Elliot looked down at Evelyn. He saw her pale lips and the rain soaking the hem of her jeans. A dark, violent rage flashed in his deep eyes.
He reached out with his free hand and took the handle of her battered suitcase. With a swift motion, he shrugged off his suit jacket, which still held the heat of his body, and draped it over Evelyn's shivering shoulders.
Evelyn pulled the oversized jacket tighter around herself. The sudden warmth seeped into her skin. "Thank you," she whispered.
Elliot guided her down the concrete steps toward the waiting Maybach. His bodyguard had already opened the rear door for them.
Just as Evelyn bent down to slide into the leather seat, the screech of tires tore through the sound of the rain. A silver Aston Martin swerved aggressively in front of the Maybach, completely blocking it in.
The driver's side door was shoved open. Julian Harrison stepped out. He didn't bother with an umbrella. He marched straight into the freezing rain.
He had driven back to the penthouse to grab a file he left in the study, only to pull up and witness this exact scene.
Julian's eyes locked onto Evelyn like a targeting laser. He saw Elliot's suit jacket draped over her. The rain ran down Julian's sharp jawline, but the fire in his eyes was burning out of control.
He closed the distance in long, angry strides.
Elliot immediately stepped forward. He positioned his large frame directly in front of Evelyn, shielding her entirely from Julian's view.
Julian stopped two feet away. He let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Kicked out of my house for five minutes, and you've already found your next sponsor."
Julian shifted his gaze to Elliot, his lip curling in disgust. "I didn't know you had a fetish for wearing my used shoes, Thorne."
Elliot's eyes went dead cold. He shoved the umbrella into his bodyguard's hand. He lunged forward and grabbed Julian by the collar of his wet dress shirt.
"Watch your mouth," Elliot snarled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "I have no problem beating a CEO to a pulp on the street."
Julian didn't flinch. He glared right back, slapping Elliot's hands away and adjusting his ruined collar.
Julian looked past Elliot's shoulder, aiming his words directly at Evelyn. His mouth twisted into a vicious sneer.
"Good for you, Evelyn," Julian shouted over the rain. "You finally found a sucker to raise those bastards in your stomach."
The word bastards hit Evelyn like a poisoned blade straight to the heart. Her body jerked under Elliot's jacket.
She stared at the man she had loved for ten years. He looked like a complete stranger. A monster.
Elliot lost his mind. He pulled his right arm back and drove his fist directly into Julian's cheekbone.
The sickening crack of bone hitting bone echoed in the rain. Julian stumbled backward, caught entirely off guard. Blood immediately pooled at the corner of his mouth.
Julian's driver jumped out of the Aston Martin, rushing forward. The tension on the street spiked to a lethal level.
Just as Elliot raised his fists again, Evelyn stepped out from behind him.
She reached out with her pale hand and wrapped her fingers around Elliot's clenched fist. She gently pulled his arm down and shook her head.
Evelyn turned to look at Julian. He was wiping the blood from his lip. The agonizing pain and desperate love that used to live in her eyes were completely gone. There was nothing left but dead, gray ash.
"From this second on," Evelyn said, her voice so cold and flat it cut through the rain, "my children and I have absolutely nothing to do with you."
She didn't wait for a response. She turned around and slid into the back of the Maybach.
Elliot shot Julian one last look of pure disgust, like he was looking at a pathetic loser. He got into the car and slammed the door shut.
The Maybach's engine roared to life. It reversed smoothly, steered around the Aston Martin, and disappeared into the gray rain.
Julian stood alone on the wet pavement. He watched the red taillights fade away. Suddenly, a sharp, unexplainable pain pierced the center of his chest, making it hard to breathe.
