It doesn’t stop me from remembering Ben was her first and only before me. It also doesn’t make me feel less murderous when he sits down beside her in the booth and tosses his arm around her shoulders.
“I hope there’s a damn good reason for this coincidence,” Dash says tightly. “Herrin isn’t going to like this one bit.”
“Take my gun,” I tell Axle, ignoring Dash’s comment as my focus zeroes in on how close Ben is to my girl, “before I do something stupid.”
Chapter 7
EVE
Ben showing up is a surprise, and the squeeze he’s holding me in almost hurts too much to be called a hug.
“I’ve been so fucking worried,” he says as he holds me tighter.
“Can’t breathe,” I wheeze, maybe doing it a little more dramatically than necessary.
He pulls back, grinning down at me before kissing my forehead. For some reason, I wince. It feels wrong for him to touch me like that.
“Glad to see you still have your sense of humor. And to see that you still look like you.”
His eyes rake over my clothes. I had to wear some I originally brought to the warehouse. Sarah’s stuff was too tight for me to even try to melt my body into.
“Um… Yeah. How did you know I was here?” I ask, confused as I sit down.
Unsurprisingly, he sits down right beside me and tosses his arm around my shoulders like he’s scared I’m an illusion.
“I have friends, Eve. I’ve been trying to figure out where you’ve been. People told me you were with Drex, but I never heard for sure. Some said you even seemed happy about it, which I knew was total bullshit. What the fuck has been going on? Your phone has been off since you left.”
I try to scoot away, but he has his arm locked around me. It feels like a betrayal to be so close to someone I’ve been with intimately. I sure as hell wouldn’t want Drex to have an ex’s arm wrapped around him.
“They took my phone on day one.” I don’t mention I have another phone, because he’d be upset I didn’t call. No way in hell could I have called the son of Benny Highland while everyone suspects me as a spy.
“Can I get you anything, sugar?” the syrupy sweet waitress asks Ben, biting her lip as she drinks him in with her eyes.
She’d keel over if she saw Drex.
Drex. He’d kill Ben if he saw this.
While Ben is distracted with ordering, I manage to scoot over and put some distance between us. I even manage to settle one of my shopping bags in the space I’ve created.
When he turns back around, his eyes drop to the bag before coming back up to meet my gaze as he frowns.
“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me because of this? I begged you not to do this, Eve. I could have—”
“I’m not mad,” I tell him quietly, noticing a few eyes have drifted toward us, considering Ben is a little loud.
“Then what’s wrong? What have they done to you? I swear, Eve, I’ve been going out of my mind with a thousand possibilities. I’ve went to all their public businesses, and even tried to discreetly ask questions, but—”
“Ben, I’m okay,” I tell him, unable to stop the smile that spreads.
Confusion crosses his features.
“You’re okay? The fuck does that mean? They let you go?”
I shake my head while sighing.
“No. You know your father wouldn’t like that. It’s safer for me if I stay put. But… I want to stay put.”
Anger replaces confusion, but I don’t know why. If anything, he should be relieved that I’m not living through hell right now.
“You want to stay? They gave you the option to leave?”
“Well, not exactly, but I think Drex would have if I’d told him I wanted to go. I know he wouldn’t force me to be there. I was once afraid he’d give me back to Benny, but now I know he wouldn’t. And… anyway… I should probably get going.”
The waitress seizes that inopportune moment to bring me the food I ordered, and Ben’s eyes drop to the plate.
“Looks like you need to eat first,” he says bitterly, glaring at me.
Shit.
“I don’t think we should be talking. At least not right now. Your dad—”
“Isn’t me,” he reminds me. “Since when can’t we be friends? Since Drex? Does he really have you?”
He grabs my arm so hard that I cry out, and he roughly turns my wrist toward him. I bite back a whimper when he shows my other arm the same harsh treatment, practically jerking it toward him so he can study that wrist.
Pissed but satisfied, he tosses my hand away, and it slams into the table. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him like this. He’s always treated me with kid-gloves.
“Obviously they don’t plan on keeping you. At least that’s good news.”