Page 178 of Tempting All The Way

But it was. What else could it have been?

“Who? Alistair?”

“Just… can we go to your place?” I plead.

“Always.” She turns a corner and takes the freeway, heading out of the city. “I… ah… I moved in with Gio,” she says after a moment of silence.

“You what? When?” I don’t hide the shock in my tone. Eloise has never lived with a boyfriend before. Ever.

“Three weeks ago.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh, okay.” I have no idea what to say to that. She kept this boyfriend of hers to herself. She kept the fact that she moved in with him to herself. “Did I do something wrong?” I ask her.

“No, why would you think that?”

“Because you’re not telling me stuff. Important stuff like:Oh, hey, Dani, you know my boyfriend? Well, he asked me to move in with him.That kind of important stuff,” I say.

“It’s not because of you. I wanted to make sure it stuck. That’s all,” she says, as though that explains everything.

Twenty-five minutes later, we pull into an estate and she punches a code into the gates. “This is where you’re living? Shit, El, I would have moved in here too,” I say, looking up at the house. No, it’s not a house. It’s a bloody mansion on top of a mansion.

“It’s just a house.” She shrugs. “Come on. And don’t stare. Just pretend everyone you see doesn’t exist. Ignore them,” she says before getting out of the car.

It’s not until we’re walking through the front door and down a corridor that it dawns on me what she meant. There are a lot of people in this house. They all smile politely at Eloise and stare at me like I’m an intruder, someone who definitely shouldn’t be here. Eloise stops at the entry to a room and opens the door.

“Miss, I need to check your friend before you bring her into the house,” a man in a black suit says, approaching me.

“No, you don’t,” Eloise counters with her arms folded over her chest.

“I do. Boss’s orders.” The man shrugs.

“Boss’s orders? Really?” Eloise takes my hand and marches us down a hallway.

“Ah, boss is busy,” another equally large man in a suit says, while holding up a palm to stop Eloise outside a closed door.

“Well, he’s about to get busier.” Eloise shoves the guy out of the way and pushes the door open. “Gio De Bellis, I swear to god, if my friends have to be searched to visit me, I’m moving out,” Eloise yells into the room.

Five men turn and stare at her. The one behind the desk appears shocked as his eyes travel from Eloise to me. It’s the same man from the other day, when I left work to meet her for lunch. “El, you know the rules are in place to keep us all safe,” he says before standing and buttoning his suit jacket as he does.

“Really, Gio? You’re scared of her? Dani? My best friend since forever? Little Dani? You know what? It’s fine. Come on, Dani, I still have my apartment anyway. I’ll grab some of my things and get the rest later,” Eloise huffs and pivots on her heel.

“I’ll search her. I’ll even make it fun,” one of the occupants says. I glance at him and tilt my head. He’s good looking, extremely good looking.

“Touch her and I’ll cut your dick off. I know how fond of it you are, Gabe,” Eloise scolds him. To which, the large man just laughs.

“Enough. Eloise, a word,” Gio interjects, walking up to her.

“I’m not leaving Dani here with the ferals,” she argues.

“Any of you touch her, I’ll cut your fingers off myself,” Gio turns and says to them over his shoulder. “Happy?” he asks Eloise.

“No. Not even close,” she says in an oddly sweet voice. A voice I know means that she’s anything but happy. Eloise looks at me. “I’ll be two minutes. These goons are Gio’s brothers. They’re mostly safe. Don’t leave,” she says to me.

And I can’t help but sit here and wonder where she thinks I’m going. I don’t have anywhere else to go.

“Okay, who killed your cat?” another one of Gio’s brothers asks me as soon as the door shuts.

“Excuse me?” I turn to face him.

---