Follow him this evening and see where he goes.
Dugan’s reply was immediate.
Already done. He left work at two forty. I’ve been behind the Toyota since.
Lucian frowned. If Dugan was texting, he was parked.
Where are you now?
The reply took longer than usual and before he read the message, his sour stomach already guessed
the answer.
Knights Boulevard. She just got home from work.
“Son of a bitch!” Lucian cursed and stood. His hand shook as he texted Dugan back.
Stay there.
He went to his call log and dialed Evelyn’s number. The call went to voice mail. Shoving his arms
into his jacket, he dialed again. Voice mail. “Evelyn, it’s Lucian. Call me as soon as you get this.”
He marched past Seth’s desk and jabbed his thumb into the elevator call button. “I’m going out.”
As he rode the elevator to the ground floor, he seethed with each call to her voice mail. Why wasn’t
she answering? Why was that guy back at her place?
He exited the elevator in the cool shade of the underground garage. His keys filled his fingers as his
thumb tightened on the fob. The chant of his Mercedes unlocking in the distance was followed by the
purr of the automatic start. Folding his body, he slid into the buttery bucket seat and threw the car into gear.
Cutting his turns tight, he belted onto the main road and dug in the console for his shades. It was in
the low seventies, so he pressed the control on the dash and the soft top lowered, tucking itself neatly into the compartment above the trunk.
The car sped out of the congested traffic and took back roads toward West Folsom. Sure enough,
when he spotted the limo on the corner of Knights Boulevard, the Toyota was only a few spots ahead,
parked.
He peeled into the spot, shoving forward the gearshift just before his bumper went into the Toyota’s
ass. Jumping out of the car, he pocketed his keys and ignored Dugan’s raised, bushy brow. Enough was
enough.
Yes, she was allowed to have friends. Yes, she was allowed to have a life aside from him, no matter
how much it made him crazy. Yes, she was entitled to her privacy. But this guy was in her fucking
home, her home that consisted of a small cramped space dominated by a kiddie table and a bed. A line had been crossed. She wanted equality . . . He knew she’d never accept the situation if the shoe was on the other foot.
Part XI
Evelyn
Chapter 13
The Stresses of Entertaining
Evelyn was nervous, which was a major distraction. “Can I get you something to drink? I have milk,
water, iced tea, or apple juice.” She sounded like a moron. Certain words didn’t fit in her vocabulary, too awkward in comparison to the life she had and the way she attempted to live now.
Jason settled into the chair at the table and sifted through his bag. “Iced tea would be nice.”
With shaky hands she twisted the ice trays and plopped two cubes in a glass. Jason knew a little
about her background, but she didn’t want to volunteer too much. The last thing she wanted was to
appear illiterate and uncultured. He’d already discovered how little she could read, so she gave him her favorite glass in hopes that it compensated for some level of sophistication. Smart people usually
had nicer things.
Settling into the chair next to him, she slid him the beverage. He sipped it and thanked her. “How
did you make out yesterday?”
Her hands slid the paperwork in front of him and she waited anxiously. Most of the stuff she had to
go through at work whenever there was a lull in shoppers. Luckily, Nick was there to answer any
questions and Mr. Gerhard was surprisingly quiet today, not getting on her back over every little thing like he usually did.
“Um, it was okay. I think I understood most of it. I didn’t get very far. Oh, before I forget . . .” She reached into her pocket and removed the envelope of cash.
Jason took it and smiled. “Thanks. It’s a lot easier for me to deal in cash with things like this. I
appreciate it.”
“Thank you. I’m glad I found you. That’s only two thousand. When you need more let me know.”
His eyes bulged. “Uh, Evelyn, most people pay me by the hour.”
She knew that, but she was so afraid he’d get frustrated and quit on her that she wanted to pay him
in advance. “Well, consider your first twenty hours handled. We already used four of them anyway.”
He shook his head. “Then let’s get to work.”
There was a sharp knock on the door and she frowned. “I’m sorry, let me see who that is. The
people in the office downstairs said my electric bill would be in soon. That’s probably them dropping
it off.”
“Not a problem. I’ll look over this stuff.”
She stood and quickly rushed down the steps and unlatched the door. She came up short when she