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He strolls out of my house, whistling some fucking jaunty little tune like he’s out for a stroll in the park, and it takes everything I’ve got not to follow through on my threat and take care of this little problem right here, right now.
I pull out my phone as I watch the sheriff-elect stroll toward his car. It’s not a police car, but one of those undercover SUVs. He grins, a feral flash of his overly white teeth, and gets into his car.
“Yeah?” Bane answers on the first ring.
“We got a fucking problem. Get Nova and Evie and meet me at Magnolia in a half hour. There’s a fucking coup happening.”
44
EVANGELINE
“I don’t fucking like this,” Silas mutters for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. He drums his fingers against the steering wheel, his body vibrating with nervous energy.
I lean over the center console and rest my hand on his forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze and hoping to ease his nerves. “I know, but it’s the only option.”
His gaze flies to the velvet scrunchie around my wrist, eyes narrowing as he glares at it. “What’s that, Evie?”
I rotate my wrist, like I’m showing it off while keeping my fingers on his forearm. “Oh, this? Strangest thing, Silas. I found all seven of my missing scrunchies in your nightstand earlier today.”
Quiet laughter rumbles from the backseat, and Silas’s cheeks tint pink.
He focuses back on the road, and he grunts, “I don’t know how that happened.”
“Bro, what are you even doing with all her velvet hair thingies?” Nova asks around a laugh.
“Scrunchies,” I offer.
“Twenty says he’s hoarding them like some kind of dragon mating ritual,” Bane muses.
Nova chuckles. “Nah, no way, man, a hundred says he’s jerking off with them.”
Silas’s neck flushes pink and he grunts. “Fuck off, both of you.”
I waggle my eyebrows and stage-whisper. “Can I watch next time?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, baby. We’re about to wade into some serious shit. Don’t encourage them,” Silas says, but there’s no real heat in it.
“It’s called comic relief, bro. Check it out sometime, yeah?” Nova leans forward and taps the middle console twice.
I run the pads of my fingers along his arm in soft, sweeping lines. “I know it could get dangerous, but we agreed this was the best option.”
“But it’s not the only option,” he counters as we stop at a red light. He looks at me, his gaze a physical touch as it roams over my face.
He doesn’t have to say it, I know he’s worried. Just like I know the men in the backseat are humming with the same anxious energy.
I push onto my knees and lean into him, brushing my lips against the corner of his mouth. “I’m not going to be left behind again, yeah?”
“Yeah, but we could be walking into another ambush, sugar,” Bane says from the backseat. There’s resignation in his voice, and something darker.
I brush my lips along the other corner of Silas’s mouth, and answer him, “True, but being alone at Magnolia Lane to be ambushed there isn’t a better option.”
Nova grunts from behind me, shuffling closer until I can feel his body heat. “We’re just worried about you, sweetheart.”
As soon as the light turns green, Silas accelerates and takes a left, his grip tightening on the steering wheel once more. I ease back into my seat, keeping my face toward Nova’s.
The tension in the car is off the charts today, nearly suffocating me as I try to breathe through the heaviness of it. I can feel the weight of every glance, every exhale, every fear of theirs seeping through their pores.
“I know, but I’ll be fine. I’ll stay in the car, remember?” I keep my voice calm and even. I’m doing my best to alleviate their anxiety, not add to it. It has the added benefit of not allowing any space for my own anxiety to take root. It’s still there, but it’s like I’ve cut off access to it.
