Deal with the Devil (18+)

08| A Drink a Day Keeps the Doctor in Pay

Vibrators were first invented as a medical device to treat female mental/emotional 'hysteria' disorders.

Evelyn's p.o.v

I hung up the call and immediately slammed my phone down on the table top, trying to take in what the banker had just told me over the phone. After my missed job last night when Luca showed up, I knew I'd be late on my next payment for Hope's bills and had come to terms with it.

Although, what I hadn't come to terms with was the conversation I'd just had.

"I'm just ringing to let you know that your monthly invoice has been payed for in full and there will be no more calls until next month."

I blinked over and over, trying to make sense of what the banker was telling me over the phone. "Sorry, what are you saying? That's impossible."

"Well Miss Scott, I have all the financial information right here on the computer system. If you view the account from your own end you will see the monthly balance and how much you owe." I shuffled quickly into the kitchen and motioned to the laptop in Adam's lap, signalling him to turn it around for me. I took the laptop from his open arms and entered the passcode for my online account. Sure enough, the screen displayed that the balance owed was at zero.

But that was completely impossible. Implausible.

I had been in some serious debt not just twelve hours ago, four thousand euros short of bringing the balance to zero. There was no way I could have somehow misplaced thousands of euros and then just forgotten that I'd put them into the system last night. Sure, I'd had a few drinks before leaving the apartment last night to settle my nerves but there was no way I could have forgotten such an important thing. No fucking way. Unless-

No. No, he wouldn't and couldn't have done this.

I was brought out of my spiralling thoughts and back into the moment upon hearing noise coming from the other end of the line. Mr Rodrigues, the banker, cleared his throat and then repeated my name, asking if I was still there.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yes, I'm still here. Would it be possible for you to find the source of that payment and provide me with the name on the card?"

"That should be possible just give me one minute, please." He went silent and I heard clicking on a keyboard from the other end as he started typing in names and personal financial information. I had a sinking feeling that I knew exactly who had payed my invoice and what name would leave Mr Rodrigues' lips, and it definitely wouldn't be Miss Evelyn Scott.

There were another few ominous clicks and then his reply came through. "A Mr Lucas Waverley made the payment at 11:46pm yesterday evening."

11:46pm. Just after I'd gotten home from seeing Luca in the hotel room and complained about him wasting not only my time but also my much needed cash.

In a way I was grateful for his reimbursement, but more than that I was just plain worried about what he would really want in return. Nothing came free in this world; everything came with detrimental fine print. His knowledge of who Hope was also terrified me. This man was a cold blooded killer and now he knew where Hope was and that she was a massive, vulnerable leverage for me.

That irritating man had gone and poked right into my personal life. I gritted down on my lower teeth and swiftly thanked Mr Rodrigues before hanging up, glaring down at the kitchen counter whilst trying to wrap my head around the information. The offer Luca had made last night played fresh in my mind and I tried to ignore Adam's presence close behind me as he looked over my shoulder to see the laptop screen.