated, whatever he’s helped awaken in Ethan, it’s going to be spectacular.
“Just remember,” he tells me as we near our destination, “Alex expects to find a broken shadow, crawling back to her master. He has no idea he’s about to face the combined darkness of everyone he’s tried to control or destroy.”
“And Ally?” I ask, still seeing her bloody face in that photo.
Lucas’s laugh holds a razor’s edge. “Let’s just say our Saint has been very... creative with his entrance strategy. Apparently, freedom from moral constraints really unleashes one’s tactical thinking.”
We slip into position around the warehouse, Jazz melting into shadows with a grace that matches my own, Lucas practically dancing with anticipation. Through a broken window, I can see Alex waiting, looking every inch the controlled mentor about to discipline an errant student.
He has no idea what’s coming. None of us really do.
“Places everyone,” Lucas whispers with theatrical glee. “The experiment is about to yield fascinating results.”
In the growing light, a familiar figure moves through the shadows. But there’s something different about his stance, his energy. This isn’t the righteous FBI agent hunting his ghost.
This is something much, much darker.
Saint Ethan has finally embraced his true nature.
And he’s ready to hunt monsters on their own terms.
Through my vantage point, I watch Ally subtly test her bonds. There’s something off about her position, about the way she’s tied. Almost like...
“She was never really captured, was she?” I whisper.
Lucas’s giggle confirms it. “Our Saint can be quite persuasive when he embraces his natural talents. Turns out your friend was quite willing to help set a trap for the man who killed Lauren.”
The warehouse door opens. Alex turns, expecting to see me. His face when he registers Ethan instead is... perfect.
“Agent Blake,” he recovers smoothly. “This is an unexpected pleasure. Though I’m afraid you’re interrupting a private meeting.”
“Hello, Alex.” Ethan’s voice carries none of its usual righteous anger. Instead, it holds something colder, darker. Something that makes Alex take an instinctive step back. “Or should I say, Lauren’s killer?”
“Ah.” Alex’s smile turns sharp. “I see someone’s been sharing stories. Though I wonder... where is my little shadow hiding? Surely she wouldn’t send her FBI agent to fight her battles.”
“That’s your first mistake,” Ethan moves further into the warehouse, and there’s something different about his movements. Something predatory. “Thinking this is her battle. Thinking you understand what’s happening here at all.”
Lucas practically vibrates beside me. “Watch closely, my Chimera. This is what happens when righteousness embraces its shadow side.”
“You killed Lauren,” Ethan continues, his voice terrifyingly calm. “Used her death to manipulate me, to protect your organization. And now you’re trying to do the same thing with Sarah.”
Alex’s composure slips slightly. “How do you?—”
“Know her real name?” Ethan’s laugh holds echoes of Lucas’s madness. “I know everything, Alex. About Sarah and Celeste, about the organization, about every death you’ve orchestrated. I’ve always known. I just needed... permission to do something about it.”
“Permission?” Alex’s hand moves toward his weapon.
“To become what I’ve always been.” Ethan’s smile is pure predator now. “A monster hunter who finally stopped pretending he wasn’t a monster himself.”
“Now!” Ethan’s command cracks through the air. Ally throws off her fake bonds, rolling clear as Jazz’s musicians emerge from the shadows—my brilliant man had his whole band backing us up. Lucas’s laughter echoes off metal walls as his own people secure the exits, all carrying evidence bags and recording equipment.
“What is this?” Alex’s composure cracks completely.
“This,” Ethan moves closer, that new darkness rolling off him in waves, “is what happens when you push the wrong righteous man into shadows. When you kill someone he loves and then dare to use her memory as a bargaining chip.”
“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with,” Alex warns, but his voice has lost its smooth control. “The organization?—”
“Has already been compromised.” Ethan’s smile is terrible in its calmness. “While you were focused on controlling your little shadow , watching her every move, you missed what was happening right under your nose. Every shipment, every document, every piece of evidence... all carefully collected and distributed to multiple agencies.”
I can’t help but gasp. Lucas squeezes my hand, practically dancing with glee. “Didn’t I tell you, my Chimera? The most beautiful experiments are the ones where the subject surprises even the scientist.”
“You’re bluffing,” Alex says, but his eyes dart toward the exits.
“Am I?” Ethan produces a phone—his own, not the burner phones his team usually uses. “Would you like to hear today’s headlines? About the simultaneous raids happening across three states? About the councilman currently being brought in for questioning? About the evidence connecting your organization to Lauren’s death?”
Jazz whistles low beside me. “Damn, sugar. Your FBI man’s been busy.”
“He’s not mine,” I whisper, but something warm unfurls in my chest watching Ethan stalk our former mentor like prey.
“He’s ours,” Lucas corrects with possessive delight. “Just like we’re his. A perfectly balanced chemical equation.”
Alex moves with deadly speed—strike, pivot, the flash of a blade—but Ethan meets each movement with terrifying calm. Where Alex’s style is controlled precision, Ethan fights with the raw grace of a predator finally unleashed.
“You think you can beat me?” Alex taunts, dancing back from a particularly vicious strike. “I’ve been doing this since before you had your badge.”
“No,” Ethan’s voice carries that new darkness as he presses forward. “You’ve been pretending to be in control. I’ve been pretending to be righteous. Let’s see which mask breaks first.”
Their dance grows more brutal. Alex’s knife finds Ethan’s arm, drawing blood, but Ethan doesn’t even flinch. If anything, the pain seems to focus him, sharpen him. Each movement becomes more primal, more honest.
“Beautiful,” Lucas breathes beside me, his eyes fever-bright as he watches. “Look how naturally he embraces it. No hesitation, no moral conflict. Just pure, unfettered darkness.”
“Like he was born for it,” Jazz agrees softly, and I hear the same fascination in his voice that I feel in my chest.
Alex’s perfect control starts to fracture. Each attack grows more desperate as he realizes this isn’t the righteous FBI agent he expected. This is something else. Something that understands darkness from the inside.
“What did they do to you?” Alex demands, blood streaming from a split lip.
Ethan’s laugh holds echoes of Lucas’s madness. “They didn’t do anything. They just helped me stop pretending.” His next strike shatters Alex’s knee. “Stop pretending I didn’t understand the monsters I hunted.” Another hit, ribs cracking. “Stop pretending I didn’t know exactly how they think.”
Alex goes down hard. Ethan follows, hands finding our mentor’s throat with intimate precision. “Stop pretending I wasn’t one of them all along.”
“Ethan,” I whisper, but Lucas holds me back.
“Watch,” he urges, practically vibrating with excitement. “Watch what happens when righteousness and darkness finally merge.”
Alex’s struggles grow weaker as Ethan leans close, whispering something we can’t hear. Whatever it is makes Alex’s eyes go wide with real fear—perhaps the first genuine emotion I’ve ever seen from him.
When it’s over, when Alex lies bleeding and bound, Ethan straightens slowly. His movements are different now—smoother, deadlier, like he’s finally comfortable in his own skin. He looks directly at our hiding spot, and his eyes... God, his eyes hold something beautiful and terrible.
“You can come out now, Ghost. All of you.”
I step out first, Jazz and Lucas flanking me like dark angels. Ethan watches our approach with those changed eyes—no, not changed. Honest. Like he’s finally stopped pretending they were ever anything but predator’s eyes.
“Well,” Lucas practically purrs, circling Ethan with clinical fascination. “I must say, the results far exceeded my experimental parameters. Though perhaps that’s because there was nothing to change, just something to... unleash.”
“You knew,” I realize, watching Ethan track Lucas’s movement with that new deadly grace. “You knew what he really was.”
“Of course he knew,” Ethan’s voice carries an edge of dark amusement. “Our brilliant doctor has a particular talent for seeing the monsters hiding behind masks of righteousness. Don’t you, Lucas?”
Lucas’s giggle borders on hysteria. “Oh, my Saint, you have no idea how long I’ve waited to see this. The perfect fusion of law and chaos, justice and vengeance.” He runs a finger down Ethan’s bloody arm. “Absolutely exquisite.”
“If you’re quite finished admiring your handiwork,” Jazz interrupts, nudging Alex with his foot, “we should probably deal with this situation.”
Alex coughs wetly. “You have no idea what you’re doing. The organization?—”
“Is being dismantled as we speak,” Ethan cuts him off. “Every piece of evidence I’ve collected over the years, every connection I traced while playing the righteous agent, it’s all being executed now. Your empire is falling, Alex. I just needed to stop pretending I cared about doing it legally.”
“And what about her?” Alex’s eyes fix on me. “Your precious ghost? Going to arrest her too, now that you’ve embraced your darkness?”
Ethan moves with that new deadly grace, crouching beside my former mentor. “You still don’t understand what’s happening here, do you? I’m not going to arrest anyone.” His smile holds echoes of Lucas’s brilliant madness. “I’m joining them.”
“You’re joining—” Alex’s laugh turns into a wet cough. “The righteous FBI agent, the scientist who can’t decide if he’s brilliant or insane, a jazz musician with too many connections, and my little shadow? What a fascinating team you’ll make.”
“Family,” Jazz corrects, and something in his tone makes us all look at him. “We’re becoming a family, you sadistic bastard. Something you wouldn’t understand.”
A crash from outside—Ethan’s team finally breaching the perimeter. But the sound of helicopter blades tells me Alex planned for this. He always had an escape route.
“As entertaining as this has been,” Alex shifts, and I recognize the movement too late.
“Down!” I scream, but the flash grenade is already sailing through the air.
The world goes white, then black. By the time my vision clears, Alex is gone. The sound of the helicopter fades into the distance.
“Damn it!” Ethan moves to pursue, but Lucas catches his arm.
“Let him go, my Saint.” His voice carries that manic certainty. “This is just the beginning of a much more interesting experiment.”
“He’ll come back,” I say, picking myself up off the concrete. “He never could let go of things he considered his.”
“Good.” Ethan’s smile is terrifying in its beauty. “Let him come. Let him see exactly what his little shadow has built.” He looks between us—musician, scientist, vigilante. “Let him learn what happens when the monsters he tried to control decide to hunt together.”
Jazz moves to the window, watching Alex’s helicopter disappear into the dawn. “So what now, sugar? All of us together... that’s gonna make one hell of a complicated song.”
“Now?” Lucas laughs, that brilliant madness dancing in his eyes. “Now we become something new. Something beautiful and dangerous and perfectly balanced.”
“Now,” Ethan says, that predator’s grace flowing through every movement as he pulls me close, “we stop pretending we’re anything but what we are.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, even as Jazz and Lucas move to complete our circle.
Ethan’s smile holds all the darkness he never had to hide again. “A family of monsters, Ghost. The kind that hunt other monsters.”
Lucas giggles. “Oh, this is going to be absolutely fascinating to observe.”
“Observe hell,” Jazz grins. “We’re all in this dance now.”
I look between them—my brilliant madman, my steady musician, and my righteous predator. Alex will come back, the organization isn’t fully destroyed, and there are still so many shadows to navigate.
But for the first time since Celeste died, I’m not dancing alone.
“Together then,” I say, and their answering smiles hold beautiful promises of chaos and protection, love and darkness, justice and revenge.
Let Alex come. Let the whole damn organization try to stop us.
They have no idea what they’re really hunting.