My eyes flutter open, my neck aching at the position I’ve been in for the last… I look up at the clock on the wall and see that it reads two in the morning. My gaze flits around the room, trying to work out what caused me to wake up.
When I don’t hear anything, I push myself up into a sitting position and pick the papers up off the fl
oor before standing.
I jump out of my skin when I hear the office phone ringing. Why would someone be calling at this time?
Shaking my head, I continue toward the office and pick up the handset, bringing it to my ear as I softly whisper, “Hello?”
“Lex.” Evan’s voice sounds like a plea and I open my mouth to ask him why he’s calling but he continues. “Why are you still there?”
“I… erm…” I bite my bottom lip as I strain to hear what the noise in the background is. “I fell asleep.”
“Dammit! I knew there was something wrong before I left.”
“What? I…”
“Unlock the door.” My head whips around and my stomach bottoms out at the tone of his voice. “I forgot my keys.”
“Evan?” I ask, my voice a mere whisper, but he doesn’t answer because the line goes dead and then there’s a knock on the door.
“Let me in, Lex!”
My breath stutters as I place the phone in its cradle before slowly walking out of the office and toward the main door. His face comes into view, the light above the door illuminating his features.
My shaking hands reach out for the lock and as soon as I’ve turned it, he’s barging inside.
“You lied.”
I shut the door behind him, turning the lock before spinning around to face him. He paces the small area, his hands on his hips loosely.
“I… how did I lie?”
He comes to a stop a few feet in front of me. “You said no secrets: you lied. There was something wrong tonight and you didn’t tell me: you kept it a secret.”
I close my eyes slowly, taking a deep breath and shaking my head. “I’m not doing this right now.” I start to walk away, but his hand clutching my arm stops me.
“Yeah, you are. I’ve been going out of my mind since I left, knowing that there was something off, and then when I turn up at Livvy’s and you’re not there.” He huffs out a frustrated breath. “Do you have any idea what I thought? What I imagined? The things that ran through my head?”
“What?” I ask confused, not knowing what he’s talking about.
“I have enemies, Lex. It comes with the job. If anything ever happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to...” He trails off, his face filling with fear.
“Evan…” Lifting my hand to his cheek, I run the pads of my fingers through the scruff, the scratching sound echoing around us.
“I was worried,” he whispers. “And you lied.”
My gaze flits away from his, focusing on the potted plant that sits in the main foyer before bouncing back to him. “I… what…” I shake my head and let my hand drop from his face. “What are we?”
His head reels back. “What do you mean… ‘what are we?’”
“This.” I point my finger between us. “What are we? Are we a little fun? Because if we are, then I can’t do this anymore, Evan. I feel too much to be something you can throw away at any time.”
He stares at me for several seconds before he takes ahold of my hand, placing it on his chest and covering it with his large one. “You feel that?” he asks as I feel his heartbeat against the palm of my hand. “That beating? It beats for you. Only you.” I swallow against the lump working its way up my throat. “I can’t tell you what we are, because I have no clue what this is that I’m feeling. But if you want to put a label on it?” He stops for a beat, placing his hand on my hip as he brings my body flush against his. “You’re my everything, Lex.” He leans closer, his lips centimeters from mine before he whispers, “Everything.”
I stare at the silver case that sits on the passenger seat of my car before my gaze flits to the rearview mirror. I see the van a little ways back and I know that Luke and Dean sit in there, watching me in case anything goes down.
It’s been three weeks since Darrell gave me the chip and although I know I could have had this done for him in a day, I wanted to make him wait. After all, if I jumped when he said jump, I’d never have any control over this situation, and I don’t like to not have control when it comes to my work.