Page 51 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

Who was in her apartment?

Poppy maybe? Or Linc? That thought thrilled her as much as it pissed her off that he’d dare to assume he could let himself in. But no, she’d locked the door. Poppy had a key but Linc did not.

Yet...

Pushing that errant thought aside, she decided it was time to get up and see what her former roommate wanted or needed.

If she was here to get the candles she’d left behind, she was going to be disappointed. Eva had decided she liked them. The clean cotton scent especially. Although the lavender was nice too. And the mistletoe scent smelled like pine trees—not mistletoe—and reminded Eva of Christmas so Poppy wasn’t getting that one back either. She was just going to have to order more for her new home at the Wilder mansion.

Grabbing her robe from the hook inside the bathroom, Eva tied the belt around her and opened the door about to inform Poppy of her intention to keep all her candles, when she froze. The man who’d just flipped on the light switch and had turned to face her was definitely not Poppy.

A weapon. She needed a weapon!

Dammit, she could have used one of those fireplace pokers every room in the Wilder house came stocked with for the many fireplaces. Here, her choices were limited.

Heart pounding she spun back to the bathroom and grabbed the heavy porcelain toilet tank lid with both hands. Spinning back she raised the lid above her head and ran straight at the wide-eyed intruder, screaming at the top of her lungs as she did.

He threw his hands up to protect his head, but before she could bring the heavy object down on him with all of her might, the door opened again and Linc appeared.

Linc’s gaze swung from Eva to the stranger and he said, “Emmett. What the fuck are you doing in here?”

“Emmett?” she asked, lowering the lid and narrowing her eyes.

The dirty rotten scum whose name she’d sworn to never utter again. Whose real face she’d never seen since the only pictures he’d provided had been fake.

Here in her apartment…

And right after his family had found that will leaving his ancestors, and therefore him, half of everything.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Linc grabbed the man he’d hoped to never see again by the collar to force Emmett to turn and look at him rather than continue staring at Eva. “I said, what are you doing here?”

“That’s a good question for both of you.” Jaw set and a hard angry expression on her face, Eva stood, barefoot, glancing between Emmett and Linc, the toilet tank lid in her hand.

She’d obviously been in the bathroom when she’d heard Emmett enter. Maybe in the shower. Her hair was damp. It curled around the collar of the fluffy white robe belted tightly around her waist.

He’d love to imagine her naked beneath that robe but now was definitely not the time for that. Hell had broken loose and let out his devil of a cousin.

“I was at the Last Call with Ethan. On my way to my truck I saw someone go up your stairs and mess around with your door. I was worried. Turns out I was right to be concerned.” Linc shot Emmett a glare.

He couldn’t believe his cousin would just let himself into the apartment. It hadn’t been his for a year.

“Don’t move, either of you,” Eva said before she pivoted and stomped into the bathroom. She returned a second later without the toilet lid to scowl at Emmett. “Your turn, snake,” she hissed the last word so softly Linc barely heard it.

“I left something here when I moved out. I came back to get it. I didn’t think anyone was in here. The apartment was dark.” Emmett shook his head. “Eva, what are you doing here?”

“How did you get inside?” Eva demanded, ignoring Emmett’s question.

“My spare key was still hidden outside.” Emmett held up the key, but not for long.

Eva snatched it out of his hand. “I’ll take that. And you can get out now”

“But I—”

“You’ll get whatever you supposedly left here when it’s convenient for me and that’s not now. And not that I owe you any explanation at all, but I’d hate for you to get the wrong impression. I came to Bitter End not looking to get back with you, but to get backatyou. Now get out.” She drew out the final two words, spatting them out like an exclamation point to her proclamation.

“Where am I supposed to go?” Emmett asked, looking pitiful. No doubt playing the sympathy card.

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