*******
" If I were you, Evelyn, I would put that gun down and stand back. "
Her sickening voice traveled to my ears. I turned around to look at her dead in the eyes. She gulped and cowered a little at the direct eye contact. Keeping my eyes locked...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
My head was swimming with all the possible scenarios of how everything could have been ruined today. If they would have gotten to Ryan and the others, I would've never been able to forgive myself.
We were at Evan's apartment and it was a little over 10 at night. It was too risky to go back to Ryan's place because Jack had seen that place and he was still with Stella.
The sight of him in handcuffs standing in front of Stella shaking his head at me in warning was something that wasn't leaving my head. Why was he in handcuffs? Why did he warn me? But above all, what was Stella doing in Seattle? As far as I knew Stella, she always left all the dirty work for his men and never showed up herself, so why now?
Mia and Aiden had passed out on the couch in the rehearsal/living room. Evan had carried a very drunk Jenny inside his room and Noah and Sophia had also crashed here, in the guest room. They were all exhausted and being drunk didn't help either.
I walked inside the kitchen to see Ryan holding a glass of water and looking outside the window lost in his own thoughts. I don't know what came over me, but I just couldn't stop myself from crossing the small room and hug him from behind, burying my nose in his shirt. The fresh smell of his cologne filled my senses and I felt myself relax a little. Ryan didn't make any move to detach himself from me and instead placed a warm hand on my arm around his waist.
" I almost got everyone killed today, " I whispered slowly. I didn't even want to think about what could've happened if they would have managed to get one us. Or all of us.
Ryan turned around and without removing my arms from around his waist, silently gathered me in his arms and placed his head on top of mine. It was an innocent yet emotional hug. The kind which makes you want to just stay there forever with the warmth surrounding you like a blanket.
He didn't say anything instead just held me close and I was grateful for that. A million emotions were running through me and I didn't know what to do with them. His scent was messing up with my head. I felt safe. I felt protected. It was the best feeling in the world. That and I was falling.
I was falling for him real hard. God help me.
After what felt like an eternity, Ryan finally pulled away and I looked up into his eyes. His face looked beautiful under the moon light coming from the kitchen window. His lips had a faint hint of a smile on them and his eyes looked darker than usual.
He lifted his hand to my face and slowly moved a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. " Beautiful, " He whispered so lightly that if I hadn't been standing so close to him I wouldn't have heard it. My cheek tinted with colour and I quickly averted my eyes to the window. He chuckled softly at my reaction.
" What do we do now, Ryan? She's here in Seattle and sooner or later she will find me, " I sighed looking up at the shining stars through the window. Ryan let out a deep breath slowly and turned me to face him. " You need to stop thinking so much, Eve. We'll figure something out, stop stressing over it, " He said. " I can't stop thinking Ryan. I know what she is capable of and she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants. "
