Wingless Book Series (book 1) Read online

  Evan didn’t seem to notice me as I approached him and Ari, they just kept on staring. “What’s happening?” I asked.

  “Kenny is going to mess it up,” Evan said as if I wasn’t asking anything.

  His arm was tense, his body rigid as I touched his arm. “What do you mean?” I asked confused. How could Kenny mess up an already dead person?

  “Ari, get in there and get him. Get him now,” Evan hissed.

  Ari jolted forward, hesitating. “I can’t,” she said, moving back. Evan pushed her lightly, putting hardly any force behind it.

  “Do it now!” he hissed at her.

  I’d never heard him sound so mean to a girl before.

  Ari immediately headed into the pool area. She stopped in the gateway and took a deep breath before she yelled. “Kenny, let’s get going!” she said, acting nonchalant.

  Kenny didn’t look or move and I finally began to realize something was wrong. As I scanned over the scene, I realized that men were trying CPR on the man. They were working feverishly to bring him back.

  Kenny kept his gaze on what was happening while a small crowd had formed- some already talking on their cell phones. It was clear the ambulance was on the way, sirens blazed in the background making it all too real. Kenny started out the gate, bumping past Ari as he headed towards us. His face was cold and empty.

  I looked at the man and gasped. The two men who were trying to help save him were now lying beside him on each side. Kenny had clearly done something that wasn’t meant to be done. Panic ensued and a woman screamed. Evan grabbed my arm, practically breaking it off as he tried his best to keep his composure as we all started a small trek back to the hotel.

  “Do you think I should take care of that one to0?” Kenny asked Evan, walking at a little faster pace than us.

  “Don’t even think about it. You already screwed all of it up. It’s a big enough mess now,” Evan ranted, heading up the hotel stairs. He still had a strong grip on my arm. I barely kept on my feet as we headed to the elevator.

  “Ow, Evan chill out!” I yelled, swatting his grip. He finally let me go.

  As we all climbed into the elevator, Evan looked furious. Kenny seemed a little oblivious. I was certain he was going to attack him.

  “Do you not realize what is going to happen when we get home to Carlo!” he yelled at Kenny. His face went from one shade of red to another.

  “What was I supposed to do, dude? They were trying to-“

  Evan threw up his hands. “You know who you are. Do you really think they could of undone what we do?!” He tapped Kenny on his chest with a hard, audible thud. “Do you really?”

  Kenny rushed out the elevator. I think he knew he was close to a beat down. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just got a little nervous,” he said, pacing the hallway.

  “I don’t know what it was, but I think you’re losing your mind. You were ready to off that woman back there too!” Evan yelled.

  Never did I think Chaos could ensue for a family of impossible beings, but that just proved to me that no matter who you were, drama always found its way into it.

  Chapter 21

  Long talk

  The ride back was not fun. I ditched the plan to argue Evan into the driver’s seat. Judging from both guys current state of mind, it wouldn’t have been a good thing. Evan had lost his good mood and he wasn’t saying much. He stared out the window, his arm around me. No matter what happened there was one thing I was sure of, Evan would always be there.

  Kenny kept the radio off, not speaking either. Ari passed out, her feet hanging out the window, her dress lazily blowing here and there as we drove down the highway. I stared out my own window, wondering what this meant for them. Would Carlo know about this? Or did it take one of us saying something for him to find out? I wasn’t sure how it worked. I just knew, judging from the man I met, he wouldn’t be happy.

  A loud ring sounded off throughout the car. Kenny fumbled around, pulling out his cell phone. He tossed it back to Evan. It hit his knee, sliding onto the floor.

  Evan picked it up, sighing. “Why am I the one answering it?” he asked irritably. He gripped the cell phone making it disappear in his hand.

  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 fron
t 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.