“Fine,” he chokes, walking over to his sister. “The detective said he’s going to check back with you in the morning, after you’ve recovered a little more. So keep your phoneon,please.”
She nods. “Will do.”
Roman takes her hand, his brow furrowing. “You’resureyou don’t remember anything about the motherfucker who hit you?”
She shakes her head. “I never even saw him.”
I know from Val’s flood of texts that came in while I was apparently blacked out in my car that Evelina was walking out of the club and to her Uber when some fucking dead man…or hewill be, when I find him…hit her in the head from behind, knocking her down. Her Uber driver, an older Indian gentleman named Kabir—I had Gideon check him out on my way to the hospital, he’s clean—saw the whole thing from his car. Future Dead Man was wearing a black ski mask, and ran off when Kabir rushed over after seeing the attacker press a knife to Evelina’s throat.
Roman sighs, taking her hands in his and squeezing. “Evie, just come home?—”
“Roman.”
His eyes fall shut, and he takes a slow breath as he nods. “Okay, fine. But please, call me in the morning. Call me any time. Literally.”
I can’t fault the guy for slamming me into a wall. Roman’s a lot like me in that he’ll go fucking apeshit when anyone he loves is hurt.
He leans down and kisses his sister's forehead. They talk for a second, and Val moves closer to me.
“He’ll cool down,” he says quietly. Then he gives me a sharp look. “But if you fucking hurt her…” his eyes glint. “It won’t just be Rome that you have to worry about. Understand?”
I nod. “With full clarity, brother.”
Roman shoots me a dark look as Val goes over to hug Evelina gently. When they’re both gone, I walk over to sit on her bed, taking her hands in mine. Her face crumples, like she’s been holding it together for her brother’s sake, and when I lean down to kiss her, she sobs a little as she kisses me back.
“I’m going to find who did this to you,” I mutter. “I’m going to drag them tohellfor this.”
“Thank you,” she smiles. “But first… Can you take me home?”
“Gladly.”
“Vaughn?”
Evelina’s brow furrows. “There’s… What happened to your hands?”
It’stwo in the morning by the time I’ve gotten her home, bathed her, gently washed her hair around the lump on the back ofher skull, and gotten her into bed. She falls asleep in my arms instantly, her cheek against my chest and her hand on my abs.
But sleep doesn’t come as easily for me.
First, I make sure every available asset I have at my disposal is combing the city and tearing it apart to find the man who dared hurt her.
But there's another, far darker thought that keeps me up until dawn is starting to break over the horizon.
The blank space of time I don’t remember.
The blood on my hands, like the blood when Quentin lashes me.
ButI’mQuentin.
And Demon.
And a dozen others, all parts of my psyche that I can’t always control.
Quentin wants Evelina gone.
And Quentin is part of me.
Icy coldness slices into my chest as I look down at my hands, still seeing the blood on them even though they’re spotlessly clean now.
