“Okay, fine, he’s a little insane. But he has good qualities too,” I tell her.
Charlotte plops back down next to me on the sofa. “I’m sorry. I just… I want you to be safe. I want to keep you alive for as long as possible. We have old people plans, remember?”
“I remember. We’re going to get houses next to each other, with rocking chairs on the porch, and we will watch our grandchildren play together.” It’s the same scenario we’ve dreamed up for years.
“Exactly. Do you really see Emmanuel sitting in a rocking chair on a porch?” Charlotte asks.
“Do you see Louie doing that?” I fire back at her.
“Yes, in a perfectly-fitted three-piece suit.” She smiles wistfully.
CanIsee Emmanuel in my future?
“I’m not saying he’s going to be the forever guy, Charlotte. I’m just saying he’s the right now guy.”
“From what I hear, if Emmanuel Lopez wants tokeep you forever, he will, and there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it,” she tells me.
“I’m more scared of the fact that I might actually want him to keep me,” I whisper. “He knows.”
“He knows what?”
“Everything. I told him. I thought it would push him away. It didn’t.”
“Of course it didn’t. Nothing that happened to you is your fault, Evie,” Charlotte says. “It does not deter from the beautiful soul you are. Not one little bit.”
“Can I tell you something? You can’t tell anyone. Not even your husband.” I look at her.
“Anything,” she says.
“He found the doctor who did the procedure on me when I was sixteen. He killed him,” I whisper into her ear, not wanting anyone else to hear me.
“I think I just found a reason to like Emmanuel.” Charlotte smiles.
“He’s determined to find them all…”
She nods. “And another reason to like him. Good.”
“Like I said, you can’t tell anyone about us. I told him I wanted to keep it on the down low here. And I don’t want to take away from your honeymoon bliss. This is your time to shine, Charlotte.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We can shine together. ButI won’t tell anyone,” she says, holding up her pinkie finger.
I link mine through hers, and we shake on it. I couldn’t even count the number of secrets we’ve shared like this. But none of them have ever been about murderous boyfriends.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ihaven’t seen her in hours. I’m eager to get back to her. I left Evie at my house because I had to deal with a last-minute complication with a drop. I would have preferred to stay in bed with her. It’s where I always want to be lately.
I told her I wouldn’t be gone long. I’ve been gone for hours. Evie hates being at the estate, especially without me. She says the place feels haunted and doomed. I know she has trouble getting pastthe memories of my mother. Of when I had to kill my mother in front of her.
It wasn’t my finest moment, and somehow I need to get her to be able to be in my house without remembering that incident. Or I need to find a new house.
I run up the stairs and push through the bedroom door. She’s not in the bed where I left her.
“Evie?” I call out, walking into the bathroom before I stop at the scene in front of me. “No!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “No. Fucking no!”
I drop to the floor. Evie’s body is covered in blood. A knife is on the tiles beside her. I reach up for towels and wrap one around her wrist.
“What the fuck have you done?” I yell as I shake her unresponsive body.
