14. Evan
EVAN
“Ro. Ro!” I gave her a gentle shake as she slept.
Her lashes fluttered, and I was met with the brilliant green of her eyes.
“Evan?”
“Dante let the guys go.”
Waking up to find her gone had nearly given us a heart attack, but luckily, one phone call to Dante confirmed that he had her, and Levin had taken her.
Of course, that resulted in Klaus chewing Levin’s ass out, but in the end, Rosalie ended that argument by saying Levin was helping, and had he not, she’d have gone alone.
Klaus had sighed in resignation and kissed her before I told her how unhappy I was she’d done that, what with this stalker ordeal happening. She swore to me she wouldn’t do it again, and I believed her.
The fact that she’d gone to Enzo on her own to tell him I was alive broke me. I didn’t want her to have to do that, but if I did it, I’d need more time.
So I was grateful she’d acted because it got it out of the way and clearly helped free the guys. Had she not, I was sure Dante would have just kept them longer.
And now I’d just gotten off the phone with Dante, and he confirmed the guys were gone and all was well, but that I might want to consider leaving the city because he couldn’t guarantee Enzo wouldn’t cut my throat when he saw me again. He expected a hit to be put out with my name on it.
It was valid, and I’d already packed my bags.
“They’re free?” Ro asked, blinking rapidly before sitting up.
I nodded and told her what Dante told me about leaving the city. A pained expression crossed her face.
“Are we?”
“Baby, I don’t want any of us to have regrets. The unfortunate thing is, we won’t ever know until we act. I don’t want to hurt Enzo, but if he attacks me, I will. And that scares me because I’ve hurt him enough.” My voice cracked. “So I think it’s important we go.”
“What about Ryder?” She demanded. “And Ani?”
“They’ll be along as soon as Ryder is released. I spoke to Anson this morning. He said the doc said it’ll likely only be another day or two. Maybe four at the most.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes. “A-And Cole?”
“Baby, let’s let them all cool down, OK? Cole might reach out to you. If he does, you answer. I just want to make sure you’re safe and that Ellis is safe. When we are home, I know we will be OK. Our home is a fortress, and Klaus will bring more men on. This city is dangerous right now.”
She exhaled. “O-OK. I-I’ll go.”
“Thank you.” I pressed my lips to hers in a deep kiss. “Fuck, baby. I thought you’d tell me no.”
“You know I will do anything you ask,” she whispered, kissing me.
She tugged me down onto the bed, and I took the chance to grind my hard cock against her pussy.
She moaned softly against my lips. None of us had touched her in weeks.
I didn’t want to push her with everything going on.
It seemed Klaus was in the same mindset, and Anson wasn’t around to even try, but I knew him.
He’d not want to push her either. He’d had her last with Cole already anyway.
“You keep it up, and I’ll fuck you, Ro,” I said, grinding against her again. “It’ll put us behind the schedule I have planned.”
“I don’t care.”
I chuckled softly before pulling away. “Baby, I promise when we get back to our home, I will give you any part of me you want. Right now, we need to focus. I want us to get the hell out of here sooner rather than later.”
“You’re right.” She stared up at me. “I hate it when you are.”
I chuckled at her and moved off the bed, bringing her with me.
“Klaus is making pancakes for Ellis. Come on.” I led her out of the room in her pajamas and straight to the kitchen, where Klaus and Ellis were putting together what Ellis had dubbed pannycake sandwiches.
They were basically fruit and whipped cream sandwiched between two pancakes.
She and Klaus had invented them last summer.
“Mm, pannycake sandwiches,” Ro said, sliding onto a stool next to Ellis. She reached out and kissed Ellis on the cheek.
“Mommy, Dada said we might go home,” Ellis said. “Are we?”
“Uh, yeah. We are,” Ro replied, taking the plate Klaus slid across the counter at her. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips before offering me a plate. I took it and settled in on Ellis’s other side while Klaus ate in front of us.
“What about real daddy? Is he coming too?” She stared at Ro with her big blue eyes. I saw the pain flash across Rosalie’s face, and it made my heart ache. I blamed myself for all of this shit.
“No, baby. He-He’s busy. He has work, and we have stuff we have to do. It’s just a hard time right now, but I am hoping we will be able to work something out soon.”
“Does he not love me anymore? He hasn’t seen me in a long time,” Ellis said, looking down at her plate. “He promised.”
“Oh, Ellis.” Rosalie wrapped her in a tight hug. “Daddy loves you very much. We’re just in a bad place right now, but we will figure it out, OK?”
Ellis nodded. “Is he with Daddy Ani?”
“Daddy Ani is with Ryder. They’ll both be coming home in a few days. Try to eat something, OK?”
Ellis went back to her food, picking at it.
“It’ll all come out in the wash,” Klaus said. “Faith, hummingbird.”
Rosalie sighed and nodded.
We ate the rest of breakfast in silence before Rosalie left to shower and dress while Ellis played in the living room with her dolls.
“I have a plane booked for tomorrow,” Klaus said. “Private jet. We’ll be out of here before noon.”
I nodded, my throat tight. “Good.”
“The kings are the only ones who know where we are. We should be safe here, but I don’t want to push it,” Klaus continued. “Wear out our welcome and all that. Putting a riff before the kings and the horsemen isn’t something I want to do.”
“I know. We’ll leave tomorrow,” I said.
“Are you OK?” Klaus asked.
I shrugged. “Feels like I died all over again.”
He sighed. “The man with nine lives. All will be well. Our focus should be on our family and careers. Fuck the horsemen. If they’re too stupid to see what they’re missing, then let them eat shit.”
I nodded glumly.
“In time, Evan. Give them that,” Klaus said gently. “I am sure time is what is needed.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then they lost some of the best people they could have ever asked for, and that is their choice. Head up. Our family, brother. They will need us if this doesn’t work out.”
“I thought it would all come out in the wash,” I mused.
He shrugged. “I’m positive with our woman because it keeps her head above water. I can only hope it works out. Manifesting good things.”
“When did you get into that shit?” I asked.
He smirked. “I get bored in the bathroom sometimes.”
I snorted at him. He really was a riot, and I never knew what to expect with him. Maybe that’s why I loved the guy so damn much.
The front door opened, and Anson walked in.
He looked like hell. His black hair was a mess and dark circles rimmed his eyes. His clothes were rumpled, and he had a shoe untied.
“Looks like you were beat to piss,” Klaus said, eyeing him.
“I was fine at the hospital, but thanks for telling Dylan and Phil to tell me to fuck off. They refused to leave,” Anson replied.
Klaus smirked. “Two fucking weeks, brother. It was too long. You needed to come home, shower, and have a decent meal, which Evan and I have been preparing.” Klaus gestured to the counters where we were making a variety of food to use up as much of it as we could before we left in the morning.
Anson smiled and shook his head. “I did miss you guys. Where’s LeeLee and Ellis?”
“They’re in the bedroom,” I said, pointing to the room they were in. “They were reading together.”
Anson moved past us without another word. We watched him go into the bedroom. Rosalie’s shriek of happiness met our ears, and I smiled, imagining both her and Ellis were greeting him with hugs.
We continued to make our smorgasbord of food, and half an hour later, nearly everything was ready. Anson had showered and looked almost human again. He sat on the couch with Ellis on his lap and Rosalie’s head on his shoulder as they talked.
I smiled, taking in how happy they all looked.
“Picture-perfect family,” Klaus said, chuckling softly. “Could be a damn greeting card.”
I laughed with him. “Anson is too fucking pretty.”
“You’re one to talk,” Klaus said. “You two look like brothers.”
“Did,” I said, my smile slipping off my face. “Not anymore.”
“You’re still a good-looking man, Evan. If I didn’t think you were, I’d have kicked you out of bed long ago. The last thing I want is to wake up scared.”
I snorted at that. He always said goofy shit.
He winked at me and went back to mashing potatoes.
A knock on the door had all of us tensing.
“I’ll get it,” Klaus said, going to the door. He peeked through the peephole before opening the door.
“Dad,” Levin greeted him.
“Son,” Klaus replied, pulling him in for a hug before releasing him. Levin stepped around him, and Dominic came into the room, followed by two little boys who looked like hell reincarnate. I didn’t even need to ask to know that those two gave the kings trouble.
I didn’t even bother to hide myself. There was no point. The horsemen knew I was alive. It was only a matter of time before the kings did.
Dom and Klaus greeted one another before Dom’s green eyes narrowed in on me, Levin next to him staring.
“Hey,” I said, getting to my feet.
“Fox,” Dominic murmured, coming toward me. Dominic De Santis was not a small man. He rivaled me in height and held an air of fuck you around him. He was danger personified, but I knew him to be a good man.
“How are you?” he asked as he pulled me in for a hug.
“Terrible. Thanks for asking.”
Dominic chuckled. “Oh, cousin, you don’t know the half of it.”
“I’m guessing the guys told you?” I said grimly.
“Oh yes. At great length,” Dom said, studying me. “Wow. You know if I didn’t know you, I wouldn’t recognize you. In fact, I really can’t. I only know it’s you because Cole called you the giant prick with all the ink.”
I shook my head at that. Yeah, they were mad.
Rosalie and Anson came forward, and Dom turned to Rosalie immediately and dragged her against him.