Chapter 12 Everett #2
“I…I called her my wife once to him, but he didn’t know it was official.
He knew that was the plan, but I kept it a secret.
” He takes a deep breath. “The Lords made me put her through hell. She didn’t have to kill someone or do anything for them.
However, they pretty much wrote her off, said she couldn’t be a Lady, but that if she proved herself to be faithful to me, I could ‘keep’ her,” he growls, walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he continues, “It didn’t matter what they wanted me to do; I was going to make sure she stayed my wife.
Even if that meant making her think I didn’t love her.
” He turns to face us. “They made Chance test her and she passed. She was mine. Forever. But I knew there was a timeline for how long I got to keep her. Before I gave myself over to you guys, I went to see Bill again. He set me up with papers to make sure Elli was taken care of. Since I’d be dead.
” We all remain silent as we let him get whatever is bothering him off his chest. “I was in his office a few weeks ago getting stuff together for the babies. Elli and I want them to be twins on paper…from birth. No adoption. No bullshit. In case something happens to me. He was setting it all up when I got a text. An assignment…”
“Adam,” Haidyn guesses when he trails off.
Sin nods and confirms. “Adam. I’m reading the text and thinking what the fuck? I didn’t even know the Spade brothers existed six months ago, and now they want me to kill one of you? Bill could tell I was stressed. Asked what was wrong. I told him, and he said he could help.”
I stiffen and Haidyn stretches his neck while Saint lets out a growl. We’re starting to understand why he’s so confused.
“He calls Adam up right then and there and puts him on speaker. I sat there while they put together this plan for me to make it look like I killed him.”
Saint stands and runs a hand down his face.
“How did Adam know Bill?” I wonder.
“Through his boss?” Haidyn guesses. “Bill and the detective seemed very close on the private jet that night. And then there was that sketchy phone call the detective got…” He shrugs.
“It’s fishy. Adam’s been hiding for four years, then makes an appearance, and all of a sudden Bill wants to help him.” Saint shakes his head. “I’m not buying it.”
“I didn’t think much about it at first,” Sin goes on. “I just knew I didn’t want three Spade brothers on my family because I killed one of them.”
“And now?” Saint questions. “Why come to us about this now? What’s changed that’s got you questioning Bill?”
“My father and mother-in-law are both prisoners here at Carnage. My father-in-law and Tyson traded them for me.”
“You’re not getting anyone back,” Saint reminds him. “What we did for you was a one-time thing.”
“I—”
Saint goes on. “You can choose one thing when it comes to Laura, but that’s it. She stays here. She remains ours after she delivers, and so does your father.”
“No.” Sin raises his hand. “I don’t want either of them. You can bury them both alive for all I fucking care.”
Haidyn leans back in his chair. “Then what do you want?”
“My mother called me yesterday, wanted to have Elli and me over for dinner. We’ve kept our distance…after we found out what my father did to my wife…” He swallows. “But Elli urged me to go. Said she wants the babies to have a family. One that she never had. So we went. And Bill was there.”
Haidyn frowns. “Why the fuck would he be at your mother’s house?”
Sin sits across from me once again and his knees begin to bounce. “Elli recognized him, of course, because he was at our house when she signed the papers, but after we left my mom’s, she said she remembered him from her mother’s house…the night she married Lincoln.”
“He was friends with Laura or Lincoln?” Saint asks.
“I don’t know.” Sin sighs. “But it got me thinking. What if Bill set all this up?”
“You’re going to have to be more specific.” Saint lets out a long breath.
Sin turns to look at Haidyn. “Bill knew Charlotte’s future at Dollhouse because of Isabella.
Bill also knew that you had a deal with Isabella for Adam.
What if Bill wanted you to fall in love with Charlotte, knowing you’d leave her with your brothers, who would then go after you, knowing you’d lead them to Dollhouse? ”
Haidyn scratches the back of his head.
“Bill did tamper with Charlotte’s IV treatments to make sure you knocked her up.” Saint nods at Haidyn.
“He could have burned Dollhouse to the ground at any time but chose to let you sit there for a week,” Sin growls.
Saint shakes his head. “No. Bill said he thought he knew where Haidyn was, but that he was waiting for confirmation he was there.”
“Maybe he lied.” Sin gives a humorless laugh. “Not the first time a Lord has lied for his own benefit. Besides, who is the inside someone that he was awaiting confirmation from?”
The room falls silent, and Haidyn leans forward, placing his head in his hands. “What does any of this have to do with Bill being at your mother’s last night?”
Sin sighs heavily. “Like I said, my father is here. He’s dead to the world and to the Lords.” He turns to face Haidyn once again. “And so is Isabella—Bill’s wife—Charlotte’s mother.”
Haidyn slowly gets to his feet, his face sharper, his jaw harder. “Get to the fucking point, Sin,” he growls, not liking the fact that Sin brought up his wife.
“While at my mom’s last night, she announced that she’s been regifted…to Bill.”
Fuck.
The room falls silent, but everyone might as well be screaming with the way you can hear our minds working.
“Sin—”
“How much do you trust him?” Sin demands. “Because I thought I could, and now…” He jumps up and shoves his hands through his hair. “Now he’s my…stepdad? Putting himself in my mother’s life. And Elli—what the fuck is he doing?”
“Lords don’t get to choose who they are gifted,” Saint says softly.
“He chose Isabella, didn’t he?” Sin snaps, glancing at Haidyn. “After you murdered his best friend. Her husband.” Haidyn says nothing to that. “We just found out weeks ago that our wives are founders…so I’m not sure what the truth is anymore.”
“I…I don’t know.” Haidyn exhales.
“We know that Bill is high up. Maybe he pulled some strings to get to marry my mother,” Sin suggests.
“Why would he chance his rankings with Adam?” Saint frowns. “If the Lords find out he’s helping him…he’s as good as dead.”
“Adam didn’t seem to trust him, and it made me second-guess why he took the deal,” I add.
“What do you mean Adam didn’t trust him?” Haidyn wonders.
“We weren’t the nicest to Charlotte,” Saint informs him.
“What?” he snaps.
I wave him off. “Adam was protective of Charlotte. Told her to stay away from Bill because he didn’t trust him. Then not much later, we’re on a private jet, Adam is dead, and he’s made a deal with Bill.”
“What do you mean, you weren’t nice to my wife?” he demands, getting to his feet. “I left her with you to take care of.”
“You have to see it from our point of view,” Saint growls. “She was the daughter of the woman who tortured us.”
“She’s my wife,” Haidyn barks.
“Can you guys figure your shit out later?” Sin snaps. “You’re no longer at Dollhouse,” he points out to Haidyn. “And your wife is safe. It’s my wife I’m worried about.”
Saint snorts. “I can’t see him going after Elli. What would he benefit from it?”
“What about Kira?” I dig, trying to look at it from all angles.
Sin shakes his head. “Although I love my sister, I’m not that concerned about her. She’s moved out of the house, engaged to my friend. I don’t see why Bill would want anything to do with her.”
“How did your mother act?”
“She seemed happy with him. It was awkward how comfortable they were.” He shivers. “Like she had been seeing him. They got married last weekend on some beach but are planning a big reception at the house in a few weeks with friends and family.”
“Did you speak to her about it?” I ask.
“No. I didn’t get the chance. We didn’t even stay to eat. I could tell Elli wasn’t comfortable. So I made up an excuse as to why we had to go, and we left. I planned on going back later but didn’t get the chance.” He sighs. “But there was also a woman there.”
“A woman other than your mother?” Saint frowns. “Who was she?”
“She introduced herself as Everett.”
I stiffen.
“As in Everett Sinclair?” Saint’s eyes widen. “The woman the detective was talking about?”
“That’s the first thought I had.” Sin nods but doesn’t say anything more.
“And?” I ask nervously.
“And she’s Bill’s daughter.”
Haidyn shakes his head. “Bill doesn’t have a daughter.”
“He does,” Sin argues.
“No. You’re mistaken. He practically raised Charlotte these past six years—after I killed her father that night on the Isabella. If Bill had another child, Charlotte would have mentioned that. She would have been in their lives.”
Sin opens his mouth to argue, but Saint speaks first. “After what we’ve learned, I don’t see it as that far of a stretch that he has a child no one knows about. But it is weird that all of a sudden, we hear her name twice in the same week.”
Haidyn picks up his cell and brings it to his ear. “Can you come to the office? … Okay.” Setting it down, he speaks to us. “Charlotte will be here in a second. We’ll ask her.”
“I’m going to get eyes on her,” Sin states. “I want to know every move this Everett makes.”
Fuck.
“See what I can find out and what she knows,” he adds.
“About what?” I ask, getting to my feet, needing the movement.
“About my wife. The dead bodies that were found. Hell, for all we know, she works for Isabella or LeAnne.” He shakes his head. “I’m not taking any chances.”
I run a hand nervously through my hair, trying to figure out what the fuck to do about this. I’ve asked her all these questions, and she told me no, but she could easily have been lying. Saving her ass.
“All I know right now is that she’s popped up too many times for it to be a coincidence.”