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“Where is she going?” Mia asks, confused.
Red tail lights brighten in the darkened lot as the engine roars to life, follows the dirt path to the exit, and peels off onto Beach Drive.
What. The. Fuck.
Chapter 12
Ivy
“Iknew you’d be a good investment,” Evan says with a smirk, leaning up against his Tahoe in the rain.
I stop short before I reach Steph and the Renegade rep, following the sound of his voice. Where did he come from?
“How do you mean?” I answer, curious.
His eyes travel slowly down my wet body from head to toe and back again. I know exactly what he means.
He shrugs. “I’m here to advertise. Entice customers to my establishments. What can I say?” He steps away from the Tahoe, and closer to me. “You’re enticing.”
“I’m wet,” I admit, obviously.
Evan chuckles. “And I could use a drink.” He nods his head toward his truck. “Care to join me?”
Everything inside me says no. Full stop. Run.
And yet, this is why I’m here. In Florida, working in food service, lying to everyone. For the chance to get closer to the truth than the police can. For answers.
Fuck. “Yeah. I could go for a drink.”
Smiling, he walks over to me and escorts me to his vehicle. He places his hand on my lower back, and I fight the urge to cringe and pull away. Instead, I let him lead me to the front seat, and climb inside.
What am I doing? What if he’s an insanely evil guy? I have literally no way to protect myself apart from pulling a muddy boot off and smashing him with it. I need to be better prepared than this. I don’t know why I felt safe going to a concert in the middle of a murder investigation.
He slides into the driver’s seat, running a hand through his short, blonde hair. His eyes meet mine.
“I don’t know if we can be out in public like this,” he says, pulling at the soaked button-up shirt plastered to his skin.
“What’s your alternative?” I ask, eyebrow raised. If a skirt is all it takes to lower his defenses, I’m leaping right in there.
He cranks up the truck and pulls out of the parking space. “My place it is.”
I swallow hard, and reluctantly nod. He’s taking me into the lion’s den. This is stupid. This is so stupid. I glance out the window as he reaches the exit onto the main road. In the distance, I can see figures moving around inside Raven’s storage unit. My eyes fall on Zaden, standing in the doorway, his hands shoved into his pockets. Mia stands beside him, watching me leave.
Something breaks inside me, and shadows move in around the periphery of the tiny light I’ve been nurturing and daring to hold close. Something that’s just mine. Hope. The small space of relative normalcy I’ve found. As I drive away with Evan, Iknow the relationships I’ve built with everyone back in that storage unit are about to change.
I just sided with the enemy.
I glance away and concentrate on the road, trying to remember street names in case I need to find my way back. My heart beats faster the farther we get away from the Sandbar. He turns onto a dark side road that disappears into the trees, and for a moment, I start to panic. My hand reaches for the door handle to the truck, prepared to bail.
Out of the darkness, streetlights illuminate a small building surrounded by large black metal gates and tropical landscaping. Evan slows down and pauses at the entrance, rolling his window down. A uniformed officer steps out of the building and checks us before opening the gate. We pass through, and a wall of condos rise in the distance. My hand relaxes on the door, just a little.
“How long have you lived here?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“In the building?” He questions, pulling into one of the parking spaces. “Or Pelican Beach in general?”
I shrug. “Both.”
“I’m going on three years at Oceanside. Before that I lived at The Pointe, but this is closer to work. I’ve lived in Pelican Beach nearly my whole life, except for the few years I spent at Columbia.”
