Read The Eve (The Eden Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

and a hurricane of emotions whipped through me.  I hadn’t forgotten the passion he and I had shared last year.  Waking up emotionally like that would be something I would never forget. 
    “How much of your pull to me was based on the past?  On what you thought had existed between you and me?” I asked, still not looking up at him.
    He hesitated a moment before responding.  I knew his answer, and knew he didn’t want to admit it.  “A lot,” he finally responded.
    I nodded, rubbing my thumb over his.
    “How different did I seem, all that time before I picked Avian?” I asked.  It wasn’t an easy question for me to ask, but I had to paint a very clear picture.
    West slowly let out a big breath and sat forward.  He never let go of my hand though.
    “Your emotions were a lot stronger than I ever thought you capable of.  Eve One was always so steady, predictable.  But you…” he trailed off.  “I guess that should have been a good indicator.”
    A tiny smile suddenly came to my lips.  “I remember, when we were in the desert, heading here, you said something like ‘you used to be a lot easier to deal with.’  That I didn’t use to freak out over every little thing.”
    Suddenly West gave a little chuckle.  “I was being an ass that day, wasn’t I?”
    The smile on my lips grew.  “I deserved it.”
    West pulled his hand out of mine and groaned as he rubbed his eyes.  “How did this all get so complicated?”
    “I think we were both just born into a complicated life.”
    West chuckled again.  “Yeah.”
    We were quiet again for a moment as the air around us grew serious once again.
    “So what would have happened if I’d picked you, West,” I said as our eyes met.  “And we learned the truth all these months later?”
    He didn’t respond, and I could see it playing out in my head.  “You would have broken my heart, West.  My sister was always the girl you were looking for.  Not me.”
    He chewed on his lower lip, his eyes once again dropping to the table.
    “I know this isn’t easy,” I said, folding my hands on one another.  “But you know it’s true.”
    He took a deep breath, and then his eyes rose up to meet mine.  “There was something real between us, Eve.  You know that.  We both felt it.  And you did break my heart, well, more than that, when you picked Avian.  But…”
    “But I’m right,” I filled in for him.
    He didn’t nod or say yes, or acknowledge it, but I could feel it.  He knew.
    “So now you can start to move on.  To heal.”
    “That doesn’t make it easy,” he said, his eyes meeting mine.
    “No,” I said, shaking my head slightly.  “But it makes it possible.”
    I heard footsteps behind me a second before I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I recognized the warmth and tenderness that came with it and knew it was Avian.  West looked up at him, and finally, the anger and hatred was gone from his expression.
    I looked up at Avian and met his uncertain blue eyes.
    “This is over,” I said, looking from him to West.  “The anger and the competition.  The fighting.  It’s done.  We’re in the business of saving the world together.  It’s time to move on.”
    They both hesitated.  The distrust and hatred that had been building between the two of them the last few months wasn’t going to instantly disappear.
    But I knew they were both going to try when Avian extended his hand.  West shook it.
    “Friends?” Avian asked, his voice guarded.
    “We’ll get there,” West answered.
     

 
     
    FIVE
     
    Dr. Evans couldn’t stay in the hospital for obvious reasons.  He was kept in a building half a block from the hospital.  It was another medical facility building and it had this glass room that worked perfect for keeping him separated from everyone.  Not that he was going after anyone, but if nothing else, our world had taught us to err on the side of caution.
    Royce radioed for me and Avian and we made our way there.  When we