Chapter 37 Evie
Your parents weren’t given a choice. That’s why they joined. That’s why they stayed.
I lay in bed alone, staring at my open dresser drawer—pushed in unevenly, one side jutting out—and thinking about the same words again and again.
I had spent so long believing they were killed because they were good people—because they had done something noble, something worth dying for. But what if it wasn’t that simple? What if they hadn’t been heroes, but prisoners?
What if I had been wrong about everything?
That meant I was on the right path. It meant everything I had uncovered so far wasn’t a coincidence—it was dangerous.
Aiden hadn’t been in here last night, at least not that I knew of—he was getting oddly good at sneaking in and out unnoticed—but I was getting used to having him next to me, so the cold bed felt more lonely this morning.
I never admitted it out loud—well, except to Aiden now—but I had always wanted my own romance movie story.
The kind where a man sweeps you off your feet and doesn’t let go.
Real love always felt impossible to believe in long-term, but obsession?
Obsession made forever feel possible. Like a chest-aching love confession could actually mean they might make it.
I finally took a hard breath and rolled over, seeing the cat figurine immediately. My hand darted out, wrapping around the cool porcelain. I couldn’t remember adding this little thing to my collection, but it wasn’t exactly unlike me to pick up random knickknacks.
But I still couldn’t remember buying this one.
Unless Aiden bought it for me.
The thought made me smile down at it, setting the little cat back in its place on my nightstand.
My laptop was next to it and I dragged it over, flipping it open and jumping right into the research I had started last night.
An hour passed before a knock came from my door and I jumped, scrambling to close my computer.
“Yes?” I asked, grinning as Harper cracked the door and stuck her head in.
“Is everyone dressed? Is anyone naked?” she asked, eyes squeezed closed.
“Harper, I’m alone.”
“Oh,” she said, cracking open one eye. “Is Aiden in the closet?”
“I assume he’s in the garage or in his room.”
“Oh,” she said again, walking in as her shoulders drooped. “I thought you two were hiding in here all day.”
“Nope, just me alone with my computer.”
She shook her head, pursing her lips. “I told that man to go for it one hundred percent. Is this really what he considers his best work?”
“Excuse me? What exactly is he going one hundred percent on?”
“Getting you locked down.”
My mouth dropped open as I searched her face, hoping for more of an answer, but she didn’t give anything away.
“What? He made it pretty clear he was trying to get you and keep you, but the plan doesn’t seem like it’s going as well as he hoped.”
“What was the plan?”
“Act like you until he gets you obsessed,” she said, stifling a laugh. “I thought it was genius. Who wouldn’t fall for a man acting insane because he’s so obsessed with you?”
“Wait,” I said, crossing my arms, not dwelling on the fact I was begging the universe for obsession from a man. “Is that why he’s been sneaking into my room and trying to drive me insane?”
She burst out laughing, doubling over.
“I love you two. One of the most demented couples I know. I’m obsessed, but then again, I’ve been obsessed with you since I met you, so I really don’t blame Aiden.”
Regan called from down the hall, yelling for us to hurry. Harper grinned.
“The guys are bringing someone into the garage. He is supposedly a good lead to whatever this Order is. You ready?”
We stepped into the kitchen, and my breath caught before I could stop it.
Aiden leaned against the counters, scrolling through his phone, his fingers idly tapping against the screen.
He looked effortlessly unbothered, his broad shoulders relaxed, one boot crossed over the other.
The soft kitchen lighting cast shadows over his sharp features, the kind that made my stomach tighten unfairly.
He wasn’t even doing anything, just existing in that way that was inherently, infuriatingly him—a little too arrogant, a little too untouchable.
But damn, I really wanted to touch him.
“I’m told I need to drive you three over to the garage,” he said, grinning as he looked me over.
“Wow, bodyguard and chauffeur today?” I said, not daring to look at Harper as I made the same type of jab I always would. “What other tricks do you do?”
He grinned, looking down at his boots as his face darkened. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Heat flushed over me, every inch of me remembering exactly what type of tricks he did.
“All right you two,” Regan said. “Let’s get to the garage before you tear each other apart.”
Harper’s lips pursed as she stifled a laugh and I smacked her arm.
“Let’s go,” I said. “Now.”
A man was duct-taped to a chair in the middle of the garage, and everyone was gathered like it was some kind of grim little movie night.
Mason leaned against the workbench, flicking a knife open and shut, complaining about how hot the garage was today.
Harper sat on the hood of Regan’s car, scrolling her phone in what looked like boredom—she wasn’t exactly into these things but never wanted to miss what was happening.
Hero’s phone rang again, stopping what everyone was doing.
“For fuck’s sake,” Harper snapped without looking up. “Who keeps calling? I’m about to shove it down your throat.”
“It’s important,” Hero muttered, stepping away to answer. “And none of your business.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, voice sharp enough to cut the tape herself.
While they bickered, Aiden was leaning on the wall across from me, one boot braced behind him, arms crossed, eyes on me.
Rook tossed me a knife to give Aiden. His fingers brushed mine as he took the handle. It wasn’t an accident. It’s not like it was slow, only a fast brush, but it was enough to set every nerve I had on fire before I stepped back.
The guy in the chair squirmed as Aiden stepped closer. Hero and Harper were to his left, Harper creeping over his shoulder to read whatever he was looking at on his phone.
“Oh ew,” Harper said. “Please tell me that is not you flirting?”
“I believe the correct term is sexting,” he said.
“I’m going to hunt you down and kill you if you don’t send me the money you owe,” she read off.
“All right, enough foreplay from you two,” Rook said, stepping in front of the guy.
His voice was calm, which meant trouble.
“I’m hungry and want this done with.” He crouched down in front of the guy in the chair, Aiden still standing to his right.
“You’re going to tell us about the Order, and you’re going to do it fast, because my patience is thin and we are already on edge. ”
Mason stepped up to my side, bringing his lips down to my ear.
“Interesting how Aiden won’t stop looking at you,” he said.
My eyes darted to Aiden, his back to us now.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Mason grinned. “Play a game?” he asked.
It was something Mason always did to rope people into things. He would play a game—it was basically his version of truth or dare—but usually the game got us into trouble as Mason stood off to the side laughing.
“It’s a let’s see how extreme Aiden will go with the torture for you type of game.”
“You already know Aiden would go as far as he needs to for me.”
“Would he? We should probably test that.”
A large smile spread across his face and mine ended up mirroring it.
“Fine, I’ll play the game,” I said, stepping up next to Aiden. I stayed confident as my eyes strayed to the guy in the chair. “What is the Order exactly?” I asked.
Rook’s eyebrows jumped and he stood, stepping out of the way.
The man didn’t say a word, so I leaned into Aiden.
“Did you want to start small or get right to it?” I asked.
“Whatever you prefer, little Psycho.”
The man’s head cocked at the nickname.
“Start with the hands,” I said, handing him a small torch they had on a nearby toolbox.
“Oh!” Hero yelled out. I turned back to see him sitting on the couch, Harper on the opposite end. “That’s a great choice,” he said.
Aiden did as I asked, pulling the torch up to the back of the man’s hand and turning it on. He screamed and I asked again.
He didn’t answer, so I continued—handing Aiden whatever clever thing I could find from a knife to a drill—until that seemed to change his mind and he finally said something.
By the end, we found out the Order was a group of rich men who loved to help each other, that Anderson was a member, and that he really wasn’t anything more than a messenger—none of the other members trusted him with more than a few tasks here and there.
We even had a name for the man who seemed to run the show.
Frank Patterson.
Which I could only assume was the same Patterson, F. that I had come across before.
By the time Hero and Mason were dragging the body out, I was satisfied with what we had learned, but my mind was far away from any worries or work or answers I was after.
My attention was fully on the man in front of me.
Sweat glistened on his tattooed chest, his jeans hanging off his hips low enough to show how far down his muscle went. He stood up straight, rolling his shoulders as his dark expression turned to me.
It barely took the one look before heat flooded my body. It felt like every cell was on fire, begging for him to put it out.
But Aiden already knew. He knew the second he looked over at me.
Because Aiden knew me, and even if it was a new thing between us, he knew exactly what I wanted right now.
“Come on,” he said, nodding toward the front of Maverick Moto, now closed.
“What do you want?”
“I need help. Come on.”
It was our normal banter, the hint of anger making no one think twice as I stomped after him.
The door slammed shut behind us, but he didn’t say a word.
Before I could say anything, my back slammed against the wall, Aiden lifting me until my feet were off the ground.
“You like ordering me around,” he said, his voice low and rough.