Page 9 of Deliverance

“But we have all of those extra contracts from Citadel’s former clients,” Evelyn protested.

“And they can wait,” Alexander said firmly. “This is more important.”

Evelyn chewed on her lip, frowning. I reached over and tugged her lip away from her teeth.

“It’s a unanimous decision,” I told her. “We all agreed. This takes priority. You take priority.”

Evelyn exhaled slowly and nodded. “Okay.”

“Good girl,” I murmured.

She blushed and squirmed on her chair. Oh, we were going to explore that later for sure. She pushed my hand away and picked up another piece of bacon. Alexander slid a plate of eggs and hash browns in front of her, set one in front of me, then joined us at the island to eat. We ate in silence for a few minutes. Evelyn stared into her plate as she ate methodically.

“Okay, what else?” she asked after we finished.

“Izzy called as well,” Alexander said, picking up her finished plate and taking it to the sink. “She talked to Matt. He said we’ll be able to get in and assess the damage at HQ tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, but he warned her that nothing looked salvageable. He said to let him know what you needed.”

Evelyn groaned and rubbed her temples. “Fuck, I figured it was a total wash but still…”

“We’ll help you rebuild,” I reminded her.

“I know,” she said, but her shoulders were slumped, and I didn’t like the defeated look on her face.

“We’re going to get him,” Alexander said. “He’s good, but he’s still human. He’ll slip up, and we’ll be waiting.”

Evelyn inclined her head but kept her eyes on the counter in front of her; her fingers tapped against her leg.

“The others will get home around dinnertime, and we can discuss our next steps then,” Alexander said.

I glanced at the clock. We still had about five or six hours until they got home.

“We can watch a movie,” I suggested.

She bit her lip and shrugged. I hated how unsure she looked right now, like her whole foundation had been rocked. Anger at the Kingfisher filled me. When we found this asshole, I was going to have some strong words with him for upsetting my darling Evie.

“Or…” Alexander leaned forward on his elbows across the counter. “We can do something else to take your mind off everything.” Oh, a bold suggestion from my big brother. But it may be exactly what she needed.

Evelyn lifted her eyes to his. They stayed locked in a stare for a few moments.

“Make me forget,” she murmured finally. “Both of you.” She looked over at me. “I don’t want to think about everything for a bit.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked, scooting closer until our thighs brushed. “For us to take you apart, to drive you wild with pleasure until you can’t remember your own name, much less anything that’s going on?

She shivered and nodded. “Yes,” she breathed. “That’s what I want. I want to get out of my head.”

I stood and threw her over my shoulder. She yelped.

“Think you can keep up, old man?” I threw over my shoulder at Alexander.

He pushed up from the counter and strode after us. “We’ll see who can’t keep up,” he shot back.

Evelyn giggled, the first lighthearted sound I’d heard out of her all morning, and the tension in my shoulders eased slightly. We were going to take care of her now, and then afterwards, we’dtake care of her pesky Kingfisher problem and get onto living happily ever after.

CHAPTER 5

EVELYN

Sebastian tossed me onto his bed, and my breath escaped in a poof. The navy-blue sheets felt like silk against my skin. I briefly caressed the fabric, then rose onto my elbows. Sebastian yanked his shirt over his head with one hand in that guy way that made women everywhere swoon. He shoved his pants and boxers down next, and my breath caught in my throat.