Page 122 of Severed By Vengeance

My finger hovered over the end call button as Ronan walked away.

“Oh, and Eva,” he said with menace, “Don’t forget to ask Franco how long he’s known about Derek. If we’re dusting out the old closet, we might as well get all the skeletons—including one named Frankie.”

An audible gasp leaped from my lips, and I pushed the button and tore down the stairs until I reached a room with my mouth gaping open in shock. Rows upon rows of rifles, handguns, automatic weapons, endless ammo, knives, hatchets, and even fucking throwing stars.

The logical side of my brain knew this wasn’t just the stash of a weapon enthusiast. This was something else. Something darker, more sinister. But the stupid woman, blinded by love, tried to take over.

He’s a tactical instructor. He owns a gun range. Maybe this was where he kept inventory.

Maybe…

The excuses I’d conjured disintegrated when I spotted a small photo collage on a shelf by the damn stars.

My phone vibrated as I clutched it between my fingers like a lifeline. Derek was calling and texting nonstop. I opened the line and moved toward the photos as he called for me. Tears slipped down my face, sliding past the seam of my lips as my throat tightened, making the act of breathing difficult.

“Eva!” he called, his voice desperate. “Angel, please, say something.”

I shook my head and suppressed a sob when I saw myself in every photo.

Sitting in my shop.

Having lunch with Sam.

The parking lot of my gym.

My fucking front porch.

Clutching at my chest, I set the phone down when my eyes fell on a smaller photo. A wrinkled one, ripped in half. I knew this picture. It wasn’t one he’d snapped. This was from James’s mantle—the only one in existence. I thought it had been lost that night, along with everything else.

“No…” I breathed. “No, no, no…”

My heart splintered, and my knees buckled, but I held the edge of the table and let my head fall forward as a sob finally broke.

“Eva, baby…please,” he begged. “Answer me. Let me explain.”

I snatched the phone from the table, chucked it across the room, and watched it shatter…

Like me.

CHAPTERFORTY

DEREK

Icouldn’t remember climbing out of my car or taking the stairs to my room. My thoughts were only on Evangelina, racing, frantic. She knew. I wasn’t exactly sure what she knew, but I’d heard what he said.

I clenched my jaw and snarled Ronan’s name. His time had come, but I’d deal with him later.

Bursting into the room, I expected to find Eva on the bed, the floor, or in the bathroom, but I was met with emptiness and deafening silence. My heart slumped as I redialed her number, but as the voicemail message began to play, I noticed the dresser in the closet had shifted.

Fuck.

There wasn’t any time to feel, rationalize or devise a diatribe of excuses. I needed to get to her, to see her.

The room was only illuminated by the backlights on each shelf. I scanned the space and saw her curled-up figure sitting in a corner.

“Angel,” I said, flipping the light switch and moving toward her.

“Don’t!” Her voice was sharp as a razor’s edge, and she’d pulled a gun from her lap and pointed it at me.