Chapter 04

 

Natalie's pov

"Okay, boy. I am just saying goodbye to the past."

Thunder rested his chin on my knee while I scrolled through my phone. Picture after picture of me and Evan. Evan at the beach. Evan at my birthday dinner. Evan kissing my cheek at the park.

Under one of them, I found an old message from him.

"Remember our first date? I miss those days. We are meant to be, babe."

I deleted it. Then I deleted the next one. And the next.

Three years of lies, gone in five minutes.

Then I opened a new message to Evan and typed slowly. I wanted every word to be perfect.

"Evan, I have been thinking. I was too harsh with you. I want tonight to be special. Meet me at the Grand Crest Hotel, room 1108. Don't make me wait."

I read it twice and pressed send.

Hannah had told me all about room 1108. It was the private suite of the most hot-tempered gang boss in Houston. He stayed there every week. He hated strangers. He hated surprises. And he hated anybody who walked into his room without knocking.

Evan's reply came in less than a minute.

"On my way, babe."

I turned my phone off and put it in the drawer.

Then I made some tea.

When I turned my phone back on two hours later, it would not stop buzzing. Twelve missed calls from Evan. Five from Ruby. A wall of messages.

The first one from Evan said, "Where are you?"

The next one said, "Someone is in the room!"

The next one said, "Natalie, what the hell?"

And the last one said, "Some psychos broke my nose. Security dragged me out like a dog."

I pressed my lips together hard so I would not laugh.

Then I opened Ruby's messages.

"Natalie, are you crazy? Giving him your first time in a hotel room? You are better than this. Call me."

I shook my head. Of course she was angry. She was the one he was supposed to be with.

I called Evan.

"Natalie!" His voice sounded thick and wet, like he was talking through cotton. "Where were you?"

"Evan! Oh my God, I am so sorry!" I made my voice crack. "I was so nervous. I think I wrote the wrong room number. Then I turned my phone off because I was panicking. I am so stupid!"

"You wrote the wrong number?" He was almost yelling. "Natalie, I got my teeth kicked in! I walked in and this huge guy grabbed me by the neck. His men threw me against the wall!"

"Are you okay? Should I come to you?"

"No! No." He breathed hard. "Ruby texted me. She said I should not rush things with you anyway. Maybe this is a sign. Maybe fate wants us to wait until the wedding."

"Maybe you are right," I said softly. "I am so sorry, Evan."

"Just… just forget it. I need to go put ice on my face."

He hung up.

I looked at Thunder. He tilted his head at me.

"That should keep him busy for today," I said.

The next morning, I drove to my new penthouse in Riverside Heights. The building workers were already there. The sound of drills filled the whole floor.

A big man in a hard hat waved me over to the front door. It was not the old wooden door anymore. It was thick gray steel.

"This thing is bank vault grade, Miss Natalie," he said. He knocked on it with his fist. It made a deep, heavy sound. "Double deadbolt. Reinforced frame. Nobody is getting through this."

I pushed it. It did not move an inch.

"Perfect," I said.

"What is next on your list?"

"The backup generators. Then the water tanks on the roof. Then steel bars on every window."

He scratched his head. "Ma'am, are you expecting a war?"

"Something like that."

He laughed like I was joking. I did not laugh back.

In my old life, people broke into my shelter on the fortieth day of the flood. They came with axes and guns. They took everything. This time, they would hit steel and break their hands.

That evening, I put on my nicest dress and drove to the Hartfield family house. It was a giant white mansion with a fountain in the front yard.

Grandma Hartfield was waiting on the front steps. She wore a long gray coat and her favorite blue silk scarf.

"Grandma, you look beautiful," I said.

"Oh, sweetheart." She pulled me into a hug. She smelled like roses. "I have been dying to get out of this house."

Then the front door opened again, and Evan's mother walked out. She wore a tight red dress and too much perfume. She did not smile at me.

"I am coming too," she said.

Grandma rolled her eyes. "She insisted on tagging along."

"Only because my son is missing in action tonight," Evan's mother said. "He says he fell down the stairs and hurt his face."

"Fell down the stairs," Grandma said. "Sure."

I bit the inside of my cheek and opened the car door for them. Thunder was in the back seat. Evan's mother saw him and jumped.

"Why is that animal here?"

"He goes everywhere with me," I said. "He is very well trained."

She sat as far from him as she could. Thunder ignored her.

I started the car and pulled out of the long driveway.

"So, darling," Grandma said, patting my hand. "Where are we going? You said you had a surprise."

"Dinner first," I said. "Then I want to show you something."

"How mysterious," Evan's mother said. She did not sound interested.

"I know you have both been so worried about Evan," I said. "So I thought we should go somewhere to cheer us all up."

I looked at them in the mirror. Grandma was smiling. Evan's mother was checking her lipstick.

They had no idea Evan was not hurt at home tonight. He was in room 715. With Ruby.

"I know the perfect place," I said, turning onto the main road. "It is right near Pine Street.”