I toyed with one of the long strands, twirling it around my fingers anxiously as my mind warred over my decision to wear it.
Take it off.
Leave it on.
No one will notice you.
You’re entirely fucked.
Life wasn’t fair, my identity was always at risk, and now I feared being judged by Lucas just the same. Because I was too fucking terrified to walk the streets looking like myself.
With the wig, I could be me, body and mind, heart and soul.
Without it, I was forced to wear a mask of feigned innocence and proper behavior.
“Tessa.” I stopped just after stepping out of the elevator and turned to see Lucas reaching for my hand. He took it and pulled me into him. “I may share a bond with my brother, but I can still sense that something is troubling you.”
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Lucas sucked in his cheek, blue eyes searching mine before nodding with a sigh of acceptance and understanding that I wouldn’tback down on my words. That I refused to be a burden to anyone other than myself.
With my hand firmly held in his, he proceeded to lead me down a row of luxury cars, stopping at a liquid metal matte Maserati with an all-black leather interior and the MC20 logo embedded into the passenger-side dashboard.
At the push of a button, the doors opened upward like a bird flaunting its wingspan, and I gawked in awe. I could only assume that Levi drove something similar, if not the same, given their matching tastes.All of this from just the club and the revue?
“I see your questioning eyes, princess, and don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough.”Was I that easy to read?
I closed my gaping mouth and plopped down into the passenger seat. Lucas shut the door once I was settled in. He then rounded the back and got into the driver’s side, pulling up the GPS on the dashboard-mounted screen.
“Where to?” He smirked, and again, I felt my confidence dwindling.
Swallowing my pride, I leaned forward and typed the address to my apartment into the search bar, then pressed ‘Start.’ Once the navigation had loaded, Lucas backed up the car and peeled out of the underground garage in the direction of my very temporary residence.
Roughly twenty minutes later, we arrived at a newly built, brightly colored apartment complex. Lucas opened the passenger door, and I stepped out, looking up at the red, yellow, and steel blue building.
With the amount of money I had brought with me, I could have rented something bigger,more luxurious, but part of me wanted to try the cozy suburban lifestyle with neighbors to greet in the halls, and the ability to enjoy the simple routine of people-watching from the balcony on a hot summer day.
“A far stretch from a Malibu beach house,” Lucas mumbled as he took in the surrounding street view. “But a home is a home nonetheless, and soon you’ll be all moved into your new and permanent one.”
“I what?” I jerked my head in his direction, and he returned his attention to me with a broad smile that looked as though he’d just unwrapped the best present of his life.
“You didn’t think Levi and I would let you live anywhere besides with us, did you?” His voice was a tease, as playful as his personality.Why would they have me move in with them so fast? We’d only just met... They couldn’t possibly—“Oh, come on, princess. Don’t tell me you’d rather live alone than with us? I can promise you that Levi and I are far better company than anyone in this neighborhood.”
I mean… He had a point?But I also hadn’t lived here long enough to make friends, let alone to determine if it would be worth the change of scenery so soon…
Oh, who was I fucking kidding?Of course, I wanted to move in with them. Living by myself was boring and lonely. They could live in a shitty studio of their own, and I’d still move in. I was an independent woman, but I knew my weak spots, and the need for companionship was my biggest downfall.
Playing it cool, I didn’t respond as I stepped around him and walked inside, punching in my pin to unlock the internal security door and then taking a sharp left as we passed through the main common area.
When we reached the elevator bay, I hesitated before pressing the call button, and one of three sets of doors opened right away. Once inside, we ascended to the fourth floor, and I led Lucas down yet another long hall painted in bright red, yellow, and blue to match the building’s exterior. My unit was at the far end of the hallway.
Pulling my keys from my bag, I unlocked and opened the door with a forceful push. The springs were tight, causing it to slam shut aggressively once you let go. An annoyance at times, but at least I never had to worry about accidentally leaving it open.
There wasn’t much in terms of furniture in my studio. A black two-seater sofa in one corner, a full-sized bed in the other. My clothes exploded out of two large suitcases on the floor—again, this was supposed to be temporary.
I never saw the point in buying all the luxuries of home, knowing I would either upgrade once I found a stable job or return to Malibu with some blown-up and exaggerated kidnapping story to keep me in the tabloids' good graces.
The latter of the two was far from my objective, and the last thing I wanted to happen was to return to my emotional prison.
