Page 8 of Hush Money
You can’t kill him. You can’t kill him.
“Who the fuck are—” Tanner starts, but I push inside the house, Mac right behind me. Now we’re chest to chest, and while we are close, I’ve got about a half inch on him. And I’m using it.I reach around him without taking my eyes from his and unlatch his slimy fingers from her arm, tugging her gently around him to me. I pull her behind me slightly, then I motion to Mac to step in. He does, and I turn to her. I inspect her up and down. I don’t see any blood or marks, with the exception of the indentations of his fingers on her arm. I rub it gently then meet her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I ask. She nods, tears in her eyes, and bites her lip.
“You came,” she whispers. And it’s taking everything inside of me not to scoop her up and run out of the house.
I squeeze her hand then look at her.
“Go pack a bag,” I tell her. Her eyes widen, and she moves them slowly from me to him. “You’re coming with me tonight, Eve,” I say. I don’t say it like a question, because it’s not. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving here tonight without her. She nods and slips out from my shadow and walks up the stairs. I hear a scoff from behind me as he turns toward the steps.
“Your ass ain’t going anywhere, Evie,” Tanner calls up the stairs. He starts to turn toward the steps, but Mac puts a hand to his chest. Tanner’s eyes drop to it before he shakes him off. In a minute’s time, she’s back down the stairs with a small duffel. Then she shakily walks toward me. Tanner turns to me as I grit my teeth.
“Don’t even think about it,” Tanner says in her direction, and I feel my fists clench at my sides. But I let it go. I slip the bag off her shoulder and put it on mine, guiding her toward the door. “Evie.Evie!”he screams, and I see her shoulders jump. I can’t stand watching the reaction she has to him. I spin on my heel so that we’re face to face again, and I feel her grip my sleeve. “I don’t know who thefuckyou think you are, but?—”
“My name is Keaton Everett,” I say, and I watch his eyes turn to saucers as he puts it together. Out of respect for me, Evie didn’t tell many people that she was best friends with an Everett.I guess that includes her husband. “I am leaving, and she is coming with me. Unless she reaches out to you, do not contact her.”
He scoffs.
“You think you can just walk intomyhouse and take mywife?My fuckin’wife?”
I smile.
“I’m not taking her. She’s leaving on her own. And there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
He takes a wobbly step toward us, and again, I can feel her tense up.
“You sure about that?” he says. I feel Mac tense up too, but again, I hold my hand out. I step toward Keaton.
“Oh, I’m positive. Do you know why?” I ask. Ihatewhere I come from. I hate nepotism. I hate the perks. I resent everything that has to do with the Everett name. I’ve never used it—until right now. “I will buy the company you work for, and I will fire you from it. Then I’ll buy your house and your cars at auction. I’ll sue you for whatever Everett Enterprises’ legal team comes up with. And if you ever,everput a hand on her again, I’ll fucking kill you. I’ll call the police myself, and I’ll smile the whole way to the fucking cell. And I’ll sleep like a fucking baby.”
He swallows, and I should be embarrassed about how pleased I am with myself. But I’m not.
Then, I spin on my heel and guide her out the door. Mac waits for us to get to the car before he leaves the porch, and before I know it, we’re backing out of the driveway and pulling out of their neighborhood.
She is shaking in the seat next to me, and I reach out and wrap my arm around her shoulder and the other under her legs. I lift her off her seat and onto my lap, cradling her like a baby while she sobs quietly into my shirt.
Her whole world just quaked before her eyes.
Holding her like this shouldn’t feel this good.
But it does.
A little while later,Mac is pulling into the garage underneath my building. She’s calmed down some, her eyes red and puffy. Mac opens our door, and I let her slide out first. He helps her out, and I grab her bag. I hike it over one shoulder then take her by the hand. We get in the elevator, and Mac scans a key fob that brings us up to my floor. It’s not a penthouse like my brother, but it’s nothing to laugh at. It’s still a four-bedroom apartment with panoramic views of the city I had so much disdain for. But it’s not flashy enough to make me stick out from the rest of the New York elite.
But as Mac opens the door to my apartment, and I see the shining lights of the city that’s still wide awake, I realize maybe I don’t hate it so much after all. It’s the city that gave me her.
We get safely inside, and after Mac does a sweep, he posts up in my study. I take her hand and lead her down the long maze of a hallway to where my suite and the other primary suite sit. I open the door to the guest room and lead her inside. I put her bag down on the dresser and turn on some lights. I look around.
This room—scratch that—this entire apartment could really use some TLC. I never did much in the way of decorating. It’s more of a safe place for me to land whenever I have business here. But I never wanted to make it too inviting, because I never wanted to stay.
But seeing her here in this bleak, cold, all-white room, I wish it felt more like a second home and a little less like a mental hospital. I turn to her, and she looks like a shell of the girl I once called my best friend. She feels so small right now, bundled up in an oversized sweatshirt, her ponytail loose on her shoulder, herstrawberry-blonde hair falling out of place. I take a step toward her, and she lifts her big green eyes to me.
I know her mind is racing a million miles per minute. I know she’s thinking of all the things she has to take care of, decide, handle. But I’m going to put a stop to that—at least for tonight.
I take a step toward her, and I reach my hands out to her arms, tugging her gently into me. I pull her head to my chest and cradle it while my other hand rubs her back.
“Not tonight,” I whisper. Her eyes jump to mine, confused. “No more thinking tonight. Just sit here with me in this apartment. Safe. You can think again tomorrow.”
