Page 24

Ever

A s I take a long sip of my coffee, pounding at the front door echoes through the house. Obviously, I ignore it in favor of sweet, sweet motivation juice.

The guys stiffen, but I swear, Ledger grows a couple of inches as he puffs up. “Expecting someone?”

I scoff, carrying on my quest of signing into all of my apps on my new phone.

“If I was expecting anyone, they'd have texted me.

Obviously it's an axe murderer or a salesman, and I'd much prefer the former.

Nobody just shows up unexpectedly these days; red fucking flag right there.

If they don't have my number, then we're not close enough for me to invite them into my house. Ignore it, they’ll get the hint and leave.”

“Myles? Ever?” a familiar voice calls through the door and I sigh in defeat as Ledger shoves away from the table.

Sometimes it becomes abundantly clear that these men were never children that had to pretend they weren’t home alone.

Following Ledger down the hall, I find him blocking the open doorway with my agent on the other side of the threshold.

Jericho’s voice carries past Ledger’s blockade. “I heard rumors that you were back in town and came to confirm. Everest’s alright, then? Whoever took her didn’t…” he trails off, looking sick at the thought, reminding me how wildly different things could have turned out.

“Yeah, Jer, I’m good.”

His shoulders slump in relief. “Thank goodness, the guilt has been eating Hendrix and me alive since you were kidnapped. After your mates went after you, we focused our efforts on beefing up security at the office.” He cranes his head to meet my eye over Ledger’s shoulder.

“Chameleons are so rare that we never even considered them a threat, let alone it’s, well,’’ he gestures around us, “Mercy Ridge. We've never had to worry about this sort of thing before. But we’re making sure it’ll never happen again. ”

A consolation prize. Yipee.

Shush. If I was the practice run that ensures someone more vulnerable doesn’t end up in a shitty situation, I can consider my kidnapping a win.

“I was actually going to call you as soon as I finished setting up my phone. Can you email over the final contract?”

Jericho grimaces. “Unfortunately, no. With this much money involved, it needs to be signed in front of witnesses. And…” he tugs on his tie nervously.

My heart plummets like a rock.

“Oh god. Don’t tell me he’s backing out of the deal.”

“What?” he startles with a severe frown marring his face. “No, of course not! He’d be a fool to, and I already have three companies on standby that would offer a new deal by the end of the day if that was the case.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

He blows out a heavy breath. “Mr. Nocturne has another proposal he’d like to pitch your way.”

A cold sweat trickles down my spine despite my best efforts. But being back in the lawyer’s office has me more on edge than I anticipated.

Deep breaths. So long as you don’t leave to pee alone, everything will be perfectly fine.

Ledger leans back against the door as a human blockade, and it’s more comforting than I’m willing to admit. All things considered, it could have been so much worse when Bellamy’s family snatched the two of us. Yet, every time I glance at the door, I break into a cold sweat.

Even if I was technically safe, I didn’t know that at the time.

Being drugged sucks. Anything could have happened while I was unable to defend myself.

Still, for all of my anxiety, the guys are going ridiculously overboard.

Scowling, I pluck at the springy toddler wrist leash Arson insisted on so he wouldn't be left behind on the next kidnapping.

Myles gently nudges me, showing his support by discreetly tuning me back into the conversation just in time to start signing. And signing. And signing.

Pro tip? Contracts suck. Invest in a good lawyer to keep your brain from melting, and a wrist brace to keep your hand from breaking off.

As soon as the final signature is done, I collapse back in my seat, a riot of emotions bombarding me.

This is really happening. I actually sold my game console and am going to have a part in revolutionizing the industry. My name is going to mean something.

Dane signs the last page with a flourish and pushes the stack of papers towards the lawyers. Immediately, his intense gaze falls on me. “Now that that’s finished, I have a proposal for you.” He steeples his fingers together, holding my gaze. “I want to hire you to heal my mate.”

Stunned silence settles over the conference room.

“Excuse me?” Pretty sure my brain is backfiring, because none of those words made a lick of sense.

“I’ve mentioned how my Sophia’s abilities work against her, and have consulted countless doctors over the years. They’ve all been useless.” His lips twist in disdain. “Telling me I should consider ourselves lucky because it could be worse. That even humans deal with chronic illnesses.”

“I’m sorry, but I think there’s some miscommunication going on here. I’m not a doctor; none of us are.”

“Good, I don’t want one. I told you in our first meeting that I’ve been looking for someone special for years, and you, Ever, are extraordinary. I have no doubt that with your ability to think outside of the box, you’ll be able to figure out a way to save her.”

My stomach twists. “You should really be pitching this to Myles, not me. He’s the tech genius and has experience blending it with magic. I just made a game console, and honestly, only ever planned on working in the gaming industry, nothing medical.”

Dane shakes his head and sighs in disappointed frustration.

“You’re squandering your potential. Think about it, Everest. The controller is amazing, but your console is inspired .

Not just the technological logistics to pull it off, but the very idea.

You slashed through the gatekeeping in the gaming industry like it was child's play.

You leveled the playing field and gave everyone access to games that were previously out of their reach unless they were rich enough to afford every system, and forced the heads of companies to get with the program, or be left in your dust.

“ That is what I need from you; the spirit and passion of someone powerful enough to put her money where her mouth is. That takes ‘impossible’ as a personal challenge. Between you and your mate, I doubt there’s a limit to what you can create.”

I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. “I’m not sure…”

“Consider it a side quest,” he says, desperation seeping into his tone.

“Try. That’s all I’m asking. If you can’t create something to help her, I’ll have to explore more…

extreme options.” Before I can ask what those are, he turns his head and barks, “Marco.” His emotionally-devoid assistant sets a briefcase on the table and pivots it to face me.

When he opens it? It’s full of enough cash to make me second guess my beliefs.

“To get you started,” Dane decrees. “Anything else you need, simply let me know, and I’ll make it happen.”

When I don’t immediately jump on his offer, Dane pulls out a picture on his phone and slides it in front of me.

“Sophia’s why I started this business. It wasn’t just about the money, it was to offer her a distraction from her suffering.

To let her explore magical worlds and feel whole.

To forget for even just a few hours that she can’t just get up and go for a walk on the beach because it takes too much out of her.

That no matter how much she loves the forest, hiking is out of the question.

In virtual reality, she can do anything, be anyone.

” He captures my gaze, eyes hard. “And I refuse to lose her because you don’t want to even try. Please .”

The fight stills in my lungs, looking at her willowy figure stretched out in bed, staring out the bay window without really seeing anything. She looks like she’s given up. Like she’s simply drifting through life without meaning.

As lost as I was before I found Mercy Ridge.

I share a tentative look with Myles. “I… suppose it couldn’t really hurt to try , right? Worst case scenario is we can’t help her, but she’s not any worse off.”

Myles mulls it over before quietly admitting, “All I ever wanted was for my inventions to help people.”

“Me too. Maybe just to escape their shitty lives for a little while, but if I can do something more and really help? I’d like to at least try.”

Dane exhales in relief. “So you’ll take the job?”

When I search the rest of my mates’ faces for confirmation, I find only support and encouragement. Sucking down a shaky breath, I extend my hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”