“Evie?” Moving into the kitchen, I expect to see her up to her elbows in soap subs helping wash up from the gorgeous lunch my mother prepared for us, but she’s gone. My mother is by herself buffing dry a casserole dish, and she flashes me a smile when she sees me.
“I sent her out to feed the chickens,” Ma says. “They’ve been oddly enamored with her since she arrived, and I’d rather not get pecked by their disappointment.”
“Oh.” I snort softly. These past few days have been close to domestic bliss. Cian and Saoirse returned to the city to resume work, but I remained here with Evie as the mountain air seemed to be doing wonders for her recovery. We’ve eaten well, drunk well, and Evie has picked up a thing or two about life on a ranch.
Not horseback riding, though. That still escapes her.
“Is it too early for me to pry into what your plans are there?” Ma asks, setting the dish aside.
“My plans?”
“With that girl.” She tosses the tea towel at me with silent instructions to take over the drying.
“I don’t have plans.”
“You always have plans.”
“Not this time.”
“Cormac Aaron Gifford, you’d better not be stringing that girl along for some entertainment!”
The use of my full name makes sweat prickle across my shoulders as I quickly dry some glasses. “That’s not it, Ma.”
“It better not be.”
“I just mean… I don’t have a plan because she’s unexpected. She was a witness and then she was just suddenly…” Words fail me, and I resort to a silent shrug until Ma pokes me hard in the arm. “I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and then I wanted to help her, and now she’s here.”
“Good heavens,” she murmurs. “To think our future rests with a man as dim as you.”
“What?” I move on to the cutlery.
“A woman like that doesn’t just drift. Look at the situation you are in. You kidnapped her and yet she has no problem being here with you, letting you take care of her.”
“So you think she’s relying on my feeling guilty about how I treated her?”
“You are my pride and joy,” Ma says wistfully. “Where did I go wrong?”
“What?”
“She’s not relying on guilt, you big lump. She likes you. And if you’re not careful, you’ll be dumb enough to let something like that slip right through your fingers.”
She likes me.
Evie likes me.
Given her words at the lakeside a few days ago, the signs are there, but I’d presumed she was simply talking like that because I made her feel so good. How I feel about her is complicated but incredibly strong. In some odd way, she makes me feel safe. Like I can be myself and she will accept me for all of it. The thought of her leaving my side hasn’t crossed my mind because it’s not something I want to allow, but is she really choosing to stay because she has true feelings for me?
My thoughts are derailed by my phone once again bringing me right back down to reality. Abandoning the tea towel, I answer Cian’s call and move into the lounge.
“Hey, little brother. You’re calling with good news, right?”
“You can view it that way,” Cian replies. “We’ve found her.”
“Who?”
“The mystery woman from the sketch. Anastasia wasn’t kidding when she said she wouldn’t rest until that woman was found. I hear she went all the way down to the streets and spoke to her escorts in person until she found her.”
“Shit. You think she did that because she’s determined to prove her innocence?”
“Maybe. Saoirse says it’s a woman thing and we would never understand.” Cian snorts, then he yelps. “Ow! Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Saoirse also says it’s important that we understand that women talk to women because men are scary shits.”
“It’s fucking true,” Saoirse murmurs faintly in the background. “You catch more flies with honey than shit.”
“I respect Anastasia for doing the leg work herself.” It definitely appears like Anastasia is doing everything she can to avoid further conflict with me. In an ideal world, such actions are perfect, but if she’s acting like this from a true place of innocence, then I’m back to square one with Brenden’s murder.
“Any news on the cops? Have they released Brenden’s body yet?”
“No.” Cian sighs, and there’s a sharp edge in his voice. “From what I can tell, they’re refusing to until one of us collects.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Soon as anyone they want walks through those doors, there’ll be cuffs on our wrists before you can say backgammon.”
“So send someone else.”
“Cormac, they won’t take anyone else. Trust me. The only way they’re releasing that body is if Brenden’s killer walks through the doors and hands themselves over with video evidence of the crime.”
“Fucking bullshit.” I rub at my eyes until I see stars. “Alright, see what you can dig up on that cop. I don’t care how far back we need to go, but I want something on her, understand?”
“On it.”
“When can I speak to the woman?”
“Anastasia says she’s yours as soon as you land.”
Evie sits across from me with her legs crossed, tapping her foot in the air in time to the music playing through her earphones. She’d been very amicable about our need to return to the city, but a lump of sadness formed as I watched her pack up the few belongings my mother had gifted her during her stay. She’d been recovering so well at the ranch, and now we have to return to the city where nothing but darkness lurks.
My mother’s words swim in my mind as we fly, but I can’t bring myself to act on them. In the sun-warmed coziness of the ranch, romance was easy. In a blink, I could envision a life with Evie, and telling her the truth of my feelings was the sweetest thought in my mind.
Not now.
Being back in the city brings the walls back up. A thousand eyes are back on me, Brenden’s killer still walks free, and I’m one wrong decision away from war. I can’t afford to rest in my feelings. The only thing I know for sure is that I want Evie to stay with me.
That remains a single goal.
“You look pensive.” Evie speaks up softly, removing one of her earbuds. “Are you nervous about going back to the city?”
I roll my eyes and push slightly back into the seat, briefly casting my attention to the passing sky. We’ll be landing soon, and I need to make sure the mask is back in place. “I don’t get nervous.”
“Sure you don’t.” Evie rolls her eyes and nudges my leg with her foot. “You’re something. You’re acting weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
There’s a flash of uncertainty in Evie’s eyes and she straightens up in her seat. “Yes. You are. It’s like you’re…” She trails off and tilts her head.
“Like I’m what?”
“I don’t know.” Evie looks away. “You just seemed softer at the ranch, that’s all. You put that suit back on and you’re a different person.”
I self-consciously adjust my tie. “I’m me. I’m always me.”
“Sure.” Her tone stiffens. “So what, the ranch was just some dream bubble? Now that we’re going back to the city, you’re back to being Mr. Ice?”
“Evie, I’m not Mr. Ice. But things in the city are different. You know that.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She sighs deeply. “I wish we could have stayed.”
“Brenden’s killer would have loved that,” I mutter, not missing the flash of hurt in Evelyn’s eyes. I know that’s not what she meant, not really, but I don’t have time to soothe her as the pilot announces our descent into the city. I’ll have to make it up to her later.
As we land, the air around me grows thin. This woman Anastasia has found is the only lead I have. For too long, I’ve been chasing ghosts in this damn city trying to track a murderer, and she is the first concrete lead I have. I can’t fuck this up.
Unfortunately, Evie will have to wait.
We land smoothly, and I exit the plane first to find several cars waiting with my men. I approach one car, then glance back to see what’s taking Evelyn so long. As she descends the steps, her brow pinches in worry as she stares down at her phone. When she reaches the bottom, she answers a call, and I’m unable to figure out what she’s saying as she lingers near the steps.
My fingertips buzz. I don’t have time for this.
I’m so close to answers, so close, and each second I’m forced to wait makes my pulse quicken until it’s a furious drumbeat in my ears.
Finally, Evie ends the call and hurries up to me.
“I have to go.”
“What?” No.
“I need to visit my mother. Something’s happened. She wasn’t very clear, but she needs my help.”
I think back to the last time Evie spoke to her mom and the conversation about moving furniture. If that’s her mother’s idea of an emergency, then I don’t have much belief that this is serious. But if it will split Evie’s focus then it’s likely useful for us to deal with this first.
“Fine.” I sigh, opening the door for her. “We’ll swing by your mother’s first.”
“You don’t need to come with me,” Evie says, hesitating. “Don’t you need to follow up with your siblings about that woman?”
“I do,” I say. “But I need you there too. You’re the one who’s seen her before, and I don’t want you worrying about your mother while we’re interrogating this woman.”
“But…” Evie squints at me, and I can’t decide whether she’s surprised or relieved to hear that I am concerned for her. “I’m quite capable of seeing my mother by myself, and you have the drawing. You don’t really need me.”
I’d suspect Evie is trying to slip away but I understand she’s trying to remove herself from the situation after I snapped at her on the jet. “Either we go together or not at all. So where are we going first?”
She tilts her head to the side and a silent debate battles behind her eyes, then she lowers her shoulders.
“Alright. Let’s see that woman first. I don’t want you to wait any longer.”
