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I grab Nova's attention and jerk my head to the side, letting him know that I'm staying out of it and so should he.
Silas folds his arms across his chest and looks to the side. A muscle in his jaw pops and I imagine the asshole is grinding his molars hard as hell right now. He’s probably realizing just how badly he fucked up, but what the fuck did he expect? He was intentionally vague about his kid to get her to spill the details right away. I get the need and usefulness of gathering intel while it’s fresh, but he should’ve told her the truth.
Nova clears his throat. “I’m gonna go be not here while you two work this shit out.”
Evangeline's head whips over her shoulder and pins Nova with a glare. "No, you stay. The two of you didn't step in when Silas lied."
23
BANE
Evangeline pauses long enough to send me the same dark look. I don’t like the implication that I lied, and right now, I don’t like that she’s lumping me in with those two. That doesn’t bode well for me, considering my cousin’s most dependable personality trait is grumpy.
So I tip my chin up and hold her gaze, resting my shoulder blades against the wall, and let her look her fill.
I’m not like them, I tell her with my gaze.
Prove it, her dark brown eyes accuse.
"I'd prefer my punishment in the bedroom, sweetheart," Nova drawls, breaking our little conversation.
Or maybe I’m sleep-deprived enough to start hallucinating. Weirder shit has happened.
Evangeline pulls her gaze from me to send Nova the sort of smile that would make grown men stumble. “What a great idea, Nova. As soon as you three start talking, I’ll head straight to my bedroom. Alone.”
“C’mon, sugar. You know that’s not a deterrent.”
She answers my soft reminder of our nighttime arrangements with a fierce glare. But I notice the cracks like lightning strikes bisecting the mask she’s desperately clinging to. And the steel mask of indignation is melting, forged in the pits of survival, hastily adhered with desperation. But looking at my girl now, I realize how ill-fitted it is. The shape and emotion is all wrong.
She’s tougher than she’ll ever give herself credit for, but she’s not infallible. And right now, she’s trying so, so hard to remain a pillar. Unmoved, unfeeling. But my girl is spent.
Tears shine in her eyes as she looks at me, and my heart aches inside my chest, like it echoes hers.
“I didn’t lie. He’s not here, Evangeline. I had to send him away,” Silas says.
“What?” she whispers, keeping her gaze locked on me.
“I sent him away. He’s with Ma, somewhere far away from here,” Silas says.
She turns to look at Silas finally, her jaw clenched and neck arched defiantly. “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go see him.”
She stalks toward him, skirting around the side of the island, and heading toward the front of the house. When she gets close enough, he reaches out and stops her with a hand around her bicep. It’s not forceful or tight, just a gentle grip to get her attention.
Silas shakes his head, his jaw clenched tight, like he’s physically stopping words from falling free.
“I want to see him, Silas. I need to make sure he’s okay,” she says, her voice trembling.
“He’s fine,” he says, voice low.
“You lied about this, maybe you’re lying now.” She lifts her right hand and sweeps it out in a general motion.
Silas shakes his head. “I didn’t lie, Evie.”
She flinches at the nickname, tugging her arm free from his grip. “It was an intentional omission then. Why even bother?”
Silas’s fingers curl into fists, like he’s holding himself back from reaching out toward her again. “Because I wanted you to come home. I wanted you to tell us what happened. And I wanted you to see a doctor.”
Evangeline starts shaking her head halfway through his half-assed reasoning. "What about me? What about what I want?"
