Chapter 44 Evie
A warm trickle of liquid tickled my lip. My tongue darted out, tasting the sharp tinge of metal.
I was bleeding.
My fingers tingled, numb from lack of circulation. Blood pooled at the corner of my mouth. I shifted slightly, letting my head droop, hoping the blood would drip onto my lap and stop my lip from twitching.
As soon as the tickling stopped, an incessant tapping began.
I groaned, looking around, but not finding the source as it went quiet.
The tapping came again. A slow, rhythmic click, click, click. My pulse picked up again, speeding up in time with the sound.
“Can I really not get a minute of peace on top of this shitty situation?” I yelled into the room. My words echoed and for the first time in hours, I grinned.
“Hey, assholes!” I yelled. “Could you at least be decent enough to bring me a drink?”
I fought against the zip ties again, my mouth dry as I tried not to get more frustrated.
The tapping grew louder. I whipped my head to the side, searching for the source—but there was nothing. Only empty space. Was this part of the torture? Isolation? A slow, maddening sound designed to break me before they even touched me?
Then again, I didn’t know what they would be torturing me for. It’s not like I was the one with the information here.
My stomach churned at the thought.
Now I had the information, and it was horrible.
The cold air of the abandoned room clung to my skin like a second layer, damp and suffocating. The dim light flickered as my mind reeled. I wasn’t Rook’s sister.
The sound of heavy boots echoing outside the door had my pulse spiking. I went still, straining to listen as the footsteps stopped.
A quiet whisper drifted in, but I couldn’t make out what they said. Maybe they were planning to kill me off now.
One hard thud followed, and I flinched.
The door slammed open.
Aiden stormed in, gun raised, every muscle coiled so tight he looked like he could rip the world apart. His hair fell in wild strands across his forehead, his chest heaving in ragged, desperate breaths, he had clearly run like hell to get here.
Before I could even process it, he was kneeling in front of me, hands already working at the zip ties.
Relief hit me so fast it made my head spin.
“Fuck, Evie,” he breathed, voice rough. “Did he hurt you?”
For a moment, I couldn’t answer. Not because I was scared, not because of Anderson taking me, but because of the way Aiden was looking at me—the worry, the love—like seeing me was the best thing to ever happen to him.
“No,” I finally whispered, my voice weaker than I wanted it to be.
He reached back, pulling out a knife to cut the ties. Rook stood facing the door, glancing back a few times, but not saying a word. Before I could move, Aiden’s fingers brushed against my wrist, gently rubbing the red, raw skin.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
My lips parted, words dying in my throat, when Rook stiffened near the door. Aiden noticed and rose, sliding between me and the entrance, his body a shield.
Jack Anderson walked in, stepping over the threshold with that cold, smug smile, and I knew immediately he wasn’t alone.
Something shifted in the darkness behind him.
At first, I couldn’t make it out—just a presence, slow and deliberate, the hallway swallowing its shape.
Then the overhead lights flickered, and the figure stepped forward, revealing familiar features—sharp jawline, the shadow of regret etched across his face, eyes that had always been steady, safe.
But that’s not what I saw reflected in them now.
A sick twist curled in my gut, as if the floor had tilted beneath me, as if the universe had rewritten itself in the cruelest way possible.
“Zack?” My voice barely made it past my lips.
A part of me—the foolish, hopeful part—expected him to run to me, to help me, to turn and fight with us.
But he didn’t. He only stood there, his face twisted into something painful and desperate.
His swollen eye was already purple, a split lip puckered, a dark bruise ran along his other cheek—evidence of the beating from earlier. It only made the sight of him standing there feel more threatening.
Aiden tensed beside me. His grip on his gun twitched, but he didn’t pull the trigger.
The room was large but sparse, dim light flickering from overhead bulbs. A metal chair sat at the side, shadows crawling along the walls—guards, maybe, waiting. Only Jack and Zack were fully visible, but movement at the edges of the room made me think we weren’t alone.
Jack’s grin widened as he gestured toward Zack like he was unveiling some grand prize. “Surprise, sweetheart.”
Zack flinched at Jack’s words, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to deny it. But the silence stretched too long.
That’s when I knew it was true. Zack wasn’t here to help us—he was here to help Jack.
I stared at him, throat tightening. “Tell me this isn’t real.”
“I did this for us, Evie.”
His voice was soft. Too soft. Like he thought this was some kind of love confession instead of a fucking nightmare. I almost laughed, my rom-com-turned-horror in full swing now.
“For us?” I echoed, bile rising in my throat.
Zack took a step forward, reaching as if he could touch me, as if I would actually let him.
“Jack promised me you’d be safe. I . . .
I—I needed you away from them. Away from him.
” He nodded at Aiden, his eyes flicking like he expected an argument from him.
“Jack said he was already planning on taking you, that he had been watching us for weeks to understand you more, and I knew if I helped him, I could make sure you weren’t hurt. ”
“I tried to tell him you weren’t interested, Evie, but the man didn’t listen,” Jack interjected. “Not that I blame him. I wasn’t planning on listening, either.”
His gaze flicked to Aiden, laced with venom.
My stomach dropped.
Rook, who had been silent until now, let out a harsh laugh. “Is there a sign-up sheet for this, or is everyone gonna take turns confessing their love for Evie today? I mean, what the actual fuck?”
I barely heard him.
Zack stepped closer, but Aiden’s body remained angled between us, a living barrier, gun still ready in his hand.
“You don’t belong with them, Evie,” Zack continued.
“You belong with me. They said that they had bigger plans for you and that I could help. We could do this together. I’ve been the one watching your back this whole time, making sure you didn’t get hurt, making sure no one could take advantage of you.
I know what’s coming, Evie. I can protect you like no one else can. ”
I shook my head, anger slicing through my shock like a blade. “You kidnapped me.”
“I didn’t. That was Jack. He came and told me his plans and I helped him with a few things. I didn’t kidnap you.”
“Oh, well, assisting in kidnapping me is so much better. You’ve lost your mind.”
“I saved you,” Zack corrected, his voice shaking. “But you’re still choosing him, aren’t you?”
A muscle ticked in Aiden’s jaw as his hand tightened on his gun. “She was never going to choose you,” he said. “And I really don’t understand how you thought this was going to help.”
“It’s going to help because she will see that Jack can do more for her.”
“Jack was stalking me and the entire group to figure out a way to kill us or kidnap us. I doubt his plans for the future were that grand.”
“His weren’t, but mine were!” Zack yelled.
Aiden stepped forward, trying to shield me again. “You don’t get to talk to her anymore. Get the fuck out of here.”
The command seemed to shift the last of Zack’s restraint.
The knife flashed under the dull light.
Aiden didn’t have time to react before the blade slashed deep, cutting through skin and muscle. He sucked in a sharp breath, staggering back as he grabbed at the wound.
Red bloomed across his shirt, spreading too fast.
I screamed, the sound ripping out of me before I could stop it.
Zack lunged at Aiden again, knife raised, but Rook’s hand shot out, yanking me back before I could be touched. The metal scraped sharply against the floor—too close. My heart hammered as I twisted, wanting to fight back, but Rook’s grip was iron.
My eyes stayed glued on Aiden. His eyes were wide, body coiled with tension.
The two guards who’d been hiding swarmed him, pulling him in too many directions.
His arms were pinned, tied roughly to the chair, focus split between defending me and struggling against the restraints.
A flicker of movement caught my eye as a guard shoved something hard against the back of his head before I even realized what it was.
Reluctantly, I let Rook drag me backward, away from the room, away from Aiden, every step burning in my chest. My pulse roared, my stomach twisted with frustration and fear, and I swallowed the scream that wanted to tear out of me.
Behind me, the metallic scrape of the blade and Zack’s curses echoed, reminding me why we had no choice.
“They want you and we need you out of the room.”
“Rook,” I said, trying to resist the urge to fight him still.
“We have to go. I will come right back and get him. Aiden and I already agreed to this.”
“I’m only going if we are both going back in to get him.”
We moved quickly down a series of dimly lit hallways, Rook glancing around every corner, making sure no one followed.
I stumbled once, Rook’s grip tightening instantly, guiding me forward.
Somewhere behind us, muffled voices argued, and I realized Aiden was still stuck in that room, fighting and bleeding, but there was nothing we could do right now.
My mind was still spinning, my body still trembling.
Everything I knew was a lie.
Zack. My past. My family. Rook—
“Rook, stop,” I yelled, pulling him to a halt. “I have to tell you something.”
“Right now? Isn’t there something a little more pressing?”
“We can keep moving, but I need you to listen to me.”
He pulled open another door, quickly glancing out and ducking back in.
“Dead end, next door.”