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I hear a chorus of curses a second before the front door slams closed. I have my keys ready and am in the car starting the engine just as the front door swings open revealing a guy with a murderous look on his face. He barrels down the steps, and I pull away from the curb a split second before he reaches us.
I watch in the rear-view mirror as he pulls his phone from his pocket and brings it to his ear as I turn at the end of the street.
I take a quick glance to Eva beside me to see her with her arms wrapped around her waist.
“Eva, you okay?”
She spins her head, eyes pinned on the side of my face as I watch the road. “Am I okay?” she asks slow and precise like I don’t understand English. “Oh, yeah, I’m just fucking peachy. I love being held hostage for two days, then dragged from my house in the middle of the night by a corrupt cop.” She blows out a breath and folds her arms rather than hugging herself.
I don’t say anything more, and we ride in silence for a bit. Warmth trickles down the inside sleeve of my jumper and with each flex of my bicep the slice on my arm stings. That is until the rumble of a bike engine draws my attention to the rear-view mirror.
“Perfect,” I mutter, realising who it is. Eva twists in her seat to get a look behind us.
“Who is that?”
“You don’t know?” I ask, a little surprised by that revelation. I see her shake her head. “Well, shit. This is going be all kinds of fucked up fun then.”
“What does that mean, and where are we going?”
“You’ll see soon enough,” I reply, turning down the road to Maddox’s house. He follows close behind, revving the engine like he wants to ram me in the arse. I almost choke on the irony of that thought.
He’s pissed! But I have something to deflect from the fact I snuck out of the house and have now brought Eva to theirs without asking.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Maddox
My bike skids, kicking up gravel, as I pull alongside Zak’s car in the driveway. I barely get the stand in place before I’m off my bike, ripping the helmet from my head and dumping it on the seat, then marching toward her as she steps from the car.
I open my mouth to go in on her, but she holds a hand up and beats me to it. “Do not even start with me, Maddox. I’m not in the mood.” The sound of more feet crunching across the gravel has me looking over the top of the car to see Zak heading this way.
A head of brown hair appears from the other side of the car, and I realise that it’s Eva. Jesus fucking Christ.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Roxanne!”
Rounding on me, her finger in a severe point, she says, “Not bloody kidding, and you’re going to want to hear who I bumped into at her house too. You want to do this standing here or inside?”
Roxanne doesn’t wait for an answer, but instead she strides to Eva, who she says a few words to before walking to the house with Eva following.
Zak waits for me, and we head into the house together just as Roxanne and Eva disappear up the stairs.
I stand at the bottom until long after they’ve gone. Zak has walked off to the kitchen, and I can hear him in the fridge.
When I finally join him, he’s making a sandwich from left over chicken.
“Want one?” he mumbles around a mouthful.
I shake my head. I don’t know how he manages to eat at this time of night. I’d be up all night with indigestion. I ignore the annoying little fucker in my head telling me it’s because I’m an old man. I don’t need a reminder. I feel every damn one of my twenty-nine years. The last ten have aged me, yet my life expectancy has lowered considerably.
“Spit it out, Mad. I can see the words forming in your mind, so just say them.”
I swipe a hand down my face, stopping to scratch at the stubble on my chin. “You sound just like her when you say shit like that, you know.” He shrugs, and I continue, “What the fuck was she thinking bringing Eva here? That there was going to be some happy fucking reunion or some shit?”
“Nah, she’s just being Rox, man. Isn’t that why we—” His words cut off at the sound of footsteps in the hall.
A second later Roxanne comes into view carrying a pillow.
“Is this a welcoming committee or a lynch mob? Either way, I’m too tired for this shit.” She dumps the pillow on the counter before grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water.
