“No.” My tone is final. “She’s too soft. There’s no way she’ll be able to keep her composure—”
“Evie’s not as childish as you think.” Reuben’s grip on my shoulders tightens. “And she’s not your responsibility, Christian.”
My lips purse.
“You already saved her life once. You don’t owe her anymore.”
“She wouldn’t have been in this situation if it wasn’t for me,” I grind through my teeth, knocking his hand off me, “so sheismy responsibility, Reuben.”
“She made this decision on her own.”
“She’s too kind to tell you no in the first place.”
“Then we’ll protect her!” He looks beside himself trying to convince me but his words do strike a chord inside me.
“Together,” he promises. “It’ll be a two-part mission. Track down this guy’s backer,” his knuckles brush my temple in a gentler voice, “and protect Evie.”
We’re both silent for a few moments, each of us watching the other as we hold our breath.
“It’s dangerous… but there’s a lot hanging on this,” he continues gently. “Evelyn’s our gold star at shutting this entire operation down. The women of this city won’t need to feel afraid for their lives because of this ever again.”
I swallow. Maybe he’s right. He knows better than I at these things…
“But why does it have to be Evie?” I touch Reuben’s hand on my cheek, speaking in a soft voice. I wouldn’t care if it were anyone else…
“Evie’s the only one willing to do this for us,” he answers honestly as he rubs his thumb across my skin, but I know it’s more than that.
She’ll do it because I’m the one who saved her life.
It feels heavy. By trying to save someone, I gave the team their best weapon against the Harvester.
The fight drains from me, slipping away like sand through my fingers, and I lean forward to rest my head against Reuben’s neck, breathing in the scent of his shampoo. His skin is cool to the touch, a balm for my fear and uncertainty. Relaxing. Comfortable.
“I don’t like this,” I speak into his neck, and it reminds me of his words from a long time ago, making me huff, “Does that mean I should hit you as hard as I can?”
‘If I ask it of you, knowing how much you hate it, be sure to hit me as hard as you can.’
It’s Reuben’s voice, the morning after Aster’s test.
The rumble of laughter in his chest reverberates beneath me, and his hand through my hair, his fingers against my scalp, is equally soothing, “I won’t go back on that. Hit me whenever you want. But trust me too. She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
I’m not sure when it started, but I think—I think Reuben became the person I trust most, after Christian.
And I’m glad he can’t see my expression or read my emotions from this angle.
Because I’m realizing now how much my heart is going to shatter when he realizes the truth.
Chapter 21
Reuben
By Monday, we’re able to successfully plant Evie into the Harvester’s neighbourhood like Xavier planned.
I had Aster clean up all her digital files to match her story: she moved away from Portland to Shelton with her older brother after her nonchalant parents disappeared on them both. It’s not much different from the truth, but it’s always better that way. The only real change is the actor we planted in place of her brother. An alcoholic. Abusive. Unemployed.
After piecing together the writing from his scrapbooks and linking them to the victims over the years, we learned how Philip Warren chooses his women. He likes to think he’s saving them from their environments. Trash boyfriends, abusive families and the like.
Even while being beaten down by their surroundings, they show the world kindness—showhimkindness—and it convinces some fucked up part of himself that cutting them up and tearing them apart is the best way to save them.
