anger to her entire face looking chalky and sweaty within seconds. She looks like she might throw up right in the middle of my living room.
“So I assume you know exactly what they found when they accidentally ran that test, don’t you, Eve?” I ask, standing there waiting for her to find her voice.
Her mouth opens and closes but no sound comes out. Her hand goes up to her throat, and I can see it’s trembling uncontrollably. She starts shaking her head back and forth in denial as she stares at the piece of paper in her hand, reading the results and realizing that her world is going to slowly unravel now.
“All this time, you knew. You knew and you didn’t say a fucking word. Does anyone know about this?”
Eve continues shaking her head back and forth, and I’m so angry that she’s not giving me an explanation that I find it impossible to control my temper. I grab tightly to her upper arms and shake her so hard I can hear her teeth rattle.
“SAY SOMETHING GOD DAMMIT!”
Eve just stares off into space, not even acknowledging me. I’m so scared and furious that I don’t care if I hurt her. I don’t care if I snap her neck. I continue shaking her and shouting at her until Gwen finally wraps her hand around my arm and squeezes it just hard enough to pull me out of my murderous rage. I drop my arms from Eve and take a few steps back, my breath coming out in gasps.
“He took her, Eve. He took her and he lied to us about where he was going. Does Finn know about this?” Gwen asks softly, turning Eve to face her to try and reach her through sympathy and a little kindness.
It’s more than this woman deserves, but I keep quiet and let Gwen work her magic.
“Eve, please. Does Finn know about this?” Gwen asks again.
Eve finally stops her manic head shaking and looks at Gwen, her lips and chin trembling with panic. “Oh God! He knows. He’s known since he was in Afghanistan and there were complications with his injuries. When he came home, he was so angry. He broke into my house and threatened to go to the tabloids. He demanded that I hire him or else he would tell everyone. Layla was already huge by then. I couldn’t let anything ruin it. I had to do something. I had already done so many bad things by then, what was one more?”
Eve continues to ramble, spilling her guts about everything. She tells us about Finn and Jack and Ray/Billy. She confesses all of her sins right there in the middle of my living room. She admits to things that will break Layla’s heart into a million pieces and makes me fear even more for her safety. I can’t just sit here waiting for the police to get their heads out of their asses and find Layla. I can’t do it. I may not be active, but I’m still a fucking Navy SEAL, and I’ll be damned if I lose one more person in my life.
I walk away from Gwen as she tries to comfort a woman who doesn’t deserve her kindness while Eve breaks down on my couch, sobbing hysterically and rocking back and forth.
Scrolling through the contacts on my phone, I call the first person I can think of who is always up for a little off-the-books search and rescue mission. The phone is answered mid-ring.
“Hey there, dick bag! Tell me you need me for something. I’m going crazy sitting here on my ass waiting for Uncle Sam to call.”
I’d smile at my friend’s words if I didn’t feel an immense amount of panic suffocating me right now.
“Austin, I need you, man. How soon can you get here?” I ask.
“Already got my go-bag in my hand, and I’m walking out the door. I had a side job two hours from you. I can be there in an hour. Fuck speed limits.”
I thank Austin and hang up the phone, grateful once again that I have friends who will always have my back.
I just hope to God that wherever Layla is, she knows that no matter what, I will come for her.
I blink my eyes into focus and stare up at a ceiling covered in water spots and mold wondering who booked such a shitty hotel room for my tour. Turning my head to the right, a burst of pain shoots across my forehead