Alex ate some eggs. “We’ll go talk to them today and see what they think about your situation. What else?”
Okayyy. “I need a laptop,” I told him. “I have to try to get back to work.”
His features went very still. “Do you need anything else?”
“That’s all I can think of for now,” I told him, hopeful. I thought about my words for a moment. “I still can’t get into my checking account until I get my phone, but I promise I can pay you back once I get it.”
He made a dismissive sound as he finished off the rest of his breakfast like we hadn’t gotten into an argument over money a few days ago. “When you’re ready, we’ll leave.”
Here I’d thought he’d let me borrow his credit card and buy everything online, but to actually leave the house?
I didn’t get a chance to think about it too much because Alex turned to the other woman. “Selene, I’m fine. You can go home now. Tell everybody to mind their own business. I’m set for the week; you can work from the office again.”
She gave him a thumbs-up.
I blinked and finished my cooling eggs, ate my last piece of bacon, and watched Alex’s face before glancing toward Selene and wondering what she did for a living.
Did he work?
I got up, rinsed my plate, and headed upstairs, taking note of their silence. I breathed heavily through a shower and got dressed in the clothes I’d bought a couple days ago. They were a lot nicer than just about everything I usually wore—just about everything was since I lived in sweats. I took a mental note to give my new clothes a wash since I wasn’t leaving after all. I hoped more than I should that stayed the case.
Selene was nowhere to be found when I went back downstairs half an hour later, but Alex was there, hair damp and in jeans that hugged all the right places—which was all of them because there wasn’t a spot on him that wasn’t one—and a dark red, button-down shirt with a black coat.
I’d forgotten to buy a coat, dammit. The day I’d gone shopping, it had been kind of cool, and it hadn’t occurred to me that winter was coming.
Literally.
But I eyed Alex real subtle. As incredible as he looked in his charcoal Defender suit, there was something about him in such normal clothes that made it harder not to stare. He might be such a pain sometimes, but he really was a gorgeous one, even fully dressed.
“Ready?” he asked, getting up from the table.
“Sure,” I said, taking in the reserved expression on his face.
Alex’s gaze went to my boobs, and like he’d read my mind, he asked, “Where’s your jacket?”
“Waiting for me at a store?”
He blinked.
I blinked.
Then he gestured toward the door with his head. “Use one of mine. Come on.”
See? Not a total heartless butthole after all. I nodded and followed after him, stopping in the foyer where he passed me a zip-up black jacket that he watched me put on. My shoes were right next to his, and we slipped them on. Then we were out the door.
But that was as far as I made it because Selene’s Camaro was missing, and in its place was a black SUV parked in the front that hadn’t been there before. I knew just enough about cars to recognize what the ported hood and yellow brake calipers meant. Whatever this was, it was fast.
“Is this yours?”
Those long legs were eating up the paved stones that led toward the car. “No. Come on.”
I’d walked into that shit. I ran down the steps, eyeing it. “What is it?”
“A Durango.”
It sure wasn’t a regular Durango. He confirmed it the second he started it, the engine roaring to life, nearly blowing my eardrums out, the body of the car even shaking lightly as it grumbled. He pulled out of the driveway the second I was done buckling my seat belt.
I was focused on everything outside. I’d kept an eye on my surroundings as much as I could the day I’d gone shopping, but it was way easier to do it now that I wasn’t driving. There were so many trees. So much green— Someone’s energy changed, and I glanced over to find him there, his jaw tense. More tense than normal at least.
Oh boy. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
His attention stayed forward. “There are some people I don’t want to run into where we’re going.”
He actually answered me. I was going to take that as a step forward. “I can talk to whoever you want me to talk to by myself,” I said carefully, taking his openness to heart.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want them to see you either.”
Shame bit at my throat, and I glared at his profile until he glanced over. I blinked. “I’m no Mistress of Mayhem, but I’m all right looking.” I blinked again. “Remember? Remember you said I was ‘all right looking’？”
No feature on his face moved.
Oh, right. “The actress who plays her is really pretty. She’s a character on—”
“I know she’s a character. I have cable.”
Excuse me, motherfucker. “I’m so proud of you for knowing that,” I told him sarcastically.
He scoffed. “I watch TV.”
“You could have said something when you were at my house. I love her show. I could’ve put it on.”
He huffed, facing forward again.
I pressed my lips together for a second. “What do you like to watch?” I asked him, my best friend number 20.
“Shows that teach me things,” he replied.
“Nerd.”
His sudden snicker made me smile as I looked out the window again. We still hadn’t made it through the main gate, and I wasn’t totally sure what kind of neighborhood this was, other than a very, very secluded one, but what did I expect from one of the greatest secrets of the century? A member of the Trinity to live in an apartment? Please. That wouldn’t exactly work.
“It’s my grandmother I don’t want to see,” he explained after a moment, surprising me again.
“Oh.” There went that mystery grandmother again. “Is there another door we can go in that she wouldn’t take?”
Those purple eyes flicked toward me. “No, but that’s a good idea.”
“All my ideas are good ideas.” Most of them anyway. “I don’t want to put you into a position you don’t want to be in. I might be able to get away with not contacting the police. It isn’t exactly a crime, is it? I didn’t do anything, and I know the owner had homeowner’s insurance. And it isn’t like I’ll be able to use Gracie Garcia for much longer.” The only problem would be trying to file a claim with my car insurance; I really needed that money to get a new one even though it had been old and not worth a whole bunch. I had some savings but definitely not enough to buy one outright, especially with needing a new computer.
He shook his head again. “You need to deal with it. It’s fine.”
I eyed the grumpy side of his face. “It doesn’t look like it’s fine.”
“It’s fine.”
“Your neck is turning red.”
Even from the side, I could tell his eyes glowed, and I gave him my best angelic smile when he peered over, which wasn’t really angelic at all.