Wretched (Never After Series)(14)

Popping another olive in my mouth, I chew then swallow.

His gaze drops to my lips.

“That’s really none of your business, Brayden,” I say.

“Evie!” Dorothy snaps.

Satisfaction sparks in his irises and he tilts his head. “For some reason, I pictured you blonder, Evie.”

“It’s Eveline.”

His face softens. “Now that’s a beautiful name.”

My insides tighten.

Dorothy laughs and steps forward until she’s angled herself in front of me, reaching her hand out and running it down the sleeve of his arm. “Come on, let’s get a table in the back.”

Finally—finally—he stops staring at me and puts his attention on my sister, his entire demeanor shifting in an instant. He nods, placing his hand on her back, allowing her to lead him away, and my shoulders sag from tension I wasn’t even aware I was holding.

Zeke hums, rubbing his hand over his beard as he takes me in.

“What?” I drop my eyes to the bar, grabbing my phone and standing.

He shakes his head. “Nothin’. You got somethin’ you need to say to me?”

My muscles pull tight. “What would you like me to say, Ezekiel? I’m here because dear ol’ daddy doesn’t trust your judgment. Or Dorothy’s apparently.”

My eyes flicker to where she’s scooting in next to Brayden in the booth.

Zeke nods, puffing out his cheeks. “I’ve known Brayden since back in the day. Haven’t seen him in a long time, but he’s good people. And he’s lookin’ for work.”

Tapping my fingers on the bar top, disappointment wraps around my middle. “I fail to see how that’s our problem.”

He smiles, throwing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me into his side as we walk to the table in the back. “You and your bleedin’ heart.”

I laugh at his sarcasm and let him lead me to the booth, ignoring the way my bleeding heart speeds when I look up and meet a pair of jade-green eyes.





7





NICHOLAS





That little fucking liar.

Technically, I suppose, she never told me her name.

But she’s a Westerly. And I… I did tell her my name. And that I was starting a new job.

Fuck.

I’ve been an agent for eight years, since I was twenty-four, and not a single time have I questioned myself. But right now, seeing the girl who won’t leave my memories standing right in front of me while I’m in an active undercover investigation? The odds are definitely not in my favor. And to be completely honest, I’ve already dropped the ball, because if I was doing my job, I would have recognized who she was when I studied her photos in our files. Maybe if I had looked a little closer, I would have noticed the resemblance, but my pretty girl is not this black-haired chick with piercings that cover the length of her ears and brown eyes that stare so deep they char my skin.

“I know,” Dorothy snaps me out of my daze.

I quirk a brow. “Know what?”

She scoots closer to my side. “You’re staring at my sister. She’s different. A lot of people call her off putting. She doesn’t get out much.”

“Oh?”

“It’s not her fault though. Our mom, she… she didn’t treat Evie too nice, you know? Caused a lot of issues.” She taps her head. “Up here.”

The urge to keep asking questions, to learn everything about Eveline Westerly, is strong, but I bite back the notion, unsure if I want to know because of the case or because she’s under my skin; the energy wafting off her, even now, is heavy enough to make me teeter on the edge of sanity.

There’s never been anyone who’s affected me like this. It’s the reason I approached her at the club, and it’s definitely the reason why I fucked her against the dirty bathroom tile while she screamed into my mouth.

My eyes track Eveline and Zeke as they walk to the table, his arm slung around her shoulders and a slight smirk lining the corner of her lips. Annoyance flits through me as I take in their compatibility. She’s at ease with him. She trusts him.

Are they dating? He’s way too old for her.

The second they reach us, our gazes lock, my jaw clenching as she slides in the booth first, sandwiching herself between the wood paneling and Zeke who sits next to her.

A hand touches my arm and jolts me out of my staring problem, and I look over to Dorothy, remembering where I am, and most importantly, what I’m supposed to be doing.

You’re Brayden now.

“You hungry?” Dorothy asks, a grin spreading across her face.

She looks so innocent and sweet, it’s hard to believe she’s involved in any criminal activity. But I learned a long time ago to never judge a book by its cover. The best criminals are the ones who you’d never suspect. They’re the ones you make jokes with, the ones you learn to trust, the ones who become your best friend while they stab you in the back and steal everything out from under you.

My gaze drifts down the front of Dorothy’s pale-yellow dress and then back up to her face, her cheeks flushing crimson from my perusal. “I could eat.”

“I’ve already got them cookin’ up somethin’ in the back for us,” Zeke cuts in.

My eyes shoot to Zeke and then flick toward Eveline, unable to keep myself from engaging with her. “How about you?” I jerk my chin in her direction. “You going to eat?”