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But Carla snapped to attention quickly. “Yea,” she said, her tone slightly breathless. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
The door slammed in my face before I could say anything else. The sound of the lock sliding in place brought me back to my senses.
What the fuck,I thought as I walked towards the stairs. Just hours ago, I’d decided that Carla was a necessary evil of my life. And yet, looking at her art had given me insight into her soul, and I felt a weird kinship.
There was darkness in Carla. Anger and sadness. And she did her best to hide it behind her golden girl exterior.
I understood that. And that understanding was dangerous, because Carla had secrets. That much was obvious.
I wanted to uncover them, but not because I wanted to ensure the safety of my family. Now, I wanted to know Carla. What was underneath that golden skin, and why did it call to me the way nothing else ever had?
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
“Where are we?” I asked as I got out of the car. We’d driven for about forty-five minutes moving further and further from the city. I didn’t know why, but there was something incredibly sexy about Eli behind the wheel of the black sports car we’d taken from the house.
His shirt was rolled up, and his forearms gripped the wheel tightly, causing the muscles to bulge slightly. I wondered what it would be like to feel the arms pressing me into the wall as he fucked me.
The thoughts made me shift in my chair. I’d only had sex with one guy—Caleb. And we’d only done it while high. Something told me that sex with Eli would be nothing like what it had been like with Caleb.
“The docks.” Eli had been friendly in my room. He’d complimented my art, and I’d tried not to preen as he told me I was talented. No one had ever said that before. Thinking about it, I couldn’t pinpoint a single real compliment I’d ever received.
It was hard to be the lesser twin. I squashed those thoughts as I scurried toward Eli. “I can see that,” I muttered. “But why are we here?”
If Eli were anyone else, I would have been nervous. Hell, I wouldn’t have gotten in the car. Naivety had been bred out of me long ago. But Eli was the protector the Blanchi family had assigned me, and I knew that Eli wouldn’t hurt me.
Not physically anyway.
“Why?” It was a valid question. When Eli suggested taking a drive, I thought we’d just ride around the city. Neither of us could sleep, so I figured that it was a way for the two of us to kill some time.
Eli walked towards a specific warehouse. He didn’t answer my question as he punched in a code. My brow rose. I didn’t know a great deal about the mob except for what I’d learned from the movies. “You aren’t planning to give me a pair of concrete shoes, are you?” I was joking, but Eli was making me more and more nervous.
He rolled his eyes as he pulled the door open. “If I wanted to murder you, you’d already be dead.” His dark eyes looked at me. “And I have better ways of getting rid of a body than throwing it in the Hudson.”
My stomach flipped, and I felt a dryness in my mouth. Eli wouldn’t hurt me, but there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn’t above murder. Not that that should surprise me. Eli was the son of a mobster. And though the Blanchis wanted people to forget that, there were all kind of small reminders.
“Come on,” Eli said. He reached out and took my hand, leading me further into the warehouse.
The space was bare, which was odd. “Shouldn’t there be boxes here or cargo?”
Eli shook his head. “No,” he said. “The warehouse used to be used by the family, but it’s defunct.”
I pursed my lips, waiting for him to continue explaining to me why we were here.
“I thought it would make a good art studio.”
Immediately, my mouth dropped open.
Eli continued talking. He was pointing to some wooden planks that had been nailed up. “There are windows here. Surprisingly, this center space gets a lot of natural light. That’s good for art, right?”
I nodded, surprised that Eli would even think about that.
“I know it’s far, so you won’t be able to come out here without me, but I’m happy to drive you.”
My mind reeled as I twirled slowly, looking at the space. It was massive, and if Eli was right, the windows would provide a lot of natural light. Not that I needed much. My art veered towards darkness these days.
“What do you think?” Eli asked. His dark eyes were full of life.
I wanted to accept what Eli was giving me. It was kind of him to think of me. But I was hesitant. Depending on Eli to come out here would put him in further control of my life, and it would likely eat into the time I had when I could dig through my mother and brother’s case.
