When he enlisted in the Army, his parents had washed their hands of him. Telling him they expected more from their youngest child. His brother and sister had done as the two of them wanted and joined the path to complete salvation as they called it. He still didn’t get it.
For as long as he could remember, he’d never felt the need to connect with a higher power the way his family did. Most of his earlier life had been spent feeling as if there was something wrong with him. Hell, his family had no problem with pointing it out as often as possible. So he started fighting back, refused to go to church, started partying, just plain-out being a pain in the ass.
Then he met Dom who was angry over the loss of his sister. They fought like cats and dogs. Could never be in a room with each other without fighting over stupid shit. In their own way, they’d been friends. It wasn’t the healthiest friendship, but it was like beating the crap out of each other was a way to purge the negative emotions from their home lives.
Just before high school graduation, a recruiter from the Army had spoken at their school. He remembered sitting there thinking of all the things he could do if he joined. The travelling, seeing the world, helping where support was actually needed. He could get an education out of it while he was there, too.
When the recruiter was about to leave, he and Dom approached the man at the same time. Both with questions about the different branches of the military. Army Rangers had appealed to them both, and for once, they planned something together that didn’t involve a bloody nose or broken bones.
A few months later 9/11 happened.
That next day, the Army was shipping them off for training and the fight of their lives. Both men became inseparable, climbed the ranks together, fought together. They watched some of their brothers fall as they soared into new lives.
For seven years, the bond they created was all that kept pushing them through.
Then the impossible happened…
Casey was being sent home to a family that thought that the injuries he sustained were what he deserved, and a country that wasn’t equipped to deal with the emotional toll his sacrifice had caused.
Every day, Casey fought an uphill battle he was never sure he could win. Then Dom and Jax came along and gave him hope for a better life. One that wasn’t filled with cheap booze and cheaper hookers. He wasn’t proud of his past, but he did accept it as part of what made him the man he was now. If he could let go of his insecurities and stop pushing the one and only woman to ever get him to feel anything away.
Arriving at the shitty-looking apartment complex he’d dropped Ev off three days prior, he cringed at the dilapidated building. The thugs sitting on stoops in front of nearly every door made him angry. They could hurt her if they wanted to. She was so tiny, so helpless.
Not knowing which apartment was Ev’s, he texted her.
Case: Kitten?
Waiting for a response was torture. He didn’t even know if she were home or at the club.
Well, Evelyn had gotten her wish. Lacey left and took Andy with her. Marcus landed in jail somehow and hopefully, wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
None of it mattered, though. She had been abandoned again.
Left with nothing but her pain.
She somehow became enveloped in her lost sense of self. Not recognizing who she was anymore, what she was doing, or where she was going. Loneliness encroached on her every waking hour.
When Lacey left, she’d accused Ev of trying to steal Marcus from her. It didn’t matter that she had no interest in him or that the only man she truly wanted didn’t think she was good enough to share his deepest secret with. Even after he demanded all of hers.
She was always left behind, never good enough to love. She was Evelyn Paige Moore, the girl everyone forgot.
It was a sad, lonely existence. One she wasn’t convinced she wanted to be a part of anymore. She hadn’t moved from her prone position on her small bed since she collapsed earlier
that morning from exhaustion. Dark circles ringed her eyes from lack of sleep. Every time she closed her eyelids, she felt Marcus’s fingers invading her again. Just the thought of him touching her had her gagging.
She wasn’t sure, but it felt as though her cheeks had sunken in from not eating. She tried to, but her stomach would roll, and she’d feel queasy for hours, so she stopped altogether. Of course, it was stupid. She was weak from lack of nutrients, but no matter how many times she tried to force herself she just ended up tossing it out.
Ev’s phone beeped, drawing her from the depressing thoughts. Reaching over the side of the bed, she felt around for her purse. Pulling her phone out, she saw a text waiting for her.
Unknown: Kitten?
Casey. She sighed, whether from relief or pain remained to be seen.
Evelyn: Yes?
It wasn’t long before he responded.
Casey: I’m so fucking sorry.