Mystery Life

33

"What?" Dave says impatiently. He hadn't looked at the caller ID and so he doesn't know who it is.

"Dave?" Eve says sobbing. Immediately his irritation evaporates. He still hasn't assigned a ring tone to Eve, mostly because Eve doesn't call. He calls her.

"Eve what's wrong? Are you hurt? Is someone threatening you?" Dave demands he's feeling sick to his stomach now. He was planning to visit her that weekend.

"No, I need you, please." That's all Eve can say in between sobs before she breaks down.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I need you to go to the hotel. I'll have everything set for you, and I'll have Maria there. I don't want you alone. Does someone need to die? Do I need to call Sergio?" Dave is going crazy making plans and leaving the study and racing up to his room. He drags his bags out. He's not sure how long he'll need to be gone.

"N-no, I just need you." Eve manages to get out. "I'm scared, Dave. I haven't been this scared before." Eve's words make Dave go cold all over. He's done his best to make her independent and happy. He never wants to see her as the scared victim ever again.

"Whatever it is, I'll be there. It's just going to take me time." Never before has Dave cursed the length of time the two are apart like now. Eve has never needed him like this before.

Now Dave is second guessing his decision to let her stay in Seattle and have the time she wanted. It's been two months since he left her there. Two months of hell.

"Listen to me, Eve. Pack a bag," Eve chokes back a sob. "When you get off the phone with me, call Mark. He'll take you to the hotel. I'll have them take you to the penthouse. Maria will be waiting for you there. I don't want you alone. I'll be there as soon as I can, I swear, Eve."

"Ookay, I'm sorry, Dave for being such a bother," Eve says sadly. 

Those words make Dave angry. "Don't you ever say that again, Eve. You are not and never have been a bother. You need me, I'll be there, it's that simple. I love you, Eve."

"You're going to hate me," Eve whispers in the phone.

"Not going to happen. I love you too much. Now stop talking nonsense and start packing. I want you at the hotel in half an hour, you understand?" Actually he wants her there before, but this is the best he can do.

"Yes," Eve says and then very faintly, "I love you, Dave."

A fist to his gut, he couldn't breathe, Eve hasn't said that since she left him and went to Seattle. "I love you too, Eve. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together, understand?"

"Yes," Eve says and finally manages to stop crying. Hoping that his words are true and he's not going to hate her after all.

"I have to go so I can make arrangements to go to you, babe. I'll be seeing you in a few hours." Dave wants to make sure that she understands.

His solid tone and reassuring words help Eve pull herself together. "Okay, I'll wait for you at the hotel." She just hopes that he won't leave her after this.

Once Dave hangs up she calls Mark. He had given her his number so that she could trust the cabby that ferries her around Seattle.

Between him and George, her landlord, they make sure that she gets about Seattle and sees the sights. Or rather takes in the ambiance and feel of the places in whatever way she can. She can't stay here now, though.

She'll be going back with Dave, if he will still want her after she tells him. No, she can't think like that. Eve firmly refuses to think negatively and starts packing her clothes. The sooner she's packed, the sooner she will be with Maria.

Maria has become like a mother to her and is the only female she really knows. 

Females tend to stay away from her and she finds that she doesn't mind all that much. When females do try to get close to her, it's only to flirt with either Sergio or Dave.

Sergio visits her often to check up on her for Dave. She knows he has someone watching her from a distance. She'd never tell Dave, but she's relieved that he does.

She hadn't had to ask Sergio for a job. The day after Dave left her landlord called her down. Sergio was there and wanted to talk to her.

He'd offered her a job. She could work from home most days and only go in when they needed her there or for meetings. 

He needed her for cyber security and he hasn't had a reason to complain yet.

She had heard the whispers when she first went in. Sergio had escorted her in and then royally reamed out the entire personnel department and fired the one that refused to even consider her.

Sergio had offered her to be the head of IT but Eve had declined. She hadn't wanted to step on the toes, nor did she want the headache. Sergio had laughed at her words and agreed with her.

He also lets her input some of the more legally ambiguous materials in encrypted files. So far he hasn't regretted hiring her. And Eve hasn't regretted working for him.

Eve just finishes as she hears a knock at her door. She grabs her things and leaves.

"Mark is here? Where are you going?" George asks in concern. She had been in tears since her visit to the doctor he took her to earlier.

"To the hotel," there is only ever one hotel Eve goes to and George knows why. Dave scares the shit out of him, even more than Sergio. "Dave will be coming out to stay with me."

"Eve, what did the doctor say?" Eve had refused to tell him and only cried more every time he brought it up.

"I can't tell you yet. I have to tell Dave first." Eve says and George sees tears pooling in her eyes once more.

"Just so you tell me? I worry about you," He knows that she can take care of herself. He's seen it himself but still.

Since the day he met her he's never been bothered by the gang. Neither have the other businesses in the area. Sergio kept his promise, he let her have the neighborhood. The one time the gang made threats to her Sergio took down the whole gang.

When she tried to thank him Sergio had just brushed it off, "They were becoming a thorn in my side."

George carries her bag for her and then Mark takes it. George helps her in the taxi and watches it pull away. He suspects he knows what's wrong and hopes that Dave doesn't leave Eve because of it.