Control (Harper Security Ops #18)

Two

TWO

Ty

Weeks Later

“Thanks for your help today.”

I glanced over at my friend and coworker, Forrest, and smiled. “It was no problem. I’m glad I finished up on my other project yesterday, so I could help you out today. The timing worked out great.”

Forrest and I stepped out into the parking lot to head toward our vehicles. It was Friday, and we’d just completed the installation of a complex security system at a local business.

“It really did. I was convinced I was going to have to tell Daisy that we’d need to cancel our plans for tonight, because there was no chance that I was going to finish that system up at a reasonable time on my own,” Forrest returned.

“Do you two have big plans for this weekend?”

Forrest sent a disbelieving look my way and countered, “You’ve met Daisy, right?”

I chuckled. If there was one thing that had become abundantly clear, it was that Daisy and Forrest were made for each other. They were both adventure seekers, always looking for the next fun thing to do. “Fair enough.”

“What about you? Got anything going on this weekend?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Nothing exciting.”

“No? Not even dinner plans?”

“Nope. Evangeline is in the home stretch with studying for her CFP exam.”

“That’s right. I remember you mentioning that. When’s the test?”

Forrest and I had come to a halt in front of our vehicles. We’d both parked in the visitors’ lot and were a space away from one another.

“Next Thursday.”

“Oh, that’s not bad. Less than a week. You can celebrate next weekend, then,” he reasoned.

I nodded my agreement. “Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. We’ve barely seen each other, because she’s been putting so much time into studying. But I’m proud of her for working so hard. It’s going to be worth it in the end.”

Evangeline and I had been seeing each other for just shy of a year. While things were going well between us, there had been a shift lately. Evangeline was working so hard toward accomplishing her career goals, and the sad result was that we just didn’t have the same time together that we’d had in the beginning of our relationship. We’d only seen one another a handful of times over the last five weeks with her needing to study so much, so it was safe to say I was looking forward to her finally taking the exam in a few days. I missed her terribly.

Like everything else, though, I realized it all came down to timing. Once she got through this exam, things would settle down a bit for her, and we’d be able to get back to some semblance of normalcy.

“Take dinner.”

Forrest’s suggestion caught me off guard. “What?”

My friend shrugged. “You both have to eat, don’t you? I mean, she’s probably going to focus better on a full stomach anyway. You should surprise her. If I were in your shoes, I’d take food to her place and spend an hour with her over dinner.”

It wasn’t a bad idea. I hadn’t done anything like that over these last few weeks, and I had to imagine Evangeline would love it. Though we communicated frequently throughout the week, I hadn’t seen her since last Thursday. Surprising her would likely be a nice treat for the both of us.

“That’s a great idea, Forrest. Who knew you were such a romantic?”

He grinned. “What can I say? Daisy has made me a better man.”

That probably wasn’t difficult for her to do. Forrest was already a good man—we’d been working together for years, and he was one of the best men I knew—so it wasn’t as though Daisy had to work particularly hard to transform him. She had a great man as it was. All she did was enhance everything about him that already made him the man that he was.

Laughing, I said, “Then I’ll be sure to thank her the next time I see her.”

“Yeah, she deserves the credit. Alright, man, I’m going to get out of here. Thanks again for helping on this project today.”

I shook my head dismissively. “No problem. See you on Monday, Forrest. Have a good weekend.”

“I will. Enjoy your dinner tonight, Ty.”

As I hopped into my truck, I felt a renewed sense of excitement wash over me. It wasn’t all that I wanted, but an hour with Evangeline after not seeing her for more than a week would be better than nothing at all.

With a plan in mind, I drove home, grabbed a quick shower, and took off again. I grabbed Evangeline’s favorite meal from her favorite local restaurant and drove to her apartment.

Since she lived in the downtown Steel Ridge area, I parked in the first spot I found and walked the two city blocks to the building she lived in, taking in the sights and sounds of the town. All the shops along the road, mostly mom-and-pop shops, had one form or another of celebration—some still holding on to the last of their Halloween decorations, while most had shifted the appearance of their stores to match that of the city block decorations. It was only one day into November, the crisp fall air had been around for a few weeks now, and Steel Ridge and its residents were preparing for the upcoming holiday season.

Just as I walked up to Evangeline’s building—she lived in one of the three apartments above the flower shop—a young woman was stepping out. I held the door for her and went inside after. It felt like perfect timing, because now I’d really be able to give Evangeline a big surprise.

After a quick climb up the narrow staircase, which creaked with nearly every step, I was standing at Evangeline’s door. So much anticipation had built from the moment I left my house and picked up dinner for us. Now, I couldn’t wait to see her, to give her a hug and a kiss.

When the door opened, Evangeline’s eyes widened in shock. “Ty? What are you doing here?”

My gaze traveled down her body and back up again. She looked like she’d just gotten out of the shower. Her hair was still wet, and she wasn’t wearing anything but a satin robe that just barely covered some of my favorite parts.

For a moment, I questioned whether I’d be able to survive with just an hour of time with her that likely wouldn’t involve taking the robe off her body.

Lifting the bag with our food in it between us, I replied, “I thought you might want to break for dinner.”

She was still so stunned, her eyes darting back and forth. “Oh, um, well, I was really hoping to dive right back into my studying. I wish you would have called.”

My shoulders fell. “I promise I’m not going to stay or try to convince you to take the rest of the night off from studying. I was hoping for an hour, just to have dinner together. I’ll leave right after.”

“Ty, I?—”

“Is that the food, baby?”

At the unfamiliar masculine voice coming from inside the apartment, my body went on high alert. Evangeline moved to close the door to the point only her frame filled the open space, but I put a hand on the door and pressed firmly against it.

With barely any force necessary, I was able to open the door enough to see something that made me sick. A man I didn’t know was standing there, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans.

My mouth got dry, my stomach dropped, and my eyes darted between my girlfriend and the half-naked man in her apartment. I finally settled my gaze on her, and as I searched her face, I couldn’t quite decide if I was more hurt or angered by the situation. Based on the way I was clenching my jaw and my pulse was racing, I figured it was anger that was going to win out in this situation.

“Studying, I see?” I bit out.

“Ty, you weren’t supposed to?—”

“I wasn’t supposed to what, Evangeline? Come and surprise my girlfriend with dinner? Was I not supposed to want to do something nice for you, because you’ve been working so hard? Or was I not supposed to find out that you weren’t doing any studying, that you’ve been cheating on me, instead? What’s this about? Why wouldn’t you tell me the truth?”

Before Evangeline could bring herself to say anything, the man in her apartment approached and said, “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

My eyes cut to him. I wanted to throttle him, but I could tell with just one look at him that he was being honest. My issue was with the woman standing in front of me. “How long has this been going on?” I asked her.

Tears filled her eyes as she pressed her lips together. “I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

“You didn’t mean for me to find out at all. And that doesn’t answer my question. How long has this been going on?”

She jerked back at the harshness in my tone but couldn’t seem to be bothered to give me a response. Realizing I wasn’t going to get an answer from her, I looked at the man she’d clearly spent the day with and asked, “How long?”

He didn’t hesitate. “We’ve been seeing each other for six months now.”

“Six months? Well, then I guess you can have her. I figure, based on the fact she and I were together just under a year, you might get a few months with her before she moves on to someone else,” I told him.

Bringing my attention back to Evangeline, I shook my head and felt nothing but disgust. A whole year of my life had been invested into this woman. And though I’d tried hard and put in the effort, I had to admit there was something that felt off. But I never thought it was this. In fact, I’d chalked it up to what I was seeing happen with so many of my coworkers. It seemed they’d fallen into relationships so easily, and most of them had gotten engaged within a year of meeting. Evangeline and I had been together nearly that same time, and I hadn’t even considered buying a ring. The whole time, I had assumed it was just me giving her the time to get things worked out with her career.

Maybe that wasn’t it.

Maybe there was something else at play here.

Timing?

Divine intervention?

I’d been waiting for that thing to happen—the thing that made me know this woman was the one . But it never happened. Perhaps it was instinct.

“Ty, can I call you later so we can talk about this?”

I shook my head. “Absolutely fucking not. The time to talk would have been six months ago. We’re over. I’m done with you.”

As I turned to walk away, Evangeline reached for my wrist. “Ty, wait?—”

Yanking my hand away forcefully, I pinned my stare on her and seethed, “Don’t ever touch me again. We’re done.”

Not wasting another beat, I spun on my heels and walked away. It was easy, in theory, to recognize this was what needed to be done. I wasn’t the kind of man who could ever accept any explanation for something like this. The dishonesty, betrayal, and disloyalty were things I’d never be okay with accepting.

But that didn’t mean I didn’t feel hurt, shocked, and humiliated. It didn’t mean I wasn’t feeling like my lungs were constricting, making it difficult to breathe. That I wasn’t feeling myself break out in a cold sweat or the need to just get home and forget this had happened.

I exited the apartment building, my mind racing with dozens of thoughts and unanswered questions. Whether it was an effort to distract myself from the fact that my life had just been turned upside down or not, I didn’t know, but I found myself offering slight nods of acknowledgment or half-hearted smiles to other people walking on the sidewalk.

Anything.

I was willing to do anything to not allow the full weight of this to settle on me.

By the time I’d gotten halfway down the block, I got the distraction I needed. The sound of squealing tires filled the evening air first. My eyes shot in the direction of the sound and landed on the car that was racing down the street. Perhaps a young kid had decided to do some spirited driving to kick off the holiday season.

The closer the car got to where I was, I quickly determined it wasn’t going to end well. No sooner did I have that thought, the car swerved, spinning out of control and hitting several cars before it finally stopped.

I dropped the bag of food on the ground where I stood, looked to my left, and noted the people standing on the sidewalk, looking horrified.

“Call 911!” I ordered as I took off running toward the car.

I made it to the car and yanked open the driver’s side door to learn my assumption had been incorrect. It was not some young teen out for a wild ride. It was a woman who looked like she might have been in her late twenties, just a couple of years younger than me.

She was terrified, wide-eyed, and had blood pouring down her face from a cut above her brow. The airbag had been deployed. “Oh, God. Please help. Please help,” she begged.

I placed a hand gently on her forearm and nodded reassuringly. “You’re okay. The ambulance is on the way. Are you hurt?”

The woman was blinking rapidly, her eyes darting all around. “Is there… Was anyone?—”

“Ma’am?” I called, my voice firm. When she focused her attention on me, I asked, “Can you tell me your name?”

I needed to get this situation under control. The woman was alive, but panicked. If she had suffered injuries worse than what I could see so far, I didn’t want her to do any additional damage.

She squeezed her eyes tight and clenched her jaw as though trying, with great difficulty, to recall the answer to the question I’d asked. When she opened her eyes again, she breathed, “Alana. Alana Wolf.”

“Okay, Alana. My name is Ty. Ty Weaver. Can you tell me if you were hurt?”

She lifted her hand to the side of her head and swiped at the blood. “My head. And my foot. Oh, God, my foot isn’t right. I didn’t feel it until just now.”

“Adrenaline, probably,” I explained. “Just relax and take some deep breaths.”

I stood up, glanced over the roof of the car toward the people I’d yelled at, and confirmed they were on the phone. That’s when I felt fingers curl around my wrist and crouched down again.

“Are you okay?”

Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head, her grip on my wrist growing tighter by the second. “No. Oh, God, I was so stupid.”

Alana’s breathing grew shallow, her leg beginning to bounce. “Just breathe. Nice and slow.”

“It hurts,” she rasped.

“I know.” My eyes drifted to her feet. They were completely covered by her shoes, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t damage beneath her shoes. Returning my focus to her face, I insisted, “The ambulance should be here any minute.”

“Please don’t go,” she begged, her fingers squeezing my hand tightly.

“I’m not going anywhere. You just keep breathing, okay?”

She nodded and attempted to slow her breaths. “Should I try to get out?”

“No. No, you stay right where you are. The car isn’t on fire, so we’re not going to move you without that threat.”

Alana offered a slight nod of understanding and went back to focusing on her breathing. It was still far too fast and shallow, and her leg was still bouncing, likely the result of a racing pulse. I would have preferred she continued to talk to me to distract herself, but I didn’t mind that she wasn’t saying anything as long as she remained awake. “Was anyone else hurt?” she eventually asked, her voice strained.

Shaking my head, I answered, “No, I don’t think so. Just some property damage.”

Alana swallowed hard, and a moment later, we heard the sirens.

“See? I told you they were on the way. You’re going to be okay. Do you want me to try to take a look at your foot?”

Her face twisted with the pain she felt. “I don’t know. The pain is the worst I’ve ever felt, but I don’t do well with the sight of my own blood.”

Gently, I placed my other hand on her bouncing leg. “Then we’ll avoid that for just a few more seconds while we wait for the medics.”

“Thank you for staying with me.”

I sent a sympathetic look her way, a small, reassuring smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Alana glanced down at her feet and groaned. “Ow, it hurts so bad. I don’t think I’m okay. There’s something very, very wrong.”

The ambulance pulled up directly behind Alana’s car as she returned her attention to my face. I didn’t look away from her, wanting to give her whatever reassurances she needed as her stare lingered on me. But the next thing I knew, I not only had to lose that connection to her gaze, but I also lost the hold she’d had on my wrist. From that point forward, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

I stayed nearby as the medics worked, assessing Alana while asking her questions. Though I wasn’t needed any longer, I felt compelled to remain as close as I could until they had her out of the car and loaded into the back of the ambulance.

My eyes connected with hers one last time before the doors to the ambulance were closed. And after it pulled away, taking her to the hospital, I moved from where I was, allowing the police and tow truck driver to do their job of cleaning up the damage.

I crossed the street, picked up the bag of food I’d dropped there, and made my way to the end of the block, where I dumped the food in the garbage.

A few minutes later, I was on my way back home. And with no distractions in sight, the weight of my new reality settled heavy on my shoulders.