Page 67 of Knight

"Yes, of course. Why else would I?" The color in her cheeks deepens. "I’ve been talking to Knight for weeks. He invited me to his apartment, and I wanted to see him, so … I went."

"We received an anonymous tip suggesting otherwise. It claimed they witnessed a struggle, and he took you against your will."

"That's ridiculous." Eva's voice carries just the right mix of embarrassment and indignation. "I chose to go to his apartment. I chose to leave with him. Everything that's happened has been my choice."

The detective studies her face. "You seem uncomfortable, Miss Porter."

"Because this is embarrassing!" She glances toward me, then back at the screen. "You're asking me to explain …” The red in her cheeks deepens. “Privatethings."

"You understand how this looks? The timing? The circumstances?"

"I understand it looks suspicious. But how is that our fault? We didn’t arrange for someone to set off fireworks or whatever those explosions were. Knight hasn't done anything wrong." Her fingers twist together in her lap. "We're both consenting adults. What we do together is our business."

I stay just out of camera view, close enough so she can see me, but far enough away so that it doesn’t look like I don’t trust her. She's playing this perfectly—the slight awkwardness,the embarrassed glances, the way she can't quite meet the detective's eyes when certain implications arise.

"Are yousureyou're safe? That you're not being coerced into saying things you don’t want to?"

"The only thing I'm being coerced into is this conversation." She lifts her chin. "I appreciate the concern, but I’m a grown woman who is more than capable of making her own choices. I would appreciate it if you would stop trying to arrest my b-boyfriend. We weren't at the apartment when whatever happened there went down. We came out of the city to spend the weekend together. If you’ve spoken to anyone at my workplace, they can confirm that I took vacation time."

That last comment seems to be the thing that changes the detective’s attitude. He asks a few more questions, but they feel like he’s just ticking boxes, and she maintains the story.

"You did well." I shut down the laptop.

She wraps her arms around herself. "They think we're ..."

"Let them. It's safer than the truth." I focus on setting up my equipment.

The generator's steady hum fills the silence while I work. She moves around the cabin, exploring the small space. Each time she passes behind me, I catch traces of her scent. It's distracting in ways I can't afford right now.

Hours pass. The logs reveal more patterns, more breadcrumbs Victor left for me to follow. But my attention keeps splitting between the screen and Eva's presence. She's curled in one of the chairs now, watching me work with an intensity that makes my skin prickle.

When her eyes start to drift closed, I stop what I’m doing and turn to look at her.

"Go to bed."

“What about you?”

“I’m going to keep working for a while. I’ll take a nap when I’m done.”

"There's room for both of us." Her quiet words hang in the air between us, making it clear she knows what I’m doing, what I’m avoiding. "We're both adults. We’ve shared a bed once already. I’m sure we can manage it again."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Evangeline

My wordsto him are repeating on a loop inside my head, mortification a constant companion.

Did he think I was coming on to him? Oh god, did he?

“I can hear you thinking from all the way over here. Relax. Go to sleep.”

Relax? How can I relax? I just invited him to get into bed with me. What is wrong with you? Being stuck in such close proximity with one man is sending you crazy.

Every creak of the chair, every tap of his fingers against the tabletop has me tensing up, holding my breath, waiting for the moment where he closes the laptop and joins me on the bed.

My stomach growls, loud in the quiet room, adding to my embarrassment and reminding me that stress and fear aren’t actual substitutes for food.

“There are protein bars in the bag.” Knight’s voice emerges from the darkness, closer than I expected it to be.

---