Eve's Wrath

by Linda Verji

  I need to get out of here, Eve thought frantically. In here she was at the mercy of these rogue cops, but if she was on the outside, she had options. I need to get out of here. She snuck a glance at the door. Maybe it was open.

  Nah! She immediately nixed that idea. Even these idiots weren’t dumb enough to leave it open. What she needed to do was to find someone to either sneak her out of this place or give her a phone.

  The Latino cop who’d pulled her away from Peralta had seemed friendly. Maybe she could convince him to lend her his phone. She glanced up at the surveillance camera but noted that it still wasn’t on. Damn it! How was she supposed to attract their attention if they weren’t watching her? She thought over it for a minute before a bulb lit up in her brain. Standing up, she grabbed her seat again and started towards the door. Her plan was to smash the chair against the door and hope someone heard her and decided to check up on her.

  She’d just lifted the chair and was about to swing it when the lock snapped and the door flew open. It was the Latino cop.

  “What the hell?” he exclaimed when he saw her standing there with a raised chair. He backed up several steps. “Put it down. Put it down.”

  “Fine. Fine.” Eve took a few steps back then set the seat on the floor.

  “Were you planning to hit me?” the cop demanded.

  She shrugged. “Maybe.”

  The look he gave her was both nervous and disbelieving. Shaking his head, he ordered, “Sit down.”

  Eve sat down, but as she did, she watched him, wondering how to broach the subject of him letting her go. She asked, “Where’s Martin?”

  “Martin?” The cop looked confused for a second before it hit him. “Oh… you mean the captain?”

  Eve nodded.

  “He had to go to hospital,” the cop explained. “You got him good.”

  Though the cop kept a blank face, Eve could’ve sworn that she saw a glint of amusement in his eyes. That amusement was encouraging. Maybe he didn’t approve of what his captain had done. That would make it easier to convince him to help her out.

  However, before Eve could make a move, he pulled a phone from his jacket. “Someone wants to speak to you.”

  Taken aback, she asked, “Someone who?”

  “Give me a second.” The cop scrolled through his phone then dialed a number. His eyes on Eve, he waited silently for whoever he was calling to pick up. Moments later, he spoke into the phone, “Yes, she’s here… okay.” He took the phone off his ear and held it out to Eve. “It’s for you.”

  “Who is it?” Eve asked as she took the phone. Instead of answering, he left the room. With a frown, she put the phone to her ear and said, “Hello?”

  “Eve!” Sharon’s voice came over the line.

  The moment Eve heard that witch’s voice the anger that she thought had faded leapt up like a wildfire. Her first instinct was to cuss the woman out but before she could even get out a word out, Sharon rushed in with a panicked, “I’m so sorry.”

  The apology was so out of left field that Eve jerked her head back in shock. “Huh?”

  “I’m so sorry, Eve. I didn’t mean for this to happen,” the older woman said. “You know how stressed I’ve been lately because of La Belle. I must’ve been mad when I asked Martin to ask you for those videos. I certainly didn’t expect for him to get so enthusiastic. Did he hurt you?”

  This conversation was so surreal that Eve had to take the phone off her ear so she could check the screen and make sure she was talking to Sharon. Unfortunately, the number on the screen was hidden. But that voice had definitely been Sharon’s. Still, Eve found it hard to believe. Surely, it was another Sharon Welling. The Sharon Welling she knew would never apologize so profusely to someone she considered less than a slave.

  Just to confirm it again, Eve pressed the phone back to her ear then tentatively tried, “Sharon?”

  “Yes?”

  “This is you, right?”

  “Of course, it’s me.” Sharon actually sounded worried as she asked, “Are you okay?”

  Eve paused to gather her thoughts before saying, “Let me get this right. You’re asking me if I’m okay after sending your goons after me, right?”

  “It was a mistake. A big mistake,” Sharon insisted. “It won’t happen again. Just don’t tell Carter about it, okay? Don’t tell Carter.”

  Ah! So that’s who all this was about? Carter. But Eve was still confused. She was in here with no access to the outer world. Why would Sharon be worried about Carter finding out what had happened in here? If she was in Sharon’s position, she’d be using this opportunity to threaten death if she didn’t get the video files. Sharon was behaving very, very strangely.

  “I’ll step back,” Sharon promised rashly. “I’ll stop everything. I’ll accept everything. No one will come after you again. Just don’t tell Carter. I’ve already lost La Belle. I can’t lose him too.”

  Though Eve didn’t understand why the tables had turned so quickly, she wasn’t foolish enough not to take advantage of the situation. “You sent thugs to drag me out of my house at midnight. You kept me here all night, and to top it all off, your bulldog assaulted me. After all that, why would I listen to anything you have to say? Trust me, the moment I’m out of here, Carter’s my first stop.”

  “No, no. You can’t do that.” Her voice shaky, Sharon threatened, “If you do, then I’m going straight to your father.”

  “Go to him,” Eve dared her. “Let’s see who’ll get hurt more after we’re both done spilling our guts.”

  Though Sharon didn’t speak, her heavy breathing left enough evidence of her fear, and Eve reveled in it. Humans were interesting creatures. Sharon had always been shockingly brazen. The law was just a suggestion to her and the people around her were pawns she was flicking around on her chess board.

  People like her weren’t supposed to be capable of love. They weren’t supposed to have an Achilles heel. But Sharon did. Carter. She was so invested in keeping up the pretense of being his kind, righteous mother that the thought of him seeing her true colors was enough to bring her to her knees. She loved him that much.

  How touching! Eve held back a snort.

  “Okay, okay.” Sharon put on her best negotiation tone. “Why don’t we meet tomorrow? Maybe I can sign something saying that I’m consensually giving up La Belle.”

  Interesting idea! Signing an agreement would definitely make it harder if not impossible for her to get La Belle back. Was Sharon really that desperate? Eve asked, “How do I know that you won’t just sign the agreement then decide that your signature was forged or that you were coerced?”

  “We can sign it on video,” Sharon offered. “You’re good at those, right?”

  Eve detected the shade in the last statement but ignored it. This opportunity was too good for her to waste time sweating over the small stuff. She demanded, “So if I bring you an agreement you’ll sign it?”

  “Yes, bring it tomorrow,” the older woman suggested. “We can meet at-”

  “Hold up!” Eve cut her off. “I decide when and where we’ll meet.” She paused a beat then said, “I’ll call and let you know.”

  “Okay, great. I’ll be waiting.” The like a broken record, Sharon repeated, “Just don’t tell Carter.”

  Eve didn’t say anything. She just hung up.

  Minutes later, the Latino cop came in and told her that she was free to go. It was only when she emerged in the waiting room that she finally understood why Sharon was so desperate to get her to shut her mouth.

  Carter was in the waiting room. And unlike the other two civilians who were there with him, he wasn’t waiting quietly.

  “Where is she?” Carter asked the uniformed police-officer behind the information desk. Though he wasn’t yelling, his tight tone and the threatening way he was glaring left no doubt that he was furious. “Where is my wife?”

  “Sir, if you don’t calm down, we’ll have to arrest you,” the officer threatened.

  “Th
en arrest me.” Carter looked like he was about to jump over the counter and shake the truth out of the man. “But before you do that, you better bring my wife out first. Where is she?”

  “Sir, I told you,” the officer said, “we have no record of her arrest.”

  “Well then there’s something wrong with your records because everyone saw you people bring her in.” Carter bit out, “Find her.”

  The officer heaved a frustrated breath. “Sir, I told you-”

  “Carter,” Eve cut in before the situation could escalate.

  As soon as Carter heard her voice, he turned around. Relief filled his features and voice as he started towards her. “Eve!”

  “Carter, what are you doi…” Her voice got muffled in his chest when he dragged right into his arms.

  “Christ! I was worried about you.” His arms tightened around her upper back and he hugged her tightly.

  It would’ve been a lie to say that Eve wasn’t glad to see him. It would’ve been an even bigger lie to claim that she hated having his arms around her right now. She’d missed him so much that she forgot her vow to keep away from him. Her arms instinctively lifted to surround his waist.

  Carter was like a human shield. His strong arms held her close telling her without words that he was here now and she was safe. He didn’t know it, but his presence in this precinct was most definitely the reason why they’d let her go without hurting her further. Relief and gratitude swooped in, urging her to melt into him. And she did. Her breathing slowed and every muscle in her body lost its tension as she leaned into him.

  “Are you okay?” He slowly pulled away to look at her face. “What hap-” Suddenly, he stopped speaking. His gaze widened as it swept over her features. Shock was soon replaced by anger and it seeped into his voice as he demanded, “Did they hit you?”

  “Huh?” Eve was shocked that he knew. But a second later, the throbbing in her now swollen upper-cheek poked at her. Instinctively, she covered that side of her face with her palm.

  “Did they-” Carter spun around to face the information desk. The uniformed officer had now been joined by another officer and they were watching the couple. Carter’s furious gaze zeroed in on them. “Did you people hit her?” His voice rose to a yell. “Who did it? Who hit her?”

  Eve had never seen Carter so furious before. His face was a mask of fury and his hands were curled in a fist. When he started to walk, she grabbed his upper arm with both her hands. Instinct told her that he was going to do something crazy.

  “Carter, no.” She dragged him backwards.

  Even though he stopped walking his furious eyes were still on the two officers at the information desk. He demanded, “Who hit her?”

  Neither answered but they traded anxious looks. Even the two civilians who were seated on the bench beside the desk looked nervous.

  “I asked you hit her,” Carter yelled. When no one answered, he turned to Eve. “Tell me who hit you.”

  “He’s not here. He’s not here,” Eve soothed. She tried to pull him towards the door but he was strong. Despite her efforts, he didn’t even move an inch. She coerced. “Come on. We can talk outside.”

  “If he’s not here, then where is he?” Carter demanded. “I want to talk to him.”

  The wild look in his eyes left no doubt that talking was way, way at the bottom of the list of things he wanted to do to Eve’s attacker.

  “I’ll tell you in the car.” Eve pulled on his arm again. “Let’s go outside.”

  Despite its gangster-like employees, this was still a police precinct. By arguing with them, Carter was courting arrest. Eve couldn’t let that happen. One of them being locked up today was enough.

  “Please,” she pleaded as she tugged his arm. “Please.”

  Her plea got to him. With one last furious gaze at the two hapless officers, he let her guide him out of the precinct.

  It was only once they stepped out that she realized how warm the waiting room had been. The cold morning pricked into her skin like needles and she immediately crossed her arms over her chest. “Ooh, that’s cold!”

  “You’re cold?” Carter immediately shook off his sport coat.

  “You’ll be cold too,” she protested.

  “Doesn’t matter.” He draped his coat over her back then ordered, “Arms.”

  Eve didn’t want to but his determined gaze left no doubt that her protests wouldn’t work. Reluctantly, she slipped one arm into the coat’s arm then the other. As the fabric molded around her body, his scent circled her like a soothing balm. His arm came around her shoulders to bring her even closer to him as they began walking to towards the exit gates. His body heat, his smell and the strength of his arm around her awoke her senses, and a fluttering started in her belly. God, she’d missed him.

  She snuck a glance at him. His gaze was trained towards the direction they were going but he must’ve felt her looking at him because he turned to her. “I didn’t bring my car,” he said. “We’ll have to take a cab.”

  She nodded. “That’s okay.”

  He pulled his phone from his pocket and called the cab service. While they waited for their cab, he turned to her. “So tell me, who hit you?”

  Though he looked and sounded calm, his eyes were stormy enough to leave the impression that it was all just a front. As soon as she told the truth, Peralta would become a hunted man. Things were already complicated enough as it was, they didn’t need to add ‘couple assaults police captain’ to the fire.

  So Eve hedged, “I told he’s not in there.”

  “Then where is he?”

  “I already took care of him.” Eve forced a smile even though it hurt her face. “He’s in the hospital.”

  It took a while for Carter to get what she meant but when he did, his eyes widened. “Did you do something to him?”

  Eve smile widened. “Something is a mild word.”

  “I still want to know who it is,” Carter said. When Eve didn’t respond, he pushed out a heavy breath then said, “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  Eve didn’t answer.

  “Then tell me this…” His keen eyes studied her. “Is my mother involved in this?”

  Eve wanted to scream, ‘Yes. She’s neck-deep in this.’ But her promise to Sharon nagged at her and she found herself shaking her head. “No.”

  He watched for another long, uncomfortable moment before declaring, “You’re lying to me.”

  It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. Eve sucked in a quick breath as shock shot through her. Carter had always trusted Sharon. He thought of her as an angel… Mother Teresa reborn. Since when was he capable of assuming that his mother was could do something as dastardly as get Eve arrested? Did he know something?

  After throwing out that shocking pronouncement, Carter didn’t say anything more. Though questions were roiling in her head, Eve stayed quiet too for fear that talking would lead to more questions from him. Something told her that any questions he asked today would be a lot tougher to answer than the ones he’d asked when she’d walked out of their marriage.

  Once they were in the cab, Carter spoke again. “We should go to the hospital to get you checked up.”

  “No, I’m fine,” Eve protested even as she cupped her cheek. “It’s just a little swelling and not very painful. It will stop once I get painkillers and an ice-pack on it.”

  Thankfully, Carter didn’t pursue the matter. The ride to her house was as quiet as it was filled with tension. Clouds of unasked questions hang above them like an anvil threatening to fall and pulverize them. Still, Carter didn’t ask anything, and Eve was grateful for it. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she would if he forced her to. The things she was protecting were more important to her than her guilty conscience.

  Twenty minutes later, the cab dropped them off in front of Eve’s building.

  She’d completely forgotten about the illegal search that had occurred at her house. That is until she and Carter walked through the door.
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br />   “Jesus Christ!” Carter exclaimed as he took in the mess that was once her home. “What the hell happened here?”

  It looked like a tornado had ripped through the whole condo. Her living room had been torn apart. The carpet had been rolled up as if someone was making sure nothing was underneath it, and the coffee-table had been pushed to the corner of the room. All the drawers on the TV unit were open or on the floor with the contents tossed around carelessly. The couch had been cut into and the cotton inside pulled out so that it was now spilling out like intestines ripped out of a corpse. None of the throw-pillows had their covers. Those missing covers were mixed in with the mess on the floor. To top it all off, her laptop, which had been on the coffee-table when she’d left, was now missing.

  And that was just the living room.

  Eve walked around the house assessing the damage. Their grabby little hands had dug in everywhere. Her kitchen had been upended to the point where none of her pots were in their cupboard and there were broken plates and cups scattered on the floor. Even the fridge door was open as if they expected her to be hiding something in there. Her bedroom was even worse. Closet doors open, clothes on the floor, mattress overturned, drawers on the vanity open and the contents thrown out… it was awful.

  “Did the cops do this?” Carter asked as he stood beside her at the door to her bedroom.

  She didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Can I borrow your phone?”

  As he handed it to her, he asked, “Why do you need it?”

  “They took mine,” she returned as she keyed in his code to unlock it. As soon as it was unlocked, she pressed on the camera icon. Then she started clicking. Photos of her bedroom, photos of the ruined bathroom, some of the kitchen, plenty of the living room.

  “Why are you taking photos?” Carter asked as he followed her around the house.

  “For my lawsuit,” she answered briefly. She might’ve made a deal with Sharon but that had nothing to do with Martin Peralta. That man was about to learn the reasons why you didn’t put your hands on a woman… especially a crazy one. Once she was done recording the damage on her house, she gave the phone back to Carter. “Could you take photos of my face?”