Page 34 of Blood Sport

“How was that?” I ask, accepting the helmet from her outstretched hands.

“That was… exhilarating.” Her bright eyes meet mine, the excitement reflecting in her irises.

I grin. “I knew you would like it.”

“It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be,” Evie admits with a small smile. “Thank you for driving me home, and thank you for… earlier.”

“No need to thank me. I would do anything for you.”

She bites her lip, looking down at her shoes.

“What did I say about biting your lip,” I warn, my cock twitching at the sight.

Her eyes snap up to meet mine, a hue of red splashed across her freckled cheeks. “Right. Are you going back to practice?”

I shake my head. “No. I have something I need to take care of.” Something I should’ve done earlier, but now seems like the perfect time. I’ve been trying to stay level-headed and think the situation through as Ethan had suggested, but I’m in the mood to release the rage building in my chest. “Are you okay?” I ask, licking my lips. “I want a serious answer, little angel.”

A blush spreads across her freckled cheek and she nods. “I’m okay, I promise.”

Her answer quietens part of the storm raging throughout my body, but I’m still vibrating with anger. “That’s all that matters. You’re safe now, and I want you to know that you’ll always be safe with me.”

Evie smiles and nods. Taking a couple of steps back, she clutches her tote bag tightly to her chest. “Okay, well, I guess I better get going.”

“Wait,” I call out before she can turn and leave. Her doe eyes meet mine, I find myself getting lost in them for a moment. “Um… is there anything new with you?”

Normally, I’m great at making small talk with the people in my life. But right now I’m finding it hard to converse because all I can think about is that motherfucker Roman. The anger in my veins is fucking with my head. But I don’t want her to leave. I just want to hear her talk and be in my presence. I crave it.

Evie raises a brow at me. “You want to know what’s new with me?”

I nod and lick my lips. I want to know every fucking thing about my little angel, but I’ll let her come to me with the information she wants to share.

She hums and taps her chin with her forefinger. I bite back a smile at the small action. It was simple and cute, but God does it remind me of just how innocent she is.

“Well, my classes are getting harder with lots of assessments coming up, so that’s annoying.” She hums and licks her lips. “I’ve been having lots of… dreams in the past couple of weeks about the night my parents died.”

My brows shoot up in surprise. Out of all the things I thought she could say, this was not one of them. “Dreams?”

She shrugs. “Well, nightmares. They’ve been revealing snippets of information from the night I found them. It seems my mind has kept these small details hidden from me for twelve years.”

Well, this is news to me. I thought Evie had shared everything she could remember with the police, but it seems there is still more lurking in the depths of her brain, waiting to rear its head. I want to know more about these dreams, but it’s not something I want to push from her. If it’s something she wants to share with me, then I will gladly listen.

“Have you learned anything useful from them?”

Evie shakes her head. “Not yet. Being forced to remember the dark details from that night has me wanting to talk to Miles and see if he knows something I don’t.”

I want to tell her that he does. Well, I think he does, but I can’t be sure. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask,” I offer with a shrug. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“There any many things, I’m sure. But I don’t want him shutting down on me, you know? He’s been like that since we were kids.”

I know exactly what she’s talking about. Miles has a tendency to shut down emotionally when he no longer wants to face a tough conversation or deal with something in his life that needs to be taken care of. For months after his parent's death, it was hard to get more than ten words out of him because of how deep in his mind he was, likely thinking about the incident. Once he has retreated into his mind, it’s hard to get him out. Believe me, I’ve experienced it firsthand.

“I get that,” I say with a nod. “But just give it some thought, okay? Don’t be afraid to speak up and seek the answers you’re looking for.”

Evie smiles and bites her lip. Her eyes widen as if realizing her mistake and takes a step back. She jabs a thumb over her shoulder. “I should go, but thanks for the ride. And for what you did today.”

I grin. “I accept payment in the form of a kiss.”

She rolls her eyes when I turn my head to the side and tap my cheek. “You’re an idiot. I’ll see you around.”

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