4. Adam #2
Also, given that I was now pining after a random woman I met at the grocery store, I was the last person who should be giving him shit about the situation.
A seeming down-on-her-luck kind of gal, but again, there was this gut feeling about her I couldn't shake.
It wasn't a bad feeling or anything, but one cautioning me to dig deeper.
Sure, some people were fine and happy living a simple life, and usually they radiated genuine joy.
Yet, I got none of that with Eliza, especially when I looked into her eyes.
The only time her eyes even remotely lit up was when she looked at Asher, but other than that, they were muddled with dullness and, occasionally, fear.
No way a 'boring girl' would have such broken eyes.
Something was up with Eliza; I had no doubt about it, and I had every intention of figuring out the reason behind her troubles.
It didn't take us long to reach her place, and we had no trouble gaining access after slipping the shady landlord a few Benjamins. I was thankful for the easy entrance to her private abode, but it also pissed me off.
"Remind me to have him replaced," I grumbled to Max as we stood in Eliza's small studio apartment.
Scoffing in disdain, Max scowled at the door. "Imagine if we had been bad people."
If I wasn't so pissed, then I would have cracked a laugh at his comment because, well, mafia .
In all honesty, if all it took were a few hundred-dollar bills to gain access to her place, then what was to stop someone from walking in and stealing her things while she was out?
What was to stop them from bugging the place with cameras to spy on her?
What about in the middle of the night? What if they just waltzed in and assaulted her one day on a whim?
Or hell, what was to stop the creepy landlord from abusing the master key himself?
I didn't like the way his face lit up at the mention of Eliza's name, nor did I like how he lingered at the open door for a minute too long with his beady eyes scanning the place.
The thought of anyone violating and invading Eliza's personal space with bad intentions, or just in general, caused a surge of hot anger throughout my body.
Tension tightened my jaw and made my teeth grit and grind against each other as I stood there with my hands balled into fists inside my pockets.
My glaring eyes glanced over at the nonfunctioning secondary lock currently on her door.
"Remind me to replace the locks at her place, too, especially that secondary lock.
" The thing wasn't even screwed in properly, so like hell would it keep the door from being thrown open without much force.
"Hell, remind me to replace the entire door with something sturdier. "
"Want to replace him with one of our men? Or do you want me to filter through some people and hire someone?" Max inquired as he started to unpack his tools and equipment from the box he had been carrying.
Calming myself with a deep breath, I ran a slow hand through my hair, holding it there for a moment as I carefully scanned the apartment. "For the sake of keeping it simple, and our sanity, just see which of our men will work," I replied before slowly stalking around the place.
Max was so much more than my best friend; he was also my lieutenant who kept things afloat so I could be in the background.
My tech whizz of a friend was a godsend, and I honestly wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.
From hacking college exam answers to my enemy's network, I would have flunked out and been on the street by now if I didn't have him.
Any and all information which found its way into my hands was courtesy of Max and his crew.
Even Eliza's profile was all because of him.
"Consider it done." Max's casual reply filtered through the air before things went silent as the two of us got to work.
Contrary to what many believed, hiding cameras around a place and fully rigging it was more complicated than what movies made it out to be. You couldn't just stick a tiny little camera in a teddy bear or in a dark corner and call it a day.
Finding the ideal place for a camera was tricky, and then the wiring or transmitter for it was the next issue. Honestly, if it was as easy as slapping a mini camera into a vent or placing a teddy bear camera, then everyone would be spying on each other.
I let Max handle all the finding and rigging, for the most part, because it was his forte. While he was occupied, I busied myself with snooping through every inch of Eliza's place.
Naturally, I started with her dresser, if it could even be called such.
It was one of those plastic drawer things someone would get from Walmart or Target that barely reached my mid-thigh.
She had, like, the bare minimum. Only about enough for a week's worth of clothes, it seemed.
About seven to ten sets of clothes lined the three drawers, and there was a small cubby box filled with cheap underwear and bras right next to it.
The tiny closet housed an even smaller dresser, this one filled with children's clothing.
Hanging on the rack were some work uniforms, or some kind of ratty clothes that had bleach stains all over them along with other smudges and discolorations.
The floor was lined with three pairs of very worn sneakers.
Sliding the closet door shut, I made my way over to her kitchen to see what she had stashed away.
And surprise, surprise, there was nothing.
Okay, by nothing, I meant it was barely stocked.
There were plenty of jars containing baby food and other child-friendly food items plenty, but there was barely anything for Eliza.
The only things I found that were suitable for an adult were packages of ramen, cans of soup, bulk frozen food packages, and some stuff for simple ham and cheese sandwiches.
No wonder she's so fucking skinny.
Hell, after seeing the sadness of her kitchen, I was convinced that a homeless person had better options and ate better than her with a free meal from the shelter. It seemed like she only fed Asher more than well and didn't take care of herself, or forwent her own health for his.
The thought of her suffering for her child made the corners of my lips drag into a frown as an anchor pulled my heart down to the depths of despair.
Yes, people struggled, and when it came down to it, a good parent sacrificed a lot for their child.
But I didn't want Eliza to be in that pit hole.
She shouldn't have to decide between feeding herself or Asher.
Honestly, she shouldn't be struggling as much as she was, with housing assistance, cash assistance, and food stamps—the only thing missing was childcare support. Even with all that assistance, she hustled two jobs with Asher strapped to her.
My sweet Eliza shouldn't be struggling so much. She deserved to have a moment to herself, to be spoiled. I wonder what she'd choose to indulge herself in if she got the chance. Well, slight adjustment; I wonder what she'd pick when I gave her the chance. It wasn't a matter of if, but when.
God, I couldn't wait to finally take her out on a date and make her face light up with so much with joy, she'd outshine all the stars in the galaxy.
While mulling over the endless fantasies of us going out, I made my way over to the last area to be searched—her bathroom.
Like everything else, it was scarcely stocked with the bare minimum.
Well, at least everything but her cupboard under the sink.
Besides toilet paper and extra soaps and shit, over half of it was stocked with boxes of brown hair dye.
Now, why on earth did a woman like her hoard this much hair dye? Was she going gray already? Highly doubtful, and my gut didn't settle with that thought one bit.
Making a mental note to myself, I closed the loose wooden doors and went back out to the couch to regroup with Max.
Remaining occupied with his task, Max took a minute to take note of my beady eyes, which were locked on him.
The sight of me made his eyes roll as he let out a heavy sigh, "You know, I have to say…
This Eliza chick you're obsessed with," his words trailed off as his eyes glanced at me. "Something isn't fitting…"
Plopping down on her ratty couch with a sigh, I hung my head in my hands.
"I feel it too, but I can't even begin to place my finger on where to start trying to figure things out.
" Letting out a frustrated sigh, I ran my hands through my hair.
"Like, where do you even begin to grasp and unravel someone so plain?
Her records are solid, so there's nothing there.
Her parents are dead, so I can't pick up the phone and talk to them.
" It didn't help that she had no other family around.
"Okay, but no one has a perfect record, man," Max mentioned with a soft huff of frustration. "The fact everything about her record is spotless is a huge red flag. I'll dig into her further later, when I get a chance, and fill you in as things come up."
Max's voice droned on about being careful and shit, but I paid no attention because I was in a mental sinkhole.
I mean, what could a person like her be hiding? Was she some ruthless killer?
A snort scratched at the back of my throat at the thought of Eliza being a violent criminal on the run.
Yes, there was something about her, but being a criminal couldn't be it.
She was much too frail to do any damage in a physical struggle, and she was much too soft.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't hurt a fly; hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she cried about hurting a fly.
Also, she had Asher. If I were a criminal on the run, the last thing I'd lug along with me was my child, a toddler at that.
It would already be a shit ton of work to watch my own back, so the less responsibility I had, the better.
Sighing, I leaned back against her couch, letting my heavy body sink into the mushy couch. "But what if…" No, I couldn't finish that absurd thought.
No one was perfect, even my Eliza.
Forcing the nagging feeling away, I attempted to alleviate the tension with a joke. "You know, at least she's not hiding a body in her closet." As if she could fit one in that tiny thing.
"Man, did you listen to a single thing I said?" Max grumbled with a scowling glare. "It'd be better if a body had fallen out of her damn closet, because then, at least, we'd have an answer as to what the fuck is up with her."
He had a good point. Also, a body would've been a lot easier to deal with than whatever her unknown secret was.
Disposing of a corpse and covering up whatever crime she'd committed would have been child's play.
The more I thought about it, the more I wished I had found something physically damning to confront her with.
Since nothing had been found, there was literally nothing I could do at that moment.
The only thing remotely out of place, had been a vibrator and dildo I’d found in her nightstand.
Poor thing would need to upgrade and level up in size before I could take her.
The toy had nothing on me; and no, I wasn’t tooting my own horn and exaggerating my dick size.
I was much bigger than the meager six-inch toy, and much girthier too.
Not to mention, I would far outlast the battery on that thing.
Taking a deep breath, I slapped my hands down on my thighs and shot up from the couch. Grinning cheekily, I snickered softly. "Alright, let's finish this up so I can go make a list of things to charm her with."
Unamused, Max threw a bundle of wires at me after rolling his eyes. "Go make yourself useful then and start connecting."
"Hey," I snapped at him playfully, "don't forget who's the boss between us."