Then Ghost steps forward, and something in his presence makes Ethan's survival instincts finally kick in.
"This isn't over," Ethan says, releasing Evangeline's wrist.But his eyes are on me, not her."You can't keep them here forever.Sooner or later, you'll make a mistake, and when you do, I'll be there."
"Looking forward to it," I reply.
Ethan's gaze sweeps the room one more time, taking in the watching bikers, the frightened children, and the woman he's supposed to love standing as far away from him as possible.
"Call me when you come to your senses," he tells Evangeline.Then he turns and walks out, the door slamming behind him.
Silence stretches for a long moment before Jake ventures out from his hiding spot.
"Is he coming back?"he asks.
"Not if I can help it," I say, and I mean every word.
Tempest moves up beside me, his voice low enough that only I can hear."You're different around her.Always have been."
I don't answer, because what's the point?He's not wrong.
"Brother," Ghost says, joining us."You sure you know what you're getting into here?"
"I know these kids need protection.I know their aunt needs support.Everything else..."I shrug, trying to play it off like my heart isn't hammering against my ribs.
"Everything else is you lying to yourself," Tempest says bluntly."And probably to her."
Across the room, Evangeline is kneeling beside Jake, checking to make sure he's okay.The other children have clustered around her, seeking the comfort and security she represents.Her hair falls in golden waves around her face, and when she smiles at something Sophie says, it's like watching the sun come out after a storm.
She's everything I can't have and everything I've ever wanted, and watching her with those kids makes something in my chest twist until I can barely breathe.
"Hades," Ghost's voice carries a warning I've heard before, "getting involved with civilians never ends well.You know that."
"She's not just some civilian.She's family now."
"Is she?Or is she a woman who's engaged to another man and trying to do right by her brother's kids?"
The question hits harder than I want to admit.Because the truth is, I don't know.I don't know if the heat I see in her eyes sometimes is real or just wishful thinking.I don't know if she's staying for the children or for something else.
I don't know if I'm about to destroy everything by wanting something I can never have.
"Look at her," Tempest says quietly."Really look at her."
So I do, and what I see stops my heart.
Evangeline's got Lily on her lap now, the little girl's head tucked under her chin as she reads from a picture book.The older kids are arranged around her in a loose circle, drawn to her warmth like moths to flame.She looks tired, grief-stricken, overwhelmed.
But she also looks...right.Like this is where she belongs.Like those children belong with her.
Like she belongs with me.
The realization hits like a freight train, destroying the careful walls I've built around my feelings for her over the years.
"Fuck," I breathe.
"Yeah," Tempest says, his voice heavy with sympathy."You're fucked, brother, and so is she."
Because the truth is, it doesn't matter what I want.It doesn't matter that she lights up when I walk into a room or that her breath catches when I get too close.It doesn't matter that she defended me against Ethan or that she chose to bring those kids here instead of somewhere safe and proper.
She's still wearing another man's ring.
