Chapter 6 #2
“Mom didn’t push it. You know how she is about keeping the peace.”
“And I bet Nick said nothing,” I mutter in disgust.
“You know his hands are tied.” Megan squeezes my arm.
I run a hand through my hair, frustrated, knowing she’s right. At least it means Dad hasn’t caved to Elisha’s demands. If he’d signed over those properties to her, she’d be feeling generous enough to parade the baby around like a trophy.
“Nick needs to make a choice,” I say as we start walking toward where I parked two blocks down. “His wife or his family. He can’t have both anymore.”
Megan stops, staring at me. “Jesus, Caleb. That’s cold, even for you.”
“It’s realistic.” I pull my jacket tighter against the wind. “That marriage is already over, Meg. Elisha’s shown her true colors. Now Nick has to decide if he’s going to keep pretending or face reality.”
“He doesn’t love her anymore,” Megan muses.
“No, but he’s still clinging to something. Just because he doesn’t like failing at something doesn’t mean he should continue with this marriage. That woman is toxic.” I shake my head. “Either way, he’s being stupid about it.”
Megan falls into step beside me, our footsteps echoing on the cold pavement. “Mom thinks that maybe Nick was under the impression that once the baby arrived, Elisha would change.”
“Then Mom’s even more delusional than Nick.” I stuff my hands deeper into my pockets. “I’m just—”
“—I said, get away from me!”
Everything within me goes still when I hear that familiar voice.
My head jerks around, and I follow the source of the voice. Across the road, a woman is walking, her arms crossed over her chest. It seems to be more of a bid to keep herself warm. It’s the car that’s slowly driving alongside her that has my blood stirring.
Before I can react, the car comes to a stop, and a man opens the driver side door. He’s tall and good looking with olive skin and hair styled to the extreme. He runs around the car and approaches Eve, who has come to a standstill herself.
The way he grabs her arm and she tries to pull away, failing, gets me moving.
“Caleb?” Megan’s alarmed voice fades to the background.
Crossing the street, I hear Eve snarl, “I will break that nose of yours if you don’t let me go, Luis Sanchez. And then I will kick you so hard in the nuts, they will shrivel away inside your body!”
The man doesn’t let her go, pulling her violently towards him. “It’s this attitude of yours. I have done everything to accommodate you, but you’re still such a bitch—”
I have nearly reached them when I see Eve move swiftly. I hear the man let out a high-pitched whine, releasing her and clutching at his family jewels. My eyes widen in shock as I realize she actually delivered through with her promise.
“You better watch that mouth, Luis. I said I’m done with you, and I mean it. Call me a bitch again, and I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass, you’ll be tasting it for breakfast!”
Luis can barely speak, wheezing as he crouches to the ground. “Just you wait. When Isabella hears of this—”
“Eve!”
Hearing my voice, Eve looks up, and it’s her turn to look shocked. “You? What are you doing here?”
As I get closer, I see that she’s wearing a thin cardigan. Her eyes are flashing with anger, but her lips are nearly tinted blue.
“Fuck!” I curse, pulling off my jacket and throwing it around her. “Where’s your coat? God damnit, Eve!” My hands brush against hers, and they’re icy cold.
I grab her wrist, pulling her arm inside the jacket’s sleeve. She doesn’t protest, letting me manhandle her. That scares me more. She would never let me get away with something like this if she was feeling like herself. Zipping up the jacket, I try not to think how my jacket dwarfs her completely.
“How long have you been walking like this?” I demand. “And in this weather? Do you have a death wish?!”
Eve glares at me now. “Are you following me? Get out of my way.” She moves her arms, but I cannot take her seriously when the end of the jacket’s sleeves flap around helplessly.
“You need to get to a warm place.”
“I will. I need to deal with him first.”
‘Luis Sanchez.’ Why is that name so familiar? I think I’ve heard her on the phone with him.
I turn around to look at the man who’s now struggling to get to his feet. He looks between me and Eve, and his eyes tighten in anger. “What the fuck, Eve? Who the fuck is he?”
“None of your business!” she snaps. “And you’d better stay away from me, Luis. Or next time, I’ll forget that we used to be friends once.”
The man takes a step towards her, and it’s so like Eve not to flinch.
But just because she thinks she can take on anything that moves doesn’t mean I’m going to let her.
She has the self-awareness of a kitten. Despite the situation, my lips twitch, and I make a mental note to mention this comparison to her. It’s bound to piss her off.
“You’d better be on your way,” I say coolly to the man. “She clearly doesn’t want anything to do with you, so fuck off.”
“What was that?” Luis sneers. “You think I take orders from you, pretty boy?”
He comes towards me, swinging, but I use my palm to deflect his blow and land one in his stomach instead. Wheezing, he doubles over.
“You bastard!” He lunges at me, but something black comes flying at him from behind. He staggers forward, looking confused, eyes rolling to the back of his head as he falls flat on his face.
“Shit!” Eve hurries around me, crouching down to check his pulse. Then her shoulders relax. “Not dead.”
I stare at the unconscious Luis sprawled on the sidewalk, then at my sister who’s standing over him with her large purse still raised like a weapon. “Jesus Christ, Megan. What do you have in that thing, bricks?”
She shrugs, lowering the purse with a satisfied smile. “Fashion design textbooks. Turns out The History of Haute Couture makes an excellent blunt instrument.”
Eve checks Luis’s pulse again, her movements efficient despite the oversized jacket. “He’s drunk, too, so that probably helped. Dead weight falls harder.” She looks around the empty street, then turns to me with an expectant expression. “Can I borrow your phone?”
“Where’s yours?”
“Home.”
“What about your car?”
“Home.”
I study her face, noting the way she’s avoiding eye contact. There’s a story here, one she clearly doesn’t want to tell. “Eve—”
“Here.” Megan steps forward, offering her phone. “Take mine.”
“Thanks,” Eve says, her voice stiff with discomfort at accepting help from a stranger. She dials a number and steps a few feet away, but I catch every word anyway.
“Marco? It’s me... Yeah, I know... Can you drop my car and my things at my apartment?... No, I don’t know where Luis is right now... Can you put Rafael on?”
There’s a pause as the phone changes hands.
“Raf? I’m at...” She looks around for a street sign, then rattles off our location. “Luis is here. He’s unconscious... No, he’s breathing... Just come get him, okay?... Thanks.”
She ends the call and hands the phone back to Megan. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” Megan says, eyeing Eve with obvious curiosity.
I cross my arms, waiting. When Eve doesn’t look my way, I clear my throat. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Aren’t you going to thank me, too?”
Eve finally meets my eyes, and there’s that familiar fire burning in their dark depths. “Thank you? For what exactly?”
“For coming to your rescue when that asshole grabbed you.”
“Rescue?” Her laugh is sharp. “I had the situation completely under control, Reynolds. In case you didn’t notice, he was already on the ground writhing in pain before you even got close.”
“Right, and what was your plan after that? Let him follow you home?”
“My plan was to handle it myself, like I always do.” She takes a step closer, chin tilted up defiantly despite having to crane her neck to look at me. “I don’t need some wannabe white knight swooping in to save me.”
“Wannabe?” I lean down, bringing us almost nose to nose. “Princess, I just rescued you from a crazy person.”
“After I already kicked his ass!” Her cheeks are flushed now, whether from cold or anger, I can’t tell. “And I didn’t ask for your help!”
“You didn’t need to ask! What kind of man stands by and watches a woman get manhandled by some creep?”
“The smart kind who minds their own business!”
“Oh, so now I’m stupid for helping you?”
“I’m saying you’re presumptuous for assuming I needed help!” She’s practically vibrating with fury now, and despite myself, I find it incredibly sexy. “I’m not some helpless damsel in distress waiting for Prince Charming to ride up on his white horse!”
“Could have fooled me, considering you’re standing here in my jacket because you were too stubborn to dress appropriately for the weather.”
She looks down at the jacket like she’d forgotten she was wearing it, then starts struggling out of it. “Fine! Take your stupid jacket back!”
“Are you insane? It’s twenty degrees out here!”
“I don’t want anything from you!” But her fingers are too cold to work the zipper properly, and she fumbles with it in frustration.
I grab her hands, stilling them. “Stop being an idiot, and keep the jacket on.”
“Don’t call me an idiot!”
“Then stop acting like one!”
“I’m not—” She tries to pull her hands free, but I hold on. “Let go of me!”
“Not until you promise to keep the jacket on.”
“I don’t make promises to assholes!”
“Then we’re at an impasse, aren’t we?”
We’re standing so close I can see the gold flecks in her eyes and feel her breath against my chin. The air between us pulses with a new kind of tension, evident in her parted lips and the way her pupils have dilated.
“This is better than cable,” Megan murmurs from somewhere behind us.
Eve’s eyes flash, and she yanks her hands free. “You are the most arrogant, presumptuous, infuriating—”
“I dare you to finish that sentence,” I challenge, stepping closer. “Go ahead.”
“—man I have ever had the misfortune to meet!” she finishes with a flourish.
Before the argument can escalate further, Megan clears her throat loudly.