Page 33 of Sweet Revenge
He toed at what looked like tire tracks—not just from someone driving by, but from someone peeling out of the spot and taking off in the opposite direction. Evie stepped into the patch and looked back to where her car had been parked. She had a perfect view through the hanging branches.
“Whoever was parked here left in a hurry.”
His voice was calm, but his clenched jaw and fisted hands betrayed him. He was furious. At her? At whoever had been in that car or sabotaged her tire? Maybe a little of both.
“I think you should consider utilizing the buddy system when you leave the house. Or not leave at all.”
She studied him for a long moment, trying to get a read on him. She’d have known exactly what he was thinking once. “Buddy system sounds good.”
ChapterEighteen
By the time Declan was scheduled to meet with Reagan, Evie had all but convinced herself that he was completely overreacting about her flat tire. The guy at the auto shop who replaced it said it was entirely possible for a nail to puncture the sidewall without it being done on purpose.
Plus, she’d seen at least two cars make use of that little dirt patch to pull off and check for directions or wait for someone. The tire tracks were no doubt a weird coincidence. Besides, she would have noticed a car just sitting there watching her. Definitely. Noticing details was her best skill.
None of that convinced Declan, though. Not with the way he hovered, constantly breathing down her neck and watching her every move. She just needed some goddamn space.
Which is why she snuck across the street while Declan was out and Brogan—who she was convinced had been tasked with keeping an eye on her—was busy to commandeer a lounger by Cait’s pool.
She hadn’t brought a bathing suit or bothered to buy one yet, so she settled for enjoying the weak stream of sunlight that shoved its way past the clouds. Even the weather was conspiring to keep her inside.
Eyes closed, she listened to the gentle lap of the water on the side of the pool and the breeze that rippled through the bushes that lined the patio, ignoring the chill it raised on her arms.
Everyone was out, so the house was quiet and she relished in the solitude. There was no tread of expensive Italian shoes across polished hardwood, no scent of spiced cologne to distract her every thought, no deep voice that floated every memory she’d so carefully buried up to the surface.
Only the whisper of the wind and the water. Until the shrill ring of her phone cut through the silence and she nearly fell face-first into the stone pavers in her mad grab for it.
“What?” she demanded without even checking to see who the caller was.
“It’s lovely to speak to you as well.” William’s voice was cool and calm. If a raised eyebrow had a tone, that’s what it would sound like.
“Hello, William, darling,” she replied, her voice saccharine. “How can I help you today?”
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, Evelyn. I have an update for you. Would you like to hear it, or should I go?”
Evie sat up straight and shoved her hair out of her face, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder to protect it from the wind.
“An update about Peter?”
“Well, I’m not sure why else I would call you directly.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I can’t make it up to see you for a few days.” She’d have to figure out a way to slip Declan’s stranglehold so she could go by herself.
“That’s fine. I don’t want to see you again in person so soon.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’ll burn this phone as soon as I’m done. I think Peter might be more of a problem than I originally conveyed.”
Evie tucked a leg up underneath her, frowning. “What do you mean?”
She heard him draw in a deep breath. “I was helping Kiah establish a new alias and burn all her old ones.”
“Because Peter figured out her real identity.”
It was rare to get burned if your docs were good quality and you were careful, but it happened. Evie didn’t consider Kiah a close friend—they knew of each other more by name and reputation than anything else—but Evie had always known Kiah to be careful. Obsessively so.
“Kiah thinks he murdered her brother and sister-in-law.”
