Chapter 30 Aiden
The crowd pressed in around us, full of noise and heat and the metallic scent of blood on concrete, but none of it mattered as Evie leaned a fraction closer.
“You’re staring,” she murmured, eyes still scanning the packed room like she wasn’t cataloging every face here.
I should’ve looked away, but I didn’t. “You’re imagining things.”
She arched a brow, lips quirking like she knew damn well I was full of shit. “Right. Because you’re the king of subtlety.”
God, I was fucked. Absolutely fucked. One look at her and every decision I’d been clinging to for weeks—the ones where I kept my distance, kept her safe by not letting this go further—crumbled like they had never existed.
Evie was everything.
She was my chaos, the thing I looked forward to every day, the one who always pushed me to do better.
She was my everything.
But Evie wasn’t here for me. She was here for answers. Her gaze swept the underground fight club like it was a crime scene, every muscle in her body pulled tight with tension.
“See anyone you recognize?” I asked, low enough for only her to hear.
She shook her head, strands of hair brushing her cheek. “Not yet. But Anderson’s supposed to show up at these fights. If I can just”—she gestured vaguely toward the ring—“catch him in the act or hear a name drop, I’ll finally have something.”
Something that could get her killed.
I wanted to grab her hand, haul her out of this cesspit of sweat and fists and danger, lock her somewhere no one could touch her. But she was already risking everything for this lead. And the truth was, I’d risk everything to keep standing here with her like this.
“Evie—” I started, unsure what the hell I was about to confess, but the announcer’s voice boomed over the speakers, drowning me out. Mason was climbing into the ring, and the crowd surged forward, separating us by a few bodies and forcing my hands back to my sides.
I let her go. For now. But the hollow in my chest stayed, aching.
“I’ll be back in a second. I want to check on Mason.” I needed a break, a moment of clarity before I touched her again.
The room erupted again while Hero and I talked with Mason. These fights could get serious to some, but for us it was always a way to relax and blow off some steam.
Tonight, Mason seemed particularly focused, but I wasn’t sure why.
My eyes found Evie again, not able to help myself, and with one look my entire world was back to revolving around her.
The air shifted and—because of whatever godforsaken connection we had—I knew something was wrong with her.
How the hell could I know she was upset from one look?
I tried to refocus and watched Mason’s footwork as he moved around the ring. It was better now, more sure at each step. In his first few fights, he had been more like a baby deer, each step clumsy and off. I followed each step, each swing, and didn’t miss the grin on his face as the guy went down.
It gave me a few more minutes of avoiding Evie.
I didn’t know what to do about her. It wasn’t a simple choice to be with her or not—it was everything. It was making a decision that could destroy my life but give me everything I ever wanted.
And it was a decision I was pretty sure I had already made.
Cheers echoed off the concrete walls as new fists cracked against skin in the center of the ring. Sweat, blood, and adrenaline thickened the air. But my focus wasn’t on the fight anymore.
It was back on her.
Evie stood across the room, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the fight, but I didn’t think it was about the match. It was the look she wore when she was trying to hide something. Her jaw was tight, lips pressed into a stubborn line.
Her eyes scanned the crowd, glazing over me. She was looking for Anderson, and I knew she would be trying to get to him before any of us.
She still didn’t want to tell Rook what she was doing. She knew damn well he would do everything he could to stop her. We knew the danger that came with digging into the lives of rich men.
But I also knew I couldn’t stop her.
So the only thing I could do was to be on her trail every single step; except now she was upset, and when Evie got upset she got cocky.
She would have enough confidence to stomp through this entire arena checking IDs to find Anderson—enough to get herself backed into a dangerous corner.
I pushed my way back toward them, running into Hero halfway over.
“What’s wrong with Evie?” I asked, not bothering to give any explanation as to why I cared.
He looked back, shrugging. “She was a little pissy about finding out more on why we would come without her. I doubt it’s a big deal.”
For one second, I got lost in the crowd, pushing through the bodies before breaking free right in front of the pack.
My eyes scanned for Evie, only to find her gone, out of her seat and nowhere in sight.
“What the fuck?” I mumbled, craning my neck to look around the ring more.
“Where is Evie?”
Zack shrugged, and Hero looked at Harper.
“She went back to the bathroom,” Harper said.
“Alone?”
“Yeah? No one said she couldn’t.” Hero’s eyes still strayed back to Harper.
“I said she couldn’t.”
“No.” Hero’s mouth curved. “You said you were going to be at her side.”
A punch to the face would have felt better.
I didn’t wait to respond and turned to head down the nearest hallway to the women’s bathroom.
Anger bubbled up, the only feeling I could grab to hide the debilitating panic threatening to take over. I couldn’t see her. The crowd stayed thick until the opening of the hall came into view.
People lined the walls and lingered around the bathroom doors, but there was no Evie. I pushed open the door, yelling her name without a response.
She wasn’t here.
My palms were slicked with sweat as I turned back. Of course Evie wouldn’t have gone to this bathroom. She would have found Asher’s private bathroom and office.
The thought of Evie alone with Asher didn’t exactly calm my nerves, either. But it wasn’t like she knew where she was, which meant she could get lost, or taken, and none of us would know.
I picked up my pace, heading back toward our seats and down a different hallway that led to Asher’s private rooms. My stomach churned.
What if she was gone? They could have taken her and I would never see her again.
She might not even be down here. Someone could have her out in the parking lot, dead already.
I should get Rook or the others, but I couldn’t even stop to track them down.
Evie.
I needed to find Evie.
I’d let her out of my sight for less than five minutes, and now she was gone. And for the first time in years, I felt the kind of terror that promised blood if I didn’t find her.