closer toward her I knew it was a mistake but I couldn’t get my feet to stop moving. When I pulled her into a hug every cell in my body screamed out a warning I ignored. And with her pressed tight to my chest, my arms wrapped around her, Evette’s around me, I was in a new kind of hell. The kind that was beyond torture. Something that was so wrong but felt so damn right and I never wanted to let her go. The temptation to give in and fall in love was so great I had to close my eyes for a second and remember the first time I had to beg our neighbor for food.
And once the floodgates opened the memories rushed in like a bucket of ice water.
Fear and hunger.
“I know Anaya. She won’t stay mad for long,” I told her.
“I don’t know,” Evette croaked. “She was really mad I didn’t tell her what I was doing. And madder when I didn’t call when I almost got hit by a car.”
Hit by a car?
“What are you talking about? When did you almost get hit by a car?”
Evette stiffened and my body followed suit. What she didn’t do was answer me.
“Evette?”
“I didn’t think of it until I was talking to Anaya.” Slowly she tilted her head back to look at me but made no move to fully disconnect. “About a week after I started poking around I was crossing the street. From the parking lot at work to the front of the building. I had the little white man thingy and I was in the crosswalk. I was almost to the curb when a car made a right and almost hit me. He probably would’ve if Mark from accounting didn’t do a rushing forward tackle. It’s a good thing he was a cornerback in college. He got us moving and out of the way.”
I wasn’t sure if I was grateful for the Mark guy or annoyed he’d tackled her or pissed as fuck she hadn’t remembered to tell us when she filled us in on the other attempts on her life.
“Are there any other times you almost died that you forgot to tell us about?”
Evette flinched. I would’ve felt like a shithead for my tone if we weren’t discussing her life being in danger.
“Well…” she trailed off which triggered an unfortunate reaction.
Not a verbal reaction—an internal, emotional response that was unhealthy. Walls started to crack. And I was so busy doing a piss poor patch job that I missed the first tear but I didn’t miss all the ones that followed. Each tear that streamed down her beautiful face weakened the cement I’d shoved in the fractures.
“Don’t cry,” I pleaded.
I heard Cooper murmuring behind us. He had to be on the phone because whatever he was saying wasn’t meant for us.
“I think there’s more I didn’t tell you about. Weird things that happened but I didn’t think they had anything to do with…this.”
I tamped down my irrational fear. She was safe in my arms in Maryland. No one was going to hurt her, or as it were try to hurt her.
“Stop crying, babe, you’re totally safe here.” Then for some inexplicable, stupid reason, I kissed her forehead.
It was barely a brush of my lips against her skin yet I might as well have stuck my tongue in her mouth while she was grinding on my cock.
I was losing my mind.
Evette took a deep breath and my willpower stretched not to look down as her chest expanded.
Yep, I’d gone insane.
“I feel like an idiot.”
“You shouldn’t. Let’s have a seat and we’ll go over everything again. This time, don’t leave out anything. Even if it seems stupid or insignificant I need to know.”
She gave me a curt nod and I was grateful when she took a step back.
Note to self: self, never under any circumstances hold this woman again. And never, no matter what, kiss her.
With that lame warning, I followed her to the couch.
Distance.
That was what I needed.
Though seeing her sit on the edge of the sofa with her knees bouncing I knew there weren’t enough miles I could put between us that would make this need go away.
Chapter 10
I was such a fool.
I’d spent the last three days trying to rid myself of thoughts of Gabe instead of concentrating on my problems.
It was as if I knew the faster they were solved the sooner I’d go back to my life and I’d never see him again.