Page 73 of Evan and the Alpha

Vince’s gaze drops again. “I was gonna say good, but like … yeah. Round works.”

I lay my hands over the curve of my bump, feeling protective. Vince finally yanks his gaze back up to my face. “Uh, can I talk to you?”

“Not right now. I have an appointment with Min.”

He bobs his head. “Sure, sure—I knew that, I meant like … after?”

“Sure,” I reply slowly, eyeing him again.

“Thanks,” he says, and that’s weird. So weird. I don’t trust it. Or him. Or … well, anything to do with my family these days.

I step inside the med bay and greet Min.

***

Vince is still waiting for me when we’re done. I give him a funny look, but say nothing. He follows me down the corridor, glancing over his shoulder.

Weird. Vince looks almost worried. I try to tell myself I don’t care. My family can’t bother me anymore.

“I’m leaving,” I tell him, glancing over my shoulder.

He frowns. “Like …”

“Like the ship,” I say. “I’m going home.”

“Home,” Vince echoes. “Like …”

“Like my house. Where I live.” I frown at him.

“Oh. Right.” He nods, then jams his hands in his pockets. He glances around. “Can we … go somewhere? Grab something to eat?”

I sigh. The last thing I want to do is go somewhere that isn’t home. “Fine,” I say.

We end up sitting on a bench in the main square, eating kebabs. Vince babbles about the food, and I’m not sure if it’s the sun or the heat or just the sound of his voice, but I’m getting more and more angry.

“The fuck do you want?” I snap finally, turning to glare at him.

He starts, then stares at me. “I, uh …”

I scowl. “I know you didn’t drag me out here to talk about the food, Vince. You wanted to talk to me, so … talk.”

I wave my arm, and he looks away. He scratches at the back of his neck. “I, uh … heard Dad and Scott talking a couple of days ago.”

“Uh-huh.”

He pauses. His face screws up, like he’s trying to decide how to say this. Finally, he looks up at me. “They were talking about leaving.”

“Good,” I say, then turn back to my kebabs. I was hungrier than I realized.

Vince inhales deeply. “They were talking about making you go with us.”

I glare at him. “Over my dead body.” I blink, then add, “Over Sobek’s dead body.”

Vince almost groans. “Ev, c’mon, you—”

“Did Mom send you to talk to me? Or Dad? Huh? Is that it, you’re gonna spy on me, act like the nice older brother, then go tell them everything? Just like when we were kids?”

“No,” Vince spits, then stares at me. He looks really angry. “Christ, Ev, is that what you remember of me?”