That day at the alley was never mentioned again, but from then on, on those days he would sometimes disappear, she’d smirk and avoid his eyes upon his return, knowing exactly where he’d been and what he’d been doing.
Parker had definitely been her friend, the only one she ever had before Lucian.
Her present-day mind jumped to visions of her and Lucian. They could be quite animalistic, yet she loved being with him in that way. She preferred him intense and raw and holding nothing back. When he acted as such, she seemed to break out of her rigid skin and surrender, allowing him to guide her somewhere dark and freeing where only the two of them existed.
“What are you grinning about?”
At Lucian’s question, Evelyn’s mind snapped back to the present. Her lips trembled and fell into a more natural smile.
“I was just thinking about how much my life has changed.” There was no point in mentioning Parker. Lucian didn’t care for him and never seemed to regret the day Parker insulted her, as it conveniently removed him from her life.
She hoped he was someplace warm. Maybe he was curled up by the library radiators at that very moment, reading some spectacular tale. She told herself that was likely where he was, needing the comfort of believing him safe.
“Jamie called. You didn’t tell me you saw him yesterday. He wants us to join him downtown for dinner.”
Evelyn never minded spending time with Jamie. It was Slade, Lucian’s other colleague, she hated. The feeling was mutual. Luckily, since she and Lucian settled into a more serious arrangement, Slade rarely came around. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d seen him.
“Dinner with Jamie sounds great.”
***
By Thursday, Evelyn still couldn’t shake her thoughts of Parker. The more she thought about him the more she worried something was wrong, as though an unknown force was putting him into her mind on purpose. Lucian had long ago forbidden her to visit the part of the city where the shelter was, because he considered it too dangerous. She’d tried to sneak back a few times, only to be followed. Each attempt ended in a fight she had no interest in repeating.
Lucian had a lot on his mind lately, probably some big business deal. She didn’t want to cause a rift or bring him more stress by mentioning Parker or asking to visit St. Christopher’s.
She knew the only way she could get to that part of Folsom was through sheer creativity and pretended innocence. The problem was, Lucian loathed any hint of dishonesty between them. She’d have to figure out a way to check on Parker while being honest and casually forgetting to divulge her true intensions. There was a run-down strip mall between St. Christopher’s and the Folsom Library, and that was how her plan took shape.
“Do you think Dugan can take me to a craft store tomorrow?”
Lucian looked up from the checkered onyx, considering his next move. Chess was a way they often ended their evenings. She’d become quite good at the game. He lifted his knight and captured her bishop.
Bastard.
She scowled at the board. She didn’t want to sacrifice her queen.
“What do you need there?” Lucian asked as she contemplated a very stupid move she would likely make in order to save the old girl.
“I was thinking about getting some wire and stuff. Maybe I can make something out of the sea glass I bought.”
“Like a sculpture.”
She smiled, knowing it took everything he had not to tease her. “No, not like a sculpture. Maybe a necklace or something.”
“I’m not sure if I know where a store with that sort of stuff is in the city.”
“There’s one by the library.”
He eyed her curiously for a long moment, and she hoped he didn’t see through her request. She took great interest in moving her rook to a square that made no sense.
He pursed his lips, eyeing her, as he captured the rook with a pawn. “Are you sure wire is all that you’re looking for?”
She swallowed and forced herself not to give anything away. Looking down at the board she picked up a pawn without thinking and slid it forward. “Maybe some tools to work with too.”
When she returned her gaze to his face he was still watching her. Without breaking eye contact, he captured the pawn she just moved. “Think about your actions, Evelyn. Hasty moves will get you into trouble.”
He was referring to the game, but the knot in her stomach told her he might be commenting on more than that. He could read her like one of those books she longed to devour from start to finish. She looked down and frowned over her new predicament. “You’ve won.” She moved her bishop anyway, knowing it was only a matter of two or three moves before he had her in check without an escape.