Chapter15
1177 Words
Adrian
By the time we reached the apartment, the parking lot was mostly empty. Light spilled from our living room windows despite the hour.
Of course it did.
Evangeline noticed too. “Are they still awake?”
“Mason considers sleep a personal attack.”
That earned the faintest trace of a smile.
It was enough to loosen something in my chest.
I parked, but before I could get out, Evangeline spoke again.
“Adrian.”
My hand paused on the door handle.
“Thank you.”
“You already said that.”
“I know.”
She looked down at her hands, then back at me.
“I wanted to say it again.”
There was no apology in her voice this time.
I inclined my head, because anything more would have been dangerous.
We crossed the lot together. Evangeline rubbed her arms against the cold, her jacket too thin to do much against the night air, and I nearly removed my own before remembering she had objected the last time Mason attempted to put one around her without asking.
Humans were particular about such things.
I settled for opening the building door.
The moment we entered the apartment, Moose came charging down the hallway.
His claws skidded against the floor as he rounded the corner, tail striking the wall hard enough to rattle a framed print. He ignored me completely and launched himself at Evangeline.
“Moose.”
She barely had time to brace before he pressed his full weight against her legs. His nose moved over her hands, her clothes, and the exposed skin at her waist. When she bent to pet him, he pushed his head beneath her palms and whined.
“I’m okay,” she murmured.
The dog continued inspecting her as though he intended to verify that personally.
Mason stood near the couch in sweatpants and a Ravenwood hockey shirt. His hair was disordered, and the bowl of cereal in his hand had gone soggy at least an hour ago. Oliver occupied the armchair with a book open in front of him.
He had not turned the page since we entered.
Mason looked between us. “Everything okay?”
“Yes,” Evangeline said.
“No,” I said at the same time.
The apartment went still.
Evangeline straightened. “Adrian.”
“He wouldn’t leave her alone.”
Mason set the bowl down.
The easy humor vanished from his face so completely that Evangeline took a small step back.
“What?”
“It’s handled,” I said.
“That wasn’t my question.”
Oliver closed his book.
The sound was quiet, but it carried through the room.
“Did he touch you?”
Evangeline looked at him.
Moose pressed more firmly against her legs.
She nodded.
Mason’s expression changed again. There was no visible anger, no raised voice or clenched fist. Somehow, the absence of those things made him look more dangerous.
“Name.”
Evangeline stared at him. “What?”
“His name.”
“Mason,” I warned.
He ignored me. “What was his name?”
“Jasper.”
Oliver already had his phone in his hand.
“No,” I said.
Mason turned toward me. “No?”
“I handled it.”
“You told him to stop?”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“And then he stopped.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed. “That’s it?”
“That is all that was required.”
“I can think of several additional requirements.”
“So can I.” Oliver’s attention remained on his phone. “There are fourteen Jaspers enrolled at Ravenwood. Three are upperclassmen.”
Evangeline looked between them with growing alarm. “You don’t need to find him.”
“We’re not finding him,” Mason said.
Oliver glanced up.
Mason corrected himself. “We’re identifying him.”
“That sounds like finding him.”
“It’s completely different.”
“It is not,” I said.
Mason crossed his arms. “You’re only saying that because you already got to threaten him.”
“I did not threaten him.”
“You used the voice.”
Evangeline looked at me. “What voice?”
“No voice.”
“The terrifying captain voice,” Mason explained. “The one that makes freshmen reconsider their major.”
“I spoke normally.”
Oliver tilted his head. “You did fracture a locker once.”
“It was poorly constructed.”
“It was metal.”
“Cheap metal.”
Evangeline’s mouth twitched.
The tension in the room eased by a fraction.
Mason noticed. His attention returned to her, softer now. “Are you actually okay?”
“I think so.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only one I have right now.”
He studied her for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”
No pressure. No demand for details.
Just acceptance.
Moose gave another low whine and leaned harder against her. Evangeline scratched behind his ears.
“He knew something was wrong the second we came in,” she said.
“Moose is very emotionally intelligent,” Mason said.
Oliver looked at the dog, who was currently attempting to wedge his head beneath Evangeline’s shirt.
“He ate a dryer sheet yesterday.”
“He contains multitudes.”
Evangeline laughed.
The sound was quiet and tired, but real.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, the Claim stirred at the sound, pleased that she was safe, surrounded by people who would protect her.
Ours.
I rejected the thought immediately.
Mine had been bad enough.
Ours was worse.
Evangeline yawned and covered her mouth with one hand.
Mason pointed toward the hallway. “Bed.”
“I’m not five.”
“You look five.”
“I look tired.”
“You look tiny.”
“I am average height.”
“For a garden gnome.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I take back every nice thing I’ve ever said about you.”
“You’ve said nice things about me?”
“No.”
“That tracks.”
Oliver returned his attention to his book, though I noticed he left his phone face down on the table rather than putting it away.
Evangeline looked at me once before heading toward the bedroom we shared.
“Good night.”
“Good night,” Mason and Oliver replied.
I waited until she disappeared down the hallway before turning to Oliver.
“Delete the search.”
“I wasn’t going to do anything.”
“Delete it.”
He held my gaze for a moment before clearing the screen.
Mason waited until Oliver set the phone down.
“What happened?”
I told them.
Not everything.
I did not describe the rhythm of Evangeline’s heartbeat or the precise placement of Jasper’s fingers. I did not tell them how close I had come to breaking him. I gave them only what was necessary.
By the time I finished, Mason had stopped pacing.
That was rarely a positive sign.
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