Chapter 24
ENZO
Erushed into the house, his face pale. He’d been at Mayfair, working late. I was watching Riot for the night. Cole was out doing fuck-all with cats for all I knew and wasn’t answering his phone.
“Is Laz OK?”
“He’s fine. He was shaken up, but he’s sleeping now,” I said, dumping busted glass from the dustpan into the trash.
“Fuck. This place is a disaster,” E said, his voice shaking.
“Yep. You can thank your friend Anson and, apparently, a guy named Evan who says he’s Rosalie’s husband. Know anything about that?”
“I-I do,” E said softly.
“You knew she didn’t marry Anson?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I-I told her I wouldn’t—”
“Wait.” I held my hand up. “What the fuck do you mean you told her you wouldn’t. When the fuck did you talk to her?”
E visibly swallowed before he sat on the couch. I went to my chair and settled in, waiting for him to speak.
“I promised her I wouldn’t tell you guys we were talking,” he said.
I ground my teeth. “For how long? How long were you two in contact?”
“I don’t know. A few weeks.”
“How the fuck did it happen? Just… how?”
He breathed out. “News broke that she married. I-I reached out. I sent her a text to congratulate her. I honestly didn’t even think she’d answer or that her number would be the same.”
“How did you get her new number? Only I had that.”
He licked his lips. “Five years ago, I took it off your phone. It’s how I was able to reach her at the coffee shop. I planned that meeting too.”
“For fuck’s sake, Ethan!” I let my head fall back. “Do you know how fucked all this is? They think we fucking took her! Did this Evan guy know you were talking to her?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“She’s fucking married to some random big motherfucker, and I’m just finding out.”
“Anson’s job was to keep her life private,” he said. “He did a good job at it.”
“I’ll fucking say,” I snapped. “I’ve never been attacked in my own fucking home before!
Jesus Christ! I don’t care if I die, but I fucking care if our son is hurt!
He was terrified, E! No more fucking secrets!
None. What else? Tell me what else there is.
I need to know because these guys aren’t fucking around.
Klaus Seeley? He’s here. So is that fucking asshole Rosalie was kissing when we broke up.
Ryder. That’s the prick’s name.” I paused and looked at him as he stared down at his hands.
“E, come on. Tell me. I need to know.”
“We were replaced,” he said softly. “She has new guys.”
My guts clenched at his words.
“What?”
He looked at me, pain in his expression. “She married… Evan. He’s her husband. Anson and Klaus, they’re her other two.”
“And Ryder?” I demanded.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I don’t know. They’re really close, so maybe.”
I couldn’t believe this. I kept telling myself it was over, but I guess it took some tattooed, giant of a man breaking into my home and busting my shit up with his bat that made it really sink in.
“They seem to think we have Rosalie. Why would they think that?” I asked.
Fuck. Replaced. She’d replaced us. It hurt like a bitch, but I pushed the pain down to dwell with the rest of the shit in my heart.
“I honestly don’t know,” he murmured.
I frowned, racking my brain. It took me a moment to remember something from a foggy memory. I focused on it for a moment. It was too foggy. I’d need to think some more. E’s dick sticks really fucked me up.
I stood.
“What’s wrong?” E asked.
“Nothing. I-I need to go to bed. Today has been fucked, and I have a crew coming in tomorrow to clean. I just need to fucking think.”
“OK,” E said softly as I stepped around to go to bed.
“Hey, Enzo?”
“What?”
“I’m sorry for not telling you. I just…”
“You were always most loyal to Rosalie,” I said. “I get it. I’m not mad. I guess if I’d have had the chance to talk to her again, I may have taken it too.”
He said nothing as I went upstairs. I lay in bed, exhausted and aching, but my mind was racing.
There was something about this Evan guy that I found familiar. I couldn’t put my finger on it, though, but there was no way Rosalie fell in love with that guy. He was a goddamn monster. No. I was a monster. He was something else entirely.
I let my mind drift to the night Cole and I messed around. He spoke to me. Said some wild shit. My eyelids grew heavier as I tried to recall it all, but nothing surfaced.
I finally drifted off into a fitful sleep, Cole on my mind.
I woke with a jolt the following morning and stumbled out of bed. I’d overslept, but that wasn’t the problem.
I grabbed my phone and went straight to Cole’s room. I pulled open his sock drawer and rifled around in it for a moment before I found what I was looking for.
My heart fell as I placed a pretty diamond wedding set in my hand.
“Fucking hell, Cole. What have you done?” I choked out.
He had her.
It’s why he’d been gone. He didn’t have a fucking cat rescue. He had a Rosalie rescue. It’s why he’d calmed. He had her. He didn’t need to be insane anymore.
Evan and her guys thought we had her.
Why would they think that? Why would we bring her to our house?
It dawned on me.
Cole was keeping her at our old house.
I rushed out of his room and returned to mine, dressing quickly. By my calculations, he’d had her for nearly two weeks now.
“Where are you going?” E asked as I came downstairs.
“Out. Is Cole working today?”
“Yeah, I just talked to him and checked the map. He’s at the hospital now.”
“OK. I’ll see you tonight. Get a new TV.” I left before he could question me and went straight to my Escalade. I usually had people drive me around, but I needed to make this trip alone.
I drove straight to our old house. Cole didn’t even bother to change the locks. I opened the door and stepped inside.
It looked just how we left it.
I wandered around downstairs, but there was no sign that anyone was staying here, so I went upstairs and looked around. Nothing. Everything was pretty much how we left it.
Wondering what the fuck, and deciding maybe I’d have to just confront him, I went downstairs, but stopped when I saw the basement door cracked.
I went down to see that he’d completely gutted the place.
“What the fuck?” I murmured, looking around. He really was trying to build a cat sanctuary. He had cat towers and loads of shit down there.
I wandered around before I noticed the door to E’s old sugar room had been changed. I frowned and went to it, trying the handle. It was locked.
I could pick that lock no problem.
I went back up to my old office and rifled around in the desk in there and found my lock-picking set before returning to the basement. I messed with the lock for a moment before it clicked, and the door swung open.
“Rosalie?” I called out softly, my heart jumping into my throat. He’d completely turned the room into a small apartment space, and she was sleeping soundly in bed, the TV on in the background.
I stepped inside the room and went to her. A bottle of pills was on the bedside table. I looked at it to see that they were pain meds, and her foot was wrapped.
“Rosalie,” I called out softly, shaking her gently. “Hey.”
Her lashes fluttered, and she looked up at me. She was toasted on those pills.
“Enzo?” she mumbled.
Fuck.
I had to get her out of here. She looked to be in good health, aside from her foot, but they would kill Cole if they found out she was here.
“Come here,” I said softly, scooping her small body into my arms and lifting her from her bed.
“Let’s get you out of here.” I left the room, letting the door close behind me, before I took her to my Escalade and seatbelted her into the passenger seat. My windows were blacked out, so no one could see inside.
I drove straight back to my place and pulled into the parking garage.
I dialed E quickly as Rosalie slept.
“Hey.” He answered on the second ring.
“Take Laz out of the house,” I said.
“What?”
“Take Laz out now. Take him to Ann and Harold’s. I’ll be up in a minute.”
“OK.” E disconnected the call, and I got out before grabbing Rosalie. I carried her to the elevator and got inside.
She looked so fucking beautiful.
She snuggled against my chest, and it made my heart lurch. We rode to my place, her sleeping in my arms.
I walked through the front door, and E met me, his eyes wide.
“Where the fuck… How the fuck?”
“Cole had her,” I said softly. “Looks like her ankle is messed up. I’m going to take her upstairs to the spare room. We can call her guys after we get some answers. She’s blitzed on pain meds right now, but I expect she’ll come around soon.”
E nodded and followed me upstairs to the spare room. Quickly, he pulled the blankets back, and I lay her on the mattress.
I got a pillow under her foot before we covered her. She snuggled in and continued to sleep.
“Don’t tell her guys,” I said softly. “I need to talk to Cole first. Maybe you should prepare to take Laz away.”
“Anson wouldn’t hurt me,” E said, his voice strong.
“Well, her insane husband might. I don’t want that to happen. And fucking Dante Church is her brother.”
“I’m not leaving,” E said firmly.
I knew he wouldn’t, but I had to try.
“Fine. Get the saints here to guard the front door. We don’t want any unexpected guests again.
E nodded and left the room as I settled into an overstuffed chair, my eyes fixed on her.
Waiting.