I nod and pick up the menu once again, but I can’t concentrate on anything that’s written on it. We’re out for lunch. Just the two of us. There’s a reason… “Why did you pick her?” I ask, slamming the menu down harder than I mean to.
His eyes meet mine while he slowly lowers his to the table. “Pick who for what?”
“The other woman. That night at Carnage. Why did you choose her to be the one…” I lower my voice to whisper. “To die? Why not me?”
He sighs, looking away from me. “I picked her because ofGarrett.” His eyes come back to mine. “He never even gave the other woman a single look. He was focused on nothing but you. And I knew…he wanted me to pick you. So I picked the other one.”
I’m silent for a long second, letting his words sink in. And then I burst out laughing. He quickly looks around the quiet restaurant before giving me his attention once more. “You’re telling me, I’m alive today out of spite?”
He chuckles and picks up his water. “Yeah.”
I laugh harder, and he joins me.
He takes a sip and places his drink on the table. “In all seriousness, I’m sorry about everything.”
I shake my head. “None of it’s your fault.”
“I guess we’re even, huh?”
I frown, not understanding what he means.
“Bill told us that you were the one who told him I was in Dollhouse. That you reached out to Evan, and he confirmed I was there…you saved me.”
I drop my gaze to the table, catching sight of him twirling his wedding ring.
“I owe you everything, Eve.” He speaks softly, and I look up at him through my lashes. “Because of you, I get to be with my wife and be a father.”
I sit in my bed and read over the text that Adam just sent me. My heart racing, I bite my bottom lip and call the last person I want to talk to. It’s not even an option. It rings once before his voice fills my ear. “Well, hello, dolly.”
My teeth grind. “I need a favor.”
He chuckles, and it makes me sick to my stomach. “It’ll cost you. How much depends on what it is.”
“Haidyn,” I start. “I think Isabella has him.”
He snorts but doesn’t say anything.
“I think he’s at Dollhouse, but I need verification.” I bite my nail. I can’t go back there. No matter how much I want to save Haidyn. This is my only option. Plus, Isabella will know something is up if I walk into that hell. She wouldn’t let me near him.
Evan sighs. “I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything. And Eve…you owe me either way. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” I whisper, feeling a knot in my stomach.
“Someone had to stop her. I knew your brothers could do it,” I tell him honestly. The Spade brothers would have done anything for each other, and I knew they would burn that place down to get him back.
Haidyn nods and sighs. “I know it doesn’t mean much now, but had I known I had a sister, I promise your life would have been different.”
I swallow the knot in my throat at his words. I believe him. Charlottewasn’t wrong. Haidyn will go to hell for the people he loves. I never realized until now how much I needed to hear that. That someone would have stepped up and protected me. “It means something. And thank you,” I tell him.
He gestures for our server to come take our orders. I haven’t even looked to see what they have. “And I don’t doubt that you can take care of yourself, but if Kashton hurts you, just know, I’ll break his fucking legs.”
I laugh and the server comes over. Once he walks away, I tell my brother, “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Sitting here with Haidyn makes me think of Ashtyn. I think this could be a part of why I dislike her. She grew up with four guys who would have done anything for her. Hell, they did, and she gave it up. I watched her fuck it all away in Vegas while they were being punished here for her actions because she thought her husband was dead.
I’ve been cheering Haidyn and Charlotte on since Bill had Haidyn meet him at the cathedral.
I exit the cathedral just as I watch the bike pull out onto the two-lane road. I make my way down to the Rolls-Royce Wraith, and the driver opens the back passenger door for me. I slide in, and he shuts the door but makes no move to get behind the wheel. He remains standing outside the car.
