Page 28 of Manacled Hearts

I cannot be guilty of that all over again.

Yet… Maya looks so happy. I haven’t seen her like this in so long. No matter how hard I tried to protect her, to shelter her, we were still living in motels or our car. I could never offer her… this.

There’s no way I can wipe that happiness off of her sweet soul. Not yet anyway.

I have to do better for her.

“Evelyn?”

I turn at the sound of my name, but I don’t know who spoke it.

My gaze involuntarily falls on the wavy-haired blonde man who seems to glow in these burnt orange hues of the sun. The dying light sharpens his almost square jaw, the wide bridge of his nose, and perfectly sculpted cupid’s bow. I hate the ethereal light Finnigan’s painted in. Especially as he sits in that armchair like it’s his throne, one leg crossed over the knee of the other, back straight, and head cocked, slightly leaned back. He could make any chair look like his own, personal throne.

Christ, Evelyn, get it together.

I turn to Loreley with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I got distracted by Maya. Yes, I understand where you’re coming from, and I appreciate it.”

“Just don’t expect us to suddenly start sharing all our fucking secrets.” Finnigan snarls, addressing me directly for the first time tonight. The unnecessary harshness startles me.

“Finn!” Morri snaps.

I don’t dignify him with a response, turning to Vincent and the others instead.

“Do you have any news on the two men who seemed to lead that operation when you found me?” I ignore Finnigan altogether, asking a question that defies his whole speech about their secrets. Though, this shouldn’t really be a secret. Not from me.

I swear I practically hear him sneer at me, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep the grin off my face.

“Not yet,” The man whose name I was reminded earlier is Carter replies. “There’s little to go on, but we will. Let us know if you remember anything else.”

“I will.”

It was a true stroke of luck that the men who… did things to me, Frankie B, as I recalled his name, and the one they called Vassallo, left before The Sanctum arrived. From the snippets I caught through the haze, they were meeting someone. They weren’t tipped off; they simply left for their meeting probably mere minutes before. Though I was so out of it, minutes or hours felt the same to me.

It was pure, dumb luck.

“Have you? Remembered anything else, I mean,” Morrigan asks.

Very little, and nothing I wish to share with the group. There are still wide gaps in my memory, and considering the little I do remember, I’m thankful for those holes.

“Nothing relevant that could trace to them.”

“Everything is relevant, Evelyn. Not to this, but to you… your healing. If you ever need to talk…”

“I’m okay. Thank you.”

She nods but clearly doesn’t believe me.

“Just know you’re safe here. We didn’t leave a trail, so it’s unlikely anyone’s going to come knocking on our door. Or yours,” Maddox says.

His rough features, devoid of a smile, are comforting.

They all fall into comfortable chatter, and I catch brief mentions about a club Morrigan and Loreley apparently own. Something about renovations after a fire, playrooms, and… a stage?

I haven’t asked what exactly this club is, but my curiosity is piqued. I’ve never actually experienced any clubs to be fair, no matter what type theirs is, it’s going to be a novelty for me.

A few minutes later, I walk back into the house to check on my sister. She’s getting tired, but she’s engrossed in a fairytale Vincent’s mom is reciting. Maya doesn’t care much that I’m here, too engrossed in the storytelling, and I step away to the bathroom at the opposite end of the house.

I spend a minute longer here than I need to, enjoying the silence on this side of the house. I’m not used to being surrounded by so many people, so many conversations. It’s overwhelming at times.

---