Twisted Tides (Forged Hearts #2)

Chapter Nine

JAMESON

“Emergency Contact” by Pierce the Veil

I hate to say that I’ve been checking my phone frequently on the off chance that Eve has sent me a time when we will meet up. It was unexpected to hear from her after I had already told myself that I probably would never see her again after that one amazing evening together. I reluctantly watched her leave and immediately regretted letting her turn that corner and walk away. Still, it’s been weeks, and I haven’t heard from her after that last text message via the dating app, so maybe she had a change of heart.

My phone rings, and I look down at the name flashing across the screen. Eduardo. I quickly think of all the reasons he may want to talk to me, and all the reasons involve Emma. With her on my mind, I hit the answer button without a second thought.

The traffic was brutal, so finally an hour later, I am pulling into the rear parking lot outside of Eduardo’s nightclub, The Viceroy, as I was instructed to do. He’d said he needed to talk to me about Emma’s safety, so I’d left before we even hung up to see what he needed from me.

I’m escorted through Eduardo’s office door and notice two security guards present. I know one is Philip, who is responsible for following Emma and driving her places. The other is staring at him with disconcertment.

“Jameson, good to see you, brother. I am glad you were able to get here so soon. Like I said earlier, it’s important.” He sits forward in his chair. “Eli, I’ll call you when we are done with Philip.”

The door to his office closes, and I hear footsteps retreating from the entryway. I eye him skeptically, wondering where he is going with this. “You mentioned safety and Emma’s name in the same sentence, which is why I am here so fast,” I clarify. It makes him furious as fuck, and I wonder why I even said that. It’s not as if I am in love with his girlfriend, but I feel a strong connection to her—one that I can’t explain.

“Right,” he says with as much indifference as the guy can muster, but I notice the tic of his jaw and the clenching of his teeth holding him back from saying what he wants to.

He gets up from his desk and moves to the front, bracing his hands against the front of the desk and kicking his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles, appearing aloof and unaffected. I know that move is one of power and intimidation, but he is my frat brother—I’ve also cleaned his puke out of the backseat of my car.

I cock one eyebrow upward, urging him to get on with it. He nods in understanding.

“Jameson, I called you here because you care about Emma, and we need your help. What I am about to disclose to you is to stay between us in this room and no one else. It is about her safety, and I can’t jeopardize that.”

I sit up immediately, interest piqued as I look between the security guards and Eduardo. He waits to hear me verbalize my understanding.

“I understand,” I inform him as I sit in my chair, waiting for more details. “What can I do to help? Is she in trouble?”

He hesitates, biting his bottom lip before he responds. “I don’t know the history between you two…” He pauses, and I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. He wants me to tell him without drawing inaccurate conclusions. That fucker.

“Yeah,” he continues, “I have known Emma for most of my life.”

I must look confused because he tells me that their families were business associates and they recently reconnected. He tells me about her abusive relationship with a man named Julian and then about her parents’ death and twin sister.

My head shoots up. “Twin sister?”

He nods. “She had a twin sister named Evie, her best friend. She misses her terribly and blames herself for their deaths.”

I take this in and slump a little in my chair, letting my hand rub up and down on my pant legs. The rage inside is palpable.

I stand up. “He is still after her? He was here tonight?”

He nods in confirmation. That’s all I need to know. I already know that I will help him however he needs me to.

“I need your help looking at the security feed to see if I missed anything, and I also need you to wipe it a little bit or just a certain section of it.”

My confusion is evident as he continues to explain the reasoning. “Well, since you installed it, you know more about the system than anyone else would, right?”

I nod, confirming that he isn’t wrong. “Um… why do you need it wiped?”

His smile is one of a criminal thug at his finest. He looks over to Philip then to me, and he says, “Philip here has to die, and I don’t want there to be any evidence.”

Okay, that is not what I imagined he was going to say, and I can’t be an accomplice to murder. Can I? I am just contemplating Philip’s murder, and he must notice because he snorts, breaking my concentration.

“You’re fucking joking, right?” Because now I think they are fucking with me.

“Mostly,” Eduardo counters. Seeing my ethos winning the internal war that wages on my morals, he rolls his eyes, putting me out of my misery. “I need it to look like I killed Philip, but he will stay hidden and keep an eye on Emma—from the shadows,” he clarifies, rolling his eyes.

“With everyone thinking that he is dead, that will give him the upper hand so he can go unnoticed. People won’t suspect he is secretly watching out for the person giving Julian information if he is considered dead. We need to find out who that is before they lead him to her and he gets to Emma.”

I glance over at Phil and then back at Eduardo before quickly responding, “Okay, I’m in.”

After Philip is presumed dead and I wipe the surveillance feed, Eduardo invites me back to his office for another chat. He is more direct this time. “I want to know what happened between you and Emma. I know that you have feelings for her.”

I sense the struggle between wanting to know and knowing he may not want to know about his girlfriend. He is staring at me as he blows a long breath and visibly tenses.

I look up at him, running my hand through my hair. “Nothing.” He waits patiently as I find the words to describe it. “We met on Padre Island during spring break. That’s when Dax met Liv. He was a patient in the ER and we all met up at the beach the next day. We shared a moment, but then she came here. And she saw you. I don’t know.”

His breathing has increased, and I can sense that he thinks I fucked his girlfriend. I decide to put him out of his misery. His fist clenches and unclenches on the desk, and I know he will lose it very soon if I don’t clarify. There were times when his volatile temper got the better of him in college.

“A moment?” He tilts his head and glares at me. “Did you fuck my girlfriend?” And there it is. His voice is laced with barely controlled anger. He finally asked me what he really wants to know.

“No,” I reply without hesitation, meeting his glare so that he understands that it is the truth. “We had an awkward kiss, and that is it. I think Dax and Liv thought there was more between us, and I wanted there to be, but now she is with you.”

He steps away from the desk, rubbing his face. “Awkward kiss?” he questions, wanting to know every fucking detail. Why does he want to torture himself with all of this?

I rub the back of my neck, trying to explain the kiss we shared in the least embarrassing way. “Yes, bro. Awkward as fuck. It felt like I was kissing my sister, despite being super attracted to her.” He snorts. “I can’t explain it, but I feel super protective of her, too, but not in a romantic way.”

He smiles. “Okay, sister fucker.”

We laugh.

“Nice, bro. Thanks.” And that breaks the ice a little. “You have nothing to worry about. I care about Emma, but if she is happy with you, I just want her to be happy.” I shrug noncommittally.

He stands and clasps my shoulder. “I’m glad to hear that. Now, I need your help with a tracker for Emma.”

“Unbelievable,” I mutter as I walk through my door a little after midnight. The things that motherfucker roped me into doing tonight. “Only slightly illegal,” I loudly mock Eduardo’s tone.

In need of some alcohol, I turn on the lights and head to the fridge to grab a beer when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take a long swig and look at the message. I swear, if he needs one more thing, I will lose it.

I hit the button and see that it’s definitely not from Eduardo. I smile, seeing that it’s from Eve. I almost drop my phone, thinking about seeing her and the excitement that elicits.

Eve

Can I come over?

Those four words make my heart race in excitement. I stare at the phone in wonderment. It’s as if she knew the exact moment I got home.

I take my beer, walk over to my balcony, open the slider, and walk out. I stand there looking over the street, wondering where she is. I take another swig of my beer, wondering what to tell her. I’ll be damned if I am going to turn down her request to come over tonight. She reached out, so who am I to deny her?

I shrug the doubt away and decide to respond sooner rather than later, having been so anxious to hear back from her in the past weeks. I don’t want her to disappear again, but I don’t want her to think she can just come and go. Reluctantly, I need to know, so I text her back.

Jameson

I didn’t think you were going to reach out. It’s been a while.

I immediately hit send, then regret doing it. What am I doing? A sexy woman wants to come over to my house, and I’m guilt-tripping her for leaving me hanging for weeks. I groan and hope that I didn’t just ruin everything. Minutes go by, and I swear that I fucked up royally. Why couldn’t I have just said, ‘Hell yes.’

Eve

I was away but reached out as soon as I was free. Is that a no?

I don’t want there to be any more confusion. I want her. I wanted her yesterday, and surprisingly, I want her for my future. So, I respond as directly as possible to prevent any other confusion.

Jameson

That’s a fuck yes. Come.

I laugh at the double entendre in that sentence. God, what I wouldn’t give to have her come over and over on my tongue and around my cock as I thrust into her. I rub my aching dick as it pushes against the tight confines of my denim jeans, trying to alleviate the throbbing, and needing a release.

Eve

I’ll be there as soon as I can. Leave the door open and the lights off. Be a good boy and wait for me naked in your room.

Don’t touch yourself. That’s my job ;)

My body thrums with excitement as I read her message and then re-read it to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Eve that night was a woman who knew what she wanted, and I was turned on as fuck as she rode my face. Her take-charge attitude was a complete turn-on, and I loved every second.

I groan, thinking about that night and wondering what tonight holds for us, and with that, I take a quick shower. Stepping out of the fastest shower I have ever taken, I throw a towel around my waist, unlock the door just as she instructed, pick up my beer from the table, and finish the rest. I shut off the lights and head into my bedroom, stripping off my towel just as I step into the room.

Whenever a woman tells you to wait for her naked and in bed, it’s best if you just oblige.