Evangeline
It’s too loud. :(
I can’t hear anything. :(
I miss you. :(
Aleksandr
Can someone else answer the phone?
Are you with anyone?
*missed call from Aleksandr*
Evangeline
Yeah! I’m with Mia!
We’re celebrating! :)
But I’d much rather be celebrating with you again. ;)))
I think someone is coming, I gotta go.
Byeeeeee.
*missed call from Aleksandr*
Aleksandr
Eva.
*missed call from Aleksandr*
Eva.
Fuck. I’m coming.
“I havethe best news for you, cousin,” Nikolai said as soon as he strolled into my office at one of the many nightclubs I owned, a shit-eating grin on his face as he plopped into the chair across from me.
“Not now,” I growled, hammering my phone against the desk. The call went straight to voicemail. Panic clawed at my chest.She could be anywhere, exposed. Drunk. Vulnerable. And if anyone touched her?—
I swallowed hard, the wordless threat curling around me like smoke.
I needed to fucking find her. While I trusted Eva to take care of herself, I didn’t trust the people in this city. I knew firsthand how dark and cruel the world could be. Liza was not spared its wrath simply because she was a child, and a woman as beautiful as my Evangeline was too much a temptation to ignore.
My mind spun with visions of worst-case scenarios. What if someone tried to take advantage of her? Lead her to their homes and rob her of that innocent light that shone around her? What if the Vallens learned of my growing weakness for her and decided to exploit it while she was vulnerable?
Fuck.
I would put a bullet through the skull of anyone who tried to lay a single fucking finger on her.
I stood from my desk, flinging the paperwork to the side in my haste. Sometimes, I visited my businesses to work and get things done—like tonight, when I’d been trying to look into the outdated infrastructure of the theater, all the electrical work that needed rewiring. It helped to show my face around the place, remind anyone of who they may be crossing. And since IthoughtEva was safe at her home tonight, I figured I would accomplish some things while the taste of her juices still lingered on my tongue. It was clear that I was going to have to add guards for her—if not guard her myself, because the thought of people watching her for hours made me see red.
“Aren’t you going to ask what my news is, Aleksandr?” Nikolai crooned, pretending to twirl his hair like a dumbass.
“No. I’m busy.”
