She beamed. “Anyway, Kyndle can be a dickhead, but he’s mostly cool. Our other roommates will be arriving over the next two weeks. Stacie, Celica, and, of course, Vaya.”
I listened as she told me about the other three girls, taking in the house. It was tidy, the furniture practical and comfortable in appearance. There was nothing showy about the place. It felt warm. Like the siblings had made this house a home.
“The way rent works is everything is included. No surprises with us. My stepdad takes half the money for the utilities and lets my brother and me keep the rest so we can concentrate on school and stay out of trouble so our mom doesn’t worry.” She rolled her eyes. “Not that it helps. She worries even when there’s nothing to worry about. I think she sits in bed at night coming up with things to be anxious over. Drives my stepdad crazy.”
“Moms, though, right?”
She laughed. “Right.”
After she showed me the bathroom upstairs and what would be my room, we walked back downstairs. I had yet to meet Kyndle, but I had to admit, I liked Hudson’s vibe. I already felt more comfortable with her than I ever had with Julie.
If I took the room, I would have my own place immediately. Although Rita had offered to let me crash at her house for as long as I wanted, I needed my own space to decompress. Maybe wrap my head around the new life I was determined to start without Judge in it.
“Do the other roommates need to approve of me?” I asked when she offered me coffee.
“Nope. As long as you like us and we don’t get serial killer vibes from you—which I don’t, so total bonus—then we’re good.” She picked up her mug and took a drink, watching me over the rim.
I considered my options. Rita was amazing, but I couldn’t keep crashing on her couch. Going back to the mansion was a definite no. And Hudson wasn’t giving me serial killer vibes either.
“I need to meet Kyndle first.”
Chapter 38
Judge
Howler texted me just as I was getting out of the car.
Howler: Door was fixed earlier. Better hope I don’t tell Lyla about you kicking in Elli’s door when she gets home next week.
Me: Ellianna.
I couldn’t control the urge to correct him. Shoving my phone into my pocket, I strode through the house. Elli hadn’t shown up for work, not that I’d expected her to, but I’d still held out hope.
Entering the kitchen, I moved straight for the coffeepot. I’d been short-tempered in court all afternoon. My bailiff kept giving me the side-eye, and when he wasn’t, he would glance around like he expected someone to walk through the door at any moment.
Each time someone had entered the gallery, I would hold my breath, praying it was Ellianna. Suspecting that the bailiff was waiting for her too had set me off, and I’d threatened to fire the man. I was losing my fucking mind.
Grabbing the pot of coffee, I reached for a mug, but before I could wrap my fingers around the handle, something caught my attention.
A key fob.
Lyla’s key.
Who the fuck was I kidding? I’d never bought that car with my sister in mind. Even then, Lyla had been nervous behind the wheel. No matter how many times Howler or I tried to teach her, she was just too stuck in her head. I had to admit that I wasn’t a fan of driving either, but Lyla was more likely to run into a ditch before she even made it off our property.
But Ellianna loved driving. She’d been such a natural behind the wheel that I’d trusted her to drive me when she was sixteen. When she’d gotten a speeding ticket, I’d nearly lost my mind. And then I’d found out one of the girls—no one had ever told me which one—had been flirty and flashed cleavage at the cop. That fucker was still unpromoted. If he ever wanted to make detective, he was going to have to move to a new state. Maybe another country.
I made sure that car had every safety feature available, but I’d picked the design with Ellianna in mind. Her favorite color. Convertible. Seats. Stitching. The manufacturer had built it to my specifications, based on what I knew Ellianna would enjoy.
Picking up the key fob, I felt something crumble inside me.
She was really gone.
I knew she would leave, but a part of me kept thinking she was just trying to get a reaction. Fuck, it had taken everything inside me not to tie her to our bed the night before and keep her there until she understood.
Until she promised to never leave me.
But I hadn’t because she needed to be able to trust me. I’d broken that completely the previous night.
Slamming the pot down on the counter, I barely felt the hot liquid splash over my hand. I didn’t notice that I’d cracked the bottom or the contents leaking out, slowly flooding the counter and onto the floor.
Closing my eyes, I tried to rein in my emotions, choke them down, not feel. But it was impossible. Thrusting my hand into my pocket, I jerked out my phone, already calling her before I could stop myself.
It rang three times before I was sent to voice mail, which told me she wasn’t on a plane headed back to California.
Yet.
Could I stop her in time?
When the beep sounded, my shoulders dropped. “Come home.” Fighting the sting of tears, I clenched my jaw for a few moments, letting the silence stretch but unable to hang up. “Come back to me. Please.”
Hearing only silence, I groaned. “Fuck, baby. I miss you already. I’m begging. I’m fucking begging you, Elli. Come home. You don’t have to forgive me. All I’m asking is to have you under the same roof. Breathing the same air. So I don’t lose what’s left of my mind.”
Ending the call before I completely lost it, I dropped the phone in a puddle of coffee. Clutching the key fob in my fist, I pressed it to my chest. “Come back, baby.”
I had three choices.
Get drunk off my ass.
Spend the night beating on a punching bag.
Or get on a plane and bring Ellianna home where she belonged.
I promised her I would give her time, and I wasn’t going to become a drunk like my father, which only left me with bloody, tape-wrapped knuckles. It was Friday night, so I could have gotten in a cage with another Son. But if Ellianna found out I was fighting again, she would be upset.
Driving myself over to the empty Underground location, I spent a few hours taking out my frustration and pain on the bag before my phone pulled me out of my head.
Grabbing it, I barely saw the name on the screen before I answered. “Tell me you’re coming home a few days early,” I told my sister.
Hearing her laugh, I felt a small fraction of my tension ease. “Nope, sorry. I just got off the phone with Josie, and I had this crazy need to hear my big brother’s voice.”
“Why can’t you come home earlier?” I groused. Picking up a towel, I wiped my face. “I haven’t seen you since Christmas, damn it.”
“I miss you too,” she soothed. “I’ll be home in four days, and I will get to spend three with you before I have to move to campus.”
“I’m still not a fan of this arrangement. Why can’t you live in your own home while you watch this celebrity princess?”
“Because she’s supposed to be my roommate. That’s my cover. I can keep better tabs on her and make friends easier.”