Page 40 of The Diávolos: Part Two
On cue, my cell phone rings, the loud sound of “Eye of the Tiger” echoing through my apartment. I forgot that Mickey made me change her ringtone. This is so embarrassing.
“Cute,” Evan says, and I roll my eyes.
“Hey, Mickey! Sorry, I shouldn’t be much longer. I got—euh—caught up with something.” She gives me a little speech on the importance of being punctual and confirms that I’ll have to doat leastfifty burpees to make up for my tardiness.
When I hang up the phone, I look at Evan, unimpressed. “I hope you’re happy.”
Evan grins. “I am.”
I shove him away and grab my keys off the counter.
“I’ll drive you,” he offers. “It’ll be much faster than the subway.”
“Fine,” I relent. “Let’s go.”
I step out of Evan’s car after a very tension-fueled ride, mumbling a very quick, “Thank you.” And I shut the door behind me. I scramble toward the entrance, struggling to get the door open from the harsh wind, when a strong arm grips it beforeit shuts in my face. I turn around, confused, and find Evander standing right behind me. “What—”
He jiggles my keys in front of my eyes. “You forgot these.”
I grab them and stuff them into my pocket. “Thanks,” I say stiffly, still idle at the entrance.
“Go inside, angel. It’s cold and your nose is reddening by the second,” he teases.
I don’t move. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you train, that’s what.”
I scowl at him. “This isn’t a boxing match, Evan. You can’t just come in andwatchme.”
“I can do whatever I want. Go inside, Angelica.”
I grunt in frustration like a little child and stomp inside the gym.
When I see Mickey, I contemplate how to explain why a six-foot-three, tatted crime lord is following me inside. But when her eyes meet his, she says the last thing I expect her to. “Evan! Long time, no see.”
My eyes bulge out of my head.What the hell?
“Y-you two know each other? H-how? S-since when?” I trip over my words, my head bouncing between them.
Evan cracks a little smile at my reaction. Mickey just looks amused. “I should ask you the same question!”
“I used to train here when I was younger,” Evan simply responds.
How is that possible? Evan grew up in Cebrene, not Antium. But he did mention coming to the city sometimes as a young boy. As if he sees the twenty questions flashing across my eyes, he adds, “When my uncle used to take me with him on his business trips to Anzio, Hendrick and I would come here to learn self-defense. Mickey’s old man was our teacher.”
At the mention of her father, Mickey smiles wide. “This little asshat used to drive my dad crazy,” she adds with a chuckle.
“Oh, wow. What a small world,” I murmur, still in disbelief.
“It definitely is,” Mickey agrees. “So, how do you two know each other?”
“It’s a long story,” Evan and I say in unison. I can’t help the embarrassed giggle that escapes my mouth, so I cover it with my palm. Evan smirks, something primal flashing in his gaze.
Mickey narrows her eyes at us, then I see the lightbulb flash above her head. “Oh my god! Ishethe mystery man you’ve been talking about this whole time?”
If I could walk over to her and pick up her jaw off the floor, I would. And if I could disappear in a burrow in the ground and never come out, I would, too. I can feel Evan’s stare on me, and I wish I could melt on the spot. What are the odds they’d be acquainted?Just my luck.
Evander walks over to a bench and sits, his legs a comfortable distance apart, and rests his back on the wall behind him. Then, he cracks the most self-satisfied, handsome smile I’ve ever seen.Smug asshole.
