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One month later
It had been a month since I last saw her, but for some reason, Vivian had been on my mind constantly. No matter what I did, I couldn't shake the thought of her.
I hadn't been with anyone else since then, something that was completely unlike me. It wasn't just lust—I had this strange urge to protect her, to keep her safe with everything I had. I had never felt that way about anyone before.
The moment she escaped the house, it was like she vanished into thin air. We tried to track her down, but every lead went cold. Even when Xander tried to trace her location, we came up with nothing. Her trail was wiped clean, like she never existed.
"What's got you so lost in thought?" a familiar voice broke through the haze.
I looked up to see my sister standing in the doorway. Evangelina and I couldn't look more different—she had our mom's bright blue eyes, while I took after our dad with brown eyes and darker features.
"What do you want?" I grumbled in a low voice.
"Geez, relax. Just passing along a message. Oliver told me to tell you to be at the warehouse at 10 PM tonight." She crossed her arms, clearly unbothered by my mood.
"Did he say why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope. Said it was 'none of my business,'" Evangelina said, rolling her eyes. She turned to leave, but stopped halfway through the door, flashing me a smile. "Oh, and I'm going out with a friend today."
"What friend?" I asked, my voice dropping an octave.
"Don't worry, it's just one of my girlfriends," she replied quickly, sensing the suspicion in my tone.
"I'll transfer some cash to your account," I said with a sigh, knowing she would need money for whatever "girl time" she had planned.
She lit up, practically bouncing over to give me a hug, planting a quick kiss on the top of my head. "Best brother ever!"
"I'm your only brother," I reminded her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, same thing," she said with a grin before heading out the door.
Evangelina always got overly excited about surprises—or money. I hadn't topped up her account in a while, not since she pulled that stunt a few months ago. She'd snuck out to a party, and I'd caught her kissing some guy. I ended up breaking a few of his ribs before dragging her home. Even though she's 23, she's still my little sister, and I'll protect her, no matter what.
As the door clicked shut behind her, I glanced at the time—7:30 PM. I had a couple of hours to kill before I needed to head out.
I stood up and walked upstairs to my room, deciding a shower would help clear my head. Once in the bathroom, I turned on the hot water and stripped down, stepping inside. The steam rose around me, the heat scalding my skin, but it dulled the stress that had been building up all day.
