The VIP Room: King Part 19

"Aren't you getting too old to still be jealous of mine and mom's relations.h.i.+p?"

"I'm not jealous at all; you two are just alike."

"Let's not start that again. I came by to say h.e.l.lo. It's time we started being sisters again. Twins are supposed to be close." Her hand rubbed over the baby b.u.mp that had grown in size since she had left.

"We may have been fraternal twins, but we have never been close. You made sure of that, Brooke, not me."

"Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge?"

Evie's face whitened. "It's because of you I was raped! Did you think I would ever forgive you? You had Thompson wrapped around your finger. He was the one who egged those men on when we got back to base."

"I did not."

"Don't f.u.c.king lie about it anymore, Brooke. He told Shade the truth. The dumb f.u.c.k would have done anything to make you happy. He called you when we got back to base, told you how the men were treating me. Then, when they started drinking, you told him to take his friends to my quarters. You told them I put out enough in high school that I would enjoy it." Evie was practically screaming at her.

Brooke's face didn't change expression, but Evie could see from the malicious gleam in her eyes that she was accomplis.h.i.+ng her goal of upsetting her. Brooke had always pushed her b.u.t.tons; she did it deliberately to get the reaction she wanted. Her twin was sick; that was why Evie had joined the Navy, to escape her influence when her mother had refused to see the truth.

"I was a virgin. You knew that, yet you sent those men after me."

"How was I to know you were still a virgin? You and Shade were constantly together in high school. You joined the Navy together. You, Shade and Levi. The three of you were together all the time," Brooke mocked her, the hatred she felt blazing from her eyes.

"You couldn't take it, could you, Brooke? I told you there wasn't anything between me and Shade. You knew I was in love with Levi, that we were going to get married when we got out of the service." Evie briefly closed her eyes.

The friends.h.i.+p the three had shared had been strong. Evie and Levi had been high school sweethearts. When Shade had come to their school their junior year, he and Levi had become friends. The three of them had become close, going on double dates, sharing dreams, and graduating together. Afterwards, the three of them had decided to join the Navy together.

"But it was Shade you were constantly talking to, it was his shoulder you cried on when you were raped, and it was his house you went to when you were discharged." Brooke was almost screaming at her, her face turning an ugly color of red.

"How could I go home, Brooke? You had already convinced Mom it was all my fault, that I had made those charges up. After Levi died, I had no reason to go back to Georgia, did I?"

"You're going to blame me for Levi's death, too?"

I'm not going to lose control, Evie kept telling herself over and over.

"No, that was his fault. I told him to stay away from Thompson and his friends. I warned him they wouldn't fight fair, and they didn't. Thompson sucker-punched him; his falling and hitting his head was an accident."

Evie could still remember Shade's face when he had come into her bedroom while she was staying with his mom and Penni. She had known it was bad before he had even opened his mouth. The horror of Levi's death still gave her nightmares. She had once felt she'd been the reason he had died; it had taken Shade a long time to convince her she hadn't been responsible.

When Lily had hit her head during the robbery in s.e.x Piston's shop and had nearly died, it had brought the pain of losing Levi back to both her and Shade. She had heard how violently he had reacted at the hospital and had wished she could have been there to help him as he had been there for her over the last seven years.

Evie walked across the room, raising the blinds to let the sun inside. Moving to the next window, she raised those blinds, as well, wis.h.i.+ng Brooke would just leave. However, she wouldn't leave until she came to say whatever it was she considered important enough to confront Evie with.

"What do you want, Brooke?"

"I want to make peace between us; you, me and Shade."

It dawned on Evie then exactly why Brooke was there. "Please, don't tell me you haven't given up the hope of getting Shade. For G.o.d's sake, Brooke, you're pregnant with Merrick's baby!"

"This was an accident, and one I don't intend to let affect my life. Besides, many men find women attractive when they're pregnant."

Evie stared at her sister in disgust. "How have you managed to hide your true colors from Merrick?"

"Merrick only sees the good in everyone."

"He must to be married to you. Although, the Lord knows I've tried unsuccessfully to find anything redeemable in you, so I'm not sure where he finds it."

Brooke looked down at her watch. "I need to get back to the church. I've offered to help Lily in the store this afternoon."

Evie's blood ran cold.

"Do not mess with Lily."

"I never expected Shade to end up with someone so meek and mild. She was quite a surprise. I never even expected him to be married, so it was quite a shock when she was introduced to me. Dean didn't tell Merrick because he didn't know we were sisters, which, by the way, caused me to have a lot of explaining to do to Merrick."

Evie could only imagine the fake look of innocence on Brooke's face as she had lied to her husband. Brooke had always managed to make Evie look like she was jealous and resentful of her.

"Whatever it is you're thinking of doing, I wouldn't, Brooke. Shade is never going to have anything to do with you-he hates you more than I do-and if you try to hurt Lily, you'll see a side of him you never imagined existed."

Brooke actually shuddered in antic.i.p.ation at her warning. "You really are sick!" Evie said.

For a brief moment, Brooke's face twisted into a mask of hatred. "I told you years ago he was mine, but you didn't listen to me, Evie. You turned him against me. Well, he'll see me in a whole different light now. You'll see."

"No, he won't. He loves Lily."

"For now. There isn't much I can do until after the baby is born anyway." Brooke turned toward the door. "You really need to get some furniture. I believe the church store has a few pieces sitting around." With that, Brooke sauntered out the door.

Evie wanted to slam it shut and lock it behind her. Instead, she closed it softly, not wanting to give Brooke the satisfaction of hearing Evie's anger.

She raised the windows, letting the fresh air in to relieve the room of Brooke's cloying perfume and fill the house with a faint breeze after it had been sitting empty since being broken into before Lily and Shade had gotten married.

Evie was about to pack her suitcase upstairs when she heard the roar of motors coming down the street. She didn't wait for them to come to the house; she flung the door open, running outside. Jewel and Raci jumped off the backs of the bikes they were riding on.

"Why didn't you call? We would have picked you up at the airport," Jewell complained.

"I didn't want to get you guys in trouble for missing work. I know what a slave-driver Shade can be," she teased as Shade sat watching the commotion of her greeting everyone from his bike.

"How did you know I was back? I was getting ready to call."

"I saw you when the security alarm went off," Shade stated matter-of-factly while his eyes searched her face.

"I forgot to key in the code."

"Your visitor must have distracted you." Her eyes were caught by his; he had seen on the camera and came.

"She didn't stay long."

"Who stopped by?" Jewell asked curiously.

"No one important." She had never shared any of her past with any of the women of The Last Riders, even though the men all knew because they had been her support and crutch when it had all happened.

Knowing better than to push for answers Evie wasn't going to give, they all filed inside her new home.

"So, what's first?" Raci stared around the empty room.

"The first thing is the furniture store. Want to go with me?"

Raci, Jewell and Ember all agreed to go while the men were going to head back to the clubhouse.

"You going to come by tonight?" Train slung an arm around her shoulder.

"Not tonight. I'm tired from the trip and want to get unpacked," Evie replied evasively, moving away slightly. Train's frown had her smiling. "I'll be there for work bright and early tomorrow, though, so don't worry."

"It wasn't work I was thinking about. I've missed having you around." Evie smiled at him; that was quite an admission from Train.

"I missed you guys, too," Evie admitted.

"If we're going to get this house furnished, we need to get to the store," Raci reminded her.

"I'm coming." Beth had dropped Evie's car off for her yesterday and had left the keys on the kitchen counter. Picking them up, Evie grinned at her friends.

"Let's go spend some money," the women yelled while the men groaned as everyone trailed out of the house.

Shade was the last one out the door and waited for her to lock it. "Brooke cause any problems?"

"Same old Brooke. What can I say? Shade, she's really sick. I can't believe she's my sister."

"She's not sick; she's an evil b.i.t.c.h. I wish I had known who she was married to; I would have talked Lucky out of letting Merrick take over for him."

"It's too late now. We'll just have to deal with her."

Shade turned to walk back to his bike, but Evie grabbed his arm. "Shade, she's still fixated on you. Watch out. I'm worried with Lily being around her so often."

Shade's face darkened. "I didn't want to talk to Lily about Brooke until I spoke with you first."

Evie sighed. "You're going to have to tell her everything. I understand. I don't want her hurt because you want to respect my privacy."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Lily won't talk about my past with anyone, and she of all people will understand me not wanting to talk about it."

"I'll talk to her tonight."

"The sooner, the better. I don't want to give Brooke any opportunity to damage what you and Lily have."

"If that b.i.t.c.h causes you any more problems, you tell me immediately."

"I will. I promise."

Shade gave her a brief nod before going to his bike.

The women were yelling at her to hurry, hanging out Rider's truck window. Evie smiled, rus.h.i.+ng across the gra.s.sy lawn toward them.

"It's good to be home," she told them, jumping up into the truck.

"It's about time," Jewell said, scooting over to make room. "I thought you were going to be gone a couple of weeks, not months. What kept you?"

"I needed to take care of some club business. It took longer than we thought, but now I'm back and I'm not leaving you guys again."

"Thank f.u.c.k. Guess who's cooking dinner tomorrow night for everyone?" Raci laughed.

Evie groaned. She had missed her friends, not the cooking duties.

Putting the truck in gear, she drove to the furniture store as she listened contently to the chatter around her. This was where she belonged now, surrounded by her friends and The Last Riders. She wouldn't forget that ever again.

Chapter 22.

"We've got a problem." King looked up from the computer screen at Henry's comment.

"Does it have to do with the club?"

"Yeah."

"Then it's your problem. I'm leaving in two days. The papers are signed. It's now your club, your problem." He looked back down at the computer screen.

"Fine, I'll tell Penni to f.u.c.k off. Since she's Shade's sister, I kind of figured that made you related."

"No, it doesn't," King reb.u.t.ted then gave an aggravated sigh. He owed the woman; she had watched out for Lily during their college years. "What's the problem?"

"She won't tell me; she wants to talk with you. She's waiting downstairs."

"You left her downstairs on her own with the club busy?"

"Yeah, the woman has an att.i.tude."

"What did she do to p.i.s.s you off?" King read the frustration in Henry's face.

"She offered Sherri a job as her a.s.sistant, told her she deserved better than shaking her a.s.s on a stage for a bunch of h.o.r.n.y old men."

King almost laughed but understood why Henry was upset; Sherri was their top earner, and one of Henry's personal favorites.

Getting to his feet, he went to the door. "You do know that eventually she's going to move on." King stopped when he saw the twisted expression of pain on his friend's face at his casual comment.