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There was always a period after missions when my senses were heightened, and it took time for them to come back to normal. Given how personal this was, it might take longer.
Evelyn moved in my arms, shifting closer, her fingers curling into the fabric of my shirt. And together, we slept.
I surfaced again when the sun was shining. It was still morning, but late. I’d slept more deeply than I’d intended, and Evelyn was still passed out. She needed all the rest she could get.
I eased myself from her and laid her on the pillows. I needed to check in with the others, and my stomach was growling. I didn’t actually remember the last time I’d eaten, and Evelyn must be the same. There was a vending machine down the hall. I’d grab something for us while I made some calls.
“How is she?” Daniel asked as he answered on the first ring.
“Sleeping. She woke up for a little while last night.”
“Good. Listen, I was waiting for you to call.”
I punched the numbers into the vending machine for a granola bar for myself, one for Evelyn, and a chocolate bar. There wasn’t anything that chocolate didn’t make better. Hopefully she’d like that when she woke up. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t panic,” he said, which made me freeze. “Everything is fine. But Nathan was transferred to the custody of the state troopers.”
“What?” He wasn’t supposed to set foot outside of his cell. “Why?”
I looked in both directions down the hallway, my senses reaching out and searching to make sure nothing was wrong. This machine was going too damn slowly.
“There was nothing we could do,” he said. “Believe me, we tried. I guess he used his phone call wisely. In the middle of the night, an army of lawyers stormed the station. They didn’t want him in jail. And since Lena wasn’t awake, there wasn’t enough proof to hold him in a cell. Both the lawyers and the state troopers promised to take him to a hotel and keep him close until Lena and Evelyn could be questioned.”
I swore. That wasn’t any promise at all.
“We followed them. Grant has been on the hotel and Harlan has been circling it. No movement that we’ve seen, but—”
“But don’t leave her side,” I said. “Got it.”
The last thing fell from the vending machine and I snatched it out of the bottom before walking back down the hall. The only reason I didn’t run was that I didn’t want to make the nurses panic for no reason. They were watching. We’d be okay.
But maybe there was a reason my instincts hadn’t settled.
I spun around the corner and took in the nurse’s station and her doorway. No one suspicious. Good. And when I stepped into Ev’s room, she was exactly as I’d left her. Perfectly and peacefully asleep.
Shutting the door behind me, I took a breath. It took me stepping into the room to see the black rose lying on the foot of her bed.
The movement registered before I’d fully seen it, and I spun on instinct. Nathan was there with a knife, already in motion. Thank fuck that SEAL training went deep. I lunged out of the way of the knife barely in time to avoid having my guts spilled on the floor and pushed his next thrust to the side.
My foot slipped on the granola bar that I’d dropped, but I recovered enough to knock aside the next blow. I was at a disadvantage here—I was no longer armed and was on the defense.
It was clear that Nathan had training. This was more than an angry man with a knife. He had skills. And knives were not my specialty.
He was screaming at me. There might have been words, but I didn’t hear them. I was focused on the movement of his blade and circling away, trying to get an advantage while also keeping him as far away from Evelyn as possible.
I was detached, observing him. It was the only way that I could be. If I let him in, I would lose control. And keeping control was the only way that this wouldn’t end in Evelyn’s death. I didn’t give a shit about mine.
The wall was too close behind me, and the slash that Nathan used grazed my forearm as I put more open space between us. I hissed in pain, and Evelyn screamed. That was all he needed. I looked over at Ev, and Nathan lunged.
He tackled me to the ground, knife coming straight at my face. I barely caught it in in time. On any given day, I was easily stronger than Nathan. But if my life experience had taught me anything, it was that there was no comparison to the strength of madness.
“She will never be yours,” he hissed. His eyes were close and mad, arms shaking with the force he was pushing down on me.
Evelyn screamed again. “Nathan, stop.”
But he wouldn’t. We both knew that. I could see it in his eyes. He was going to die, or I was going to. And it didn’t matter if I won and sent him away, he would never stop. Ever.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evelyn move. She was out of the bed and I didn’t dare look at her or tell her to stop because I wanted his attention to stay on me.
