Page 20 of Midnight Whispers

My eyes fall closed for a second. I know exactly what that feels like. When I open my eyes, there’s raw pain in Cin’s eyes. I love the juxtaposition of the confident, powerful woman on stage and the vulnerable one sitting in front of me. But I take no pleasure in her pain.

“Come home with me.” The words leave my mouth before I consider them, but I don’t regret saying them.

Her head rocks back. “You don’t know me. I don’t even really know you.”

I let go of her hand and stand, shoving my hands in the pockets of my coat. “True, but I can tell you anything you need to know, and there’s more than enough room at my house. You’d have your own room, your own space. You can stay as long as you’d like.”

She shakes her head, standing and swinging her purse over her shoulder. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t even know if you’re a serial killer or something.”

I step closer to her and place my hand on her cheek. It feels impossible to be this close to her and not touch her. “Do you think I’m a serial killer?”

She holds my gaze and shakes her head. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Do you feel safe around me?” I hold my breath while I wait for her answer. I’m not sure why the question feels like a heavy weight.

Cin nods, although reluctantly it seems. “Oddly, yes.”

“Then come home with me. At least for tonight. You have nowhere to go. We don’t even have to interact if you don’t want to. I’ll leave you alone. But you can’t expect me to just leave you here with nowhere to go.”

She hems and haws, and I take her hand again and squeeze.

“Please. Just for tonight.”

She nods. “Okay, for tonight.”

I try to hold back my smile and not show her how happy her decision makes me. “Great, follow me to my place then.”

“Alright.”

I hurry down the steps and back into my car before she changes her mind.

Now I have to figure out how to get her to stay more than one night.

Chapter

Ten

CINDER

Ifollow Nero’s expensive car, barely believing that I’m about to be welcomed into his home. My nerves make me edgy, and I keep having to clench and unclench my hands from around the steering wheel as we make our way up the hill to the manor at the top.

When he reaches a set of iron gates, he rolls down his window, presses a code into the keypad, and speaks into the speaker. He eases his car through the gates, and I follow him onto a tree-lined winding road.

The trees finally clear, and I’m met with a dark sprawling mansion so large I never imagined places like this existed. Mist hangs low to the ground, and an ominous feeling rises around me. For the first time since he asked me to come home with him, I have second thoughts.

There are two spires on each far end of the massive manor, and I spot points of two more off in the distance. The dark gray stone gives the place a Gothic feel, and I imagine this place standing here a thousand years ago, though that’s impossible.

Nero parks his car in the circular drive, and I park beside him, sucking in a deep breath before I climb out.

He waits for me. “You can leave your things in your car. One of the staff will bring it to your room.”

I nod, the word staff feeling overwhelming. You’d need a full team of people to run a place this big. And do they treat the staff the way Louise treats me? If so, I’m not sure I can handle that. But it’s only for one night, and I have no other choice.

“When you said I could stay at your place, I didn’t imagine it would look like this.” I look up and spot stone gargoyles perched on top of the mansion. I swear their eyes are watching us, assessing, judging.

Nero chuckles. “It can be overwhelming. I didn’t want you to say no.”

My cheeks heat with his admission. “I’m only staying the night. I don’t need all my things.” I gesture to the back seat, where basically every belonging I own is packed.

---