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“It was the Shades. They got her first, but I can’t figure out why.”
My father looks at me, stopping dead in his tracks. “It wasn’tyouthey were after all this time. It was me.”
The conversation I had with her about wishing my father dead clicks into place now. She wasn’t after us, she was after her parent's killer.
“The Shades framed you as her parents' murderer to motivate her to take you out? That doesn’t make any sense.”
A loud noise at the door rings out, and the panel crashes into the wall as Laney shoves a man into the room as Arrow trails right behind her. The man's hands are tied behind his back with medical tape, and the ears of her cat rings are shoved into his side. His eyes go right to Evie, almost like he knows her.
“He was trying to break in here,” Laney says, shoving the bright pink pointy cat ears into his rib cage a little harder. Arrow is crowding her like he’s afraid this guy is somehow going to get away.
“Who the fuck are you?” I ask, all of my usual tact and composure banished to the wind.
He keeps his eyes on Evie, pain crossing his features as he takes everything in. His eyes shift to meet my father's, but they don’t linger. When they look at Evie again, I pull her tighter to my body on instinct.
“I’m Havoc,” he says, “I came here to warn her.”
“You’re a little too late pal,” Laney says, pulling the sharp object from his side just to shove it in again. He grunts as she twists them, seeming to get the reaction she wanted. She looks at me with a question in her eyes.
“I heard what you were saying, and I think I can help,” he tries to take a step toward Evie, but Laney pins him in place. You can tell he’s frustrated with her being the one to hold him back, and it makes me smirk.
“How can you help us?” I ask.
“Do you know who her uncle is?” he questions us all. When we don’t answer, he continues. “He’s known to many as the Shades’ Commander.” He looks directly at my father, “But you know him as Adrik Petrov.”
That information tells me nothing, but it seems to trigger my father. “Damir’s brother?” he asks.
“And the man who has been trying to infiltrate all levels of the world's mafia so he can take over.”
“How do you know this?” I question. “How do you know Evie?”
He looks ashamed before answering, “Because up until three days ago, I was Adrik’s right-hand man. I also started training Evie when she was fifteen.”
His voice. He was the voice on the phone with me right before my men were killed. “Did you kill my men?” I ask him, fury lacing my words.
“I believe Adrik did,” he says. “He was the one to order men to come here and beat her within an inch of her life. He wanted to motivate her to go after your father.” He nods in his direction. “He thought she was distracted, and this was how he wanted to deal with it. He wanted her to think it was Boris who sent men to kill her so she would be willing to do anything to take him down, even if it meant dying herself.”
“And the ambush, the rallying of the students to attack Evie? The men who tied me up and tried to frame her for my murder, was that him too?” I ask.
Havoc shakes his head, “Not that I know of. Three days ago, when he gave me the order, I disappeared. I thought if I could find her, I could keep her safe. She had been pushing to let you guys in on her plan for weeks now, but Adrik refused, too afraid she would find out it was all a lie. This was his last-ditch effort to motivate her.”
“Why are you here?” I question, already knowing the answer but needing to hear him say it.
“I have loved that girl like my own daughter since she was eleven years old. Right after I helped rescue her from a Syrian prison, I swore to her I would protect her with my life if it came to it .”
Laney gasps, apparently knowing what he’s talking about. “I didn’t like this mission, but when I found out he was lying to her and manipulating her, I knew I had to do everything I could to save her.” He shakes his head and clears his throat. “She tried to help me save my wife and daughter, the least I could do was sacrifice it all to save her.”
I can hear the sincerity in his voice, but he was too late to stop this from happening. For that, he deserves to be punished.
“Take him to the shed,” I tell Laney. “Damien will help you.”
“I’ll be with her too,” Arrow says, putting his hand on the small of her back.
Laney nods, turning Havoc in her hold not as harshly as before. Evie will be the one to decide what happens to him when she’s better.
When they both leave, my father sits back in the chair beside me. “Who is Adrik?” I ask him, having noted his reaction to the name.
“He’s Damir’s brother,” he clears his throat, clearly not wanting to go deeper. I stay silent though, knowing if he needs to, he will tell me. “He was also engaged to your mother before she met me.”
