Page 64 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
Where Nell and Harper had known Lucas for most of his life, Evie had been there since before he was born. Had done everything from changing diapers to picking him up from school. She’d been part of Patricia’s family longer than anyone else.
“Well…” Evie continued. “Other than that, the first thing would be to get you settled in. The Chains own some apartments that are really nice. I lived in one when I first got here until—” Her cheeks turned pink. “I got moved into the high-rise. It was, uh…saferthere.”
Harper narrowed her eyes, smirking.
“Was thatreallythe reason you moved? The violet-eyed hottie who won’t stop staring at you had nothing to do with it?”
Evie’s blush deepened. But she didn’t deny it. She just pinched her lips together, holding in a laugh by the look of it.
“Natalyamayhave been involved,” Evie said. “But I didn’t really mind. It helped. Having her close. I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with her.”
Harper let out a theatrical sigh. “Then I have bad news for you. Your membership to the ‘trash dating habits’ club has been revoked. Shame. There’s been a lot of activity lately.”
“How tragic for me,” Evie chuckled. “But seriously… Acop, Harper? Really?”
Harper cringed. They’d discussed the police stop earlier, and Harper had admitted why it had happened. Which might have received a more shocked reaction if it wasn’t immediately overshadowed by the reveal of those officers being goddamn werewolves.
“When have you ever known me to make smart decisions about anything?” Harper said. “It’s a mistake I won’t repeat, I can say that much. It was a new low. My standards have apparently dropped so much that I started dating a dog.”
Evie snorted, putting a hand to her mouth as though to suppress incoming laughter. But even if she’d let it escape, it would have been short-lived. Her eyes had gone distant again.
“Speaking of dating… That thing Nell mentioned. About you and Maya. Is that true?”
Was there even athingto discuss? The evening before had felt like a wonderful beginning. One that had been cut off before it could gain proper footing, which should make it easy to dismiss.
But it just hurt.
“Kind of.” Harper had intended to spit out the words, but they came out as a whisper. “It wasn’t planned. We just… We clicked.”
“You have to remember that she was under orders,” Evie said. “She was supposed to gain your trust. To protect you and get you here safely.”
Evie settled her hands in her lap, running a finger over the puncture scars around her wrist.
“She’s violent. That’s what I’ve heard, anyway. And based on what she did to those cops, the rumors weren’t exaggerating.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “Maya did that?”
She’d assumed the Chains had something to do with that carnage, but Harper thought a whole group had been involved. Not just one person. NotMaya.
How much of herself had she hidden? Just how vicious was she, that she could tear through a bunch of people in such a devastating way?
But… she hadn’t done that until she had to. Until waiting would have resulted in Nell and Patricia getting hurt. Until Harper had been shoved against that police car, one she would have been trapped within only seconds later if no one had intervened.
“She’s done worse. Before she got here. She was enslaved by Night for a while, like I was.” Evie looked away. “Well, not exactly like I was. They only used her for feeding, as far as I know.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s just important that you know what she’s like. She killed a lot of people before joining the Chains. Everyone steers clear of her because of it. Or, she steers clear of them.”
That didn’t sound like Maya at all. No matter how good she was at playing a role, certain things couldn’t be faked.
It wasn’t pretend that Maya could remember everyone’s drink of choice after serving them just once. That she could makeconversation with the same natural affinity as one had with breathing. Could make you feel so comfortable that you shared things you never told anyone.
“Did Natalya tell you that?” Harper asked. The violet-eyed woman was a bigshot around here and had been overseeing the mission to get Harper and the others to Chicago. She would know more facts than most.
Evie shook her head. “It’s mainly stories. There are a lot of them, and everyone says—”
“Everyone?” Harper scoffed. “I don’t want to hear whateveryonehas to say. They tend to get their sources wrong.”
She knew all too well what happened when rumors got out of hand. When the truth became something separate from reality.
