Page 9 of The Echo of Forever

Everwood doctors were supposed to be the best of the best, yet none of them could alleviate headaches. Part of me was tempted to seek a different opinion outside of the city, but that would cause more problems than not. More migraines, to be exact.

“I’m working,” I finally said, leaning back in my seat. “My head is fine.”

The lie had rolled off my tongue with ease.

“What was the point of flying up the ranks as fast as you did if you were going to take jobs from your subordinates?”

I scoffed and corrected her, “One job. One job that none of them, nor their families, would touch. Goodbye, mother. And stay out of my fucking apartment.”

I hung up and turned my phone off just in time to catch Demetrius and Oliver emerge from the building on my right and move toward the one on my left, where their sister worked out of.

They were eyeing the street with such nonchalance, I couldn’t help but smile and take in the man with a target larger than life on his back.

“Stop pretending like you don’t know I’m here,” I mumbled, tapping the steering as they moved from view again.

He wore it nicely, the air of indifference.

In fact, now that I’d finally gotten a good look at him, still at a distance but closer than before, he wore a lot of things…nicely.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a man as dark as him. Beautiful was my first thought when I saw his photo. Stunning, a close second.

With Carmen in the room that day, I had to keep my thoughts buried deep, but now I was alone, and the image of him flickered in my mind continuously.

He wasn’t dark like the night’s sky, more likeno street lights on a road surrounded only by trees for milesdark.Can’t see in front of youdark.

Not the scary kind, although not much scared me. Demetrius was the kind of dark I liked to play in, the kind I would let wrap itself around and then suffocate me.

At least, the me before the migraines.

The me before the constant pounding in my head. I blinked, trying to shake off what was part of me now, but I knew the second I began to follow the trio out of the city, I would have to turn back.

My vision blurred, and it was only a matter of time before I passed out from the blinding pain. I pulled off at the next exit and went home; the second I walked through the door and locked it behind me, I slid down the wall and held my head.

“What is wrong with you, Forever?” I mumbled over and over.

Everything was wrong.

My head.

My body.

My soul.

They were all at war, and I was a soldier, so to speak, but what was I supposed to do, end my life? I couldn’t fathom it, but tried to more than I cared to admit.

I managed to get myself up off the floor and into my bedroom, where I stripped out of my clothes and into the bathafter filling it. The warm water didn’t help, but I pretended it did, letting my mind wander to something I could control.

“Where were you headed, Demetrius?” I whispered, closing my eyes. “What’s outside of Everwood?”

I needed to do more research and figure out who and what they were associated with beyond the city. The file given had been thinner than usual, which felt strategic.

Society hits usually came with full background on the target, more than just their name and family history like I’d gotten on Demetrius.

I pulled my legs to my chest, gently resting my forehead against my knees while talking to myself.

He’d been gone for over six months.

That piece of information was noted in his file, which was what prompted me to go to his office after hours.