Page 17

THE AIR INSIDE the car was hot, and the tension almost unbearable from the moment Caleb climbed in. He sat on the other side of the backseat, and said nothing as his driver-slash-bodyguard drove out of the basement and into the late night traffic. The frenzied tempo filling the streets of the city matched the tumultuous barrage of thoughts in my head, and through the silence I could feel the anger radiating from Caleb. His body hummed with it, and still he said nothing, wouldn’t even look at me.

Between the time he’d put the phone down in my ear, and now, I was sure he would realize the insanity of taking me home with him, but something inside me was hoping he wouldn’t change his mind. I was confused, but also relieved that I wouldn’t have to spend another night in my car.

Minutes passed and I wasn’t sure how long we’d been in the car, the buildings outside blurring until we came to a stop outside the Puck building in Lafayette Street. Caleb climbed out, and surprised me when he held the door open for me while his driver got the few things I had from the trunk.

Caleb’s brows knitted when he saw all I had was a single suitcase. “That’s all of it?”

His driver nodded, and when Caleb’s eyes landed on me, I saw confusion colliding with doubtfulness. His distrust was obvious, so obvious that I could see the questions flitting through his mind, but rather than ask me, he walked into the foyer. I took my suitcase from the driver, thanking him for handling what I thought was an awkward situation with nothing but cordiality and quickly followed Caleb inside. He walked around the corner to a private elevator, and as soon as I stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted with a cold severity, making my apprehension grow inside my belly.

In the course of two minutes, I’d asked myself at least a hundred times if this was the right thing to do, if I really had no other option, and every time the answer was the same.

I was stuck.

I needed help.

And as reluctant as I was to accept it from the brooding man beside me, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I chanced a look at him, covertly trying to gauge his disposition, but his expression remained hard, and difficult to read. So I said nothing, and I continued to say nothing when the elevator dinged and opened into a grand atrium gallery that led into a double living room. The space was palatial, possibly the biggest penthouse I’d ever seen, but what had me staring in awe, with a wide-eyed expression to boot, was how warm, and welcoming it looked. Like a home. Lived in.

I trailed behind Caleb, feeling more and more unsure with every step, wishing that he’d at least break the silence.

“Are you going to say something?” I asked, unable to take his reticence any longer. He went about switching some lights on, and I watched on as he brushed his hands down his face in evident frustration.

“I want to ask you…” he cleared his throat, and shook his head once before turning to face me. “I want to ask you what the hell you were thinking living in your car, but I’m not sure I can trust your answer.”

I wanted to be affronted, but how could I be when his suspicion was so palpable?

“How did you find out?”

I knew the answer before he told me, but I wanted to hear it anyway.

“Aaliyah, and Macy,” he said. “They were worried about you, said something was off. I stayed late tonight, and waited for you to leave before I followed you. I didn’t expect -”

“To find me living in my car?” I finished for him. “That I showered, and washed my clothes in the office gym?” I tried to stand tall, to show that I wasn’t abashed, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do it. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go, Caleb.”

“You didn’t have anywhere else -” Caleb cursed under his breath. “Five years, Kadence. I haven’t thought about you in five years, and all it took was two weeks for you to drive me crazy.”

My mouth popped open. I wasn’t expecting that.

“You knew who I was, and yet you didn’t say anything. Why?”

“Of course I knew it was you,” he scoffed. “I chose not to say anything because I didn’t trust you. I still don’t -”

“Then why help me?”

Hearing my suspicion about his distrust confirmed this wasn’t easy, and I knew it had everything to do with what my father had done; but I had to accept that it wasn’t my cross to bear, and regardless of my innate desire to earn his trust, I wasn’t sure it was worth it. My eyes fell, and I fiddled with the hem of my shirt for the second time since he’d found me in my car.

Caleb didn’t answer, and as much as I didn’t like it, I was too tired to fight for it. I saw the tick in his jaw, and waited him out.

“You can stay here until the end of next week,” he said roughly. “You should be able to find a new place by then.”

I nodded, and swallowed the urge to cry. I’d been feeling that urge a lot lately, and wasn’t about to give into it in front of Caleb.

“Thank you.”

With a brisk dip of his head, Caleb walked out of the living room and showed me to the guestroom I could stay in. The bathroom alone was bigger than the apartment I’d lived in, and the bedroom was stunning. A giant four-post bed sat in the center of the room against the back wall, matching the dressing table and dresser on the opposite side. The walls were painted a light blue, with beige and cream accents and a whitewashed dresser. Very beachy for a place in the city.

Through the lacy curtains I could see the lights of the skyline, and two double doors that I guessed opened onto a rooftop terrace.