Page 12 of Dark Knight
"Theo, let me introduce you." Dylan's voice rang out, and Theo's head jerked up. His dark, stormy blue eyes widened when he saw me. "This is our new houseguest, Evie."
Theo had a silver hoop on one side of his lower lip with a chain that linked it to his ear, where another set of silver hoops decorated the upper curve. His other ear had just as many piercings, but they were all studs. And as he turned his head, his hood fell back, revealing a mop of messy bedhead. The tiniest curl of a tattoo peeked out from under whatever he had on under his hoodie.
He looked more like a punk, gamer nerd than somebody who would associate with Dylan or Hudson.
"Hey." Theo's word was clipped, as though he was fighting the urge to run, so I wasn't surprised when he snagged two burgers off the table and left.
"Don't mind him. He's just shy," Dylan said, waving in the direction that Theo had departed. I didn't miss the way his eyes darted to the door a couple more times, as though Theo's behavior had seemed odd, even for him. "Theo hasn't spent much time around women, especially not beautiful ones. I imagine you're a little intimidating to him. Give it some time and he'll warm up." Dylan's voice had no emotion to it, as though he was simply stating facts.
"That's fine," I said before chomping down on another fry.
"Back to why do I have to take her?" Hudson demanded. He sounded so bored but so annoyed that it was frustrating.
It wasn't like I wanted him to take me shopping. I actually hated shopping. It was my least favorite activity. There were too many colors and noises and patterns and people. It was overwhelming, especially when I grew up not having a choice of what to wear.
"I want you to take her because you're the only one who knows what the guy that was chasing her looks like, as well as the organization that he belongs to. I'd rather keep Evie’s circumstances quiet for now, which means it's either you or Tyler that goes. As you know, Tyler is indisposed right now."
I wanted to ask where he was, what had happened, but I didn't. I knew enough to keep my mouth shut.
"I can't accept that," Hud said.
Dylan sighed heavily and shook his head. "It's not a request. It's an order." He looked up and pinned Hud with those dark eyes of his. "But I promise, just for you, I won't leave the house. I'll work in my office until you guys get back."
Hudson still looked hesitant, as though he wanted to defy Dylan. The way Dylan said taking me shopping was an order made me think that it was something Hud would actually obey.
"Fine. Finish eating, there’s a mall that's open late. We have a few hours before it closes. We can still fit in some shopping and at least find you some outfits, so you're not wearing the maid's clothes anymore."
I had wondered who the leggings and t-shirt belonged to, and now I knew the maid must have been a similar size to me at least.
Dylan pushed up from where he was sitting and came around to me, squatting down next to my chair. "Evie," he said before turning my chair so I was facing him. "While you're out, you have to obey everything Hudson says, no matter what. He’s in charge. Do you understand?" I nodded my head. "That's not enough. I need to hear you say it."
"I understand that Hudson's in charge, and I will do everything he tells me to." My voice was weaker than I'd hoped. I looked away, feeling embarrassed by my fear.
Dylan reached out and gripped my chin, gently turning my head so I was looking at him once more. "So if he tells you to run, what are you going to do?"
"Run."
"Good girl." He released my chin but he traced his fingers down my jawline and the column of my neck, pausing just before touching my chest. My heart raced.
"Come on, let's go." Hudson jerked his head toward the door, breaking the spell that Dylan seemed to have put me under. Dylan stood first and offered me his hand, which I took. Without another word, he left and Hudson walked out shortly thereafter, so I followed. "You can wear these," Hud grunted when we got to the front door. I saw there was a pair of flip flops waiting there.
I slipped my feet into them and followed him out to a car that was waiting on a gravel driveway. I didn't remember gravel from the night before. Not even in the slightest, which wasn't surprising but did make me uncomfortable.
At first, I wasn't sure whether we would be driven around by someone else or not, so I hesitated. When I watched Hudson go toward the driver's side, I moved to the passenger side and got in. He didn't even wait for me to buckle before he zoomed away. The tiny rocks kicked out from under his tires.
His car smelled like aftershave. Not overwhelming, but as though somebody had recently worn some freshly in here. I glanced at Hudson a couple times.
The atmosphere in the car was stony. He clearly didn't want a chit chat, but I was more than a little curious. It didn't help that he looked so damn approachable either, at least once the initial impression faded. Outside of his tattoos and attitude, he looked like he'd have golden retriever energy, but that wasn't the case. From what I could tell, his personality and his looks were almost complete opposites.
We drove for about twenty or thirty minutes, making what felt like a lot of unnecessary turns. Finally, I asked, "Why didn't you blindfold me or something?"
"Do I need to blindfold you? Are you going to run your mouth about where you just came from?" His voice was icy cold.
I swallowed, reminding myself that he wasn't there to hurt me. In fact, he was taking care of me, even if it was just because of Dylan's orders. "Of course not, but it seems like an unnecessary risk, that's all."
For the first time, Hudson smiled fully, but it was more like a shark. There was a danger behind the smile that hinted that even though he looked sweet, there was a viper hiding underneath.
"Let's get this out of the way right now," Hudson said, his eyes darting to me and lingering for longer than was probably safe before going back to the road. "The organization that Dylan runs, that I work for...I'm what they call an enforcer. If people don't do what we say, I'm the one that makes them do it, which means that I'm not scared of violence, or blood, or pain, or insults, or any of that bullshit. If somebody needs to bleed, I'm the one that makes them bleed, So if you run your mouth, I'll make you bleed. Clear?"
