Page 26 of Shameless

When I still don’t talk to him, he snaps. “Talk to me you fucking slut. You don’t get to ignore me.”

The F-bomb is his biggest mistake.

Napoleon’s ears perk up seconds before a low growl shakes his tiny body.

Despite his many academic achievements, Evan isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed because rather than running for dear life, he tries to touch me and doesn’t shut his mouth.

“What the fuck is wrong with this mutt?”

Napoleon lurches forward, teeth showing, ready to draw blood.

I’m barely able to restrain him but he grazes Evan’s forearm.

“Fuck!” He yelps. “Keep that fucking mutt under control, he bit me!”

I tighten my hold on Crew’s dog. “He hates F-bombs. And he hates fuckers who come too close without permission.”

If I wasn’t terrified, I’d find the look on Evan’s face hilarious.

“You just saidfuckand he didn’t try to bite you—fuck!” He stands up abruptly, when Naps snarls at him again. “I’m going to find the captain and report your dog. He bit me, he needs to be put down.”

I hate this man so much. “It’s just a graze, because you didn’t move away fast enough when Napoleon warned you. And he attacked because you attacked me.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” Evan wails, wiping at the streak of bright red blood on his arm. “We were just talking.”

I pet Napoleon’s head to try and keep him calm. “You called me a slut, you were aggressive. Napoleon wanted to protect me. If you go to the captain, I’m going to tell everyone that you were threatening me.”

Evan’s scowl morphs into a smile. “Go ahead. Let’s see who they’re gonna believe.Slut.”

My stomach lurches again because he’s right. I know my guys will believe me, but no one else will. My own mother didn’t believe me when I went to her for help and Dad believed Tiffany’s story that Evan and I were “fucking around” and that it was consensual.

“Please Evan,” I beg, trying to appeal to his good side—if he even has one—but ready to jam my knee in his balls if he tries to grabme again. “Things don’t have to be this way between us. You’re stuck in Star Cove for a while and I think we can coexist.”

We can’t. We can only coexist as long as he stays away from me.

“We can only coexist if you stop being a prissy little slut who gives it up to anyone but me. Give me what should have been mine for years and I’ll back off.”

He’s delusional.

His privileged upbringing and the misogynistic chauvinism his father instilled in him convinced him he’s entitled to anything,anyone, he wants.

“I don’t want you, Evan. I never did. Nothing will ever change that.”

What did I just say? Delusional.

“You’re lying. You lured me in, flirting with me from the second we met. And then, when I came to cash in on all the silent promises in the way you giggled, the way you played with your hair when we talked, you decided to play some stupid game. Exactly like Maura. She wanted to wait for marriage to have sex. I should have known she’d try to play me. She reminded me of you after all.”

I can’t believe the way he’s talking about his dead girlfriend.

Actually, scratch that. I can believe it.

The thought that it’s possible Evan is responsible for the murders at the stables crosses my mind for the second time since Jules and I stumbled on the gruesome scene.

I know better than to say that out loud though. “I’m sorry for your loss by the way. I didn’t know Maura very well but I thought she was nice.”

The corners of his lips twitch into another creepy smile that doesn’t reach Evan’s dead stare. “She was rich. So rich that she makes me look like a penniless hobo. I’m just pissed whoever offed her didn’t wait until we were married. Even with a prenup, I would have gotten into some serious cash if she died rather than divorce me.”

I take advantage of Evan’s distraction to try and get up and slip away from the bench.

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