Chapter 45
EVAN
“Thanks, man,” Fabian said as we had dinner. “I know you didn’t have to pick me for the part, but I’m fucking grateful.”
“The part was written for you,” I said, offering him a quick smile.
He grinned. “I appreciate that I’m running through your head.”
I chuckled at that.
We’d cast Fabian Henry as the lead in my movie. I specifically requested his audition, and the director loved him. I figured he would anyway. Fabian was taking Hollywood by storm. It reminded me of when Rosalie’s career started taking off. One day, life was normal, then it wasn’t.
“How’s Rosalie?” he continued as he added salt to his dinner.
“She’s good. She’s in Chicago, so I miss her.”
He gave me a sympathetic smile. “Sucks, huh?”
I nodded. “It does, but she’ll be home soon. I’m just excited to see her.”
“She told me she was thinking about taking some time off. That still happening? Said you guys were going to try for a baby.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I think she’s definitely taking time off after Chicago.”
“Nice.” He grinned at me.
We spoke for the rest of our meal, and when it was over, we said goodbye to one another. Klaus did security for Fabian, so I promised to let Klaus know Fabian’s team would be reaching out again soon for more security.
Both Anson and Klaus were out for the night. Anson was checking out a new band, and Klaus was taking clients out to dinner.
I returned home to find even Trix was gone. Assuming she was with Cas, I flopped onto the couch and pulled out my phone. It was late, but I wanted to call Ro and say good night.
I dialed her, and it rang forever. I was just about resigned to accepting she was sleeping when Cole’s voice came on the line.
“Hello?” he said.
I frowned. “Where is my wife?”
“Bath,” he answered stiffly. “Is this Evan?”
“Do you know of another man married to her?” I asked.
I was still pissed at Cole for taking her.
I’d really like to punch him in the face for that move.
And I vowed I would. For now, he’d have to endure my snark because, despite him being an old friend, whether he knew who I was or not, that shit was unacceptable.
He scoffed at that. “I’m Cole.”
“I know who you are. You kidnapped my wife and fucked her.”
He was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat.
“I don’t want problems, man.”
I chuckled softly. Fucking Cole.
“I know what you did to Enzo. That shit is fucked up. I can’t have you losing your shit around my daughter, so we need to discuss a few things—”
“The only things we need to discuss are your ass-whooping,” I said. “That thing I’m going to hand to you when we see one another.”
He laughed at that, soft and dangerous. I knew Cole. The guy could fight, but that was fine. I was still going to punch him in the face for the shit he pulled.
“I’m not going to fight with you. I fucked up, but had I not, I’d not know I had a kid, so excuse me, Evan, but fuck you.”
I shook my head. He was still Cole.
“You do realize that in the end, what we say goes, right?” I asked, deciding to push him a little and see if he still had his fire. “We’re allowing this to happen, but all we have to do is say no, and she will back away.”
It was a dick thing to say, but I wanted him to know that we really did support Rosalie, and if at any time any of us felt uncomfortable, we’d all agreed—Rosalie included—to pull back.
He was quiet for a moment.
“I-I understand that,” he said softly, his attitude shifting. “I know who holds the cards here. I know I fucked up when I took her. I am sorry for any trouble I caused you. You clearly love her, and I’m happy you care so much about her and my daughter.”
“My daughter,” I corrected. “She calls me dad, too.”
“Right,” he murmured. “I want us to get along. So… truce?”
I was surprised at how quickly his attitude changed. Was it possible that Cole Scott was thinking clearly?
“Truce,” I agreed. “For now. Just don’t fuck up with my wife.”
He scoffed. “Must be nice to have the life I’ve longed for.”
“I don’t hate it,” I said.
He laughed softly, seemingly not all that upset, which surprised me.
“What’s up with your voice?” he asked after a brief moment of silence.
Blunt as always.
I breathed out. “I have damage to my vocal cords from screaming.”
He was quiet for a moment again. “Are you in, like, one of those bands that toured with Rosalie?”
“No, I was abused. It hurt, so I screamed until I lost my voice. It’s come back a lot over the years, but it’ll likely never be normal again.”
“Oh. Fuck. I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I-I didn’t know. Rosalie hasn’t told me much about you. I already know Anson, so that’s whatever.”
“And Klaus,” I said.
He was quiet before letting out a soft huff of laughter. “Right. Klaus. I know him too. Mostly.” He paused. “Rosalie likes to take long baths, so we have a few minutes to get to know one another. If you don’t mind.”
“I don’t,” I said.
“Uh, well, my name is Cole Scott. I’m a doctor finishing my residency. I like cats and cake. Bishop is my favorite band, even though she talks shit about me in her songs. I love my daughter more than anything in this world, and I miss my girl and want her back. Now you.”
I chuckled at his words.
“I’m Evan Beyers. Anson and I are cousins and best friends. I just signed a seven-figure movie deal for a book I wrote. I love my daughter more than anything, and I also miss my girl.”
“You’re a writer?”
“Yes.”
“And a Beyers?”
“Yes.”
“You’re my fucking nightmare, Evan.”
“Why?”
“I fucking hate Anson, and you’re his cousin, his best friend, and you married my girl. How the fuck did you manage to get her before he did?”
“I met her and asked her the moment I saw her,” I said.
“What?”
“Yeah. That’s how it went down. We met. I asked her about five minutes into the conversation. She said yes. I married her the next day, and then Anson and I fucked her together that night.”
“What the fuck?” he muttered. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“How does Klaus fit in?”
“She was with him before…me. And they kept in contact. A few years ago, he came to visit, and that was it. After her show, we went home and let him reunite with her.”
“Did you guys… join?”
“No.” I chuckled softly. “Not that night, but we did every night after. It’s worked out for us.”
“I don’t know if Rosalie has told you this, but she and I… we’re trying to, uh, make it work, however that turns out. Maybe she won’t be interested in me past a friendship, but I wanted you to know that I’m going to try to get the girl.”
“I’m aware,” I said softly.
“My daughter is my main concern here. But I love Rosalie so fucking much. They’re my family now. I know Rosalie belongs to you, but I-I’m trying to be better so that maybe I can have a chance with… uh, with you guys.”
“How would that work with Anson if you hate him?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I guess I was hoping his hatred of me would trump his love of Rosalie and he’d fuck off somewhere else.”
I snorted at his answer. “Maybe you should ask Anson to come visit for a few days, so you can work on things and see how they go. If you’ve spent any amount of time with him, then you’d know he’s a good man, and he loves Rosalie endlessly.”
“I know he loves her. He’s loved her for years.”
“Then call him and ask him to fly out and spend a day or two. I know he was considering it because he was moving meetings around to surprise her next week.”
“What about you?”
“I can’t, or I would in a heartbeat. I have deadlines and meetings with the studio.”
He was quiet. “I-I can call him. I guess.”
I smiled. He really was making progress.
“I don’t like what you did to Enzo.”
“I don’t like that you kidnapped my wife,” I shot back. “I got word she returned home. So… I did what any husband would do. I went to find out. I don’t regret that.”
Cole grunted. “Riot was there. He didn’t need to see that shit.”
“And for that, I am sorry. It was not my intention to scare him.”
We were both quiet for a moment before I cleared my throat.
“Why did Ethan keep his son a secret from Rosalie?”
Cole blew out a breath. “Man… He-He’s Enzo’s—”
“Rosalie should know that he has a kid and it’s not Enzo’s.
” I paused and decided to just come out with it.
I wasn’t going to let him lie about it. “I know there’s a contract in place for the horsemen, you and Enzo, to stay away from Rosalie, and that Ethan was going to take your place.
I also know that Rosalie holds a hell of a lot of power over her brother, so if any of you ever want to repair what was broken, I suggest being honest with her.
She can reunite everyone if she’s happy. ”
“You… You think so?” Cole’s voice came out soft and choked.
“I have been married to her for nearly five years. I have known Dante Church for just as long. They are incredibly close, and he bends for only two women. His wife and Rosalie. If there’s any desire in your heart for matters to work out, I suggest starting with the truth.
Rosalie is going to need it from you. What do you think will happen if she finds out you knew this whole time and didn’t tell her? ”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“Just something to consider,” I said.
“I appreciate the heads up. I guess I hadn’t considered this stuff. I’ve been so caught up in just having her and Ellis here…” His voice trailed off. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome,” I said softly.
“Does… Does Rosalie still like it when you do special things for her? Like little parties and buying her stuff?” His voice was slow and shaky.
“She does,” I confirmed.
“Do you think she’d like to, uh, go dancing? Like if I cleared out the living room and made a dance floor and just danced with her?”
I smiled. I remembered when Cole’s idea of a gift and special moment to her was buying her lingerie or a dildo to use on him. He seemed to have changed.
“I think she would really like that.”
“Do you think it’s enough for her not to tell me to fuck off?
Because she’s still withdrawn from me. We fought because I was a dick and said some shit I didn’t think through, then she and Enzo fought.
She threw her crutches at him. She’s a lot different from how I remember her being.
Like, violent. And… well, you guys must have trained her because she’s a little difficult to handle.
She tried to choke my ass out. I really thought she had me there when I kidnapped her. ”
“She choked you?”
“Yeah, man. With a blow dryer. I wasn’t expecting it. I didn’t want to hurt her, but she fucked us both up. She also hit me with a guitar and has thrown a jug of milk at me. Then there’s the crutches with Enzo and stuff…”
I smiled, proud of my girl. She didn’t take shit. Good for her.
“We did train her. The three of us spent a lot of time working with her. I’m glad she’s giving you a run for your money.
I don’t know if it’s enough for her to tell you not to fuck off.
What I do know is she loved you once upon a time, and I don’t think those feelings faded.
She’s just… hurt. So you’ll have to go slow with her and prove you’re not the same guy you were back then. Your cheating broke her heart.”
Fuck, it broke mine too. I never thought they’d do that to her. But hell, what did I know? If Enzo had done shit to protect E, then I didn’t know what to think.
“I-I didn’t cheat,” Cole mumbled. “I just fucked up. I couldn’t leave my brothers.
E was losing it. Enzo was broken. They needed me to hold them together after we lost Foxy.
So I did. I guess I thought Rosalie would wait for me.
That she loved me enough to stay. But then she was seeing that Ryder dweeb and then Klaus…
and now…” his voice trailed off. “I didn’t cheat, though.
I knew she’d never let me go. I never corrected her.
Plus, Foxy wanted her freedom. I just thought we’d get her back.
Now everything is fucked. Enzo is probably going to fuck around with this bitch named Jade because he wants to move on.
E is really all about Riot, so that’s where he’s at.
Then there’s the underground contract.” He groaned.
“I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this shit.
You probably hate me, and honestly, I’m not overly fond of you, but fuck, man.
I’m trying here. I’m lost. I have been for a long time. ”
“You need to just talk to Rosalie. If these things work out between you two, then you and I will have a meeting.”
He scoffed. “Right. Because you’re king of her pussy.”
“Don’t talk about her like that,” I warned.
“Fuck. I’m sorry. I’m bitter, OK? I used to have your position. I’m just… damnit. I love my family. That’s all I know.”
“I understand. Just talk to her. You need to do that so that we can talk.”
“We are talking,” he said.
“No, I mean, you and me. Deep talk. I have some things that I need to say to you that I’m not going to do unless I know this is going to be a permanent thing.”
“Well, unless she refuses to let me ever see my daughter again, I’d say I’m permanent. Even if she tells me to go fuck myself, I’m not leaving my kid.”
I figured as much. I needed to come clean with him about who I was. E already knew, and I didn’t expect him to continue to keep my secret.
But I wanted to know this shit was sticking. If Rosalie decided she wanted Cole with us, fine, but he had to meet the rules we put in place. No mafia shit. He leaves the life. She agreed it would be a no-go if he didn’t.
“I guess time will tell. Talk to her.”
“Will I get my ass kicked if I kiss her?” he asked, his voice soft.
I let out a chuckle. “I guess that depends on your intentions.”
He let out a little laugh. “I think I’ll take my chances. It was… nice talking to you, Evan.”
“You, too,” I murmured.
“I’ll send you my number so you can message me or whatever.”
I smiled. “I already have it.”
“Of course you do. Have a good night.”
“You as well.”
The call disconnected, and I settled back against the cushions.
Cole seemed changed. I was hoping this would lead to good things. Given how E reacted to finding out I was alive, I hope I didn’t lose Cole, too, and screw up Ellis’s relationship with him. Or Rosalie’s.
I closed my eyes, sending out a silent prayer that everything would happen as it was meant to.