Page 38 of Burn With Me

She gets into the car, giving my driver, Robert, an address as I shut the door behind me. As soon as we’re on our way, I lean over and whisper back, “Have you already forgotten, Red? I got a handful of it Saturday morning.”

“No.” My answer is firm as I turn and walk out of the studio, grabbing Ginny’s arm as we retreat from the monstrosity she was about to make me walk through.

“Jackson!” she whines. “That’s the second one you haven’t even let melookat!”

Looking down at my phone as it goes off, I see that Stacey has emailed me a list ofsuitableapartments in the area. “Let’s go. There’s one on fifty-fourth Iwillbe okay with looking at.”

During the drive, she pouts with her arms crossed as shestares out the window. “Ginny, those places were dumps. The lock on the door was broken at the first one, for Christ’s sake.”

I have a feeling the reason she’s looking at places like that is because it’s all she can afford. Making a mental note to find out just how much she makes at Désirer, I hand her my phone with the new list Stacey sent over.

“Here. Browse those and see if you want to look at any of them.”

The fact that I just handed her my phone isn’t lost on either of us. She stares at me wide-eyed before she starts clicking through the links. “Jackson, I can’t afford these.”

“We can negotiate the price.”And if that doesn’t work, I’ll buy the damn building.

“I don’t really have time to do all that. Chris is leaving for Doctors Without Borders in a week and a half. He’s gonna be gone for a few months, but I wanted to have everything ready to move out while he’s gone.”

Watching her while she scrolls through listings, something feral curls in my chest, listening to her talk about her foster brother.

“Ginny…are you in trouble? Does your brother—does he, uh, hurt you?” It’s an uncomfortable question, and I struggle to ask it without sounding pissed off.

I don’t imagine she’ll tell me the truth, especially if she won’t tellthe stranger. But her body language tells me enough, just like it did at the club.

Still, I want to hear the words come from her lips.

“Why would you ask me that?” Her voice is soft, with no sign of defense or outrage.

Leaning closer to her, I angle my body so that I can look at her profile. She’s still absentmindedly scrolling through listings, not pausing to look at any of them. “At the charity event last week, he alluded to the fact that you two are together. Your rush to leave while he’s gone kind of makes me think you’re trying to escape him.”

“We’ve arrived, Mr. Tailor,” Robert announces.

Ginny bolts from the car, my phone still in her hand. Climbing over the seat, I get out and watch her as she looks up at the building in front of us. “Ginny…”

“I’m fine. Come on.”

Following her into the five-story walk-up, I keep quiet. She takes her time, looking around the studio with mild interest before shrugging her shoulders. “It’s nicer than the others.”

“It has a Murphy bed.”And it’s 300 square feet of cold floors with a bathroom that looks like it belongs in a prison.

“It was on your list,” she argues back, her temper returning to its normal temperature where I’m concerned.

Yeah, she’s got me there. I don’t know what Stacey was thinking when she added this to the list I asked her to drop everything and make.

Sighing, Ginny motions to the door. “Tomorrow is another day.”

“Why don’t you let me hire a realtor?” I ask as we exit the building and get back in the car.

She ignores the question but says, “I’m hungry. Are you hungry? Can we stop somewhere real quick?”

The fact that she still wants to spend time with me isn’t time I want to waste, so I motion to Robert and tell her, “Of course. Where do you wanna go?”

“Bryant Park, please.” She settles into her seat and takes my phone out of her pocket right as it dings. Her eyes scan the screen quickly before she hands it to me with a smile. “It’s for you.”

“Gee. You think?” I say dryly as I read the message.

Stacey

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