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“Bianca,” he began, ready to launch into an explanation.
“Has anyone shot atyou?” she said, the thought making her blood cold.
“It’s not like I’m out there every day, dodging bullets,” he said, laughing at the thought. “You don’t have to fear for my life every time I walk out the door. Seriously, most of what I do is research.”
A knock on the door interrupted whatever Bianca was going to say next.
Elias stepped back to fix his clothes while Bianca slowly closed her robe and retied it, still too stunned to move. She didn’t know what to think or how she felt about it, but she knew the thought of him getting shot at was not something she was prepared to deal with at the moment.
The knocking continued, and Elias checked the peephole to see who it was. He came back to Bianca and spoke quietly in her ear rather than call across the room.
“It’s Maxwell Ronson,” he said, his expression inscrutable. “I’m not here, and you don’t know anything,” he whispered.
He had switched gears so quickly that Bianca felt like she couldn’t catch up. “Wait. What am I supposed to say?”
The knocking continued. “Nothing about me or about the security footage you saw. That never happened,” he said, giving her a penetrating look before moving quietly out of the room.
Her head was still spinning when she opened the door. Maxwell looked pale and disheveled. “Hey House, what’re you doing here? You look like shit.”
“Can I come in?” he asked.
Bianca stepped back, letting him in. He wandered aimlessly around her living room and then into the kitchen. “House,” Bianca said, trying to get him to stop poking around. “What’s up?”
“I got your message, asking if I’d seen Eden,” he said.
“And have you?”
“No. Have you?”
Bianca shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. Technically, she hadn’t actually seen Eden, though she knew her answer was an omission of truth. Rick knew where she was, and Bianca knew Eden was with Rick, or had been. Maxwell was still looking around her apartment as if he sensed that something was off. He looked down into the sink.
“Do you have someone over?” he asked, gesturing to the second coffee cup.
Bianca sighed. “I had someone over last night,” she said, not saying whether or not he was still there. Another omission of truth.
Maxwell looked taken aback. “Oh. I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
“Who said I was seeing anyone?” she said, laughing. He wasn’t laughing, though. The last thing she needed was another male telling her who she could and couldn’t sleep with. “Okay, House. What are you doing here?”
“I can’t find my sister!” he nearly shouted.
“I don’t know where she is!” Bianca nearly shouted back, but she instantly regretted losing her temper. “Have you spoken to your parents about it?”
“My dad’s avoiding me,” he admitted.
“Maybe your dad knows and he doesn’t want to tell you?” she said, trying to lead him to the truth without actually giving it to him. She didn’t want Maxwell to worry, but Elias was listening to everything she was saying. The rules of his job were still so new to her that she was worried she’d give something away, even on accident. Still, she wasn’t very good at lying or hiding her feelings.
“Why would he not want to tell me?” Maxwell asked, baffled.
“I don’t know.” Bianca threw up her hands. Maxwell threw up his hands, copying her. “You’re such a dork,” she said, chuckling.
“I know.” He smiled at her in an assessing way. His eyes narrowed at an unpleasant thought. “So, who’s the guy?” he asked.
Bianca grabbed Maxwell by the shoulders, turned him around, and started pushing him to the front door. He chuckled, moving toward the door but leaning back heavily on Bianca’s hands to make it extra hard on her.
“I’m going to find out who he is, you know,” he said tauntingly.
“When Eden turns up, give me a call,” Bianca said, opening the front door and pushing Maxwell out.
