“How… how did you get the file?”
“Someone sent it to us. We’re not sure who. For all we know it could be the same person who tipped off the government about the project. They left a note on it when it was left that said it was taken from Project Arma while the program was still running.”
“Wow.” Evie’s brows rose before she turned back to Luca with wide eyes. “Wyatt and I could work together on cracking the file! I’m so close, Luca, and with another head to work with, it will be even faster.”
How could he have ever questioned this woman’s loyalty?
“That sounds like a good idea, sweetheart.”
There was another pause where Luca could tell that Evie was working up the courage to say something. “When, um, when you met Troy. Was he a… good person, do you think?”
Evie was searching Luca’s eyes, craving the answer she wanted. Luca wished he could give her what she was needed. “I only met him a couple of years ago. He wasn’t a nice person then, sweetheart. That’s not to say he was always like that, though. His team was recruited before mine. Probably given an earlier version of the drug.”
Evie nodded and nibbled on her lip. “How… how do you know he wasn’t good?”
There had never been any question in Luca’s mind that Troy wasn’t a good person. “Part of it was the feeling I got when I looked into his eyes. He lacked a level of compassion that most people have. He used to get a thrill out of killing. Would come back after a mission and just about brag about it. A soldier should only kill as a necessity and never do we feel proud after. There were other things, too, like when we were training, he would always try to take things too far. Wouldn’t care if he injured people.”
Nodding, Evie looked down at her hands. “Thank you for sharing with me, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”
“Evie, I withheld facts from you too. We’re both at fault. You know you can tell me anything, right. I judge a person by what’s in here”—Luca placed his hand over her heart—“not what is or isn’t on paper.”
Giving Luca a small smile, Evie rested her head on his chest as she shut her eyes. “I like you, Luca. A lot.”
Placing a kiss on her head, Luca tightened his arms around her middle. “I like you too, Evie. A bit more than a lot, I think.”
At Evie’s yawn, Luca stood, keeping her firmly against his chest. “I think it’s time to get you to bed.”
“Hmm.” Evie’s chest was already rising and falling at a steady rhythm.
Once he reached the bedroom, Luca pulled down the sheets and placed Evie on the mattress. Making quick work of removing her top and pants, before he lifted the sheet over her body.
Evie’s eyes fluttered open for a moment. “I’ll be right back, darlin’ just going to lock up,” Luca said in reassurance.
Knitting her brows together, Evie placed her hand on his arm. “I’m glad we have no secrets anymore.”
Covering her hand with his own, Luca smiled. “Me too, sweetheart.”
Closing her eyes, Evie rolled onto her side. “I trust you, Luca.”
Good, because a relationship without trust was never going to go anywhere.
Walking out of the room, Luca shut the door before pulling out his phone and dialing Asher.
Asher answered on the first ring. “How’d it go?”
Luca waited until he was downstairs to speak. “She took the file when she ran from him, and she took it because she wanted to find out what had happened to Troy. She’s not a threat to us. She’s innocent, and she needs our help.”
“You trust her?”
“Yes.” There was no pause and no hesitation for Luca.
“Then I trust her too, and so will the team. I’ll pass on the information. You look after your woman.”
“Striker…”
“Yeah, buddy?”
Luca’s words were firm and sure. “When we find him, I get to kill that fucker. Got it?”
Asher’s voice came back cautious. “We need to get answers from him, Rocket.”
Sure, but if they didn’t get what they wanted or even if they did, Luca would still end him. “And I need him dead.”
Asher sighed, probably realizing fighting Luca on this was pointless. “Got it.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“WHY GOOD MORNING, Mr. and Mrs. Love Birds.”
As Evie entered Marble Protection, hand clasped in Luca’s, she glanced up to see Lexie giving them a massive grin from behind the front counter.
Propping her hip against the counter, Lexie raised her brows. “So, we official yet? Can you finally admit to the world that you’re obsessed with each other?”
“You sure can, Lexie.”
Whipping her head around to Luca in surprise, Evie’s cheeks heated.
“Finally! I’ve been waiting weeks for this. You better treat my girl right though, Luca, or you’ll have me to answer to.”
Luca’s hand tightened slightly around Evie’s. “Plan on it.”
Moving around the desk, Lexie wrapped Evie in her arms.
“You deserve to be happy, Evie,” Lexie whispered the words.
Pulling back, Lexie turned to Luca and gave him a punch on the arm. “Remember, me to deal with.”
Evie had to stop herself from laughing when Lexie pointed to her eyes and then Luca. Luca was easily double her size, but she was sure that wouldn’t stop Lexie if she had a reason.
God, she was lucky to have someone like Lexie in her life.
Pulling Evie forward, Luca dragged her into the office. Wyatt glanced up from behind the desk.
“Ready to get to work?” Wyatt’s words were stiff as he looked up briefly only to go straight back to the screen in front of him.
The sight of Wyatt brought on some nervous flutters. The trust wasn’t quite there. She could see it in his eyes.
Standing straighter, Evie pulled out her laptop and moved across the room to sit down next to him. Well then it was her job to convince him otherwise wasn’t it?
“Ready,” Evie opened her laptop, getting straight to the job at hand. She felt Luca’s kiss on her forehead but didn’t look up. She was going to crack the file today, but she had to focus.
Wyatt and Evie worked in silence for over an hour. Every so often, they would glance at each other’s screen, but they may as well have been in different rooms.
Watching Wyatt for a moment from the corner of her eye, he may have a hacker’s brain, but he was built like a SEAL.
Similar to all the other guys, Wyatt’s shirt was pulled tightly over his torso, showing off his incredible strength. He wouldn’t fool anyone in an office.
Frustration started to build at both the file not opening and the deafening silence. Removing her fingers from the laptop, Evie turned to face Wyatt.
“I’m not the bad guy, you know.”
Without stopping what he was doing, Wyatt kept his eyes straight ahead. “So Luca’s told me.”
“You don’t believe me?”
Stopping what he was doing, Wyatt angled his body at Evie. Just like when the other guys did it, Evie felt dwarfed by his size. The mere breadth of his shoulders was double maybe even triple hers.
“I want to believe you, Evie, and I’m trying. The problem is I’ve seen people swear up and down that their intentions were in one place, only to find out otherwise.”
Some of Evie’s anger faded. “I can understand that. I’m sorry about what happened.”
Searching Evie’s eyes, Wyatt’s brows pulled together. “You want to know what Luca is? What I am? What we all are? We’re weapons. And before that, we were unknowing test subjects. These men are my brothers, and we protect each other. None of us foresaw what happened to us, and we all feel guilty for letting each other down. We don’t want that to happen again. So, trust doesn’t come easy. For any of us.”
“I get it, and trust doesn’t come easy for me either. But I’m a damn good hacker, and I want to open this file as much as you do.” Taking a breath before
she continued, Evie softened her voice. “Also, you and your brothers are more than weapons. They may have tried to turn you into that, but what you’re capable of doesn’t define who you are.”
“One thing we know we are is brothers.”
Nodding, a slight smile lit her face. “And I think that’s great.”
Sitting back, Wyatt crossed his arms over his gigantic chest. “So, this thing between you and Luca is real?”
Evie nodded. “It’s real to me.”
Watching her for a moment, Evie tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. “Welcome to the family then.”
Turning back to his computer, Wyatt started typing again as if nothing had happened.
Evie’s brows furrowed. That was it? Did he go from not trusting her to trusting her after one conversation?
“Back to work, Scott. We’ve got a file to open.”
Feeling a little lighter, Evie turned back to her computer.
From that point on, they worked as a team. Sharing information and helping each other when needed. By midafternoon Evie’s eyes were beginning to sting from looking at a screen for so long. About to stop and have a break, Evie decided to give it a couple more minutes when suddenly her screen changed.
“Oh my god.” Evie sucked in a shaky breath. “I’m in.”
Those words sounded surreal coming out of her mouth. After hacking the damn thing for almost a year, consuming her thoughts and actions, it finally sat in front of her eyes, open.
Immediately stopping what he was doing, Wyatt turned to Evie’s screen. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he typed something before putting it back.
Brushing his arm against Evie’s, Wyatt reached over and pulled the laptop in front of him. There were dozens of files, each with a name on it.
Just then, the door to the room opened, and all seven men walked in, including one hazel-eyed man that Evie hadn’t met before. Oliver. It had to be. The last member of the team.
Wyatt looked up at his team, shock all over his face. “Evie got us in.”
Glancing at the men, they had a mixture of shock and relief expressed on their faces.
Eden spoke first. “What’s in there?”
Wyatt’s gaze flipped through what was in front of him. “Files with names. I recognize some of them. Doctors we met. Other SEALs and soldiers. This first file just says Project Arma.” Clicking into it, Evie recognized the file immediately. It was the one that had sat open on Troy’s laptop. “The file labeled Project Arma just seems to have a brief description of the program with a spreadsheet of names.” Wyatt looked up. “Looks like a file listing. We each have one.”
Turning back to the laptop, Wyatt’s eyes searched the screen and then stopped before turning to Evie.
Dread pooled in her stomach. She could already tell what he was going to say but prayed she was wrong.
“You have a file too, Evie.”
Her throat constricted. What the hell? Why did she have a file? She only knew about the project from snooping in Troy’s office.
Luca walked further into the room and placed his hand on Evie’s shoulder, giving her the strength she needed. “Open it.”
Wyatt raised his brows but said nothing. Turning back to the laptop, Wyatt clicked on the file with her name. When it popped open, Evie leaned closer.
Staring at her from the screen were her own green eyes next to what appeared to be her bio. What the hell? The image was a high school headshot.
Wyatt, Luca, and Evie leaned in, all reading the information.
No. It couldn’t be possible.
A mixture of rage and shock filled her.
“It was all a lie.” The words left Evie in a whisper. Luca’s thumb began to stroke her shoulder in support.
“What was a lie?” It was Asher who asked the question.
Evie couldn’t speak, resentment clouded her thoughts.
Luca answered, “According to this, they’d targeted Evie since high school and wanted to recruit her for her IT skills. Troy was assigned to watch her and eventually bring her in.”
Clenching her jaw, bile rose in Evie’s stomach. She was used. Everything had been a setup, and she’d fallen right into their plans.
“Why did he never bring her in then?” Mason asked.
Luca glanced down at Evie, and their eyes held. “Maybe he decided he didn’t want to let her go?”
Evie’s heart raced. Was that it? Had the people running Project Arma told Troy to get close, but then he’d decided he was going to keep her indefinitely?
“They wouldn’t have agreed to that,” Wyatt said, finally drawing his gaze away from the screen.
“Maybe he didn’t give them a choice? He wasn’t himself in the end. Who knows what he was willing to risk to keep her.”
Evie’s body was fighting between resentment and anger. “Was my life just a pawn for them to move as they pleased? Did I even get a choice in any of it?”
Fury tore through her. Who the hell did these people think they were? Who did Troy think he was? Thinking he could date her because someone told him to, then keep her like she was a damn toy. She was so sick of being manipulated and used.
Luca bent down so he was eye level with Evie. “I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”
Sick of being the victim, Evie’s hands clenched. “I hope he does come after me. I hope we find him, and he gets what he deserves.”
Evie saw the glint in Luca’s eyes. “He will.”
“We’ll make sure of it.” Eden’s voice pulled Evie’s gaze up. All seven men were nodding and looked just as enraged as Luca.
The anger lifted slightly, and she felt touched by the men’s reactions. She may have felt like she had no family a month ago, but she sure didn’t feel like that now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LUCA’S GAZE SKIMMED the list of names. So many people that he had trusted, said hello to every day. They’d all known. They had been part of the big cover-up that made Luca and dozens of others unknowing and dubiously consented test subjects.
“Does Shylah have a folder?” Luca tore his eyes from the screen to look up at Eden.
Wyatt skimmed through the list until he hovered over a name. “Yeah, she does, Hunter.”
Eden’s expression didn’t change. Luca had always held out hope for Eden that Shylah had been innocent in the whole project. Had hoped that she had been as unaware as them.
“Having a file doesn’t mean she had a hand in what was really going on, Eden. I had one, and I didn’t.” Eden glanced at Evie as she spoke the words, hope in his eyes before he quickly masked all emotion.
“She knew. I’ll look through it later. I’m going to get some work done.” Eden turned and walked away.
Placing his hand on Evie’s shoulder, Luca gave a light squeeze. A silent thank you for trying to help. Eden’s struggle since Shylah disappeared after the project was uncovered was eating away at his friend.
“I think Evie and I will head home now,” Luca said, glancing up at his team. He could sense that Evie’s mood was low after the information she had learned.
Hell, he didn’t blame her. Who wanted to find out their life was a pawn piece in someone else’s game?
Turning, Evie glanced up at Luca. “Don’t you want to look at the files?”
“There’s plenty of time for that.” Looking like she wanted to argue the point, Luca took her hand and pulled her up. “Let’s walk. It will be good for you to get some fresh air after sitting in front of a screen all day.”
Not questioning him, Evie stood and turned to go. Wyatt’s hand on her arm halted her where she was. “Well done today, Ace.”
“Ace?” Luca laughed.
“She’s part of the team now, so she needs a team name, doesn’t she?”
Evie flushed. Luca pulled her into his side and placed a kiss on her cheek, feeling grateful that his brothers saw her as he did now.
“See you guys tomorrow. Keep me updated if you find anything important.”
Walking out
, they said goodbye to Lexie before making it to the street.
Walking in silence, Luca placed his arm around Evie’s waist. He wanted to pull her close to him and shield her from anything the world threw at her. He needed Troy to be caught so he could breathe easier, knowing she wasn’t at risk every minute of the day.
Looking up at Luca, Evie appeared thoughtful. “I should probably be moving back to my place soon.”
Wanting to laugh, Luca shook his head. “Oh, darlin,’ I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Expecting an argument, Luca was surprised when Evie breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good, because I don’t want to move back.”
This time Luca did laugh. “Why suggest it then?”
Evie lifted her shoulders. “I don’t want you to feel trapped with me, Luca. If you’re with me, I want it to be because you want to be. Not because you have to protect me.”
Pulling Evie to a stop, Luca turned her to face him. “Evie, I have wanted you since the first day I laid eyes on you. I don’t know what it was, but something about you just pulled me in, and then I got to know you. Safe to say I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be around until you’re sick of me.”
“I can’t see that happening.”
“Good,” Luca said before placing a kiss on her lips. “Because even if you got sick of me, sweetheart, I would be at your door until you took me back.”
That was the damn truth.
They made the rest of the walk home in silence. When Evie disappeared into the bedroom to get changed, Luca whipped out his phone and dialed Asher’s number.
“Man, are you missing me already?”
“I need a favor,” Luca said.
“Hit me with it.”
Luca explained what he needed before hanging up.
Walking into the bedroom, he noticed Evie staring at herself in the mirror. Standing behind her, he wrapped both arms around her waist, noticing their size difference was significant. He didn’t know how any man could lay a hand on someone so fragile. She was his to protect now.
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