Page 5

Right now, they don’t matter.
No one does, except for one person.
My body hums at seeing the panicked expression on her face, and I don’t dare glance away. Since she set eyes on me, her gaze hasn’t wavered once. It’s like she knows I’m the predator and she’s the prey, and if she looks away from me for only one second, I’ll pounce and kill her.
Little does she know what I have in mind for her is far worse.
If everything goes according to plan, she’ll be begging for death. But she doesn’t deserve the luxury of a quick death. What she deserves is drawn-out torture.
And that’s what I’m here for.
She was my downfall, and I’m here to return the favor.
But first, she needs to know I’m back.
This is the first public outing since I was released almost two weeks ago, and being here, surrounded by so many people, makes my skin itch. The fact something so simple is such a shock to my system only fuels the hate and the need for revenge further.
Even though Evangeline’s father told the crowd to enjoy the party, most attendees are still staring. I practically feel their gazes searing into my back like pins and needles.
Her dad takes a step toward me and to the side, severing my view from Evangeline.
My muscles tense.
“Good to see you, Phoenix. Welcome home.”
I shake his outstretched hand and smile. Time to play my part in this game. “Thanks, Mr. Caldwell.”
He chuckles, his large midsection shaking from the action. “Oh, stop with the formalities and call me Byron.”
I nod. “Byron.”
He motions toward his wife. “And my beautiful wife, Audrey, of course.”
I take her hand and lift it to my lips. “Lovely to see you again, Audrey.”
The smile she gives me is warm and welcoming. Entirely pleasant to the naked eye. If I hadn’t grown up in this environment, surrounded by phony people my entire life, she could have fooled me too. But I know better.
And as much as prison was an . . . inconvenience, to say the least, it allowed me to hone my people-reading skills further. There’s only so much you can do and focus on when you’re locked away. Unless you want to waste your time staring at a blank concrete wall or wallowing in self-pity.
It also gave me ample time to prepare for the moment I’d come face-to-face with Evangeline again.
Ignoring her, I focus on her brother first, studying his face.
He doesn’t hold my gaze for long, his posture slightly sagging when he says, “Hey, man.”
Alex and I weren’t close friends, but we spent enough time together that it stung when he, just like everyone else in our circle, cut all ties with me when the news broke of my arrest.
Bunch of spineless bastards.
When I can’t prolong it any longer, I turn toward Evangeline and drink her in.
Eve, the sweet girl I was obsessed with years ago but couldn’t have.
But she’s not my Eve, my Angel, anymore. She hasn’t been in a very long time.
She’s Evangeline now.
The photos I’ve seen of her while I was locked up haven’t done her justice. She’s matured, and even I can admit she’s done so beautifully. What makes her appear even more devastating now are her trembling chin and her wide eyes. I hope it’s out of fear. I hope she imagines me slitting her throat or something equally terrible to pay her back for what she did to me.