Chapter 17 Everett #2
She doesn’t move. I lean down and hover with my face over hers before I softly kiss it, needing to feel her skin on mine. She feels warm on my lips.
Fuck, I want to crawl into bed with her right now. Would she fight me? Tell me no? Something says no. She’d let me do whatever I wanted to her. But she’s had a rough night. The empty bottle of Jack on her nightstand proves it.
So instead, I whisper, “Sweet dreams, angel. I’ll see you soon.” Then I pick up her phone to do one last thing before I leave her house.
I figured three in the morning would be the best time to meet up with Adam. She’d be home in bed, sound asleep for the night. He said he was on the jet and would be back in a few hours.
Eve is still heavy on my mind when I find myself pulling into a gated driveway. Thankfully it’s already open. Otherwise, I’d have to use the call button and tell on myself.
I want to turn around, rush back to her house, and wake her up with my head between her legs. But this is important. I need information, and he can give it to me.
I pull up to the modern black house and get out of my car. This must be the house Haidyn gave to Adam. He mentioned it on the private jet when Adam revealed he was still alive.
Haidyn stands and digs into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. He removes one from the ring and holds it out to Adam. “Here.”
“No…”
“Take it. I bought that house for you. It’s always been yours.”
I enter the double doors, and he must hear me, because he calls out from a room down the hallway.
“I’m in the office.”
Walking down the hallway, I take the first door on the left and enter.
“Eve—” Adam looks up from the desk. “I should have known.” He sits back, shaking his head. “Let me guess…you bugged her phone.”
“I was hiding in her closet.”
He sighs.
“And since I’m so bored, I thought I’d come and get some answers.”
Adam runs a hand through his hair. He’s frustrated and nervous. Which just pisses me off. “I—”
“How the fuck do you know her?” I demand, getting to the point.
He glances away, jaw sharpening.
“You saved her from Dollhouse, right?”
“No,” he says immediately, eyes finding mine again. “I didn’t even know where Dollhouse was located until Bill took us there to save Haidyn.”
“But she was there,” I go on.
“She…” He pauses and slams his elbows onto the desk. Leaning over, he runs his hands through his hair again.
Yep. I caught you, motherfucker. “Adam,” I snap.
“Yes,” he growls, slapping his palms on the surface. “But Bill was the one who removed her from Dollhouse.”
“And by Bill, you mean her daddy.” That has to be the man the realtor was telling me about. The one who bought her house.
He doubles down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Christ, Adam. Why are you lying to me? Bill had her over for dinner the other night. Sin and Elli were there since Bill married his mother. He called Eve his daughter, but when Sin brought this to our attention, Haidyn got Charlotte involved, and she was unaware he had other kids. So why now? Why show her off to everyone now?”
“Because Isabella was his wife,” he shouts, and then takes a deep breath. “Now Isabella is a prisoner at Carnage and Bill is free of that bitch. Bill wants Everett to have a life. As close to a normal one as she can. This is him giving her that.”
Normal? She’s killing men. That’s nothing close to normal. “How long was she there for?” I ask, sitting on a couch.
“I don’t know.” He shakes his head, and I narrow my eyes on him. “I swear.” He throws his hands up. “She doesn’t talk about it, and neither does Bill.”
“How was he able to get her out?” I ask softly, bowing my head, believing him.
“I don’t know.”
I lift my head, grinding my teeth.
“I’m telling you the truth. Bill and I are not close.
Well, weren’t close. I don’t know what he paid or who he bribed.
Hell, maybe it was Isabella herself he talked into letting her go.
Because as far as I know, he was married to Isabella when Bill pulled Eve out of Dollhouse.
But I promise, I have no clue. That’s something you’ll have to ask Eve or Bill. ”
If that timeline is correct, that means she was a doll that night on the Isabella.
“What revenge did you promise her?” I try, remembering everything that was mentioned on their phone call.
He shrugs. “Eve hates men. Rightfully so. I promised her she could rid the world of them.”
I snort. “At the cost of her life. Those guys tonight both got hits on her.”
He looks away from me, unable to make eye contact. They both know the risk when she takes a job.
“And what do you get from this?”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
I hate that I’m even going to ask this because I already know the answer. “Are you fucking her? Is that what you get? You give her jobs, and she has to fuck you in return?”
“No.”
He answers fast. Too fast. As if he knew I’d ask him. “But you have fucked her.”
He bows his head and sighs. “Yes.”
I jump up from the couch, and he stands from the chair behind the desk. “It’s not like that. It was one time, and we were both drunk—”
“So you took advantage of her?” I snap.
“No,” he growls. “Look. I need you to understand…fuck! Telling you it meant nothing makes me look like an ass, but telling you it meant something makes it a lie.” He falls back down into the chair and glances at me. “You can’t say that you haven’t done the same.”
I rub the back of my neck because he’s right. I just fucked her hours ago with two guys she killed in the same room. I went into the motel knowing I was going to fuck my girl. No matter what I had to do to get it. “I went through her things tonight while at her place.”
His brows pull together. “And?” He places his elbows on the desk and leans forward. His interest tells me he hasn’t done the same. He wants to know what I found, which just furthers my point that my girl is closed off. Keeps to herself. I’m going to knock down every wall she has.
“She had a box of…items. Straitjacket, blindfold, handcuffs, dildo…but other than that, there were no other toys I could find.” He tilts his head to the side.
“I just find it odd, ya know? We had sex tonight, and she gets sick to her stomach afterward…” Sex is a weapon when it comes to the Lords. You either take it or you receive it.
He runs a hand down his face. “Eve doesn’t…have sex,” he finishes.
“With anyone?” I clarify.
“No one.” He leans back in his seat. “Obviously, you overheard her tell me that you two had sex, but I’m going to tell you the same thing I told her. Be careful.”
“Careful with what?”
“Eve. If she doesn’t fall in love with you, she’ll most likely kill you,” he says matter-of-factly.
I smile at that. “If you’re not on the verge of death, are you even living?”
He shakes his head and chuckles.
“There was one other item I found in her closet.” He arches a brow. “She had a bulletproof vest.” He looks away from me, and I know I was right. “Eve got it from you. The question is, why the fuck does she need one?”
“It’s just a precaution.”
“For what?” I demand.
“Eve wants to be more involved—”
“Pull her back,” I interrupt him, hearing enough. “She’s going to get killed. You’re going to get her killed.”
“She’s saving women, Kash,” he whispers. “I understand that it’s hard to see from your point of view, but she’s doing what others can’t.”
I fist my hands on my thighs. “She’s putting her life in danger.”
“It’s her life,” he argues, as if that’s a good enough reason. “And until she comes to me and tells me herself that she wants to pull back, I’m going to continue letting her do what she wants.”
It just proves that I need to step in. Make sure that she has someone to protect her when things get hard. She’s going to get in too deep and won’t be able to pull herself out. I can do it.
Sighing, I lean back against the couch and tell him, “I saw her on the Isabella.”
He frowns at my change in subject. “When…? The night of our junior initiation?”
I nod. “Yeah. I saw her when Saint and I were headed to the poker room before we killed his mark. She was standing with an older man. Then after we killed Saint’s men, I saw her again when you guys were blowing up my cell looking for Haidyn.
” I run a hand through my hair. “She ran into me. The man said he was ‘paying’ for her, and he took her into a room. I heard her screaming and I burst in and killed him. Then she ran.” I leave out the part where I fingered her. It’s none of his business.
“Wait.” He holds up a hand. “The ripped dress…the heels? Those were hers in the owner’s suite?”
I nod.
“And the guy who was ‘paying’ for her…”
“Was my initiation, but I didn’t know that when I killed him.”
He frowns, rubbing the back of his neck. “You think she was working for Dollhouse then? If she was there with him?”
“Seems so. You said Bill didn’t save Eve until after he was already married to Isabella.
Haidyn killed her husband that night on the yacht.
It makes sense.” I shrug. “But you know more about Everett than I do.” I don’t know how Dollhouse works.
Do they allow the slaves to leave? I would think they’d be afraid one would talk.
Then again, I guess when you’re brainwashed, it’s hard to think for yourself.
The victims could be too terrified to speak out and tell someone what is happening to them for fear of being punished if they don’t end up escaping.
Shaking his head, he says. “I didn’t meet Eve until a year later…our senior year. After I went into hiding.”
“She was in hiding as well?”
He leans back in his chair. “My boss introduced me to Bill, who introduced me to Eve.”
By boss, I’m guessing he means the detective we met on the private jet. “And?” I demand.
“And she went to Vegas with me for a little bit.”
“With you? As in you two lived together?” I growl. That’s more than fucking one time.
“No. She helped me.”
“With what, Adam?”
He looks away and sighs. “With Ashtyn.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Of course she did.