Twisted Tides (Forged Hearts #2)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

EVIE

“Only Happy When It Rains” by Garbage

I don’t know when we fell asleep, but I was fucked into unconsciousness. I’m awake at three AM, the witching hour. It is the time of night that nothing good happens, when evil is meant to be at its strongest and the supernatural run rampant, spreading lies and deceit through the remaining hours of nightfall.

I hear a crash and sit up quickly. Jameson is already out the bedroom door to investigate the disturbance. I throw on his shirt when I see him helping my drunk-as-shit brother up off the floor. The guy is piss drunk and reeks of cheap thrills taken in a dive bar bathroom stall.

I hope that I am exaggerating, but he does smell heavily of booze and sickly sweet perfume. His zipper is down and his dick is sticking out slightly and I wince, looking away just as quickly. I hope that he was trying to take a piss somewhere and it's not from anything else.

“Yikes. Commando. Agh. My eyes.” I rub at them, but some things cannot be unseen.

“Evie.” Jameson startles me from my verbal diarrhea. “Help me get him to his bed, please.”

I jump into action as I round the other side of Mateo and fling his arm around my shoulder. Jameson and I struggle but manage to bring his dead weight over to his room and attempt to lay him on his bed, but he bounces as we drop him there. He groans as if in pain.

Just wait until tomorrow. I shake the thought away with a violent shudder, remembering how that time felt and vowing never to feel that hungover again. That out of control.

“Yeah, that wasn’t fun for me either, bro.”

I tug his shoes off, and Jameson helps to remove his pants. I don’t want to see any more of my brother than I already had to this early morning, so I run over to the other side, lifting the covers as Jameson lifts his legs up and I swoop the covers from under and pull them upward and over his body.

I go t??he kitchen to grab a Gatorade and water bottle along with some pain medication. I know he will need it to help with what I am sure will be a raging headache when he finally wakes to welcome a more sobering day.

He will definitely regret this later.

After we place him on his side with a trash can in case he decides to puke, we close the door. I follow Jameson back to my room, and I swear I can still smell his scent of questionable morals lingering in a claustrophobic blanket of despair over my body.

Jameson is behind me now, waking me from my thoughts. He quickly kisses my neck, nuzzling and breathing in deeply. “Wow, he stunk,” Jameson says as he steps away from me, frowning as he sniffs his arm. “Can you still smell it?” he asks me, and I giggle, nodding.

“Right?” He grimaces. “Damn. I thought so.”

“Should we shower?” I think about it, but I am beat and want to go back to bed.

“We are getting up soon, so why bother? We can shower in a couple of hours when we have to get up anyway.”

He nods in silent agreement.

He rummages through the bathroom cabinet. “I found it.” He looks victorious as he waves my favorite lemon verbena spray and starts spraying our room and sheets with it. “There.” He puts the bottle down, sniffing the air.

“Good lord, it does smell a little better now.” He sniffs his arm again, but the overpowering fresh scent of lemon is all I can smell.

“Can we finally go back to bed now?”

It doesn’t take much to convince Jameson as he pulls the covers over his shoulder, tucks himself into me, and is asleep before his head touches the pillow.

Hearing him breathe so relaxed and deep makes me tumble into an equally deep slumber where dreams evade me and my mind is clear from the dark waves of emotions that constantly wash over me.

Emma called and asked if I wanted to join her to visit Liv. I had my reservations, but she convinced me to go. Jameson is going to drive us, since he is friends with Dax, Liv’s husband. They are going to catch up while he is home on a brief paternity leave with Liv.

I am sitting, having my morning coffee and cursing Mateo, when she pulls up to my house at around ten. Jameson says something about disinfecting some equipment before returning it to Eduardo’s club.

He walks out of the bedroom and places the garment-looking bag on the side of the couch. My face reddens looking at it and thinking about how we used most of the equipment in varying positions. I got used to feeling restrained around him, and the way Jameson fucked me like a champ all night left me pleasantly sore between my legs. I slept so soundly afterwards, until I didn’t.

The doorbell rings, and I get up to answer it. Emma is at the door and waves to someone as she enters.

“Was that Eduardo?” I close the door behind her, and she waves to Jameson, who is scrolling through his phone with his cup of coffee.

She places her mug on the table. “Yes, of course, it was. You know how he is.” She looks around and walks to the refrigerator. She opens it and she fist pumps the air. “My favorite cold brew. How did you know?”

She opens it and pours a generous serving along with my oatmilk, which is hidden off to the side and covered by Mattie’s gallon of whole milk. So infuriating. Why did I somehow miss the lactose enzyme? She places her top back on her cup and takes a long sip.

She sighs dramatically. “Absolute heaven.” She looks around. “Hey, where is Mateo?”

I shoot a glance over to Jameson, and he looks at me, then proceeds to avoid eye contact with Emma.

She stands. “What was that look for, Jameson?”

He won’t look at her. “I have no idea what you mean, Em.” He continues to scroll through his socials, and I scoff.

“Geez, at least I know you are a bad liar.” Emma focuses her attention on me. “What is it, Evie? Is our brother okay?”

“No, he isn’t okay. He was given some pretty devastating news yesterday, remember?”

Emma starts to walk over to his room, but I pull her by the hand away from the door.

“He came home so drunk last night, or rather this morning, around three AM. We had to help him to bed, and it was a sad sight. He smelled horrific, and I swear I need to burn his sheets.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic, sis.”

Jameson finally looks up and holds his hand up. “Hey, I have to agree with Eve on that. He was so saturated in booze and cheap perfume that I think it is better just to do that. In fact, I think he should bathe in more alcohol to burn the germs off. I just hope he was careful and didn’t fuck anyone without protection.”

Emma winces at the visual that Jameson painted for her.

“I told you. He was in a bad way, Em. I was going to check on him, but I honestly thought it would be better for him to sleep. He’ll need to sleep off that hellacious hangover.”

“I agree,” Jameson says.

Emma looks toward Mateo’s door and frowns in displeasure. She relents. “Okay, I guess you’re right. Let's let the guy sleep, but later, he is free game.”

I feel bad for Mateo if he has to hear her bitch at him this afternoon.

I stand, placing my now empty mug of coffee in the sink, and Jameson follows suit. He comes over to me and gives me a quick peck on the lips, pulling himself close to me and wrapping his arm around my waist before he lets go. He claps his hands together, rubbing them together.

“Are you girls ready to leave here and see a baby?”

Jameson agrees to drive us over there, and I climb into the front of his truck. Emma hops in the back, and Jameson gets in on his side, starting up the truck. I roll down my window to let some of the heat out. Jameson blasts the air conditioning, but it doesn’t feel cool until he pulls onto the interstate. The cooling seats are magnificent, as the leather doesn’t seem quite as hot as before.

My thoughts go back to last night and all the delicious things Jameson did to me. I wanted to admit I wasn’t okay, but I didn’t want to upset him. I felt better when I practiced my breathing techniques and remembered that I was in a controlled environment.

Even though I gave control to him, I never felt like I wasn't in control. He told me if I wanted to stop, we could. There were too many reassurances for me to feel anything other than safe in his arms.

I understand it is because I trust him, and the comfort level is there. I had so much therapy before, and my partners were never someone as close as Jameson is to me. We are in a relationship built on love, respect, and now trust. He knows all my secrets, fears, and, more importantly, my dreams. He wants to be a part of that, and it’s more than I could have ever hoped for in a relationship.

I smile, thinking of him coming with a roar in my ear as he nuzzles into my neck, causing a tickle there that made me squirm and laugh. If he had tickled me while I was tied up, I would have been pissed.

“What are you smiling at, Evie?”

His question pulls me from my thoughts, and I look over at him. I’m biting my nail, and I’m sure my cheeks are pink from the memory of him fucking me hard as the headboard knocked against the wall.

Oh my goodness. My poor neighbors.

“Never mind,” he says as he looks over my shoulder to merge into the other lane.

Emma chimes in. “I don’t think I want to know.”

We pull into Dax and Liv’s place, and Emma starts toward the door, while Jameson comes over to my side of the truck, where I step down onto the pavement. I look up at him as he pushes me against the truck. His erection grinds into my stomach as he bends over to kiss me. I push him away and swat at his arm.

“Stop.”

He laughs and closes the door, locking it with the key fob and adjusting his erection as Emma watches us, shaking her head with her hands lifted above her head. She knocks on the door, and Dax opens it. I’m already ahead of Jameson, and he jogs to catch up. “Hey, ladies. Liv is through that way in the room off the kitchen.”

Jameson mouths ‘Have fun,’ as I follow Emma to see Liv’s new baby, Kaden Brodie Johnson.

Liv is snuggled into a chair with baby Kaden in her arms. She stands when she sees us. She shuffles over to Emma, and Emma wraps her arms around her best friend and looks over at the little boy in her arms. She looks up to stare at me and looks over at Emma.

“Holy shit. You have a twin sister?”

Emma winces. “Yes, Liv, this is my other best friend and sister, Evie.”

Liv looks at me, and then Emma and I can sense the hurt radiating from Liv and how she never knew about me. It’s not as if Emma could have told her, but I am beginning to understand why I am here and the support Emma needs to tell her best friends the truth. It’s time for all the lies to stop.

“Liv, I am here today not only to see you and the baby but also to tell you the truth.” She bites her lip and looks over at me. I stand near Emma to give her support.

Liv nods and then points to the chair for us to sit. She settles the baby into her lap, and I put my hands out to offer to hold the baby for her.

Liv looks over at me hesitantly before handing her baby boy over to me. She crosses her feet under her and places her hand in her lap, waiting for Emma to speak.

“Liv, there is so much I want to tell you, and I have kept so much from you, but you are my best friend. It is time to tell you the truth. I can finally tell you the truth about my family and why I was so secretive. There were so many times that you asked me something, and I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t because it wasn’t safe for me to do so.”

Liv leans closer, as if the secrets will appear if she squints hard enough. Emma twists her hands in her lap, and I move side to side, trying to comfort a sleeping baby, but perhaps I’m the one who needs the soothing.

“I knew Eduardo from when we were kids, and my mother kept us apart. The reason is that his family is in the mafia.”

Liv blinks and then looks away. “Emma, I kind of already knew that. I mean, Jameson said that he went to college with Eduardo and didn’t come out and say it, but that’s what I suspected.”

Emma smiles. “Yes, you are right, but what you don’t know is that my family is, too.” This news shocks her, and her hand goes up to her mouth, stifling a gasp.

“I was on the run, Liv. I had a stalker ex-boyfriend that abused me, and he and his father killed my family. I was taken by him, held captive, and escaped when my family in Mexico came for me. I recently learned that my sister wasn’t dead and that I have a brother.”

Liv jumps off the couch and throws herself at Emma. “Oh my God, Emma. Why didn’t you tell me you were in danger?” She pulls back, and Emma is trying to hold back tears that threaten to fall from her eyes at any given moment.

“I didn’t want to put you in any danger, Liv. I thought I was doing what was the safest for you, especially since Julian was still trying to find me.”

Liv shakes her head. “Is he still after you? Are you safe now?”

Emma looks over to me. I speak maybe out of turn, but I want to give Emma a moment to recover.

“Julian is no longer a threat.” Liv audibly gulps, and I continue. “But his father is. We are handling it, but Emma brought it up at our family meeting, and here we are. She wanted to purge the secrets she’s kept from you, so I hope you will keep this to yourself?”

Liv is quick to reply. “Of course. Of course.”

I smile, satisfied that she will keep our secret. “It’s also really nice to meet you, Liv. I feel like I know you, too. I used to watch over Emma and always wanted to hang out with you guys and your other friends at the beach and club, but you know… being dead and all,” I trail off, and I swear I see her hide a smile.

”Yes, I see how that could be a problem, Evie.” She looks over at Emma, who is analyzing our interaction.

“Now you see why she hid from me and I had to keep her a secret? Troublemaker, this one.” Emma laughs, pointing a thumb in my direction. The tension in the room seems to lighten after our banter.

“So…” Liv starts. “You and Jameson, huh?” She waggles her eyebrows up and down.

Baby Kaden starts to fuss after being placed back in Liv’s arms. I snort. “Yeah, I know.”

Liv and Emma start laughing as baby Kaden begins to cry. Jameson walks in with Dax and looks over at me. “Ya know what, Evie?” he repeats my words, asking a question, although with a hint of mischief in his eyes.