Page 56 of Haunted Prey

Eve wrenched herself from my hold. “Hurt her and I’ll kill you,” she spat.

Lez didn’t react as he passed by. The girl looked at Eve, wide-eyed.

“It’s okay, Eve, it-it’s okay,” she stammered, clearly not okay.

“Lez, she can’t even walk,” I said, bringing Eve with me to follow them. “Lose the knife.”

“No, but she can scream,” he replied as he carried her through the door. “Can’t afford to have her give us away.”

We both knew there was hardly anyone around and he was being an overdramatic asshole. Or he just wanted an excuse to use his weapon for any reason. Either way, he was scaring her and upsetting Eve.

I wrapped an arm across Eve’s back, steering her through the passage, deciding not to argue, burying my irritation down. I didn’t want to scare her more by getting pissed off now, even if Lez was asking for his blade to be shoved far up his ass.

Once we entered the community room, Dom unfolded the girl’s chair and Lez set her in it. He crouched beside her, pointing his knife up.

“No screaming. Either of you. Got it?”

Lena’s jaw clenched as she stared down the point of the knife. She slowly nodded.

“Good.” He flipped the knife back and sheathed it. “Dom, get their things.”

Dom moved, first taking the girl’s purse, then looking to search Eve. My baby didn’t move so I searched, finding her phone and ID in the sling she wore. He rifled through the purse to grab the phone, setting everything down at his station.

As he and Lez moved aside, Eve shrugged away from me to go to her friend. She leaned down and grabbed hold of the girl’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Eve’s voice quivered. “I’m so sorry, Lena.”

She pulled her in, and they embraced. Her friend whispered something in her ear. I watched from afar, wishing I wasn’t fixated on the fact that our reunion hadn’t gone like I hoped.

No hugs for you, asshole.

I clenched and unclenched my hands, trying not to feel the ache of wanting Eve to hold me back, knowing after everything I technically didn’t deserve it.

What the fuck did you expect? For her to just skip into your arms and have a good cry, being blissfully happy you're not dead in the water?

It hadn’t really occurred to me how things should have gone.

Just be glad you have her back.

And I was. I was so happy to have her. So fucking happy it scared the shit out of me. I was on edge. Nervous even.

I thought about how she fought me bringing her here, how she looked at me. I hoped I hadn’t lost her already.

She pulled out of her friend’s embrace and straightened, looking around. Dom was at his computer, and Lez had disappeared.

“Why are we here?” She looked at me as she said it.

I shifted on my feet, feeling like a little kid about to be scolded. “Your friend wasn’t planned,” I said gruffly. “It was supposed to be just you.”

“Okay. Then why am I here?”

Her defensive look made my heart sink a little.

When I didn’t respond, she frowned. “Are you taking me back to Severfalls?” she asked in a low voice, trying to keep the fear from showing.

“No,” I said firmly.

She studied me, maybe thinking she could see the truth even through the mask, uncertain if she could trust me. I was more than ready to show her how much she could when Andrea appeared from her room.

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