Later that night, Evie looked around the walls of Forrest's room as she laid with him, his arm around her as she leaned in against his bare chest. Not much had changed in here, a few more guns in the corners, but that was it. The mattress on the ground was never as uncomfortable as it looked, but Evie figured that was because she always shared it with Forrest.

Neither of them wanted or even know how to keep talking about what happened three years ago and what happened since. They had plenty of time for that. As for sleeping together, they had missed one another. Before Evie left, her and Forrest were in a rather normal, healthy relationship. Well, as normal as they could be. All those feelings were still there.

Evie turned and rolled closer to Forrest, letting out a content sigh before propping herself up by her elbow. There were so many marks on Forrest's chest from different occasions. Fights, accidents, all of which she was around for. Except there were new ones, as she expected, and she wondered what trouble he had gotten himself into to receive them.

''You're starting to get scars on top of scars,''

''You got your fair share too,'' he pointed out, turning to gesture toward her ribs.

''Well, when I piss someone off I do a damn good job,''

Forrest smiled lightly, the idea of someone coming after her still lingering in back of his mind and tainting the moment. He would ask her more about it, who it was that she angered and he would make sure they didn't get to her again. But not now, not when Evie was moving to rest her head on his chest, pressing a kiss to his lips first.

''Hmm, this was usually the time I sneaked my way out,''

''You want to go?'' he asked.

''No,'' she shook her head against him. ''Should I?''

Forrest sat up as Evie lifted her head, holding her close as she sat against his legs.

''You don't go leavin' anymore,'' he told her in a quiet voice.

Evie noticed the shift in his tone, it was serious and personal, one he never used around anyone else.

''Hear me?''

''I ain't goin' nowhere,'' she promised. ''Not again,''


At least Forrest was sitting by the bar when Evie woke up the next morning, quietly making her way downstairs. Howard was sitting not far from Forrest and if it wasn't for that fact, he would have had much to say. Instead he just shook his head with a smirk and went back to his breakfast.

Forrest hadn't moved his focus from the plate in front of him until Evie's boots came closer and closer to the table. Her hair was messier than usual and her shirt was buttoned unevenly, she looked like she was still half asleep. Forrest looked down at his plate and back at her, making an offer.

''Uh, no thanks,'' she shook her head. ''I might...I've got some stuff to do,''

Forrest walked her out onto the porch, looking over at her truck parked not too far from his. This was something he hadn't done in a while. Evie let out a long yawn as she looked up at the gloomy sky. Being here sure made the shack she was living in seem terribly small and lonely.

''Do you uh, need anything?'' Forrest asked.

He didn't like her being out there on her own.

''I'll be fine,'' she nodded.

Evie looked over at the door and then back at Forrest, wondering if they were supposed to be ignoring what happened the night before. Not that it wasn't obvious what happened, but maybe it wasn't meant to continue. But Evie tested her chances, reaching up and placing a light kiss on his lips.

Forrest looked back at her expressionless, as he usually did, and Evie just gave him a smirk in return.

''I'll see you 'round Forrest,''


Evie was chewing on a piece of fresh bread as she drove down the road leading to her turn off. The whole time she had noticed a car following far behind, but she was sure they were probably heading to the Bondurant's station. It looked like a rather new car, probably in town to buy some moonshine.

It soon became a distant worry as they drove past her, speeding down the road before Evie took her turn. The narrow road down to the shack was bumpy and worn down, something she would have to fix.

Hours later, just as the sun had gone down and Evie had started a nice warm fire, she heard an engine coming down the track. It was probably Forrest, but Evie still grabbed the shotgun she kept by the door and walked over to stand in front of her truck.

But it wasn't Forrest. It was the same car that had been following her down the road earlier. She gripped the gun tighter, her hand trembling. They were the people from Chicago, they had to be. No one else would have gone out of their way to follow her. She knew going into the town a second day in a row was risky.

''Evelyn, put the gun down,'' a man's voice called out calmly.

Evie remained silent, holding the gun tight and lifting it to point toward the figure walking over, but she soon realized she was outnumbered. Three men, all armed. She recognized the man speaking as Clive, but she didn't know the others. He was the one who got her into the business, not that she was given much of a choice.

''Gun, down,'' Clive ordered.

Evie reluctantly let her arm fall, lowering the gun until she dropped it to the ground. Now she had nothing and they had everything. Clive took it upon himself to look around the place, kicking at the unsteady walls of the shack and poking around at what was inside. The other two men just stared at her, guns in their hands, making sure she did nothing stupid.

''You left Chicago in a hurry,'' Clive walked back over to her, hands in his pocket.

''Wasn't much keeping me there,''

''You used to say that about this place,'' he reminded. ''And look where I find you,''

''I'm not going back, I'm done, I told you I was out,'' she told him angrily.

''I'm not here to bring you back,'' Clive chuckled. ''You're lucky to still be alive and walking,''

Evie swallowed, nerves on their edge and sensing the worst was about to come. If he wasn't here to bring Evie back to Chicago or pull her back into their business, there was only one other reason.


Opening her eyes, she was met with a white room, morning sun shining in through the window. The voices were coming from the corridor outside, it didn't take her long to realize she was laying in a hospital bed. Evie hated hospitals. The smell, the sound, everything about them. However when she tried to move, she then felt exactly why she was here.

''Wouldn't do that if I was you,'' a rough voice came from beside her.

Evie turned painfully to see Forrest sitting in a chair against the wall, watching her with concern, anger boiling throughout his whole body. He had turned up at the shack to find Evie passed out, blood all over her clothes and face, bruised and battered. It was a sight he would never be able to recover from and he had seen many horrific things in his lifetime.

After he brought Evie to the hospital, he went back to the station and gathered guns before heading out with Howard to try and track down whoever attacked. Forrest knew that if they were smart enough they wouldn't be in town, but he was too angry to think logically, he just wanted to find them and make them pay.

''It's not as bad as it looks,'' she told him quietly, holding back a groan of pain.

''You ain't seen yourself yet,''

Evie went to smile but felt the swelling around her eye being pulled and immediately abandoned the idea. Instead, she closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath. Everything that happened the night before was a mess in her memory. She couldn't remember when it ended, she couldn't remember Forrest finding her or how she got here.

''You...you didn't run into them, did you?'' she asked nervously.

''Sure wish I did,'' Forrest shook his head, standing to move closer to her. ''Who did this?''

Evie shook her head, a small sob escaping her lips and she shifted. She knew how Forrest wanted to handle this but these men weren't to be messed with. The connections they had, the weapons they carried, they had a much bigger advantage. This wasn't a fight she wanted anyone else involved in.

''Evie, they broke your damn leg,'' he told her, gritting his teeth. ''I ain't waitin' for them to come on back to find you again,''

''They won't be back,'' she assured.

''They from Chicago?''

Evie shook her head again.

''I only knew one of them, they go everyone dealing with people who threaten the business. They'll be long gone,''

Forrest balled his hands into fists and looked around for something he could hit. Rage coursed through him, all he wanted to do was find the men that did this, but it was near impossible to do.

''I'm sorry,'' Evie's voice brought him back to reality. ''I should have been more careful,''

''Don't give me that bullshit,'' Forrest shook his head. ''You know this ain't your fault, and I'm gonna get who did it,''

''They're gone, it's done,''

''It ain't done 'til I get hold of them,''

Evie began to protest but was interrupted by a fit of coughing, forcing her to sit up in pain. Forrest watched helplessly as Evie groaned in pain, hands wrapping around her stomach tight as she took a deep breath.

''You uh, got a couple of fractured ribs,'' he told her in a low voice.

Looking up at him with wide eyes, Forrest could tell Evie wasn't expecting that. She hadn't seen the purple blotches all over her face, the swelling, the cuts, the blood. The people who came after her made sure she got their message. She had done wrong by them and this was her punishment. If they ran into her again, there was going to be no waking up in a hospital bed. There was going to be no waking up at all.

''Maybe...maybe it is as bad as it looks,'' Evie slowly laid back onto her pillows.

Forrest was silent for a while, his mind filled with the image of Evie when he found her. He was right up the road and they had come here and beat her to a pulp without him knowing a thing about it, and they had gotten away.

''I thought you...'' Forrest trailed off, clearing his throat.

Evie watched and saw how shaken up it had made him. Forrest Bondurant was a man that many were afraid of, but he too had his own fears. Losing people he cared about was a big one.

Lifting her arm, Evie reached her hand out for him. Forrest stared at it for a moment before taking it in his own, feeling the warmth of her skin. She felt so fragile in his hand. There were a few marks on her knuckles from where she had fought back, but the swelling was barely noticeable beneath his fingertips.

''Thanks for saving my ass,''


The doctor ordered another night's rest at the hospital and even though Evie protested being in here longer than necessary, it did give her some time to think about what she was going to do now. If Clive had found her, it meant any of them would now know where she was hiding out. If they happened to come back into town one day, she wasn't going to take her chances on them not paying her another visit.

Forrest had gone back to the shack with Howard to make sure no one else had showed up, but the place was exactly as he remembered it from the night before. Blood stains on the blanket outside and a stone cold fire. Forrest drove Evie's car to the hospital to pick her up, not wanting her to have to come back here. This would always be their place, but for now it had been tainted.

''I can walk just fine,'' Evie huffed as she stepped out of her room, a pair of crutches aiding her.

Forrest walked at her pace beside her, his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't reach out to help her. Stubborn woman she was. Her leg had been plastered and would stay that way for a few weeks, another fact that didn't sit well with her. The first being that Forrest wouldn't allow her to check into the hotel in town.

''I don't need a babysitter,'' she frowned as they finally made it outside.

''I ain't your babysitter,'' Forrest shook his head. ''But you be better off stayin' at the station, not off on your own somewhere 'round here,''

''I was on my own for years Forrest, I can take care of myself,''

''That why you ended up in a hospital bed, huh?'' he reminded, earning himself an angry glare. ''Look, you staying at the station, least til you get back on your feet since you can't exactly drive now can you?''

He had her there.