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The man is cowering now, hands over his head as I kick him in the stomach, sending him tumbling over as he lets out a sharp gasp of pain.
With a final, vicious punch to the head, he’s out cold, and I stand up, wiping blood from my knuckles with the handkerchief in my pocket. I stand there, panting for breath as I realize that this situation is far from over.
My emotions have gotten the better of me, and I’ve taken it out on this man, nearly killing him for crossing my path at the wrong time.
The man seems to wake after a few seconds and starts picking himself off the pavement, crawling away.
Is this why Eva didn’t want to tell us the truth? We have such a dark, twisted nature that it makes sense why she would keep this from us.
Perhaps she was scared to raise a child with us knowing we have danger as a constant companion. I stuff the handkerchief back in my jacket pocket and start walking away just as I hear the sound of sirens in the background.
I can hear my father’s voice in the back of my head now, berating me for letting my emotions control me.
“You need to stay calm and cool,” he would order me. “Keeping a level head means you have an advantage over your enemies.”
But Eva isn’t our enemy. Not anymore. Not for a long time now. I have to find a way to talk to her.
Because no matter how badly I reacted, knowing that her baby belongs to us changes everything. That child is an Everhart by birthright, and they deserve all that entails.
For now, I need to let myself cool down, maybe hide out until I can figure out what it is I really want from her.
Strolling away, I hail a taxi and get in, directing them to take me to the other side of the city, away from DeLucci territory.
If Eva is so scared of us that she couldn’t bring herself to tell us the truth about this, I wonder what else she might be hiding.
I just hope it’s nothing that we can’t help her with.
24
RYDER
The soft clink of billiard balls echoes through the sunny room as Oliver and I engage in a friendly game. Oliver just got back from another trip for Declan, and we are catching up, the tension of the day melting away with each precise shot.
We’re in the lounge, the oak-paneled walls exuding an air of old-world elegance, a stark contrast to the modern furnishings scattered throughout the spacious room.
As I line up my next shot, the heavy wooden door creaks open, drawing our attention. Evangeline stands in the doorway, tension in her shoulders.
“Hey, Eva,” I call. “What brings you here?”
We haven’t seen as much of her since Aunt Bridget took her out of the manor and placed her under her employ. She’s still here every evening for dinner, but she’s gone a lot of the day now, trailing behind our aunt as she tends to her business.
Her gaze flits between the two of us, a hint of nervousness behind her eyes. “I need to talk to you,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Both of you.”
My heart quickens at her words, a sense of unease settling over me.
“Alright, what’s on your mind?” I ask, motioning for her to take a seat on one of the leather sofas nearby. “You have our undivided attention.”
She sinks onto the sofa, pressing her face into her hands. “I lied,” she says, her voice hoarse. “The baby… it’s yours.”
“How—”
“I spent the night with you at your club just a few weeks before I started working here,” Eva confesses. “I didn’t know it was you, and I didn’t take the job for any reason except I needed it, badly,” she’s quick to add.
“Why are you telling us now?” Oliver asks, tone entirely too measured for the news that Eva just dumped into our laps.
“Theo overheard me talking to your aunt at her office,” she says, wrapping her arms over her belly. “He confronted me and stormed off. I didn’t want you two finding out some other way.”
Her words trigger something in me as I recall that night at the club that I had those flashbacks to the night we must have spent with her.
