Sinful Mates (Savage Series Collection)

Book 2 Chapter-4

Thaddeus POV

A week goes by. I sent Orion to watch over her, to find out more about her, yet each day, he comes back with the same answer - nothing.

He even tried to compel the girl, Lisa, I think he said her name is. Not even Lisa knows much about her, despite the fact that they have been working together for almost two years now.

All Lisa could tell him is that Evelyn lives in the trailer park a couple of blocks away from the cafe. Orion claims he pressed for more information, but all he got about her background, from Lisa, is that our mate just showed up in that cafe, looking for a job.

Her answers, and the reluctance, makes me wonder what Evelyn is hiding. And if there is anything Lisa is helping her to hide.

Orion managed to steal her keys while she wasn't looking and already made a copy of them. So today, while Evelyn is at work, Ryland and I are planning to see what we can find out about her.

Watching Orion leave, and waiting for his call to tell us she has arrived at work feels like the hardest part of this morning. But now that it's out of our way, I grab my keys and walk to our apartment door. Ryland is straight behind me, following on my heels. Both Ryland and Orion are just as curious about who our little mate is, as I am. We all are eager to find out more about her.

Thankfully, it doesn't take us long to drive to the trailer park. It looks abandoned. There's nothing besides the few trailers that remain, and the front office. The entire place comprises of around twenty trailers, so finding hers is a piece of cake. I pull up and notice an old woman sitting out the front. I am sure she lives next door. That much is clear by how her eyes follow us as we walk up the stairs.

I nod to Ryland, and he unlocks the door. His eyes don’t leave the wrinkly old hag’s face as she watches us with suspicious eyes.

“You’re not worried she will tell her?” Ryland asks, opening the door.

We haven't even stepped inside the trailer when we are instantly hit with her scent. My mouth waters as the intoxicating aroma wraps around us. My body relaxes the same instant; her scent calms me as we step inside and close the door behind us.

“You can deal with the woman when we leave,” I tell him, and he nods his head, looking around.

Evelyn doesn't own much. I think it's a bit weird that she has no personal belongings besides clothing, even though this is where she lives. We start opening drawers and find some bills with her name, a make-up bag, and a hair straightener. But other than that, there isn't much here.

No photos, no albums, no paperwork, nothing that could show what her personality is like, or where she comes from. Nothing.

As we walk into her room, Ryland instantly lays on her bed and just as quickly, jumps to his feet. “God, she might as well just sleep on the springs,” he mutters to himself, as he turns and opens the bedside drawer.

While he goes though it, I notice a shoebox under the bed and bend down to reach for it. The moment it's in my hands, I open it. Inside, there is a small amount of cash, maybe around 500 dollars, and a newspaper clipping. The paper looks old and has fold lines in it.

I squint my eyes at it, it’s a photo of a church and a nun holding a baby. The title of the article is asking for information on a baby that was dropped out the front of the very church. “I wonder why she has this?” I ask, turning the clipping and showing it to Ryland.

His eyes scan the paper for a second, but he just shrugs. “Well, this was a waste of time,” he mutters and opens the top drawer of the dresser.

As soon as he does, he growls in the back of his throat, making me raise an eyebrow at whatever he might have found there. Before I can question him, Ryland turns around and in his hand, he has a pair of lace panties.

I roll my eyes at him as he dangles them in front of my face. To his dismay, I snatch the panties from his hand and place them back in the drawer. No matter how annoyed he might be, Ryland has to understand we must leave everything as Evelyn had it before we came here.

He still complains under his breath as I place the shoebox where I found it and push him out of the trailer. Then, we lock the door and leave.

“What now?” Ryland asks.

“Hungry?” I ask, and he nods.

I am getting sick of waiting and being patient. When we first saw her and the fear in her eyes, the thought of having her scared me. Now, all I can think about is her. Every waking moment of the day, she is in my thoughts, and I know it is the mate bond. But we all already decided that she will be ours, one way or another.

We let Orion go first. He is trying to get to know her and woo Evelyn, but she shows no interest in him. In fact, she has shown little interest in anyone. Orion claims she does her job and heads straight home. According to him, she has no hobbies and doesn't wander far from home or work.

Those facts just make us more curious about why she keeps her private life so hidden, even from someone who's seemingly close to her. What is she hiding or running from that not even her co-workers are aware of? Or is she really that mundane?

As we pull up out the front of the cafe, both of us look inside the windows and we instantly notice Orion, sitting on a stool at the counter. The girl, Lisa, appears very animated as she talks to him. However, I don't see Evelyn around anywhere. She must be out in the back or somewhere near; Orion wouldn't sit there if she weren't around at all.

Evelyn POV

The week goes by quickly. Reaching the cafe, I quickly unlock it and apologize to Lisa who is already waiting outside for me. She has a smoke between her fingers as she greets me with a smile.

She isn’t the only one waiting, though. Orion is also waiting for the cafe to open as he leans against the hood of his car, looking graceful despite his enormous size. Lisa heads straight inside to turn everything on and heat the stoves along with the deep fryers.

Shoving the key in the first padlock, I unlock it, lifting the roller shutters on the window, quickly moving to the next one. However, much to my annoyance, the key doesn’t go in this time. The lock mechanism appears to be frozen. I jiggle the key for a few seconds, a feeble attempt to fix the mechanism without really trying. It still doesn’t work, so I drop my bag off my shoulder and crouch down so I can see the lock better.

“Let me try,” Orion says, suddenly standing next to me. He bends over and inspects the key. Then, he jams the key in, and it does the same. Lisa comes out to hand me my apron. I glance at Lisa and then the next moment, I hear metal hit the ground and realize the padlock is broken apart on the ground.

“Whoops,” Orion drags out with a mischievous grin on his face.

I raise an eyebrow as I hold out my hand for the keys, which he places in the center of my palm. Somehow, his fingers graze my wrist, making me jump, when I feel sparks rush up my arm. I pull my hand back, eyeing him, and he has a lazy smile on his lips, which confuses me more.

Lisa’s voice pulls me out of my awkwardness. “Cheap bloody locks. I have to go to the store to grab bread. Do you need anything?” she asks, looking at me.

“Yeah, can you grab me some smokes?” I tell her as I focus on rummaging through my handbag. Finally, with a smile across my lips, I hand her some cash.

Lisa takes it and leaves the cafe, walking toward the corner store.

Throwing the broken lock in the trash, I walk inside and head behind the counter. First thing I do is turn on the coffee machine. Once it is done, I pour three coffees, one each for Lisa and myself, and then hand Orion his one. He sits at the counter, watching my every move, making me nervous.

“Must you always stare?” I ask, as I turn around to pull the cash tray out from the safe and drop it into the register.

“No harm in looking,” he says.

I roll my eyes at his answer, but thankfully, Lisa is here to get him off my case. As soon as she enters the cafe, she throws the pack of smokes at me.

“When are you going to get an ID so you can buy them for yourself?” she asks.

“One day when I get a day off,” I tell her.

“You are the only person I know that didn’t rush to get their ID the day they turned of age. Don’t you go out or anything?” she asks, pressing the subject of the lack of my ID.

“And do what?” I ask, with my back to her.

“You know, drink or party - like people our age do,” she states.

“No, I prefer my own company,” I tell her.

“Why?” she asks, and I suddenly wonder what it is with her questions.

Usually, we chit-chat, but not about our lives, though I know a lot about her because she isn’t exactly a private person, but I am, so her questions feel a little off to me. Like she is prying too deep into territory which isn’t her business.

“Because I don’t like people,” I tell her, and she pretends to be offended.

“You don’t like me?” Lisa gasps, sarcastically, placing her hand over her heart.

“No, you’re different. I know you,” I tell her.

“Then explain. Your answer makes no sense,” she says, as she places her hand on the counter and stares at me. I notice that Orion has eavesdropped on our conversation and is waiting for my response.

“It’s just easier that way. It’s pointless to make friends for them to disappoint you when they walk out on you.”

“Well, that’s depressing,” she states.

“No, it’s the truth. Everyone leaves. Eventually, they realize you have nothing more to offer,” I tell her and stop explaining myself once I notice someone else walking in.

For the sake of killing this rather odd interrogation, I focus on work and walk over to the newcomer to serve him. I can hear Lisa happily chatting to Orion behind me, and I quickly jot down the man’s order before handing it to Lisa. I watch as she darts out the back to start cooking while I bring him his coffee.

I find Orion following me around while I do things. “Don’t you have a job or something? Why are you hanging around here so much?” I ask, as I walk outside to have a smoke.

“Lisa doesn’t seem to mind?” he says, crossing his arms across his broad chest as I sit on the milk crate, lighting my smoke.

“That’s because you tip big, which leaves me wondering... Clearly, you have money, so why are you slumming it on this side of the city?”

He doesn’t answer, so for a brief moment, I hope this interaction is over. However, of course, given my luck, it’s far from over because Orion has questions. Of course, he does.

“Did you really mean what you said that people just disappoint you?”

“Look at the city, the world; everything has gone to s**t,” I mutter under my breath.

Honestly, at this point, it looks like he has landed on the wrong planet. Might as well say so because he clearly doesn’t fit in this bullshit world I call my home. Orion fails to see everything wrong with this place, wrong with the people that surround us.

“That wasn’t what I asked, though,” he argues.

“Then yes, I do believe that.” I groan. Maybe now that he has his answer he will leave me be.

“Why do you believe that?”

“That’s none of your business, and you really shouldn’t listen in on people’s conversations,” I snap at him. Can’t he just back off? I really hate it when people think they have a place in my business.

“You have an attitude, you know that?” he says, stepping closer, making me look up at him.

“And you are in my personal space again,” I tell him, standing up and flicking my smoke in the ashtray.

I am about to walk around him when his hand on my arm stops me, as he pulls me back in front of him. His face is close as he leans in; so close I feel his breath fan my lips, and I suddenly forget how to breathe. I am stunned by his manly good looks.

“Does my closeness bother you, little one?” he asks in his husky voice.

And just like that, I suddenly lose all focus as his lips move closer to mine and I see him smile, while I struggle with getting my brain to function instead of going foggy and blank. He pulls me closer, his hand sending tingles shooting up my arm, making me gasp as his other hand wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. His breath brushes my face, and I lean in, inhaling his scent. He smells so good it makes my mouth water. I hear him chuckle and feel the sound rumble through his chest.

Suddenly, I hear Lisa’s voice singing out for me, snapping me out of my daze. I step back, confused at my reaction to him, while he stands there with a sly smile. I swear I just saw his eyes darken.