It's a good thing that I can work from anywhere as long as I have my phone because Riley and Peyton have not let me leave the clubhouse except to sleep ever since I told them I was staying. I can never say no to them, which I hoped I would grow out of, so I just end up doing some really random things while fielding emails, calls and annoying little text messages from colleagues and brands.
All of is a complete waste of time but I don't really have a choice but to do it. Somehow, Lexie has planned the entire wedding from start to finish in less than a month. Meaning, it is taking place in about ten days and Riley has invited her mother, step-father and her two sisters out to the wedding. Sonya doesn't know that I'm here so I imagine this is not going to go over well, I can already feel my temper rising and she's not even here yet.
Mac and I haven't exactly had much time to ourselves in the last week or so, a stolen kiss or conversation here and there but nothing else because every time I finally corner him in his office someone calls me. It's irritating the living crap out of me and there's literally nothing I can do about it.
Right now, however, I am pacing in the kitchen at the clubhouse because Sonya and Harrison will be here in less than ten minutes and I don't know how to function around the woman considering my homicidal tendencies are always at their strongest when she's in the same building as me. The problem is Riley is now conscious and I made a promise to myself a long while ago that she would never see me angry and I haven't broken that, I never plan to.
"Eva?" Mac closes the kitchen door, sealing off the excited noise in the lounge while I continue to pace. I pass him my gun and my knife without saying a word and he accepts them with a concerned glance. "Eva." He says, firmer this time, and I spin around to look at him. I know he can read me, I'm not trying to hide my anger and sadness from him especially because he already knows everything about Riley and I's past.
"I can't do this, Mac. I can't. I will kill the woman." He places my weapons down on the island and rounds it to where I am. His large hands grab my hips as I bury my face in my hands and rest my forehead on his chest. "What am I supposed to do?" I sound weak, desperately weak, but I never had to watch as that woman walked my daughter down the aisle. My baby.
He just squeezes me tighter, one of his stroking my back as I try and reign in my feral emotions that are pushing my murderous tendencies. "I don't know, Eva, I'm not sure there's much you can do without telling Riley everything."
"I can't tell her... she doesn't deserve that, not before her wedding." I sigh heavily and pull out of the hug as I hear the uproar sounding from the lounge. "They're here." He kisses my head and hands me back my weapons.
"You should keep these, you might need them." I follow him out to the lounge where Harrison and Sonya are stood, smiling down at Riley. Neither of them notice me, which I'm not surprised by, I've spent my whole life learning to be invisible and I'm not ready to be seen.
"Eva's here, too!" Riley says excitedly and I almost smash my fist through the closest wall, my temper flaring up faster than I expected. I've never been good with my emotions, I can cram them down until I'm alone which is extremely unhealthy or I'll explode on the spot. With Riley here, I only have one option, cram them down.
"Hello again, you two." I keep my voice neutral with my face blank, I can't even offer them a smile at this point. I appreciate Harrison, he's always been there for Riley and when I was at the hospital he listened to my proposals without lashing out at me. Sonya did no such thing.
"Evangeline! It's lovely to see you again, I actually have a proposal for you." Harrison bypasses everyone else and reaches his hand out to shake, I do so for Riley's sake not his. "Now that I've lost Riley, I need someone to take her place. You're perfect for it."
"I don't work for governments anymore, Mr Rae. I have my own businesses to run. Thank you for your offer though." I choose the diplomatic route even though I want to smack him just for suggesting that I come back to MI6 who treated me like crap.
"I don't see why she is needed." I meet Sonya head on, deciding not the antagonise the woman considering how quickly that can go downhill. "I'm here now, Evangeline, you can leave." Sonya's smile is dripping sugar as she speaks to me like I'm below her. I can see Peyton looking on in confusion as she watches the situation unfold, I just clear my throat and give Riley a small smile.
"I should be heading off anyway, my darling. I have a few meetings to attend." Riley opens her mouth, most likely to question the frosty dynamic but I've already left the building to escape my own broiling emotions.
I don't actually have any meetings so I drive home and throw my things onto my couch as I fly down to my basement where a singular boxing bag hangs from the ceiling. I don't wrap my hands, I don't put gloves on, I just beat the bag until it splits. Leaving my hands and forearms bruised and bloody.
It has always been the only way for me to safely exert my anger. I used to go through one a week when I was younger, my anger much more volatile, but now I go through one a month most of the time anyway.
I watch as the sand drifts onto the concrete floor, feeling more empty than mad now. "Eva!" Malcolm is here apparently, he always has bad timing. I head back upstairs, covered in sweat and blood, and he doesn't even flinch when he sees my condition. "Go and shower, I'll get the first aid kit."
He goes into the kitchen while I go to my bathroom to do as I'm told. Once I've washed all the sweat from me, I change into some casual clothes and sit opposite him in the lounge where he tends to my copious wounds. "We really need to find you a better outlet for your anger." He dabs at the cuts with alcohol and I don't flinch at the sting, at this point I'm used to it.
"Sonya is here." Is all I say, concentrating on his hands instead of the pity I know I'll see in his eyes. All of my friends know how much those three kids mean to me, even if they aren't kids anymore, and they know about Sonya's icy disposition. It's not the same with the other two, Peyton's parents have never been involved - Marie is now but she thanked me for everything I did, instead of treating me like crap - and Lucia's mother chose me to be her god-mother.
"What did she have to say?" He keeps his tone flat, probably to avoid making me worse and I sigh in frustration.
"The same as usual, this was after Rae offered me a job at MI6. He must have missed my file because it doesn't say very nice things about me."
"I will tell you the same thing I said a long time ago, you should tell Riley everything." He closes the first aid box with a definitive click and I look up at him.
"Her wedding is next week, I'm not going to destroy her relationship with her mother, no matter how fake it is." I make the same argument as I have for years, I don't want to be the bad guy here. Sonya is an expert at manipulation and she knows I wouldn't do that to Riley, putting her at a severe advantage. It would just demolish my relationship with Riley and likely cause problems with my relationship with both Peyton and Mac.
"I'm sorry, Genie. You don't deserve this... Riley is your child, you have up everything for her."
"It wasn't enough. It'll never be enough."
YOU ARE READING
Mac (Riders of Apollo #8)
Romance"Are you going to kiss me or are you just gonna stare?" As if he needed the encouragement, he slams his mouth down on mine in a frenzy, his hands moving from the counter to my thighs and pressing himself against me completely. I try and overcome hi...
