“And the change of heart?”
“Threatening Evie and Regan.”
Rook’s brow furrowed, a serious look covering his face. “What did he say?”
“He wouldn’t give specifics, but they’re keeping tabs on all of us, especially the girls apparently.”
Evie came out of her office. “Thanks for the show. I was getting a little bored.”
“Did you find out anything about Anderson?” I asked, not hiding the edge of my voice as I tried not to notice the obvious fact she wasn’t wearing anything under her hoodie. Or the way her tongue ran over her lips.
Lips I had on me less than twenty-four hours ago. My fingers tightened around the brass knuckles still pressed against my palm.
It was a mistake. A one-time moment of weakness.
I knew I couldn’t have Evie—not truly.
Because having Evie would mean losing this life. Rook wouldn’t let me stay around if I crossed the line.
Evie didn’t know how I felt and I would need to keep it that way. I’d been holding it in so long it shouldn’t be difficult to hide again. If I liked her, the kiss would wreck me—and it did—but I couldn’t give her any reason to think it had any effect on me.
“No,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “I told you I need more to go on.”
“We don’t have more to go on,” Rook answered. “But we need an answer sooner rather than later.”
“Then you won’t be getting anything else from me. Do your job, and then I can do mine.”
“Pretend it’s an ex, Psycho. We’d have his address and blood type within the hour.” The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I regretted it instantly. Teasing her about guys used to be harmless, but now it wasn’t.
Evie had always felt like mine to protect, mine to watch over. But after one kiss, she just felt like mine. And it made everything worse. She only did it to mess with me—and maybe her ex. Did she actually want him back?
Rage flared, but I cracked my neck and masked it. I had to keep pretending.
Rook’s rule was simple: Evie was off-limits. Break it, and you lost the house, the business, the life. I’d worked too hard to throw it all away. And I’d seen him prove he meant it—when Asher so much as joked about asking her out, Rook nearly lost it. He made sure I knew I wasn’t an exception.
And I listened. I respected his wishes because I could understand being protective of the only family you had left.
Now I’d crossed a line I could never uncross and Evie was armed and ready to use it against me.
She was smart. Cunning. Beautiful.
I would follow her into war because I knew every step she took brought her closer to wrecking anyone in her way.
She set me up. I knew it in my gut. She had a plan, a goal, but I didn’t know if I was the target or the prize.
Both seemed dangerous with Evie.
Maybe this was revenge... god knows it ran in the family.
She could be doing this to shatter my life because she was mad I always stood guard around her—so much so that boyfriends were now running off—or because she wanted me.
The thought only brought me back to the kiss. Her eager lips, the way she crawled into my lap and nearly begged for more. I almost groaned as a wave of pleasure rolled through me.
But Evie was a good actress. I’d seen her flip personas like a switch to get what she wanted.
And I couldn’t tell if the kiss meant something real to her—or if it was only her next move in whatever game she was playing.
Not that it mattered.
