Inevitable - Kristen Granata Page 0,47

her.”

“I want you out of my house,” Montalbano says in a low tone.

“I’ll get out, but I’m not leaving her. My father isn’t happy with my decision to quit, and I’m not going to let Eva out of my sight until I can be sure she’s safe.”

“And how are you going to do that?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

Montalbano steps closer, forced to crane his neck to look up at me. “If anything happens to her ...”

“It won’t.” I shoulder past him and take my old spot outside the front door by the elevator. If anyone comes in or out, they’ll have to get past me.

And they’ll die trying.

It’s late when my phone buzzes.

I pull it out of my pocket and rush to answer it when I see Eva’s name lighting up on the screen.

“Hey. Everything okay?”

She scoffs. “My boyfriend lied to me about his identity and my father covered up my brother’s suicide. Everything’s just peachy.”

“Guess that was a dumb question.” I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “I’m sorry, Eva. About everything.”

“Everyone’s always sorry. I just wish people would stop doing shit to be sorry for.”

“What can I do to help you right now?”

“That’s actually why I’m calling.”

I sit up straight. “Anything. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

“You said you’re not really a body guard. You’re a private investigator.”

“Yes.”

“I want you to find my mother.”

Eva

I don’t know much about private investigators.

And everything I do know has been gathered from watching Jessica Jones on Netflix. So I have no idea what Graham did to find my mother. Took him three days, but he did it.

I haven’t spoken to my father since the night I trashed his office. He’s tried, but I’ve refused to come out of my room while he’s home.

Home.

The place is more like a prison now. I’ll get my own apartment soon enough. First, I need to focus on what’s in front of me.

Graham presses Deanna’s pink helmet over his head. “Are you ready?”

“Does it matter?” I swing my leg over my bike and fire it up while Graham takes his spot behind me.

Just a few days ago, I longed to feel him near me. Now, his presence feels like a searing knife pressed against my heart.

What he did doesn’t change the way I feel about him. I wish it did. That’s the hardest part about being hurt by the one you love. The feelings you once had don’t just dissipate. They mix with new feelings of anger, hurt, and resentment, creating one fucked-up concoction inside your mind.

I’m thankful for the loud roar of my bike, preventing any possibility of conversation. The less we talk, the better.

Once we get back from this visit to see my mom, it’ll really be over between us. Graham will go his way, and I’ll go mine. Knowing I’ll never see him again is too much to bear. For now, I won’t think about it. Instead, I let the ride into New Jersey clear my head. Everything falls away, and I welcome the nothingness.

Graham directs me using the navigation on his phone. An hour later, we arrive at a small, white ranch with black shutters. Trees surround the area and though they’re bare due to the cold weather, I imagine how pretty the neighborhood must look in the spring.

Mom’s living in this quaint little house, all of her troubles left behind her, while I’m living a nightmare.

The front door opens as Graham and I dismount my bike. Mom steps out onto the porch and I take in her appearance: dark jeans tucked into brown knee-high boots paired with a burgundy sweater. Her once long hair is now cut around her shoulders, darker than when I last saw her. It’s only been a year, yet she seems like a completely different person. A stranger.

When my gaze meets hers, she offers me a tentative smile. Dozens of emotions crash into me at once, each battling for a spot on the frontline of my facial expression. I go with familiar old faithful—anger.

“Did you find the place okay?” she asks.

Graham answers when I ignore her as we walk up the concrete path. “Yes, it was an easy ride.”

Mom’s smile falls when she looks at Graham. Her head tilts slightly, but she covers it up quickly.

She extends her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Graham. Thank you for helping Eva find me.”

“Wouldn’t have to find you if you never disappeared,” I mutter.

We stand staring at one another. Then, Mom throws her arms around me and pulls me into a