Page 107 of Necessary Evil

“I’ll be right there. Stay on the line with me.”

She said in a shaky voice, “You’re going to be mad at me. This is stupid.” Just then the damned spider moved across the web, and she gave a frightened gasp.

She heard the roar of his Harley as he started it up. “Tell me what I’m walking into.” His voice was tinny, but she could hear it over the bike and the rushing wind.

“It’s just a spider. A big one.” Lucy cringed. “I know I’m the biggest wuss in the world.”

Evil let out a huge sigh. “That’s a relief. I was afraid I was going to have to kill someone again.”

Lucy flinched. “That’s not funny,” she whispered.

“I’m not laughing. I will kill to protect you. I did it once and I’ll do it again. Damn the consequences.”

“I’m not your girlfriend anymore,” Lucy said sadly.

“The hell you’re not.”

She started to cry again. This time the sobs were loud and ugly, and she wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to stop.

“I love you,” he said.

Lucy shook her head. He couldn’t. She couldn’t. He’d killed her brother.

“We will make this work. I’ll give you all the time you need. You want to go to the movies and dinner, we’ll go. I draw the line at dancing, though. If I’m going to hold you that close, I’d rather be fucking.”

A laugh interrupted the tears, and it startled her so much that it gave her a chance to calm down a bit.

“I’m not asking you to forgive me. I know what I did was unforgivable.”

“Evil,” she said, and then corrected herself. “Evan.” He was Evan to her. He always would be. “You thought you were saving my life.”

“I’m sorry I had to kill your brother to do it.”

“Me too. He wasn’t going to kill me.”

“I wasn’t going to take the chance with your life. He killed those people in California. He killed Jenny. He could very well have killed you too.”

“He was going to tie me up so he had time to get away.” Not that it made Bobby’s actions acceptable, but she could not believe he would have actually killed her. “How did you find me that day?” Lucy had wondered how he turned up in the apartment while they were in the apartment.

“I was in the courtroom. I followed you.”

She hadn’t heard his bike. Of course, she had been a little bit distracted that day.

“When you went outside with him, I was in the next hallway. I went into the apartment to ask some questions. I should have followed you. I’m sorry he cut you.”

She didn’t want to think about that. Lucy looked at the balcony. “It’s still there. Evan, what if the spider has babies? What if they’re in my apartment already?” Her voice rose and she looked frantically at the ceiling and walls.

“Then you get your ass on the back of my bike and you stay with me until I fuck some sense into you or your apartment gets sprayed.”

Her lips twitched into a small smile at his not-so-subtle suggestions. Lucy stood up and went to the kitchen for a paper towel. Not taking her eyes off the spider, she put down the phone and blew her nose. Running the cool water, she wet another paper towel and wrung it out.

“Are you still there?” she asked, picking up the phone as she wiped her face.

“I’m still here, baby. I’ll always be here.”

The cool water felt good, but she was getting a killer headache. Her breathing still came in hitches and gasps, but she was starting to calm down. Evan was coming.

“I missed you,” she blurted out.

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