Evie sits up, moving away from me. “Did you… did you kill my mother?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “I sent someone else to talk to her. Because if it had been me, knowing what she did to you, I probably would have. And I won’t do that unless you want me to.”
Evie shakes her head. “I don’t,” she says. “I don’t want to see her again, or talk to her, but I also don’t want her to die.”
“You are too good for this world, Evie Carter,” I say, pulling her back into my arms. It feels right, being with her, holding her. “I want you to come to Vegas with me.”
“I can’t,” she says.
“Why not?”
“Because my store just burned down, E. I need to sort it out. I need to be here to rebuild. There are probably a million things I need to do that I don’t even know about yet. I’ve never had a business burn down.”
“You didn’t own the building, Evie. All you have to do is submit your insurance claim and find a location for a new store. Order your stock and go from there. You can do that from Vegas,” I tell her.
The shrill ringtone of her phone interrupts us. “Shit, it’s Charlotte,” she says. “Be quiet. You are not here.”
I raise a brow but don’t say a word as Evie answers her friend’s call.
“Charlotte, hey, how’s married life?” I don’t hear the other side of the call, but Evie responds with, “I didn’t want to bother you. You are finally happy, Charlotte. You don’t need to be bothered by my problems.”
Their conversation continues for about five minutes before there’s a knock at Evie’s front door. Standing, I pick up my pistol from the bedside table. Evie’s eyes widen at me.
“Um, Charlotte, someone’s at my door. I’ll callyou back,” she says, dropping the phone while glaring at me. “What are you doing?”
“Seeing who the fuck is knocking on your door at seven in the morning,” I tell her. “Wait here.”
“No. Put that away. It’s probably Rachel.” She barges past me.
“Evie, don’t open that door,” I growl behind her. She looks back over her shoulder at me.
“You are overreacting.” She rolls her eyes. “But by all means, open the door if it means that much to you.” She steps to the side and gestures in front of me.
Blocking her body with mine, I swing the door open. “Who the fuck are you?” I ask the man who has his fist raised halfway as he prepares to knock again.
“Ah… is Evie here?”
“Who the fuck are you?” I repeat.
“Oh my god, E, stop.” Evie shoves her way through the small gap between me and the opening of the door. “Phil, what are you doing here?”
“I… ah… There was an update on the investigation at your shop. Thought you’d want to know,”Philreplies, his eyes bouncing between Evie and me.
“What update?” she asks.
“The fire wasn’t an accident. They found evidence of arson. I shouldn’t even be telling youthis. I just wanted to give you a heads-up, because the cops will be here soon asking questions,” the asshole says what I already suspected.
“What? I don’t understand. Amy said she was steaming a dress and the fire just started. Why would she lie about it?” Evie questions.
“I don’t know. But I figured you didn’t know anything about it. I’m sorry, Evie.” Phil shakes his head from side to side. “I’ll catch you around,” he says as he turns to leave.
“Who the fuck is Phil and why is he so concerned about you?” I ask Evie as soon as the door is closed.
“You need to get a grip, Emmanuel. Phil is Charlotte’s ex. He’s also a firefighter at the local department.” Evie walks towards the kitchen. I follow her.
“Your friend has some seriously awful taste in men,” I grumble.
“She married one of your best friends,” Evie retorts.
