Chapter 4 Bloodlines and Betrayals

Evelyn's Pov

I woke up gasping for air and covered in sweat. The images from my nightmare were still burned into my mind. I could see my father’s car exploding over and over, hear Braydon screaming my name, and feel blood on my hands that wouldn’t wash off no matter how hard I scrubbed.

The room was dark and cold. I sat up, wrapped my arms around myself, and tried to remember how to breathe normally. But my chest felt tight, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

I stayed like that until the sun came up and light started filtering through the cracks in the walls. Then I got dressed and walked out to find everyone already awake and moving around like they’d been up for hours.

Braydon was sitting at a makeshift table in what used to be the dining hall. He had maps and papers spread out in front of him, and at least five other men were standing around, listening to him talk.

"We need to hit them where it hurts," Braydon said, jabbing his finger at a spot on the map. "The Shredder has a warehouse here where he keeps most of his weapons. If we can take it out, we cripple his entire operation."

"That’s suicide," one of the men said. "He’s got at least fifty guys guarding that place."

"Then we bring a hundred," Braydon said, looking up and seeing me standing in the doorway. "Morning, Eve."

"Morning," I said and walked over to sit down next to him. "What did I miss?"

"Just planning our next move," Braydon said, pushing a plate of toast toward me. "Eat something. You look terrible."

"Thanks," I said dryly but took the toast anyway because I was starving.

Gyran was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed, eyes on me. When I glanced at him, he didn’t look away. I felt my face get hot and looked back down at my plate.

"By the way, your friend Piper has been trying to reach you," Braydon said casually. "She’s called like ten times since yesterday."

My stomach twisted at the mention of Piper’s name. I pulled out my phone and saw all the missed calls and texts. They all basically said the same thing: where are you, are you okay, please call me back.

"You should call her," Braydon said. "Let her know you’re alive at least."

"Yeah, maybe," I said but put my phone back in my pocket without replying because something about those messages felt wrong and I couldn’t explain why.

The meeting broke up after a while, and the men dispersed. Braydon left to check on something outside. Suddenly, it was just me and Gyran alone in the room.

"You didn’t sleep," Gyran said. It wasn’t a question.

"How would you know?" I asked, standing up and gathering the papers on the table just to have something to do with my hands.

"Because I didn’t sleep either. I heard you moving around all night," he said, pushing off the wall and walking toward me.

"Maybe I just like moving around," I said without looking at him.

"Or maybe you’re having nightmares about things you can’t control," he said, his voice closer now.

"I’m fine," I insisted and turned to leave, but he stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

"You still dream of peace, princess," he said, his tone mocking. "You still think you can come back here, fix everything, and then run back to your perfect little life in the city."

"That’s not what I think," I said, glaring up at him.

"Then what do you think?" he challenged.

"I think there’s no peace here," I admitted. "But maybe I can make one."

He laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that made my chest hurt.

"You can’t make peace in a world built on blood," he said.

"Watch me," I snapped and tried to step around him, but he moved with me. I was trapped between him and the table.

"You’ll get yourself killed," he said, his voice dropping lower. His eyes burned into mine.

"You're not my protector, Gyran," I said, lifting my chin even though my heart was racing.

"The hell I’m not," he growled and slammed his palm against the wall beside my head. I jumped at the sound.

We stood there staring at each other. I could feel the heat coming off his body and smelled his cologne mixed with sweat, gunpowder, and something else that was just him. I hated how much I wanted to close the distance between us.

"Move," I whispered.

"Make me," he said.

For a second, I actually considered it. I could feel the tension crackling between us like electricity. Then footsteps echoed from the hallway. Gyran stepped back, and I practically ran out of the room before whoever it was could see my face, which I was sure was bright red.

I found an empty room upstairs that used to be a guest bedroom. I locked the door behind me, leaned against it, and tried to calm down but my whole body was buzzing, and I felt like I’d just run a marathon.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out expecting another text from Piper, but instead, it was from an unknown number.

The message just said, you should see this, with a video file attached.

I hesitated because unknown numbers never meant anything good, but curiosity won. I clicked on it and waited for it to load.

At first, the video was blurry and dark, and I couldn’t tell what I was looking at. Then the camera adjusted, and my entire world stopped.

It was Daniel. He was in bed with someone, their bodies tangled together. I watched him kiss her neck and run his hands down her back. I wanted to look away but couldn’t.

The camera angle shifted, and I saw her face. Everything inside me went cold, numb, and dead.

Piper.

My best friend Piper, who I’d trusted with everything, who I’d cried to about missing Daniel, and who’d sent that weird text about being careful, was in bed with my fiancé. They were laughing and touching each other, and he was looking at her the way he used to look at me.

The video kept playing. I watched Daniel say something that made Piper smile, then they kissed again, it was deep, hungry, full of want. I felt like I was going to throw up.

My hands shook so badly I almost dropped the phone. My knees buckled, and I slid down the door until I was sitting on the floor, staring at the screen even though every second felt like a knife to the chest.

How long has this been going on? Did it start before I left or after? Did everyone know except me? Was I really that stupid and blind?

The video ended, and the screen went black. I sat there in silence with tears streaming down my face but didn’t make a sound. If I started crying out loud, I didn’t think I’d ever stop.

Everything I’d left behind, everything I thought was waiting for me, and everything I believed about my life in Chicago was a lie. The two people I’d trusted most in the world had destroyed me without even having the decency to tell me to my face.