28. Friday Week Ten (pt2.)
When Eli came back into the room, he was shirtless from his fight, sweat coated his body but he came straight over to where I was sat on the sofa, placing himself between my legs and cupping my face, "tigru?"
My eyes flickered up to meet his and I gave him a small smile. "I met Daddy dearest. He's a real peach," I stated, sarcasm lacing my voice
Anger flashed through Eli's eyes, but then they scanned up and down my body, "are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing worth repeating."
"What did he say, Rei?" Eli's voice was hard and I knew that he needed to know.
"Just stupid stuff like you're an asset and I'm a distraction," Eli stood at this, running his hands through his hair and cursing under his breath, "he knew my name, Eli," his eyes met mine, "how did he know my name?"
"Later," he crouched and took my face between his hands again, "but I need you to tell me what else he said. Did he threaten you, Reillyn?"
I met Eli's stare, unsure of how to respond, Mikael never explicitly threatened me but I sure as hell felt threatened. I mulled over whether or not to tell Eli but in the end, I just didn't want to lie to him, "he had a gun."
Eli pulled away, "fuck!" His blazing eyes met Cayden's across the room before he pointed at him, "where the fuck were you?" He shouted.
Cayden's hand rose in an 'I surrender' position, "I'm sorry, man, someone told me that shit was going wrong with your fight, I didn't know â"
"So you left her?!" Eli yelled again.
Choosing to intervene, I rose and placed my hands on Eli's arm, trying to tug him so that he would face me. When that didn't work I stood in front of him and grabbed his face in my hands, "Eli, calm down. Nothing happened, okay? I'm fine."
Still, his fierce glare never strayed from Cayden so I tilted his head, forcing him to look at me, "baby, calm down," his eyes began to lose their angry haze as they stared down at me.
"We're leaving," he stated gruffly before he grabbed his gym bag and stormed out.
"I'm so sorry, Rei," Cayden expressed
"You don't need to be, Cayden. He's just protective, he'll be fine by tomorrow," I gave him a soft smile and Max a quick hug before following in the footsteps of my angry boxer boy.
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"Eli, this isn't the way home."
"I want to show you something."
After about 40 minutes of driving, we reached an apartment complex, neither of us said anything as Eli grabbed his gym bag and my hand and took me up to an apartment on the 7th floor. He dug a key out of his pocket and pushed the door open to reveal a simply furnished apartment.
The kitchen was to the left of the door, with a breakfast bar and all-black cabinets, complimented by white accents. The floor was a polished brown which contrasted with the black and white decor and as my eyes scanned the room I realised this apartment was Eli's.
In the lounge in front of me, there was a black sofa with white cushions and Eli's leather jacket was draped across the back. The glass coffee table had his water bottle perched on top and I noticed his black trainers laying on the floor.
Stepping further into the apartment, continuing past the kitchen, there was a hallway with three doors. Pushing open the one on my left I discovered it to be a gym, small but sufficient enough for Eli. The door on the right was Eli's bedroom it was all black and grey, just like his one back at the Ryker house, and a bed stood proudly unmade next to a door I presumed led to an ensuite.
"This is where I go when I don't want Ma to see me injured," I turned at the sound of his deep rumble.
"Who else knows you have it?"
"Max, Raven, Cayden, and now you."
"Raven?" I questioned
"Yeah, she lives here," he motioned to the door directly behind me, the one at the end of the hall which I hadn't explored, "that's her room."
My brows furrowed in confusion, "you both have perfectly good rooms at your mum's, why do you need this?"
He paused before offering an answer, as if he knew that answering would change everything, "because it's not my Ma's house, it's my father's."
"Huh?"
Eli smiled slightly at my puzzlement and took a seat on the armchair in his lounge leading me to take a seat opposite him, cross-legged on the sofa. A shiver passed through me due to the cold chill of the apartment and Eli motioned to a grey hoodie on the sofa with his head. I tugged it on and awaited an explanation.
He leant forward onto his knees, "Mikael owns the house we live in, pays for everything, including Ivy's hospital bills as long as I fight for him at the club."
Right, so...Mikael was an asshole, "why?"
A nonchalant shrug, "I make him big money, tigru, money that helps funds the rest of the illegal shit he's into."
"Illegal shit?"
"Yeah, Rei, drugs, guns, girls, he deals in the whole lot and now my family and I are stuck in a life overshadowed by crime."
"That's why you push everyone away," I whispered softly as realisation dawned on me.
He rubbed his hands down his face with a nod, "you especially," he mumbled
My eyes flickered to a girls body spray on the coffee table, "how does Raven fit into this?"
Eli leant back in the armchair with a sigh, closing his eyes, "the second Mikael took her in, he had her dealing in dodgy shit. She does jobs for him too, we're both stuck in this life we don't want."
My stomach churned at the thought of a 6-year-old girl being forced into that life in return for food and shelter. Eli's dejected face made my heart clench even more because, at that moment, he looked so tired, "there has to be a way to get you both out."
"We're working on it," his eyes opened to look at me, "that's where Cayd's been. He went to Spain to try and find a way to undermine my father."
"What does Spain have to do with anything?" I questioned with a frown on my face
Eli's eyes scrutinised my face, scanning over my features, "I don't want to drag you any further into this, tigru. It's bad enough that Mikael knows who you are."
I groaned, "I thought we were past this."
"Past what?" Eli leaned back on the sofa, draping a hand over his eyes.
"You keeping things from me because you think you're protecting me."
"I am protecting you, tigru," he removed his hand to meet my stare.
I gave him a dry look, "well stop."
His lips quirked at the corners, "and if I don't want to?"
My eyes narrowed, "then get the fuck over it."
This time he allowed his lips to grow into a full smile which I couldn't help but return. However, his smile began to slowly melt until a frown marred his stunning features.
His voice was so soft that I barely heard him, "you can't get hurt, tigru, you just can't."
Warmth blossomed in my chest at his words, he wasn't one to blatantly speak as though he cared. Sure his actions screamed that he did but Eli wasn't one for voicing his feelings. I couldn't resist going over to him, straddling his lap, and pulling him into my embrace, my arms hooking around his neck and holding him tightly to me.
Eli's arms came around me and his breath caressed my neck, I could feel his lips moving as he spoke, "Cayden has an uncle in Spain who he thought could help us. He used to be involved in a gang."
"What did he have to say?" I pulled away from the hug so that I could see his crystalline gaze. I noted that he seemed to find it easier to open up when he was holding me close.
His shoulders lifted in a shrug, "I haven't asked."
My head cocked and I raised a brow, "Eli, you need to talk to him."
"I will," he groaned, leaning forward to rest his forehead on my shoulder, "just not right now."
Absentmindedly, I began playing with his hair, "yeah, I guess I like where we are right now."
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