CHAPTER FOUR
The wind had picked up considerably, moving the branches of perfectly placed trees around the mansion, and the naturally growing ones in a small piece of woods that stretched out toward the lake.
Chris led Evan to the back of the house toward an enormous white yacht, which seemed to gleam even under the steely sky. The huge boat bobbed in the water, with frothing waves slapping up against its surfaces. The crisp, fresh smell of the water awoke in him an unnamed feeling of yearning for days gone by with Sammy and the boat.
“It’s beautiful.” Evan allowed Chris to take her hand as they climbed the stairs to the boat and boarded.
“It is. I had a lot of great times on this yacht. Sammy and I used to sleep on it sometimes. We’d have pajama parties and watch movies down in the cabin.”
“You had pajama parties with Sammy. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Evan grinned.
“Guess what kind of pajamas his were.”
Without hesitation, Evan said, “Spiderman feet pajamas.”
“Close. Superman. They had a cape attached, and he’d run around the boat pretending to fly and take down all the bad guys. We had the run of the boat.”
Chris felt a wistful twang in his chest as he remembered those fun times with Sammy, who had tried to be everything to Chris growing up. Even in the midst of crazy busy tours, Sammy had been there for him. He’d been his constant friend, father, and mother. Chris felt his throat tighten, because he hadn’t ever thanked Sammy for everything he’d done for him. Instead, he’d distanced himself, trying to be like “normal” kids. He’d focused almost entirely on working toward a football career, to be successful in his own right. He didn’t want to be “Sammy Screech’s poor nephew whose parents were killed in a car crash.”
But Sammy had never treated him that way. He’d always shown him nothing but love.
“Hey, what’s that dark look for?” Evan took his hand. They’d stopped to stand at the railing of the deck, and were looking out at the black waters. Her coppery hair whipped back behind her, several strands escaping the ponytail band.
He gave a slow shake of his head. Blinked against tears that had filled his eyes without warning. “I just realized something.”
“What’s that?” Evan squeezed his hand.
He turned to look at her, swallowing down the swell of emotion that threatened to spill out at any moment. “Sammy’s been everything a kid could ever dream of, and I’ve been spending years trying to get away from him.”
“Kids often do that with their parents. You’re just trying to make your own way.”
“It’s more than that. If I’m honest with myself, I felt like a burden to him. A charity case. And it’s nothing that he ever did. I just knew my parents were dead and he’d stepped up. Maybe I never thought he actually loved me. Maybe I thought that he was just being nice to me because he felt sorry for me. I…” Again, he blinked away the tears that blurred his vision. The last part came out in a shaky, near whisper. “I never wanted to be a charity case. And I’ve pushed him away. He never deserved that, Evan.”
Her face was filled with empathy, her eyes soft and warm. “I think he knows how you feel about him, Chris. He can’t help but know. Even I can see it in the way you look at him. It’s love, pure and simple. Despite those embarrassing stories about you that every parent tells about their kids, the love you feel for him shows through. Even though you want to punch him sometimes.”
“I do love him, as much as any kid could love their real parents.” Chris cleared his throat, trying to get a hold of his emotions. “I need to show him somehow.”
“Why not just tell him?”
Chris nodded. “Yeah. I need to tell him. You’re right. But I also need to get him away from this place. It’s become a fortress for him, walling him away from life. I can’t move in here with him. I’d go insane. And I still have football.”
“He wouldn’t want you to give that up. I think you could convince him to move closer to civilization.”
Chris slipped his hand around Evan’s waist. “Thanks for listening. I’ve never told anyone this stuff. I’ve never said it out loud, the way I’ve been feeling. Like I was some kind of stray he’d taken in. I’ve just been running from him.”
“Glad I could be a sounding board.” She leaned into him, tipping her face slightly upward to look into his eyes.
The wind picked up her vanilla jasmine scent and seemed to wrap it around him. Chris wanted to tell her everything. Even the thing that he managed to keep from himself, most days. “There’s something else.”
Evan wrapped her other arm around his waist, her face concerned. “What is it?”
“The reason my parents were killed in a car accident is because they were on the run. They’d just robbed a bank, and were being chased by the cops when they crashed through a barrier and over an embankment. The car rolled so many times, they were dead by the time the cops got to them.” Chris let out a long, shuddering breath. He’d held that truth in for so many years that he felt slightly lightheaded now that he’d finally said it out loud. “They were lowlifes, Evan. Nothing but dirty thieves.”
Evan blinked at his last words. Her expression had changed from deep sympathy to stricken in the matter of a second. She seemed to go rigid, frozen where she stood.
He went on, “I know. They were my parents and I shouldn’t talk about them like that, even if they were bank robbers.”
She shook her head. “No. It’s what you feel. They put you through hell because of the life they chose over you.”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. So I’ve been running from who they were all these years, and because my father was Sammy Screech’s brother, it was all over the news. I found out by doing an Internet search when I was fifteen. I guess I was trying to outrun that past. The one my parents forced onto me. The messed-up thing is that I really still miss them, Evan. You know? What I remember about them, they seemed pretty normal. We were actually a really happy family before that happened. They led a double life.”
“I’m so sorry, Chris.” Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked up at him.
Feeling her so close to him, Chris felt the stirrings he’d felt for her earlier awaken. Desire rushed over him, and he moved in for a kiss.
Evan lifted her face and met his lips with her own. Her tongue slipped over his, exploring, teasing, and he heard himself moan softly into her mouth. Breathing her into him felt like breathing life into himself. He wanted his every cell to melt into hers. He wanted to sink into her heat, to get lost in her.
Her fingers fumbling against the button of his jeans told him that she felt the same.
He unbuttoned her jeans and zipped them down, gently tugging them and her panties down with them, pushing them past her knees. She let them drop to the floor and stepped out of them.
Evan tugged his jeans down and he helped her, shoving down his boxers and kicking them away.
“Will anyone see us?” Her whisper was excited, her eyes misty with desire.
Chris shook his head. “We’re hidden from view,” he said. “But if Angus or Sammy decide to come get us for sandwiches, the jig will be up. We can move down into the cabin.”
“No.” She moved her arms around his waist and then ran her hands over his back. “I want you right now. Right here.”
“You don’t have to threaten me with a good time.” Chris slipped his hands under her thighs and lifted her, sliding her up against the side of the boat, and positioned himself between her legs.
Evan wrapped her legs around his waist and tipped her hips upward. She sighed as Chris glided into her with one determined stroke, pressing her mouth over his. Her kiss was deep and urgent, like she’d been thirsting for it, like it was crucial to go on living.
Her silky walls felt like he’d fallen into heaven. Her heat felt sublime. He moved slowly at first, pumping in long, smooth strokes, savoring every inch of her, burying himself into her as deeply as he could go.
Her soft cries against his lips drove him wild, and his desire and pleasure mounted into ecstasy. He was aware of only the wind blowing her sweet-smelling hair into his face, the sound of her cries rising in time with the waves crashing against the boat, and his own voice, speaking her name over and over again.
When she clutched at his back and her walls began to spasm around him, he could hold off no longer. Chris exploded inside her as she pulsated against him. His entire body radiated blissfully, and his mind lit up with sparks and light.
And in that moment, he knew that his heart was no longer his own.
***
I can’t believe that I’m going to do this. Evan stood in the doorway of the library. The puzzle box was small enough to fit in her hand, just about the size of a Rubik’s Cube. The standing lamp shining over the desk caught the golden shimmer of the box, contrasting the hairline-thin cracks of the various parts of the puzzle.
Adrenaline raced through her veins and her pulse beat in her ears. Not only was the box likely lethally dangerous, having the power to summon God knew what kinds of entities which could do God knew what to the world, but at the very least, if she were caught in this little stunt, she could go to prison. And as a little perk for going to prison, her thieving face would be splashed all over the news.
Her stomach tightened. After running from her con artist family and finally carving out a peaceful, decent life for herself, she’d ironically become the very thing she despised most about the family she’d run from: a thief.
She considered turning around and going back to the yacht, waking Chris up with a sweet kiss and making love in the cabin again while the storm raged outside, in sync with the rocking of the yacht. Or maybe in spite of it.
But then she knew she couldn’t do that. She knew now that she was in love with Chris, and she couldn’t risk him knowing who her family was. He’d never want anything to do with her if he discovered the truth. She’d just be another “dirty thief” if he found out about her family, and about the activities they’d made her be a part of since she was a kid.
They’d used her abilities to make money. Even though it was the only life she’d known growing up, it was still a part of who she was.
She took a deep breath and looked around, listening for signs of anyone approaching. Hearing nothing, she walked toward the puzzle box and lifted it, holding it up to her face and eying it. It was warm to the touch, as if a magical heat radiated from inside. She wondered what horrors were locked within it, but didn’t really want to find out.
A dark thought rose from the recesses of her mind, where she’d been keeping it, refusing to allow herself to think it. What would her family unleash when the box was in their possession? Was her secret really worth the evil that might be set loose from it?
Her heart ached when she thought of the way Chris would look at her if he discovered who her family was and what they’d done. What she’d done.
Her hand shook. Was Chris’s love worth it?
But what if she was caught? Of course they’d know who stole the box. She couldn’t get away with it for long. She thought of being fired. Of being exposed in the papers and in the news. All over social media.
Yet, she could get away with it. If she glamored Chris, Sammy, and Angus. They would forget that the box had ever even been there.
Evan shoved the box in her bag and stood for a long moment, her hand on the outline of the box through the cloth fabric of her purse. She stood there, frozen and undecided, going back and forth in her mind for what seemed like forever.
Finally, she turned to go.
And nearly screamed. Her heart jumped.
Angus stood in the doorway, watching her.
She stared at him, frozen in place, shock paralyzing her.
He took a couple of steps toward her. “You sure you want to do that?”
Her mouth had gone dry. “Honestly, no.”
Angus stood in front of her, towering over her, but his face was, surprisingly, sympathetic. “I know about your family, and I know why you’re stealing that box.”
Evan’s mouth dropped open. This was unexpected. “How?”
“You’re not the first one of your family to try to steal it back.”
“What? What do you mean, ‘steal it back’?” Confusion made her mind spin.
He tipped his head slightly to the side. “You don’t know, do you?”
“I’m beginning to wonder if I know anything at all.” She stepped back and hoisted herself onto the edge of Sammy’s desk.
Angus pointed to Evan’s purse. “That puzzle box was given to Sammy by your mother, years ago.”
Evan blinked. “Wait a second. Sammy said it was given to him by a crazed fan.”
“Yes.” Angus nodded his head. “That crazed fan was your mother.”
Evan’s mouth dropped open, and she gaped at Angus for a long moment, realization slamming into her. “She duped me. Why am I surprised? This was just a ploy to get me back into the family business.” Evan felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. “And now I’m going to jail, aren’t I?”
Angus’s smile was kind. “No. You’re not going to jail. I’m not going to say a thing.”
Could she really be this lucky? She narrowed her eyes. “Why not?”
His face softened. “Because I saw what you did on the roller-skating rink, Ms. Meadows. You have a special healing talent. I’ve seen people with extraordinary talents before in my nearly sixty years on this planet, but nothing as incredible as yours. I saw you heal Chris. If you hadn’t done that, his football career would likely be over.”
She barked out a humorless laugh. “But I’m the cause of his broken bones. I’m the one who kept asking him to perform tricks for me.”
“Which he began doing all on his own before you asked, trying to impress you. He is impressive, and a bit of a show-off.”
Evan sighed. “That he is. Impressive, I mean.”
“And a show off.” Angus grinned.
She squinted and smiled. “Maybe a little.”
Angus stepped closer to Evan, placing a large hand on each of her forearms. “I think Chris needs some healing. I’m so happy that he’s met you. I know your mother is a con artist. I saw her picking pockets at Sammy’s concert. When she came backstage years ago, I saw her perform some kind of mind control on him with her eyes. She kind of hypnotized him into giving her all of the money in his wallet, a Rolex, and all of his rings, which had some fairly large rocks in them.”
“She glamored him.” Which Evan could’ve done to Angus, Sammy, and Chris, but couldn’t bring herself to do.
Angus nodded. “She did more than that. I had to leave the room. It was downright improper.”
Evan placed her hands over her ears. “Stop. I don’t want that image in my head. Oh hell. Now it’s too late. The image is in my head.”
“She left him with that puzzle box for him to remember her by. I don’t know how he could forget. Look, I don’t know what she wants with the puzzle box now. But if giving it to her will help you, then do it.”
Evan pushed out a long, shuddering breath. “What about the fact that I’m stealing from Chris and Sammy? It’s a pretty crappy thing to do.”
Angus shrugged. “Yes, but worse things have happened.”
He had no idea how much worse it would be if the puzzle was solved and the box opened. “There’s one other thing.”
He raised his brows. “What is it?”
She took a breath. Would he believe this next part? Or would he send her to a padded room? “The box is cursed. It may hold any number of the horrors of hell, which if released, would be bad. Really bad.”
“I see how that could be a problem.” Angus frowned, thinking. “What if you bury it somewhere or drop it into some unknown cave so that it will never be found?”
“If I don’t give the box back to my mother, she will tell the world that the family is a band of thieves, that my father is in jail for bank robbery, and that I have a special healing talent. My peaceful life and the career I’ve worked so hard for will be over.”
Angus straightened, training his gray eyes on her. “Then you have a decision to make, Ms. Meadows, and I’d say that it sucks to be you.”
***
The bed felt cold when Chris awoke, and when he reached for Evan in the gauzy, murky light of the cabin, he realized why. Evan wasn’t there. He dressed quickly and went in search of her. On the deck a hard rain pelted his skin, and his voice was lost in its frenzied drumbeat as he wandered the boat calling out her name.
When he couldn’t find her, and there was no answer to his calls, he realized she wasn’t on the boat any longer.
It was the first time he’d awoken to find a woman had left him first after sex. It was a strange feeling. He felt momentarily abandoned, but shook his head at the irrational feeling. She’d gone up to the mansion without him. Big deal.
Still, the remnants of grogginess made the uncomfortable feeling linger, a dull ache in the center of him, and he took a few deep breaths as he went down the stairs leading to the dock.
Chris ran up the hill toward the mansion as drops thrashed down on him. The wind had picked up, pushing at him, as if trying to keep him from getting to the house. His hair fell into his eyes as he tucked his face down against the rain, and no matter how he tipped his head, water blurred his vision.
Finally, feeling like he’d done a hell of a workout fighting against the wind and torrential rain, Chris made it to the front door. He yanked it open and stood in the foyer, dripping and soaking wet. He called out, “Evan?”
At first there was no answer, but he thought he heard distant whispers coming from somewhere upstairs.
He frowned. “Evan? Are you upstairs?”
After a long moment, Angus appeared. “Just a moment, Chris. I’ll get you a towel.”
An odd feeling of growing alarm rose inside him. Had she left? Had Angus taken her back to Miami without him? How long had he been out? “Have you seen Evan?”
“Yes, she was just upstairs looking at some of the photos hanging in the library.” Angus turned his face to the right, looking down the hallway. “Ah, here she is, now.”
Evan emerged from the hall, a nervous smile on her face. “Hi. You look like a drowned cat.”
Chris felt a strange mix of relief to see her and mounting dread. Something wasn’t right, here, and he didn’t know what it was. “Yeah. I know. I was looking for you.”
She started down the stairs toward him, one hand gripping the strap of her handbag. “I’m sorry. You were sleeping so soundly. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
It was a good explanation but something was definitely off. Something about the slightly skittish look in her eyes. Had he scared her off? Maybe he’d come on too strong. She’d whispered to him that she’d wanted him. That she’d wanted to feel him deep inside her. Confusion bloomed in his belly and his chest tightened. “Is…is everything okay?”
Her eyes opened widely in a parody of sincerity. “Yes, of course. Everything is great. I just need to go. I have to get back.”
Angus approached and handed Chris a large, fluffy, white towel with Superman prints all over it.
Evan smiled. “Nice towel.”
Chris looked down at the towel in his hand, which he hadn’t yet bothered to use. He didn’t care if he was soaked. He knew something was wrong. Fear of the loss of her gripped his heart. He found it hard to breathe. “Evan, what’s wrong?”
The smile fell away from her face and she looked stricken. “Nothing. You are so wonderful, Chris. I just have to go. I need to go.”
That was it? She was done with him? He could barely breathe. “Okay. Can I…can I—”
“Angus, can you take me back?” Her face was resolute, but her eyes were glossy.
Chris was dumbstruck. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and beg her not to leave. Whatever the problem was, they could work it out. He knew they could.
But he stayed silent, a lump rising in his throat, watching her gather herself to leave him.
Angus said, “I would, Ms. Meadows. But the storm is terrible. I wouldn’t want us to crash.”
Evan turned toward one of the giant windows and she wrapped her arms around herself. She walked over to it and gazed up at the sky, her shoulders straight, her stance determined. “As soon as it lets up, then?” She turned back toward them, her brows lifted politely.
Chris felt his breath catch. Her formality was like a spike to his heart. He made himself breathe.
Angus paused a moment, and then gave her a nod. “Absolutely. As soon as it lets up. Chris, will you be going back, too?”
He found it hard to even speak, but found his voice and put more courage into his words than he felt. “Yeah. I need to get back, too. Practice and all that.”
“Well,” Angus said. “Since we have some time to kill, how about sandwiches?”
Chris felt nauseous. He didn’t think he could keep anything down. “Actually, I’m not really hungry. You go ahead, Evan. I just don’t have the heart for it right now.”
Evan parted her lips to speak, but Chris didn’t wait to hear what she would say. He walked off in the direction of his favorite room in the mansion. His heart burned. He felt crushed, down deep in his soul.
There was no speaking behind him as he went.
***
Evan felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. But then, what had she expected? She’d just pretty much ditched Chris after the most amazing, loving, earth-shattering sex she’d ever had. They had connected. Truly connected. She’d felt being with him was the most natural thing in the world. Like they were meant to be together. They’d been in perfect harmony—mind, body, and soul. And she’d just tossed him into the waves.
She wanted to call after him. But it was better this way. It was better if he hated her. Because pretty soon he’d hate her anyway. When he discovered that she’d stolen the puzzle box from his uncle. When he discovered that she was nothing but a dirty thief, just like he’d described his parents.
The pain of the loss of him felt like a living thing, gnawing deep in the center of her. Her chin trembled and tears spilled over her cheeks. She swiped at them with the backs of her hands.
Angus stepped forward, placing a large, comforting hand on each of her shoulders. “You don’t need to do this.”
“I do. I have to take the box and get rid of it. Damn the consequences. Sooner or later, Chris is going to know the truth about my family anyway. I can’t help that. He’ll know who I am. He won’t want me.”
“If he loves you, he will get over it.” Angus looked her in the eyes. “At least give him the chance to forgive you.”
Evan took a shaky breath. “So you’re saying that the truth will set me free?”
He gave her a solemn nod. “I am.”
“I’ll think about it.” She glanced out the window at the driving rain battering the glass. The skies were so dark, it seemed like it would never stop raining. Her heart felt like it had cracked, and the worst part of it all was that it had been her own doing. She’d chosen to lie to Chris instead of being truthful. But she didn’t trust him to understand, because what she was doing sounded crazy, and liars and thieves weren’t trustworthy, especially in Chris’s book. Not in hers either.
It was a tragic situation that she couldn’t find a way out of, and it seemed the results would be bad no matter which decision she made. The only thing she could do was to choose the least damaging way to deal with it: Steal the puzzle box and get rid of it. Find the best place to put it where no one would ever find it.
An idea came to her. “Angus, in your travels, have you seen caves where no one has ever been?”
“I have. Might I also suggest a volcano? Hawaii has quite a few. We could fly over one and you could simply drop the box in.”
That was even better. “That’s actually a really good idea. It would destroy the box. The puzzle would never be solved and so hell wouldn’t ever be unleashed on the earth. Good call.”
Her stomach growled loudly. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and she was apparently famished.
Angus patted her shoulders. “Let’s eat some sandwiches. I also have some chicken noodle soup waiting in the dining room.”
Somehow, the idea of chicken noodle soup made her feel better. “Okay. We eat and plan.”
Angus led Evan to the dining room, where he served up chicken noodle soup and sandwiches. Chris didn’t join them.
Each time Evan thought of Chris, a pang went through her heart. She hated her mother for putting her through this. Evan would never have a normal life. Her mother would always slither back into it to get her to do another job for her. Well, Lila wasn’t getting that puzzle box. She could expose Evan for the fraud she was. Evan would just have to live with it. But she wasn’t about to let the world perish because of demons climbing out of an ancient puzzle box.
By the time they’d finished eating, they had formulated a plan.
“Well, hello, you two.”
Evan jumped, spilling a little water over her hand. She looked over at the doorway, where Sammy stood wearing tattered Hulk pajama pants and no shirt. He stretched, his sinewy frame reminding her of an old photo of the 70s rock star Iggy Pop. “You scared me, Sammy.”
“Sorry about that, sweet Evan.” Sammy blinked, looking around the room. “Where is my nephew?”
“I’m not sure.” Evan looked down at the table, smoothing an invisible crease in the tablecloth.
“Uh oh. Did you have a lover’s quarrel?” Sammy strode toward Evan.
When Evan realized what was about to happen, it was too late to stop it.
Sammy accidentally booted her handbag, which rested on the floor, across the room. The puzzle box tumbled out of it. “Oh damn. I’m such a klutz. I’m so sorry. I—”
Evan’s heart jumped into her mouth. Panic washed over her.
Sammy walked to the purse, leaned over and peered at the puzzle box. “What have we here?”
Angus cleared his throat. “I gave the puzzle box to Evan, because you said earlier that you wanted her to have it.”
Relief washed over Evan. She gave Angus a grateful glance.
“I did? I don’t remember that.” Sammy scratched his head.
“You did. Evan has to leave, and I didn’t know if you would wake up before we boarded the chopper.” Angus’s face was calm. He betrayed nothing of the lie he’d just told Sammy.
“I didn’t think I was that drunk. Well, let me present it to you properly, then.” Sammy bent down and picked the puzzle box up, holding it reverently in his hand. He walked over to Evan. “Watch how I do this.”
“Do what?” Angus asked, his voice a little strained.
“How I toss it into the air, do a spin, and catch it. I’ve done it a million times with a microphone and never once dropped one.” Sammy dipped his hand downward, readying it to throw the puzzle box into the air.
“No, no, don’t do that,” Angus said, jumping out of his chair.
“No,” Evan called out, standing and preparing to catch the box.
But it was too late. Sammy tossed the puzzle box high into the air. He threw it so hard that it sailed upward and smashed into the hanging chandelier hard enough to shatter a light bulb. Glass rained down over the table and into Evan’s hair.
“Woohoo!” Sammy did a double spin and stumbled into a dining room chair, doing a somersault over it. He scrambled onto his knees and held his hands out to catch the box.
Angus and Evan held their hands out, waiting for the box to come back down. Sammy had thrown it so high it seemed suspended, floating in mid-air just before its downward descent.
A moment seemed like an eternity. Finally, the box gained speed as it came back down.
As if possessed of its own free will, it somehow avoided every hand held out for it, and came crashing down onto the hardwood table.
Everyone was absolutely still for a long moment, staring at the box.
“Well, that didn’t work out the way I’d pictured it would in my head,” Sammy said, and then let out a high-pitched laugh.
Evan and Angus continued to stare at the box.
Nothing happened.
Evan breathed a sigh of relief, and Angus followed suit.
Sammy looked at the both of them, frowning. “What in hell is wrong with you two?”
Then the puzzle box clicked and all at once, each compartment within it pushed itself open.
Evan felt her jaw drop. “Oh, shit.”
Sammy squinted at the box. “Well, would you look at that.”