My hand was on the gun strap around my waist, my focus dead set on the road ahead, and my mind was a chaos of its own.
“You good?” Devil’s voice reached inside my head from the driver’s side.
I looked toward him, noting the frown on his brows, but it was one of concentration.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t speak after that. I studied him for a bit, knowing that despite our little jokes here and there over the past weeks, we had been tiptoeing around each other. I didn’t want to broach the topic because the last thing I wanted was to be at odds with any of them.
“Hey,” I said, calling his attention as he glanced over. I tapped my comm, gesturing for him to turn his off.
When he did, his frown deepened. “What’s wrong?”
“I feel like we need to talk.”
His grip on the wheel tightened. “About what?”
“Don’t play pretend. Ever since I told everyone my last name, your eyes have been on me, and we’ve been walking on eggshells around each other. I’d like to know why.”
His body grew tense, and I knew he didn’t want to talk about it; he wanted to play dumb, imagine he hadn’t heard or realized anything so the little bubble he was in wouldn’t burst. He was at war with himself, and it only piqued my curiosity to know what he knew.
“It’s nothing,” he said.
I sighed. “Look, we’re about to enter a battleground together; I just want to ensure we’re good before we face possible death?”
After a second of quietness, he let out a breath. “Do you recognize the termE2?”
I went quiet, watching him with a frown before I asked, “How the fuck do you know about E2?”
He glanced at me, his eyes reflecting the same void as always. He had the unique ability to never move any muscle on his face. He looked back to the road.
“I don’tknowof him. Iamhim.”
The silence that befell us was very heavy. At first, I heard his voice repeat in my head as I tried to make sense of the revelation. “I don’t understand.”
“There is nothing to understand. I know who you really are. We communicated prior to me finding you or Street.”
I looked away from him. “Fuck,” I muttered. “I can’t believe you’re… Fuck. How come this never came to anyone’s notice?”
“You’re one to talk.” He glanced at me with a stern glare.
“When I said my name, and you realized who I was, why didn’t you react then?”
“I was also at risk of revealing whoIwas. I am not one to meddle in shit that doesn’t concern me, and I stopped being E2 when Street was created.”
I sighed, my chest growing heavy as I looked his way again. “So, you’ve let me hang around your brother for the past couple months, knowing who I was and what I’m capable of?”
His jaw clenched. “You promised not to hurt him, and I believed and trusted you. Even after knowing your last name.”
My eyes turned from him and back to the road. “Well, you’re right. I have no intention of hurting him. He means more to me than you know.”
“I’m guessing he doesn’t know.” His voice was stern.
“I plan to tell him,” I stated.
From my periphery, I knew he was shaking his head.
It was quiet for a short while until he broke it. “Was everything with Street staged?”
