Page 57 of Torment
“You’re doing that thing again,” Cole says, glancing over.
“What thing?”
“That thing where you go all quiet then we end up taking some poor bastard to the warehouse.”
I don’t answer. The engine growls as I accelerate, my hands flexing around the wheel.
“He was there,” I say finally.
Cole frowns. “At the casino?”
I nod. “More than once. Which isn’t unusual, but something about this is different. I can feel it.”
“An employee maybe?” he offers. I shake my head.
Cole exhales slowly. “So, what are you thinking?”
I shrug. “Maybe he was put there. Maybe he was watching. Either way, I don’t think this is just some random guy who just gave up.”
Silence fills the car. Cole shifts in his seat.
“Watching what, though?”
“Everything,” I grind out.
Cole lets out a whistle, understanding where I’m going without me saying it. “You think this is about her?”
I shake my head once. “Doesn’t matter what I think.” My grip tightens on the wheel. “But we need to find out.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The penthouse doesn’t feellike just somewhere I’ve been staying anymore. It feels like somewhere I’ve been living. It feels like home. My clothes fill half the dresser now. My shoes line the inside of the closet opposite of his. My shampoo sits beside his in the shower like it belongs there. Like I belong here. That thought still feels dangerous. If someone told me a year ago that I would be living with Karson, I would have punched them in the face. Now, it’s been a week and I’m still reeling from how quickly everything has changed. But, it’s the most comfortable I’ve been in a long time.
Karson moves around the kitchen behind me, the low clink of dishes and the hum of the refrigerator filling the silence while I sit curled up sideways on the couch. My phone rests in my lap. Melissa and Jack haven’t said a word since before the gala. No texts. No calls. No passive-aggressive reminders about financial agreements or appearances or responsibilities. Nothing. I’m relieved, and yet somehow still on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. My thumb taps the edge of the screen.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Karson says from behind me. I glance over my shoulder.
“Is that a thing?”
“For you? Yeah,” he says, making his way to the couch before sitting down next to me.
Running my fingers through my hair, I let out a sigh.
“It’s just weird. Melissa kept her thumb on me in any way she could from the day they picked me up from that foster home. The fact that I haven’t heard a word from her since the gala is strange. I didn’t expect her to freak out, that’s just not who she is. But letting me slip from her control…it doesn’t seem right. I should be relieved-” I trail off, shaking my head.
“They’re not going to touch you,” he says, his voice low and controlled. It’s a promise, and I believe him.
“You never did tell me what happened to your parents,” he whispers. My eyes search his. “Or how you ended up with the Steele’s. Do you want to talk about it?”
I haven’t told anyone. Parker knows I was adopted as a teenager by people I hate. I only told her after Karson and Maverick got her back last year. I hate talking about my past–if I don’t, it never happened. But, I know now that I truly can trust Karson with everything. Letting out a sigh, I lean my shoulder into his side and rest my head on his chest.
“My parents died when I was three. They got into a car accident when they were on some vacation. I was with my grandparents that weekend.”
He shifts beside me and pulls me into him tighter, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I stayed with them until I was five. When they both died, I ended up in the system. I bounced around so much,” I exhale a shaky breath. “There was one home I went to that I liked. One that wasn’t absolutely awful. It was the first one. Mrs. Thompson,” I smile at her memory. “She was amazing.”
“How come you didn’t stay there?” he asks. I shrug.
