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Sophia had grown on me. I’d had no intention of making friends while in New York, but there was something about her that made it impossible for me not to like her.
Eli remained silent.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “Are you going to be an absolute dick to me the entire time I’m here?” The idea did not hold appeal.
“I told you—”
“And I told you that you have nothing to worry about. I’m not planning to harm your family.” That was the truth. Whoever had killed my family was on the loose, but they hadn’t made a run at me since I woke up. Which was another reason why I didn’t think they were from one of the other families. Cartel members who attacked innocent women and children wouldn’t have left me alive unless it was to tell tales. They wouldn’t have drugged me so that I wouldn’t remember.
Eli’s silence frustrated me. I’d spent all day in class, not paying attention, and I was itching for a fight. I shouldn’t engage in such impulsive behavior, but I couldn’t help myself.
Reaching out, I grabbed Eli by the forearm, digging my nails hard into the exposed skin.
“Fuck!” he snapped, rearing back so fast I nearly went tumbling down to the sidewalk. “What the hell.”
He bore down on me, his eyes completely black and his teeth bared. A smarter person would have been scared, but the anger inside of me needed a release, and it looked like Eli was going to be the person I spewed all over.
“Good.” I stood defiantly against him. “There is someone inside of that skin husk.”
Eli’s fingers clenched into a fist, and I wondered if he was going to hit me. Something told me, no.
“And look, he has emotions.”
His breath was coming in short pants as he tried to gather his control. “Are you insane?” he sneered.
“You aren’t going to do anything to me.” I smirked up at him. Eli was probably a foot taller than I was. “That would make Daddy mad.”
The shift was instantaneous. He reached out and grabbed me by the throat, shoving me against the brick roughly. Immediately, my mind reared back in time, and my bravado faded.
“Listen up.” He pressed his nose to my ear, and I whimpered. “Don’t fucking play with me. I might be in charge of you, but that just means I can’t kill you.”
Eli’s body was pressed completely against mine. Every hard muscle of his body crashed into my softness. I struggled against him, bringing my hand up to try and pull his fingers from my throat. “Let me go.” I despised the weakness in my voice.
Eli shook his head. “Let’s establish some ground rules.” His fingers softened, and I slid down the brick slightly.
Rearing back, I tried to smash my fists into his chest, but he caught my hand before it met his flesh. “How dare you touch me!” I screamed.
Eli twisted my hand slightly, not hard enough to hurt me, but just enough to stop my movement. “Chill,” he growled.
His dark eyes looked down at me, and I could see the anger inside of them. I’d underestimated Eli. Sure, he hated me, but I didn’t think he would do anything to me. Now, I saw how wrong I was on that front.
There was anger inside of Eli, a lot of it.
“What will it take for me to prove to you I’m not here to hurt your family?” Eli was not going to be an ally, but maybe, if I could get him off my back, I’d be able to get some time by myself. “I’ll tell you why my father sent me here. It’s not a secret.”
It wasn’t a secret. I suspected Ivy and Marco hadn’t told Eli for my benefit. And I had no intention of giving him that information. The more Eli knew about me…I shuddered at the thought.
But I could tell him something.
Eli snickered. He was still so close that I could feel the air from his breath play across my skin and smell the clean scent of his soap.
“Don’t lie to me.” He took a step back, and I released a heavy breath. My hands went up to touch my neck, and his eyes followed me. There was a twinge of regret in them, but it disappeared almost instantly. “I know you have no intention of telling me why your father sent you here, which tells me enough.”
“What is it that you want then?”
He paused, as though he were thinking about the question. “Ground rules.”
I hadn’t expected him to say that. “Rules?” The idea of Eli giving me rules made me balk. I’d never been a rule follower. Maybe if I had been, things would have turned out differently for me. After all, I’d been breaking the rules the night my family had been killed.
