I woke up early this morning with my stomach in knots. Amelia comes to live with me today and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Ava lies next to me looking like the angel she is. Her hair is fanned out on the pillow and the sun coming through the window sets off a glow around her. She’s perfectly perfect. Perfect for someone that can give her what she needs. Yet I can’t seem to let her go. I want her. I need her. In ways that I never saw coming, I want to keep her here in my own perverse way. What do I want her as? My no strings attached lover? Shaking my head, she wiggles in her sleep before those angelic eyes open and beam up at me.
“Morning.” Her smile is as bright as the sun.
“Morning, mia bella ragazza.” Running my fingers down her cheek, she closes her eyes again. Everything within me screams to hold on but I know I can’t.
“Did you sleep well?” Ava nods her head.
“I’m glad. Lucy will bring up breakfast and I had her wash your clothes.” Ava’s eyes open to lock with mine once more before she speaks.
“Do you know anything about my father?” Her question throws me off. This wasn’t exactly the conversation I thought we would have this morning.
“As in?” I question. Ava chews her lips nervously. There are questions sitting at the tip of her tongue, I can see it.
“I don’t know. Never mind,” she says trying to pull away from me. Reaching for her, I pull her body against mine.
“Talk to me.”
“He just seems like he’s hiding things from me and my mom. We don’t talk anymore. He kept my money from me and when I turned twenty-one, he was supposed to release my accounts, but he never did.” My blood boils in my veins. Governor Sinclair has always been twisted and into things he has no business being in. I’ve kept tabs on the man since I’ve taken over and to be honest, I don’t like what I see.
“That’s why you’re working in that shitty clinic?” Stating the obvious, she glances over at me with anger in her eyes.
“It’s a job. I get paid.” Yeah, a real job.
“It’s nothing. I can imagine your pay is as shitty as the building itself,” I grumble. Ava huffs before sitting up, taking the sheet with her.
“At least it’s legal!” A woman snapping at me has never looked as sexy as it does right now. Typically, women know better than to mouth me the way Ava is but something about it coming from her lips does something to me.
“Now, Miss Sinclair, you uncover the reality that is my world!” Knowing I need to keep her at a distance, I raise my voice before climbing out of bed. Pulling my pants on, I don’t bother to turn and look at her. There is no reason to.
“Is that what you wanted, Cord? You wanted me to realize that this world isn’t for me?” Hearing her say it and realizing it are two different things.
“You’ve lived in this world for as long as I have, Ava.” Buttoning up my shirt, I don’t plan to argue the facts with her, but she should know how shady this world actually is.
“What does that mean?” She asks as I pull my shoes on. As I head towards the bathroom ignoring her, Ava appears in front of me.
“What the fuck does that mean, Cordae?” In my face is the last place she needs to be but I fucking love it. When her hands come up to push into my chest, I almost lose what sanity I have left. Knocking on the devil’s door is not the ideal place for her. He will open that door and the heat behind it is not something she can handle. Grabbing her shoulders roughly, I shake her slightly.
“Do you not realize who your father is? Do you not realize who Daniel Gambino is? For fuck’s sake, Ava. Open those little angel eyes of yours!” Releasing her, I head into the bathroom, leaving her to ponder that alone.
She may think I’m the bad guy here, but she doesn’t realize how long she’s been sleeping with the enemy. In fact, she may be deeper in this shit than she likes to think. I finish getting ready and when I come back into the room, she isn’t in it. I don’t know if that makes me happy or not. I head out of my room and down the stairs to find her standing there with her hands clasped together. She seems to be lost in thought. Ava didn’t press the issue with me earlier as I went into the bathroom, not that I cared if she did. The conversation was over before it began. I’m not the type to sugar coat things or go out of my way to hide the truth. My life is what it is and the faster she realizes that the easier it will be on her. With my hands clasped in front of me, I await the arrival of Amelia. I can’t say that I’m excited about this either.
“The cars pulling up now,” Nikolai announces as Ava comes to stand next to me.
“That conversation isn’t over,” She whispers loud enough for me to hear. A smile pulls across my face. I love how assertive she can be.
“It’s been over. It wasn’t even a conversation, sweetheart.” Her huff does nothing to me. Not an ounce of me gives a shit that it’s bothering her. The door opens as a small girl walks in. Dark hair and darker eyes, she does look a lot like me. Cocking my head to the side, I examine her the same way she examines me.
“You must be Amelia,” I say. Her eyes slowly travel to meet mine. I can see my father so clearly in them that it makes me sick to even look at her.
“Are you my brother?” Her voice is quiet as she awaits my answer. I swallow hard. I don’t know how to respond to that. I don’t want her looking at me like a brother. I can’t be a brother to her. I don’t have it in me.
“I’m Cordae. You can call me Cord.” Her eyes don’t leave mine. She stares at me so deeply I want to crawl out of my own skin.
“Is this where I’m going to live now?” Amelia’s eyes dance around the room before coming back to mine.
“It is. You’ll be safe here. You’ll have your own room.” Her eyes brighten if only slightly.
“I’m Ava. Remember me?” Ava leans down, smiling at Amelia before she nods.
“You were the one that was nice to me,” Amelia says softly as if people have treated her badly. That only pisses me off further. Ava smiles before taking her hand.
“Do you live here too?” Amelia looks at her as if she may cry if she says no.
“I don’t but I can visit.” Yeah, we all know that her visits will be with me not Amelia. The awkward silence that follows does little to unnerve me. In fact, it’s a little annoying.
“This is Julius. He will be your bodyguard. Anything you need you can ask him,” I say, shoving him forward as he takes her hand in his. Julius was the obvious choice for many reasons. He’s younger, he can keep up with a child and he’s very much more laid back than the other guys.
“Well, I have a meeting to get to,” I announce. Nodding at Julius, I head towards the front door when Ava grabs my arm.
“You can’t just leave. She just got here,” she hisses. Chuckling slightly, I look down at her and say,
“If you’re so concerned, you stay with her.” Shaking her grasp from my arm, I head out the door.
Someone needs to have a little talk with the good old Governor about his businesses.
Chapter 16
I go in unannounced as usual. I don’t feel that with my power, I need formal appointments anymore.