Page 33 of Bound By Betrayal

“Of course not.” She let out an unamused laugh. “I love that man with everything I have, but I know he can be a dick.”

“Do you, now?” I moved closer, our faces just inches apart. Eva wasn’t intimidated, though I hadn’t expected her to be. Sure, she’d been naïve and stupidly blind to all of Derek’s bullshit and lies all those years ago, but I could admit the woman had a backbone. “How do you do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Hipócrita. Derek agreed to accompany his brother, me, and my girls in two days for a little fun. His body count will be higher when he comes home to you than when he left.”

Eva looked away.

“So I ask again. How do you do it? Work as a detective, fuck a monster, raise a child—what will you tell her when she’s older? Or will you keep her in the dark like your father did to you?”

I was in a bad fucking mood and taking it out on someone who’d done nothing to me. Sure, I’d felt some way when she thought I was trying to harm her baby, but who could blame her? Either way, I didn’t care. And I’d warned her to leave me alone.

Evangelina schooled her shoulders. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business. But maybe I should ask your parents which way worked best for them.”

I knew I deserved that, so I couldn’t even be upset.

“I like you, princess. So I’ll let that slide,” I said with a wicked grin.

“It’sEva. And you call me princess, but look around you. Who’s the hypocrite?”

I had already turned around and started down the path toward my studio.

“That’s because in here, I’m thefuckingqueen.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Kai was sitting on his bike, backpack slung over his back, dressed in all black with a matching helmet.

“What?” He gestured the question with his hands out.

“Why don’t you just strap on a fucking siren and lights? Just in case they don’t hear you coming.”

Kai chuckled and patted the seat behind him. “Actually, I was hoping you’d ride with me.”

“Cain, I don’t trust you enough to hop on the back of that thing while you speed down a highway. And we’re trying to get in and out without being seen, heard, orkilled.”

He pulled off his helmet and shook out his hair, smoothing it back with rough fingers.

Fuck. This man, sitting on that bike, all but begging me to straddle him. He knew what he was doing.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go for a ride, beautiful?” He sent me a wink.

I did. I absolutely fucking did. But before I could belittle him with a response, an SUV pulled up from around the driveway. Eva and Derek climbed out, meeting by the passenger side door. She had started to say something, when he tugged her forward, lifting her just enough to damn near inhale her entire face.

“Don’t wait up for me, angel.”

I heard him say before looking away. Kai and I locked eyes, and something electric sizzled the air between us.

“How do you stand to be around them?”

Laughing, he pulled his helmet back over his head.

Three more SUVs pulled into my property. I glanced at the lovebirds one last time just as Derek wiped tears from Eva’s cheeks. Sometimes, I wondered what a love like that would feel like. She sacrifices her morals and her oath as an officer every day, and in turn, he attempts to change his life to be a better person and father—for her. Romanticism aside, theirrelationship seemed toxic and stressful. But I couldn’t deny they seemed happy.

Kai and I…we were different. We wouldn’t have to change or be other people for one another…

Stop it, I scolded myself. There was no us. He was just the means to an end.