Page 19 of Righteous Enforcer
Even terrified, she's beautiful.
Even lying to me for years, she's the only woman who's ever made me feel anything but numb.
I hate her for it.
"You know, you don’t need to come up with this elaborate tale. If you didn't want me, all you had to do was tell me you didn't love me. I would have let you go."
I’m not sure that’s true. Would I have truly let her walk away if she'd asked? I'll never know now.
"People say I'm cruel," I continue, taking a step closer, close enough to smell the faint scent of something sweet on the child. A cookie, maybe. "They say I'm a monster. And I’m sure they’re right. But how fucking cruel were you, Eva, to let me believe you were dead? To let me mourn you? To visit your empty grave and bring you flowers while you were out there, alive, fucking?—"
I cut myself off, unable to articulate the fact that she left and found comfort in the arms of another man.
"I loved you." Fuck. I didn’t want to say that. I hate the vulnerability in my voice, hate that after everything, she still has this power over me. "I would have done anything for you."
Eva's eyes shine with tears, but for all I know, it’s an act.
Maybe everything about us was an act.
The child watches me, and I hate that she probably thinks I’m a monster too.
"Leaving you was the hardest decision I've ever had to make," Eva says. "I never wanted?—"
"Spare me. You make it sound like you actually loved me."
Her eyes flash with hurt, but I'm beyond caring.
Four years of grief have hardened whatever softness once existed in me.
"Clearly, it didn't take you long to move on," I say, gesturing to the little girl watching me with wary eyes. "Were you already fucking him? Did he help you escape the Dante family and fake your death?”
The child burrows her face in Eva’s neck, as if she’s trying to hide from me.
Any guilt I feel is for that.
For scaring the child.
But it’s Eva’s fault.
Eva's arm tightens around her protectively, her expression shifting from vulnerability to a cool glare.
"Where's her father?" I demand, ignoring the twisting sensation in my gut. "Does he know you’re on the run? Or did he bail when things got difficult?"
Eva's face goes completely blank in an expression of someone who's mastered hiding their thoughts and feelings.
"He's not in the picture," she says flatly.
"So, what happened to him?" I press, moving closer until only inches separate us. "Did you fake your death for him too? Let him grieve for you like I did, or was I the only one who got that honor?"
Eva's eyes harden. "I told you, he's not in the picture. He never was."
The alley grows quiet except for distant sirens. I don’t think they’re coming here, but it’s stupid to linger.
"We need to go. Now."
Eva hesitates, clearly weighing her options. I can see the calculations behind her eyes.
Trust the man she betrayed or face the Bratva alone.
