“Come on, Ace. Let’s go so I can get into all this and figure out how it’s connected.”
My heart stuttered—the damned nickname—but this time there was no venom behind the word.
She turned her back to us, packing up her bag and throwing on her jacket.
“Ace?” Asher asked.
“None of your fucking business,” I snapped. I wasn’t giving anyone else a chance to start calling me that.
“Fair enough. But Evie is enough of my business to double-check someone is with her at all times, correct? These things she’s digging into aren’t safe.”
“Also, none of your business. I have it taken care of.”
Evie walked out, heading back toward the door to the offices we came in through. Asher looked after her, the glint of satisfaction in his eye pissing me off more.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said. “You already know she is off-limits.”
He grinned, his teeth flashing in the dim light. “I know that, but do you?”
“Of course I do.”
“Are you sure? I know this will come as a shock to you,” Asher said, “but some of us don’t pine after the same woman years after she turns them down.”
“I’m not pining after any woman.”
“I get Rook falls for that, but I don’t.”
“And what? You’re pissed because you want her for yourself?”
“Not at all. I have nothing to be worried about. I would say let the best man win, but I don’t think that’s accurate for either of us, so let’s say may the most ruthless man win.”
Chapter 11
Evie
I’ve found out my trick to happily living this lifestyle is knowing when to kill and when to cry.
For me, Thursdays are for crying.
Thursdays were my day to hide away in my room with M&M’s and popcorn and watch the next rom-com on my list.
The ritual of curling up with my softest blanket and watching cheesy romance movies had become a staple on my weekly to-do list. One day, I had left onThe Notebookwhile I worked and ended up ugly crying, only to find myself more confident and murderous the next day. It was like I’d wrung every fragile part of myself dry in advance, so when the darker things came, I didn’t feel them at all.
Overall, it did wonders for my life and I haven’t skipped a week since.
I pulled the blanket up to my chin, my eyes getting watery as the movie hit some ridiculously sappy line about love being everything. I didn’t even know who came up with this stuff, as if it would happen in real life? What was worse was that I didn’t even know how I fell for it every single time.
As if this type of love ever held up in the real world. But maybe that was the point of doing this—if I could fall apart over fake love, I didn’t have to waste tears on the things that actually hurt.
They played through the part of him always loving her, andbefore they even finished the big declaration of love, I was fully sobbing.
Through my tears I didn’t even notice someone in my room before it was too late.
Aiden stood at the end of my bed, slack-jawed, looking at me in horror.
I think he would have been happier to walk in here and see me committing murder than in a pile of blankets and food on my bed uncontrollably sobbing at love.
“What are you doing in my room?” I yelled, trying to move the food off my lap. “I locked the door!”
