Part 12 (1/2)

”Hi, Anton. I'm just going to wait for King. I'll sit over there out of the way until he gets here.” Evie started to go have a seat until she caught the look on his face. Her gut twisted.

”He's already here. Would you like me to give him a call and let him know you're here?”

”Is he alone?” Her throat went dry as she waited for his reply.

His silence was all the answer she needed.

She gave a brief smile. ”Then there's no need to call. Thanks, anyway.” She turned on her high heels, leaving the lobby to go back outside.

Evie stood there a moment before carefully crossing the busy street. Studying the buildings for several seconds, she found what she was looking for, wedging her body between two buildings. The shadows would hide her from anyone pa.s.sing. She stood for over an hour on shoes that were beginning to pinch her feet.

Her usual time for arriving at his apartment was two a.m. At one thirty, Henry's car pulled up in front of the building. Her hands curled in the pockets of the coat as she let her weight s.h.i.+ft to lean heavier into the shadows.

King came out, his arm circling the waist of a beautiful blonde. She appeared younger than her with a blue, ruched dress so tight Evie was amazed she could walk. King opened the car door for her and then bent down to give her a lingering kiss before helping her into the car. Shutting the door, he tapped on the roof, signaling Henry to drive away.

He didn't wait for his car to pull out before going back inside his building. Evie made herself relax her hands when she felt the sticky wetness of blood. She knew as soon as Henry dropped off the blonde, he would go to Penni's to get her.

She took her cell phone out of her pocket, calling a cab to pick her up. Thankfully, it was close by. As soon as it pulled up, she slid into the back seat. The driver gave her a startled look, which she ignored, giving him Penni's address.

As soon as the cab came to a stop, she got out and handed the driver the cash. Evie practically ran through the lobby to the elevator, controlling her rampaging emotions until she could get inside the apartment.

Penni turned around on the couch at her entrance. ”Back so soon?”

”Change of plans. I decided to stay in; I wanted an early night. See you in the morning.” Evie went into her bedroom before Penni could pose the prying questions Evie could see she was about to ask.

Inside her bedroom, she pulled off the coat, throwing it down on the floor and then kicking it away before taking off the red stripper outfit. She was so angry she wanted to tear it into pieces. Only the fact it didn't belong to her had her controlling her temper. Evie blinked back tears, not understanding why she was so upset.

Pulling on a t-s.h.i.+rt, she sat down on the end of her bed. She had f.u.c.ked The Last Riders with the other women of the club, not giving a s.h.i.+t. h.e.l.l, she had been happy when they had begun getting married. Never once had she felt a pang of jealousy until she had seen King's mouth touch the blonde's.

When her cell phone vibrated next to her hip, she looked down to see it was a message from King. Henry's waiting outside.

Evie sat, staring down at the message.

Tired. Going to stay in. Goodnight. Evie pushed the send b.u.t.ton.

Setting the phone down carefully on the nightstand instead of throwing it against the wall, she lay back on her bed and then turned off her bedside lamp. In her mind, she replayed King and the woman walking out of his apartment building. She wondered how many times over the last few weeks Henry had dropped off one of King's lovers just to pick her up afterward.

She curled into a ball. The most upsetting part was why she even gave a rat's a.s.s. What had started out as a clear-cut mission of finding out if King's activities could in any way hurt Lily had developed into more. He had slid under her guard, seducing her into caring about him.

Evie remembered Beth's face when she had come to the hospital after being released, seeing Razer with Bliss. The pain of betrayal, both from Razer and herself as a friend for not standing beside her, had been something Evie had regretted for years. She had been loyal to the club and hadn't stood up for Beth, who had been terribly hurt. She wished she had Beth with her now.

Evie had always held part of herself back, keeping her past private. She needed Beth's quiet optimism to tell her everything would go back to normal. To convince her she really didn't care King had been f.u.c.king other women. The problem was, she did care.

Desperately, she clung to Levi's image. They had grown up together. He had been her first kiss, her first love. They had learned to ride bikes together, did Algebra together, went in the service together. He could fix a truck motor, install a kitchen counter and hunt, but at the same time, he could be as sweet and gentle as a spring breeze.

She hadn't been close to her parents or sister, always feeling on the outside. Levi had been her family, and when she had lost him, she had become a basket case.

When he had died, the woman she had been had also ceased to exist. She had survived her rape and losing Levi by becoming the ant.i.thesis of herself. She was no longer shy, timid or virginal; everything her sweet Levi had loved about her was gone, buried under years of parties, alcohol and men.

King had been resurrecting that woman, making her laugh again, making her care again. Well, he had shown her he could keep his emotions under control. She could, too. It was time she got back on track and did the job she had been sent to accomplish.

”What do you think?” King looked up from his phone at Desmond's question.

”About what?”

Desmond sighed, picking up his gla.s.s of wine. ”About buying the McClure building. I think it will be a good return on our investment.”

”Then buy it,” King replied absently, placing his phone back in his suit pocket.

”What's going on? Why are you looking at your phone every five minutes?”

”No reason.” King evaded his question, wanting to grind his teeth in frustration. Evie had been ignoring his calls and texts for three days. The man he had following her had said she had been all over his city, exploring and even hitting several of the bars. King couldn't understand the drastic change in her behavior. One night he was f.u.c.king her brains out, the next she wasn't giving him the time of day.

”You still seeing Evie?”

”I don't know,” King answered caustically.

”What in the f.u.c.k does that mean?” Desmond asked, looking over his shoulder.

”It means she's not answering my calls,” he snapped.

”Why don't you turn around and ask her?” Desmond nodded his head at a table behind them. ”Of course, the man she's with might not appreciate it.”

King frowned, turning around in his seat. Evie had her back to him; however, the man sitting at her table was in his early thirties with blond hair and a s.h.i.+t-eating grin aimed at Evie.

When King turned back around, Desmond was watching him with an amused expression. ”Would you like me to go ask her for you?”

”I'm not in f.u.c.king middle school. I can do my own talking.”

”Not if she's not returning your calls.”

”Desmond, if you don't shut the h.e.l.l up...”

Desmond laughed softly as their waitress approached with their bill. Signing the check, King and Desmond rose to their feet, avoiding Evie's table as they left the restaurant.

”I'll get in touch when the deal is finalized.”

”Do that,” King answered, waiting for Desmond's car to pull out before getting inside his own.

”Pull around to the side of the building,” King ordered Henry.

King sat in the parking lot for twenty minutes before Evie and her date came out. She had her hair pulled up and was wearing a coral-colored dress. Her happy expression disappeared when she saw King leaning against his car with his arms folded across his chest.

”Evie, you haven't returned my calls.” King's blunt words were loud in the quiet parking lot.

They came to a stop a few feet away.

”I didn't want to talk to you.”