He walks me to a locker on the wall and holds my finger up against it, unlocking it. “It’s got the same biometrics programmed to it as the elevator. It holds all of our car keys, so just pick one and drive it. When you’re done with it, you put it back here. From now on, I want you to drive to work, park in my designated parking area, and then use my private elevator to go straight up.”
“Is this… this isn’t about Ryan, is it?”
He nods. “Partially. For one, I don’t want you taking the bus late at night, and I don’t like the idea of you walking from the bus stop, but yeah. I’ll admit, I also want to cut off Ryan’s access to you. It’s my fault for not giving you access to my cars sooner. I’ve been so caught up in work that I forgot to ensure you knew you can use anything I own, but you can, baby. Everything that’s mine is yours.”
I stare at him, trying to figure him out. “What’s that covered car in the back?” I ask, curious. All of his cars are low sports cars, but there’s something hidden in the back that looks like a truck.
“That…” he murmurs. “It’s just an old car. Don’t worry about that one and use any of the others.”
I nod, knowing he won’t let this go until I agree. Silas Sinclair… I can’t figure him out. Is he leading me on like his brother did, or is this something else? I’m starting to want things that scare me, things I’ve never wanted with anyone else, not even Ryan. I know being with him would result in certain doom, but I don’t think I can resist much longer.
Chapter Fifty-One
Silas
My eyes roam over the carnage in the living room, sofa pillows strewn everywhere. What the fuck happened? Why the fuck is everything such a mess?
I freeze when I hear the sound of sniffling and follow it to find Alanna on her knees, rooting through what appears to be her upturned bag.
I kneel down beside her and grab her shoulders. Her eyes are red from the endless tears she’s cried, and her pain hits me straight in the chest. “What happened, my love?”
Her breathing is choppy, and she keeps choking on her sobs. “I-I… I lost it,” she cries. “I lost my… my h-handkerchief.”
The handkerchief my mother gave me? “The one with the Ψ symbol on it?”
She nods and bursts into tears all over again, loud heartbreaking sobs tearing through her throat. I pull her against me and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Baby, it’s just a handkerchief. It isn’t worth your tears. I’ll buy you a hundred of them. I’ll get it replicated for you.”
She pushes me away, pain and anger flashing through her eyes. “This isn’t something you can throw money at, Silas. There’s only one of it.” Alanna sniffs, her anger overtaking her pain. “Someone like you would never understand how much it means to me.”
I bite back a smile, which only infuriates her further. She has no idea that the handkerchief she’s crying such bitter tears over is one of the last things my mother left me.
I cup her cheeks tenderly and wipe her tears away with my thumbs. “I’m sorry, baby. Let me help you look for it, okay? Where did you last see it?”
“I w-was playing with it in the living room last night, and now it’s gone.”
I nod as my eyes roam over the pillows and the deconstructed sofa. How did she even take that apart? “That explains the state of our living room.”
She pauses for a moment, her eyes widening a fraction before she shakes her head and continues to look around. I join her in her search, my emotions in turmoil all over again. Each time I wonder if I’m wasting my time trying to win her over, she proves to me that a part of her still loves me too. Her only connection to that handkerchief is me.
I pat down the sofa cushions and smirk when I see her handkerchief poking through the zipper of one of them. “Baby,” I murmur, leaning back against sofa’s base. “Look at this.”
She crawls toward me and leans over my lap as she grabs the handkerchief. “You found it! I’ve been looking for it for over an hour, how did you find it so easily!”
Alanna presses it to her chest and smiles so widely that my heart skips a beat or two. I’m pretty sure I straight up forget how to breathe for a moment.
She turns toward me and throws herself at me, her arms wrapping around me, the two of us entwined on the floor. I hug her tightly as she squeezes me, a relieved exhale escaping her lips. “Thank you, Silas! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”