Chapter 8 Everett #2
“Saint asked if I had seen you today.” He frowns, meeting my stare.
I fold my hands under my head, propping it up and giving him a smile. “Now you can say you’ve seen all of me.”
He rolls his eyes. “Get up. Shower and put some clothes on. Then get your ass down to the basement.” With that, he turns and exits with the damn cat.
Jesus Christ, his wife has turned him into a pussy lover. All he needs is one of those clear backpacks that women carry around with their cats stuffed into them.
I debate going back to sleep, but he left the light on, so I have to get up anyway to at least turn it off.
Fuck it.
I pick up my cell off the nightstand and see it’s almost dead. I didn’t even bother plugging it in last night. I hate how much it hurts that I don’t have any missed calls or texts from Easton. He’s mad at me, and for good reason.
I fucked up. I seem to do that a lot.
I have a text, though, so I open it up. It’s from Mr. Fells.
It gives me a time and place for closing on my new house. It’s taken longer than I wanted, but it still moved more quickly than what is common.
I was willing to pay significantly over the asking price. Nothing is too much when it comes to my girl and our future.
Plugging my cell in to the charger, I get up.
Taking a cold shower doesn’t make me feel any better. But if I don’t go see what Haidyn and Saint want, they’ll come up to my room. Together. And I can’t escape them both. Less than fifteen minutes later, I’m pulling on a T-shirt as I shut my bedroom door, making my way down to the basement.
“What do you need?” I ask, entering the pits.
Saint has some guy strapped to the metal table in the center of the room while Haidyn stands next to it.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Saint barks at me.
Going over to the counter, I pick up Haidyn’s pack of cigarettes and remove the Zippo from my pocket, lighting one up.
I left mine up in my room. “Why the fuck does it matter?” I turn to face them, leaning my ass against the edge, and take a drag from the cigarette, feeling the nicotine fill my lungs.
Since when do they care what I do with my time?
They don’t give me a play-by-play of what they do with theirs.
The guy on the table fights the restraints as Saint adds another over his neck.
Saint’s eyes narrow on mine, but he doesn’t say anything. Mine go to Haidyn, and he frowns at my attitude. “I see you lost the furry pussy. No longer babysitting?” His frown deepens, and I ignore it.
I’m usually the one who cuts up and keeps everyone laughing. I’m over it. I’m mad at them. Even if it’s my fault.
“What’s wrong?” Saint asks me.
“Nothing.” I turn to leave, realizing they don’t need me for anything. I could have stayed in bed and wallowed in my own pity.
“Kashton.”
“What?” I spin around and step toward him.
Saint looks at Haidyn, who shrugs as if they’ve already had several conversations about me today.
“You have something you want to say?” I come out and ask.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Saint frowns.
I begin to laugh. That’s a dumbass question. “If you haven’t figured it out by now, then quit trying.”
“What the fuck?” He throws his arms out wide. “You’re making fun of Haidyn and a cat, but you’re the one being a little bitch with an attitude.”
My brows rise to my hairline.
“So whatever the fuck it is, get it out. Right now.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
My gaze drops to the guy who is naked and strapped to the table.
His wide eyes go back and forth between us.
I find it ironic that it’s the man we picked up from the cathedral the night I found the woman I’ve spent years searching for.
Eve was right there. So close all this time.
It’s time to show my face. To remind her of who I am.
“Doesn’t matter,” I say, giving them my back once again.
“Things are fine. Back to normal,” Saint states, making me stop.
I turn to face them once again, and he looks at Haidyn. “We’ve talked it out…”
“You two talked it out.” I nod to myself. “No one has spoken to me.” I still haven’t had a chance to finish the conversation that Haidyn and I started when we rescued him.
“How many times do I have to think you’ve killed yourself? Hmm? How many times do I have to lose a brother?” I ask, looking at him lying in the hospital bed here at Carnage.
I step closer to it and shove my hands into the pockets of my bloody jeans.
I haven’t had a chance to change since we pulled him from Dollhouse.
“We’ve already said bye to Adam twice. And we’re going to have to do it again.
But how many times are you going to leave us?
” In order for Adam to help us find Haidyn, he made us promise to let him walk away from us afterward with no questions asked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
I snort. “You’ve been MIA and got married. FUCKING MARRIED!” I scream. “You had Adam there. What about us, huh? What about me?” How could he do something so important without me? I thought we were closer than that.
“I made you her guardian.”
“How was that possible, Haidyn? Hmm? Because I wasn’t fucking there to sign off on that.”
He runs a hand down his face. “I had Adam sign your name.”
I throw my arms out to my sides and then let them fall, slapping my thighs. Of course Adam was there for him. Haidyn’s been hiding him from us for years. “You should have just had Adam sign his.”
“I wanted you.”
“I—” The sound of the door opening cuts him off, and Charlotte steps into the room.
“What the fuck happened?” His wide eyes go to mine when he sees her condition.
I ignore his question. His wife can answer it.
“We’ll finish this conversation later,” I tell him and walk over to her.
I place my hands on either side of her bruised face.
“Give him hell, love,” I tell her and release her.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out his wedding ring and hand it to her, leaving them alone.
If I can’t get through to him, maybe she can.
Saint frowns at my previous statement, and it just pisses me off even more. “You don’t even know why I’m mad at you guys.”
“You guys?” He points at himself. “What did I do?”
Seriously? “You cheated at the vow ceremony.”
Saint throws his head back, laughing like I’ve told a joke. “That was four years ago.”
“That was a big fucking secret!” I shout, getting more and more irritated with him.
“It’s literally when everything started going to shit.
Had you told us, maybe we could have prepared.
Done something different. Fuck, Saint. Maybe your wife wouldn’t have shot you.
” His laughter stops. “Perhaps she wouldn’t have ran away and lost her baby.
Maybe we wouldn’t have been sentenced to six months of hell. Who knows?”
He opens his mouth, but I continue, “And you…” I look at Haidyn. He widens his stance and crosses his tatted arms over his chest. Ready for a fight. “What the fuck, man? You kept Adam from us for four years?” I don’t care that much that he married Charlotte behind our backs.
He says nothing.
“Now because of Adam, I’ve lost Sin as well,” I ramble.
They both frown and look at one another. “What happened to Easton?” Saint asks.
“After Adam’s funeral, I went to his house and beat the shit out of him in his living room.”
Saint sighs and runs his hand down in his face. “Was Elli there?”
“Of course his wife was there,” I shout. “And then after we had our meeting with Adam on the plane, I went back to apologize, and she pointed a loaded gun at my face.”
“Kash—”
“Don’t bother,” I interrupt Haidyn. “You guys have kept to yourselves for this long, just keep doing that.” With that, I turn and storm through the plastic strip curtains and get on the elevator. Fuck, I need a drink and to see her.
She is the only thing that can make this day better. I’m already relying on her as a crutch. I used to have my brothers, but I’ve lost them one by one. So I’m going to replace them with her.
Eve doesn’t know it yet, but she’s exactly what I need.