Wingless Book Series (book 1) (22 page)

Kenny shot a glance back at Evan
and back then to the road. “I’m driving, and besides, you’re better
at smoothing things over with Tony.” He shrugged, whipping past a
car and pulling across two lanes.

At this point, I didn’t care much
about his driving. Everything about Kenny was annoying me right
now. He seemed to think he could push off all his mess onto
Evan.

“
Why do they call him Tony and
Carlo?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood and get Evan’s thoughts
off the ringing cell phone.

“
Tony is his first name, Carlo is
his last name,” Evan said, coming a little back to life.

“
Oh, okay. It can be a little
confusing hearing someone called three different things is all,” I
said, giving a small smile.

He touched my face, a little bit
of hope invading his eyes. The hopes seemed to die when the cell
phone began ringing again.

Evan flipped it open, pausing
briefly before saying hello. “Hey, yeah we are on the road. Yeah, I
figured that much. Alright, I’ll let him know. Yep, bye.” He
sighed, then swung his arm back, lobbing the cell phone at the back
of Kenny’s head with such force the whole thing came apart, flying
onto Ari and some of it out the window.

I flinched. Kenny swerved,
the car flying off the road, his tires screeching. Evan put his arm
across my chest, pinning me back. I was certain we were going to
crash. The car jerked to a stop and Kenny jumped out. Evan flew out
after him
like a wild
animal.

Ari was in a state of confusion;
it took a few seconds for her face to go from calm to sheer panic.
“Get out of the car!!” she yelled at me, beating the back of her
seat with her fist.

I was confused, but listened to
her. She followed me. I stayed near my door, not sure what was
happening. Evan and Kenny were close and Evan was breathing hard
his fist balled, ready to pounce on Kenny.

“
Evan, please, let’s just get home
first. You can deal with your brother later when you’re more calm,”
Ari suggested in a stern voice.

“
No, Ari. Don’t worry about this,”
Evan said, staring Kenny down.

I swallowed hard, not sure
what
to do.

Ari pulled me to her. “Make him
stop, he is going to end up killing him.”

“
What can I do?” I
asked.

“
Go talk to him, calm him down. He
will listen to you,” she coaxed me.

I walked up to Evan, stepping in
front of him. He locked eyes with me, and I took his hands in mine,
his fist like hard rocks in my palms.

“
Can we just get home?” I asked
quietly. “Let’s just get home. I don’t know what was said, but it
will work out. He messed up. I don’t like seeing you like
this.”

Evan kept his eyes on me and
finally relaxed some. “I’ll tell you what was said. Carlo wants us
all to come see him as soon as we’re back in town because of this
screw-up over here.” He pointed angrily at Kenny. Kenny leaned
against the Camaro looking away from Evan. “So let’s thank Kenny
for a job well done. If there was any stress we didn’t need, it
would be Carlo.”

Ari sighed, getting back in the
car. Slowly, everyone piled back in, Evan being the last one. He
finally calmed down and dozed off the rest of the ride
home.

Ari looked back at me, smiling.
“You really have a way with him.”

I nodded, holding on to
him.

“
Yeah, you do,” Kenny seconded her
statement. That made me feel good.

“
Any other time, Evan would have
gone ballistic. I don’t know what it is about you, but he calmed
down and that’s amazing,” Ari said with a huge smile on her face.
She reached over to Kenny, kissing him.

“
Kenny messed up, but he knows he
did. He isn’t going to let Evan take the blame. Evan should know
that,” Ari said more to Kenny then to me. She looked at him for a
response.

“
You know how he is, Ari. He takes
things too serious. He doesn’t seem to think Carlo is going to get
over anything.”

I listened closely. Anytime I
could hear about Evan I wanted to hear all I could.

“
Yeah, thanks to Carlo he has just
about everyone thinking that about him. He is just so intimidating
and erratic. For some reason, your brother gets worked up about
that,” she said, looking out her window. Kenny nodded and all fell
silent.

It was dark as Kenny’s car pulled
into the long winding driveway of their father’s house. I was
nervous. The house brought back many memories of Evan’s family’s
true character, and I didn’t like it.

Kenny got out, stretching. Ari
next, a little less enthusiastically than Kenny. Evan hopped out
with a sigh, and I thought about pretending to be asleep, but
figured it would be too much of a hassle, and did the same. No one
said much of anything as we headed up to the lavish estate. The
house was all dark besides one light on the main floor.

Carlo stood at the door waiting
for us. He puffed on a cigar, leaning ever so calmly on the door
frame as we approached. Well, here we are,” he said in a playful
tone. Kenny rubbed the back of his head, stopping at the doorway.
“Was the drive okay for you girls?” he asked, staring at the two of
us. Ari nodded, smiling dryly. Carlo looked at me.

“
It was fine,” I said, trying to
avoid his gaze.

He was so intense, almost like a
serpent. It felt as if he was waiting to strike you with his
poisonous venom. I shuddered at the thought of it.

Evan put his arm around my
shoulders pulling me to him. Carlo raised an eyebrow and then
gestured us inside. We went in the den, or whatever they called it
in a house of this size. It was a rustic cabin-like living room
with dark woods, brick fireplace, and a big bear rug. Nothing about
it felt airy or welcoming. It seemed like something that Carlo
would choose.

“
Let’s all have a seat,” he said,
sitting in a large leather recliner. He leaned back, resting his
hands behind his head, radiating the power that seemed to come so
easily to him.

I sat once Evan did. He placed his
arm on my leg, letting me know he was there. I interlocked my
fingers with his, squeezing his hand tightly.

“
Okay, well first things first.
Kenny, why don’t you and Ari take a stroll outside, I need to
discuss something with Evan and, uh, Eve,” he said, looking at
them.

They left in a flash, probably
relieved to be out from under the microscope. I looked at Evan
trying to figure out what this could be about-Evan wasn’t the one
who had messed up. Evan raised an eyebrow, subtly indicating to me
that he was unaware of any of it.

“
So how are things going?” he
asked us both.

“
Things are just fine,” Evan
replied, short and to the point.

“
Eve, I just would like to say
that I think that you are a nice girl. And Evan, I want you to know
that I think that,” he said, blowing a ring of smoke out of his
mouth.

I watched it float across to us
before vanishing. “Thank you,” I said politely.

“
But I have three more besides
Evan and they all know that relationships for this family are
looked down upon unless both people involved are in it, for let’s
say, the long haul,” he smirked.

“
Okay, well, that’s no problem,” I
said a little irritated. Once again this man had found it his right
to dictate to me who or what I wanted.

Evan squeezed my hand. I slipped
mine away from his, not heading his warning to cool it with any
sort of temper towards Carlo.

“
Dad, I know all of that, and I
wouldn’t do anything I shouldn’t be doing unless I was certain Eve
was who I was happy with,” he said with assurance.

“
And out of all of my kids, you’re
the one I have the most faith in. You’re honest, Evan, and I would
like to think you’re doing the right thing, but one can never be
sure,” Carlo said, smoke billowing out of his mouth as he
talked.

“
I know. I’m sure I did the right
thing. I’m sure we did the right thing,” he said looking at me. I
nodded my head to help him.

“
Eve is aware of all that comes
with it?” he asked, looking at Evan intensely.

“
What comes with it?” I asked,
sitting forward. “I thought if two people cared about each other
that was all that mattered.”

“
And you’re correct, but that is
with the human world. Evan is more than just a human, we both know
this. So for him to involve himself with a relationship can make
things difficult for him. He needs to have all his dogs in the
race, you know what I mean?”

I rolled my eyes. Evan seemed to
get more nervous. “I know that we care about each other. And I know
that it’s not approved of for him to be with me in many ways more
than just one, but I don’t plan on hurting your son, sir,” I
said.

“
I am not one to argue. Many
people don’t choose to argue with me,” he said, sitting up in his
chair.

“
Dad, she is new at all of this,
don’t take it personal,” Evan chimed in.

“
I understand, and Ari and I had
the same talk as well. I just want to let the both of you know that
your decision to be together effects the family and what we do, and
if at any time that I feel this union fails, it’s not going to be
good for either one of you, or for us. So I am putting my trust in
you guys to hold up your end of the deal. You want to be together,
be together. Don’t screw it up.”

Evan nodded.

“
Uh, huh,” was all I could get
out.

“
I’m in no way trying to come off
as a tyrant, dictator, whatever you want to call it. I’m a father
of a rare kind and this is how it goes. I hope you understand. If
not right now, then later on.” He looked at me, waiting for some
sort of white flag.

I was not in the mood to argue
with this man, so I did the only thing I knew to charm a snake.
“Absolutely. And I really appreciate you going through the trouble
of letting me know. I’ll make sure I keep you happy. We will, right
Evan?” I said, flashing a large smile at Carlo.

Being like my family sometimes
worked in the crudest situations. So I guess, for once, I could
thank my parents for showing me how to put on a smile and fake
it.

Carlo leaned back, smiling at the
two of us, thinking he had won. Evan relaxed as well, taking my
hand back.

“
Kenny!” Carlo yelled from his
chair. It was time for the showdown, I thought to
myself.

Kenny appeared in the room
followed by Ari. She sat closest to the door. Kenny plopped down
next to me. “What’s going on with you
today?” he asked sternly.

“
I messed up. I really don’t know
why. I just wasn’t thinking… I don’t know,” Kenny said, resting his
arms on his knees.

“
But it’s done?” he asked the two
of them.

“
Yeah, it’s done. Not like I
wanted, but it’s done,” Evan said.

“
Anymore travel, I would prefer
you do it alone, just you and Kenny. I don’t know what the issue
was, but I’m not happy about it. We don’t ever overstep our
boundaries. I’ve got to smooth it out now. You understand?” he
said, looking straight at Kenny.

Kenny nodded, getting up. All in
all, even after the intense meeting, Carlo still made it a point to
embrace both his boys. I could see the true bond that they all
held. Standing there watching it, it was evident that Evan believed
with all his heart that his father was good. I could see why it was
so hard to disappoint someone who still held you so close to his
heart in any situation.

Carlo took my hand pulling me in
for a hug and a kiss on each cheek. He squeezed me tight. “Welcome
to my family, Eve,” he said into my ear as he hugged me.

“
Thanks, and goodnight,” I said
with a warm smile. This time it didn’t feel as fake.

Chapter 22

Family Secret

“
Eve watch me!” Ari yelled as she
dived into the pool. She hit the water gracefully disappearing for
a few seconds before bobbing to the surface like a little dolphin.
She laughed hard as if it was the funniest thing that had happened
to her in a long time.

I sat at the edge of the pool,
sticking my feet in. Evan and Kenny were both on the lawn chairs as
usual, not caring to swim.

Ari swam over to me, grabbing my
toe as she stopped in front of me. “Come in, it’s fun!” she laughed
again.

“
No. I think I’m okay right here,”
I said, leaning back to take in the sun. It was such a nice day
out.

Evan came running up behind me,
picking me up in his massive arms. I let out a high-pitched girl
scream. It was more the surprise than the thought of the
water.

“
What, you don’t want to swim?” he
eyeballed me with a mischievous look on his face.

Ari busted another gut from below
in the water. I wrapped my arm around his neck. “If you try, I will
take you in with me,” I stated with a playful meanness.