Chapter 38



𝔻𝕖𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕒 𝕨𝕒𝕣

Lucas POV (ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪)

There was nothing worse than a pissed off Eve. After the brutal way she destroyed those cameras, I knew never to get on her bad side.

We got to The Emerald hotel twenty minutes after we left Butman Street. A house we had thought to have belonged to Laura's mum. I couldn't just wrap my head around how Laura still managed to stay one step ahead of us. Even when we thought we'd gotten a hang of what was going on.

There was no way Laura could have known we were on to her. No way at all. Except someone close to us was feeding her information. But who could that be? I just couldn't understand what was going on. I couldn't help but think back to the very beginning of all this.

Why had Laura wanted Evelyn parents destroyed? Why had she chosen me to do the job? Even after I had refused, why had she gone to such greats lengths as kidnapping my little sister? killed her even. What exactly had the Russell's done to her?

With the little info I got from Senator Mathew's visit, Laura was supposed to be a happy suburban wife - who would have never had to work a day in her life for anything. So it baffled me as to why a woman who had no ties to the Russell's, had desperately wanted to cause them harm.

I tried to find ties between them with the help of Damien, but we had turned up with nothing. She had not been related to them at all. After a while, I stopped trying to understand her reasons, but now, my suspicion and confusion have risen again. What and why was she after Eve? Wasn't her issue with me? Or was it that she just wanted any and everyone helping me to be put down?

We rode a private elevator to our suite, a nervous Rowan looking all tensed and tauten. I could practically smell his fear but knew the guy had nothing to worry about. Eve wasn't one to kill without a reason. If she agreed to his deal, she'd stick to it.

Maybe.

The moment we walked past the threshold, I went straight for my room, my barely healed body already aching from the combat it's just undergone. Rita, Jay and Eve did the same, leaving Detective Rowan in the parlour to gawk after us. Before I shut my room door I caught Eve giving Rowan a warning glare.

I smirked. From what I've seen, the guy knew not to fuck with Eve. We all did.

I made my way to the bathroom only to be stopped by a knock on my door. Irritated at the person who was about to delay my much needed hot bath, I walked back to the door and unlocked it, only for the oval head of Jay to poke through.

"Lucas." He grunted before forcing his way through the small space I had allowed, and into my room, pushing me to the side in the process. The bastard.

"What do you want, Jay?"

He took his sweet time settling himself on the brown couch that was situated on the other side of the room. "To talk." He grounded out and I sighed.

"So talk." I gritted, my jaw clenching. It took everything in me to resist the urge of giving him a black eye. We all knew just how important Jay was to Eve.

"What game are you playing, Lucas?"

The question brought a frown to my face. "Can you please elaborate, because you aren't making an ounce of sense right now?"

"You think I don't see what you do? How you flirt with Eve? The sexual tension you create? The way you look at her?"

I folded my arms around my chest. This was getting interesting. "And how exactly do I look at her, Jay?'

"I am a man like you, Lucas. Maybe not as young anymore, but young enough to remember being a player. What are your true intentions toward Eve?"

I began walking towards him, every step a purposeful stride. "I'm sure you also remember developing feelings for a woman you shouldn't be developing feeling for - and trying to fight off the feelings even though you knew you've already failed."

Jay scoffed. "I know your kind, Lucas. You are not capable of love."

"And how did you deduce that?" I asked, eyebrows raised. I've always known from the start that Jay had a low opinion of me, but it didn't make it hurt less hearing it from him.

"Experience is always the best teacher." Jay sneered, his voice sounding distant. What exactly was he talking about because to be sincere, I was totally lost.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Jay?"

"There's just one thing I want you to be clear about. if you hurt Eve in any way, Laura would be the least of your problems." Jay stood up and began making his way to the door. What the hell just happened? Like really?

"What if she hurts me instead?" I blurted and Jay paused mid-way.

"I am counting on that." He said then walked out of the room, leaving me more perplexed than ever.

***************

After a very confusing visit from Jay, I eventually went into the bathroom, showered, dressed and made my way to the parlour in search of food. My tummy already grumbling. It needed food, and it needed it soon.

I stepped out of the room to find Eve on the phone, Rita on her laptop, and detective Rowan nowhere to be found, along with Jay. I walked over to where Rita was sitting and plopped down on the couch beside her, taking a green apple off the tray in front of me.

Taking a bite, I whispered, "I had a very strange encounter with Jay today." Rita's fingers paused on the letter M, her lashes swiftly lifting to stare at me.

"Spill." She whispered, her eyes flashing with interest. I took a peek at Eve before continuing.

"He accused me of playing games with Eve, then went ahead to threaten the shit out me."

Rita's head tipped back in a hearty laugh, her voice ringing through the room. I pinched her and scowled. She wasn't supposed to create a scene.

"Ouch," She moaned, her palm rubbing the spot I had clutched. "You know, that's just Jay being Jay. He's like that with people he loves, even me."

"Oh please," I sneered. "Does he have to be creepy to prove his point? If Damien was here now-" My mind jeered at the thought of Damien. I missed him. I missed him so damn much. The fact that he was gone was a truth my heart refused to fully acknowledge.

Rita's hand settled on my thighs and I looked up at her. "I know, I know Lu, I am so sorry. I miss him too." And for the second time since Damien died, a lone tear slipped down my cheeks. It wasn't just Damien's death that had brought that tear to my eyes, it was the fact that Rita sounded so much like Lydia, and for a moment there I wished she was alive. Wished they were all alive. My parents, my sister, Evelyn, Damien. I wished they hadn't left me in this cold hard world.

"What exactly are you guys whispering about?" I quickly turned my face to the side as Eve's voice broke through my self-pity. She didn't need to see me so broken.

Soft fingers rested on my chin, turning them towards its owner. I stared up at Eve as she studied my features. "I asked the team that went to fetch Vic to also acquire Damien's body. I know I haven't said this, Lucas, but I am truly sorry for your loss."

"The in-law?" Came the voice of Detective Rowan as he asked the question he already knew the answer to. We all turned to face him. My eyes were red and puffy and Eve's were packed with a menacing glare. Detective Rowan raised his palms high up in the air. A show of surrender. "Yep, the in-law it is."

When no one answered him he processed to ask. "What exactly happened to him, to all of you?" As I looked closely at him, I noticed the change in his appearance, freshly washed hair and glowing face. Definitely the handi-work of Jay. Who I had thought was his arc enemy.

"You'll need a chair and aspirin for that." Rita groaned beside me and I grinned. She had a way of making situations seem less grim.

Detective Rowan sat on the couch opposite us and so did Jay. Eve sat next to me. "Before we answer any of your questions, you'll need to tell us exactly how you found out about Laura."

Rowan sighed and reclined on the sit, clearly getting ready to answer Eve's question. "After the interrogation at your house, I went to the hospital, and after meeting with Jay I was more convinced than ever that there was something more going on. So, I slipped into the ward of one of the men who had survived your assault."

"Someone survived?" Eve asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." He grinned and continued. "Using unconventional methods, I interrogated him, and he told me something very interesting."

"Which was?" Jay asked, as intrigued as I was.

"He said Senator Mathew wife, Laura, had sent them. At first, I had thought it was Beatrice his recent wife, but when I heard Laura, I went digging and discovered he was once married before. I interrogated Senator Mathew before he died and he told me what happened between him and his former wife. How she left and where he met her. So I dug deeper and discovered she had once lived in Toronto."

"Why were you really pursuing the matter? What exactly was your interest in the matter?" I asked. The guy had to have a strong reason to go through all that trouble.

"Eve." He simply said and we all stared at him like he was crazy. "I figured that if I wanted to catch Eve, I would have to know who and what was hunting her. The enemy of my enemy is-"

"Another man standing in my way," Eve said and raised my Glock 18 at Rowan. How the fuck had she gotten her hands on my gun?

Rowan's eyes widened. "Chill Eve, I'm on your side." He said, voice shaking.

"Are you?" Eve sneered, pulling the gun safety off.

"Look-" Rowan began but didn't get far.

"Guys?" Rita muttered and we all turned to her. "You guys need to see this." She turned her laptop towards me and both Jay and Rowan stood up to take a peek. There was a video on the screen. Rita pressed play and within thirty seconds in, my heart almost stopped.

The video showed the team Eve had sent to go fetch Vic all tied up and blindfolded, a placard hanging from their neck and it read:

It's high time we met, Eve. Bring your minions with you.

The address was boldly written beneath it with a smiling emoji at every end.

My eyes blazed with hot magma.

I was going to kill that bitch.