Visions flashed forth of her fleeing that same house when we were teenagers, disappearing from my orbit, and how it had taken so many years to see her again.
I couldn’t let that happen. Not again.
“Coop.” Sebastian’s voice cut through the storm in my head. I turned to the opposite side of the car, Marlee wedged between us, and I registered the edge of panic in his tone. His phone was facing me, his text messages open on the screen.
“She’s gone to The Cellar.”
“What the fuck!” Every drop of blood drained from my face. My stomach turned to ice. Why would she be at the fucking Cellar? And why did she tell her brother and not me.
“What the hell is The Cellar?” Andy asked from the driver’s seat.
My mind reeled as Seb relayed the quickest route to a place I never wanted Evangeline, my pure angel, to even know about, let alone go. Especially alone when I still had no fucking idea what the hell was going on.
My phone buzzed against my leg, distracting me from my own thoughts and I fumbled for it, breath catching as her name lit the screen.
Eva
I’m not leaving. I’m at The Cellar. I’ll explain soon.
My eyes scanned the message, once, twice, like if I read it enough times, it would suddenly have more words. More detail.
My grip on the phone tightened.
Of all places. That was the last place she should be.
I felt like a kid again, helpless and full of pent up anger without a healthy coping mechanism of release. As a kid, I hadn’t fought hard enough every time I was met with disappointment, sadness, loneliness and longing, but when enough was enough I told myself if I ever got another chance, I would. I’d fight for the things I cared about. The things that mattered. The things I loved.
I’m not leaving- her words felt like a lifeline tossed from the edge of a storm, and as we rounded the street, screeching to a stopoutside the venue which to any passersby looked like a gymnasium, I was already sprinting towards it, only three people hunched in the shadows caught my eye, before I spotted one of my trucks.
“Wait here!” I barked, running over without thinking.
The closer I got the more confused I became.
Grant was slumped against the wall, clutching his eye. Evangeline stood frozen, mouth open in shock - but there was something else there too, a flicker of admiration she didn’t bother to hide and Xavier was flexing his hand like he wasn’t sure if it was broken.
At once, all three of them turned to look at me and whatever expression I wore must’ve given me away, because Evy was already moving toward me and I didn’t hesitate. I pulled her into me and held her tighter than I ever have before.
She was safe! It was all I could think about, until she whispered my name and the look she wore now had morphed into worry. The gentle tug of her downturned mouth made my chest ache, yet the tightness in her jaw betrayed the anger she tried to hide. Without thinking, I held her tighter like a lifeline, letting her weight and her turmoil rest against me why I tried to work out what the fuck was happening.
“Why are you here?” I asked.
“I’m really sorry,” she started, “but we found the missing whiskey. I didn’t want you to find out like this, it just happened too quickly tonight.” Her face twisted with something close to pain. Her eyes darted to Grant, whose fear had bloomed, hands raised and excuses already pouring out before the realisation suddenly dawned.
“Why the fuck is my truck here?” I asked. The confusion hadn’t cleared, but the anger was starting to rise anyway.
“Look, I can explain,” Grant started as Seb joined us, a quick look passing between us. A knowing look. One which told me he recognised shit was about to go south. Stepping towards us, he took Evangeline by the arm and pulled her away from me, whileGrant fed some bullshit about Marcus being his uncle and needing the truck.
“Grant, it’s embarrassing at this point,” Xavier interjected, “you and your uncle are thieves. Cooper, I just watched while they unloaded six barrels of your product. So unless you organised a delivery tonight, I think we’ve discovered Grabby Grant is your problem.”
I whipped my eyes back to Grant, whose face was noticeably pale, every line of his body screaming dread.
“You’ve been fucking stealing from me?” My hands twitched, restless with barely contained fury. This whole time. This whole fucking time.
“Seb, get her out of here,” I said through clenched teeth, knowing my emotions were about to run wild and I didn’t want her to see this.
Without another word, I lunged at someone I once trusted. A storm of rage unleashed at another person in my life fucking letting me down and my fists flew. Every ounce of hurt I’d carried from those who tried to take everything spilled through each punch. The pain of giving my trust and having it shattered again, fuelling every strike.
“Coop,” Seb’s voice sliced through, a layer of panic causing me to turn from the bloodied heap at my feet. “She’s fucking gone inside. She ran when I turned my back.”
