The Trouble with Evie

Chapter 7

I'd worked on my side of the wall for as long as I could in between keeping Brad at a distance. He'd called me to see if I wanted lunch made, to which I agreed.

Brad didn't say a single thing about why I was in the basement after being hysterical earlier today. I was grateful for that. I didn't need to try and explain my way out of that particular nightmare.

Returning to the basement after lunch was easy. Brad was distracted with getting his office set up before tomorrow. He had to clock on at nine am, and if he didn't, his pay would be docked. It was one of those little rules that came with working from home.

So, I continued to scrape at the mortar until dinner time. Brad bought frozen pizzas, so all he had to do was remove the packaging and put it in the oven. The man was a legend.

After dinner, I quietly returned to my duty. Curiously, there was a lot of dust on the floor. Stopping in front of the wall, I could see that Niko had done quite a lot.

"Evelyn, carefully pull the block out."

Slowly the cinder block began to move forward. When it was pushed out enough, I began to jiggle it out of the wall. Setting the block aside, I lowered to see Niko.

The space was cramped. I don't think he had a lot of area to move in.

"Hey there, did you need a little help?"

Niko jostled, moving his body lower so that he could see me. The pale face smiled, and the sharp teeth glistened in the light.

"More than a little."

"Do you think that this is enough, or do you need another brick?"

"It will be a squeeze, but I will manage. The question is, what to do beyond that?"

"Well, maybe you might want to go out and find that victim that definitely does not live in this house."

Niko smiled at me again. Filled with amusement and affection.

"My dear Evelyn, we have an agreement, and I am a man of his word. I will protect you until there is nothing left in me. I promise you of that."

"And I promise you. Now, are you going out?"

"It would be wise. While I am gone, you will need to find somewhere for me to rest during the daylight hours and ensure that your uncle does not find me."

"The attic. I think he's scared of it."

"It is just a room."

I shrugged, stepping back. Niko moved into position. First out was his head, then the broad shoulders were crammed in tight at an angle. His frame was narrow, but those shoulders proved to be a problem.