Page 21 of One Night Entanglement

She already did that. And it sucked. But even my sucky life is better than the alternative I’m staring at now—certain death. And I’ve finally got something worth fighting for.

“Your girlfriend is already in custody, Evan! We caught her parked outside in your car,” Troy calls out. “Aiding and abetting an escaped felon, burglary, kidnapping, and based on the duct tape, tarp, and shovels in your trunk, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be a stretch for any jury to find her guilty of conspiracy.”

I feel sick. Like my stomach wants to turn itself inside out. What would have happened if Quinn and Troy hadn’t arrived? What might still happen?

“If you let her go, we can probably work something out… it won’t help you, but it might get Jenna out of prison before she’s old and gray,” he continues.

Where is Quinn? I haven’t heard him say anything. And if I’ve noticed that, has Evan?

I don’t have long to wonder. The door to the bedroom behind us opens. The cool rush of air hits my bare legs. Then I hear a click and Evan goes completely still.

“I will put a bullet in you if you so much as breathe,” Quinn says, his voice low and rough. “Let her go.”

“And risk me slicing her up? I don’t think so,” Evan says.

I don’t hear a response from Quinn, just a sharp sound that I can’t place, and then Evan is screaming in pain. He releases me so fast that I pitch forward onto the floor. My knees hit the hardwood with a loud crack and I know they’re going to be bruised. In spite of the pain, I scramble away and put my back against the wall, where I can see what’s happening.

The knife he was holding against my back is still spinning on the floor, the long, serrated blade catching the dim light. And Evan is on the floor, holding his arm and shrieking as blood pours between his fingers.

“What did you do?” I ask. It’s not a condemnation. Whatever it was, I’m glad he did it. But it’s all so confusing, I just can’t make sense of it.

“He’s not the only one who carries a knife, Cec,” Quinn says, even as he’s flipping Evan over. He does at least raise Evan’s hands above his head and cuffs them behind him. It’ll help with the bleeding. Some. Probably not enough.

“I’ll apply a pressure bandage that should keep him from bleeding out on the way to the hospital,” I say and start to get up. But I can’t. My legs are shaking so bad I can’t even get to my feet.

“You will do nothing but let Troy help you into the living room where you will sit and try not to hyperventilate or pass out. I can put a bandage on this asshole. It might not be pretty, but it’ll work,” Quinn says, and there’s a snap to his voice. Because he’s still worrying about me.

“I’m okay,” I whisper. “Really. I’m shaky as hell, but I’m okay.”

He looks back at me and doesn’t speak. After a second, he just nods. And I realize he’s not speaking because he can’t. Because what went down here tonight was not something either of us was prepared to deal with.

An hour later,I’m on my couch. I have a single Steri-Strip on my back where the knife poked through the ancient T-shirt I’d worn to bed. Troy and some of the other guys are hanging around on the porch. Evan has been driven off in an ambulance accompanied by a couple of police cars. No one is taking any chances. And then, Quinn walks in. Everyone else starts to slip away, all of them clearly recognizing that shit is about to get really personal.

“I’ve got the all clear to stay with you for now… I’ll have to go to the station later to complete some paperwork. And not to be a dick, but you’re going with me. I need to keep my eyes on you right now. Or I might drive over to the hospital and do something really fucking stupid.”

“I’m not gonna fight you on that. I don’t want to be here alone. I’m worried I may never want to again… this house was my safe place. Always. And I almost gave up on it because of them. I don’t want to let them take it from me a second time.”

“They won’t,” he says softly. “No one is taking anything from you. Not ever again.”

“What’s gonna happen to Jenna?” I ask.

“She’s going to prison. There’s no if’s about it. She was sitting behind the wheel of the car, engine idling, waiting for him to drag you out… I don’t think this is the time to talk about this, Cecily. It’s too raw for both of us.”

“No. I need to know. What were they going to do?”

He sighs, shoves his hands in his pockets, and stares up at the ceiling as he rattles off an answer. “There was duct tape, tarps, and shovels in the trunk. There was also a can of gasoline and a bunch of bar towels. I guess they hadn’t decided how they were going to get rid of you… and they were going to get rid of you. The text thread between Jenna’s phone and the burner we pulled out of Evan’s pocket doesn’t leave any room for doubt. This was their big payback moment… and Lucy Carpenter was in on all of it. The guard who let him walk away from his work release is her cousin. They’ll probably both cut deals and get no jail time, but neither of them will ever work in law enforcement again.”

As bad as it is, none of it is unexpected. “There’ll be more trouble with the Stevens family after this. You know that, right?”

“Let ’em fucking try,” he snaps. “Nothing and no one is keeping us apart. Not ever again.”

“Can we get married?”

He laughs. “We are married.”

“No, I mean really married. Like in a church with flowers and the whole bit. Nothing too big and fancy, but something that… that makes this all real in a way two kids sneaking off to Tennessee just didn’t.”

“We can do whatever you want… You want another ring? I’ll get you one. You want a fancy wedding? It’s yours. Because I’ve already got everything I want.”

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