“Okay. Coming or waiting?”
“I’ll come with you. Let’s get out of here.”
The garages are based in a vast building off to the left of the compound. There’s a small gravel driveway that vanishes into the trees, disguising most of the modern structure. The brickwork matches the main house, but the setup is altogether different.
Cas notices me scrutinising the building and kindly takes it upon himself to give me the tour.
“The Garage is a moderately recent addition to the compound. Dax had it renovated about five years ago. There are three floors…”
My eyebrows hike up my face. There are clearly not three floors. I can reach the roof with a running jump up the wall.
“...underground,” he finishes and laughs as my eyes widen. “When we moved much of the team here, we had to make sure there was enough space for the vehicles. So, Dax suggested we dig down.”
I nod as if this makes sense, but my mind latches onto the little bits of information he probably shouldn’t be sharing.A portion of the team? What team? And is Aiden the head of this team? Why would Trevainne and Dax be accommodating an outside team?
“Normally, I’d have used the tunnels from the command room upstairs. But I saw you pacing on the monitors and thought I’d offer a distraction from your…thinking.” His grin is teasing. I can’t help but laugh at how easily he saw through me.
As we head downstairs, I see a long corridor and an elevator in the distance. “That’s the way up to the control room?” I ask.
“Yeah. If you like, we can take that way back in. Only the team has access to this building and the elevator though, so don’t count on it in emergencies.”
“Is it monitored?”
“Yeah, there are cameras all over the place.”
“Good. If I’m ever in trouble, you’ll know. I’ll be the idiot waving and dancing in front of a camera.” Cas laughs. It is easy with him. He was the best choice for today and a relief to know I have someone to talk to outside of the fucktastic emotional web I’ve trapped myself in with Aiden and Dax.
“I’ll keep an eye out and my finger on the record button.” I roll my eyes. He laughs again. We walk in silence for a few minutes, as he shows me the hidden stairway down to a lower parking level. We circle the lot until he stops at a simple black hatchback.
“This is cute.”
“Sure, if you considerbulletproof, 0-60 in 1.4 seconds, run flats, and fully armoured, cute.”
Well shit. That sounds pretty serious for a run-of-the-mill looking car. “Taking no chances with safety, then?”
“We never take chances with our client’s safety.”
“Good to know.” Though I suspect that level of caution is a little excessive for a simple interview outing.
“Front or back, Jules?” Cas asks.
I don’t even have to think about it. “Front, if you don’t mind, Cas. It’d look strange travelling in the back.”
Cas opens the passenger door and I slide in obediently. As soon as I’m sitting, I see something unexpected parked right across the way. It looks just like Carlo’s, but it can’t be…
“Ah…” Cas catches me staring., he slips inside and closes his door. “Yeah, the seat will have new leather this afternoon and we’ve replaced the tyres, but it’ll be as good as new in no time.”
“So, it is…”
“Yours, yes,” he says. “We got it out before it took too much damage. It was just lucky it was sitting in the driveway. If it’d been in the garage, it would have been toast.”
Mine? Dax mentioned he basically purchased everything of Carlo’s. Was he giving the Harley to me? Or holding onto it for Carlo?
I mumble a smallthanksand let Cas drive us out of the compound in relative silence.
It’s only when we take the turnoff for the Art district that I finally ask where we are going.
“Dax arranged for the meeting to be in neutral territory. He doesn’t trust the Vale right now and he didn’t want to drawattention to Harrison University. So, you’ll be having coffee with both representatives atDeja Brew.”
