Cold Brew and Bullets (Part 1 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 21- Stolen Home

Eliana:

My plan wasn't foolproof, but it was better than letting everyone from my old life wonder why I was dropping off the face of the earth. This way they wouldn't start looking or sticking their noses into places that they could get hurt. Lucia had helped me apply a thick layer of foundation to cover the lasting bruises around my nose, eyes, and jaw, and then she had managed to apply another layer on top of it to make me look pale with red cheeks- creating the image of what we hoped looked like the first stages of a cold.

Alessio seemed on edge, based on the clenched knuckles that had the steering wheel in a choke hold. I was wrapped in one of his sweatshirts and leaning back in his passenger seat with Lucia sitting behind me. Trying to convince her to take the passenger seat had been futile, but the ride to the coffee shop had been silent anyways.

As Alessio parked, he finally turned to me, "Are you sure that this is going to work? How are you going to explain these?"

Gently and cautiously, he reached over and wrapped my hands in his. It was obvious what he was referring to- I couldn't get rid of the splints on a couple of fingers yet, and my wrists were far from recovered. There was no way to fit my taped fingers into gloves, otherwise I would have covered them and been done with it. Being hung by them for days had made marks that might even scar, and my escape had included yanking my hands through the loops so hard that I dislocated my thumbs. They felt sore, weak, and fragile, but I used my thumbs to rub circles on the back of his hands.

"It's the best plan I have, and Lucia should make the story credible. Just play along the best that you can."

He nodded, giving me a daring smirk that I had never seen before. It was teasing and playful, his brown eyes saying something much warmer than their usual cold. "I don't get through this business without knowing how to bluff."

I nodded, just now realizing how closely we had instinctively leaned in towards each other. If I just moved forward slightly, I would be able to press my lips to his.

Alessio's eyes flickered over my shoulder, looking out the window behind me before he pulled back quickly, "Then we should do this."

Lucia had already stepped out of the car before Alessio and I had our moment, which I was grateful for, but I couldn't help the tinge of hurt at Alessio's reaction. It wasn't a rejection, but I couldn't deny that he was the one to pull away from the moment. I stumbled out onto the sidewalk, coming face to face with Lucia. We each gave each other a once over, making sure we looked adequately disheveled.

She tightened her messy bun and then ruffled my hair in its ponytail, grinning at me, "You're too pretty for your own good. If you want to seem sickly, you're really going to have to play it up."

I'm sure that the blush covered almost my entire face. Rarely did I receive compliments like that, and after everything that I had been through in the past couple of days, it was a surprising source of warmth in my chest. Remembering almost at the last moment, I pulled the long sleeves from Alessio's sweatshirt far past my fingers to cover my hands.

"You're one to talk," I teased back, glancing at her elegant features and warm colored skin.

She gave me a grin in return and then a nod, letting her face suddenly fall blank. I did the same, adopting an exhausted and sick persona instead. I led Lucia and Alessio through the front door, loving the comfort that came with seeing Kelly and Monica working the counter. The glass windows had thankfully been replaced, restoring the shop to the way I knew it. I approached and gave them a grin, and while they seemed excited to see me, they both seemed to smile with a hint of pity.

"You aren't looking too good, Eliana," Monica took a look at my red eyes. "Did that hike wipe you out? We heard about it from Ezrah, you were gone a while."