8. Siena
Siena
I can’t believe I’m back in this building, but I’ve certainly made it farther than I did last time.
This suite isn’t even listed on the placard in the lobby.
It’s possible that One Pearl Park was on the flash drive because of these offices, so coming here could serve two purposes: solve a mystery from the flash drive and get the help I need to get into Emily’s phone.
When the main door to the suite is buzzed open, I step through, stuffing my gloves into my pockets. I start to take off my hat when Vin’s voice cuts through the silence.
“Don’t get comfortable, princess. You’re not staying.” He’s standing in the doorway to a separate office, watching me with a smirk on his face.
Scowling, I leave my hat on, rub my palms on my leggings, and yank down the hem of my sweater dress. Great. This is going to go well.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” I say, hoping politeness will ease the tension.
It doesn’t.
“Don’t thank me. I don’t trust phones, and I don’t trust you. What do you want?”
This is not the vibe I’d hoped for. He barely glances at me as he turns and strides deeper into the office, forcing me to follow. This space is decorated elegantly but sparingly, the walls painted a warm gray, softly lit by steel lamps that branch out like trees.
His heavy boots thud against the floor until he stops behind an oversized desk. Papers are strewn across its surface, and he begins to rifle through them.
He looks up, leveling me with a harsh glare. “Siena. What. Do. You. Want.”
I take a steadying breath, trying a different approach. “Why did you agree to meet me if you don’t trust me?”
He scoffs. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t fuck over my brother. Anymore than you already have, anyway.”
“ I fucked him over?” The words explode out of me before I can stop them. My hands curl into fists, nails digging into my palms to anchor me. A swift surge of anger threatens to pull me under.
Is this guy delusional? Does he not know Matti threw me out like yesterday’s trash? Or is he just as much of an entitled ass as his brother?
“I shouldn’t have come,” I bite out, turning to leave.
“Take off your clothes.”
His command stops me in my tracks. Slowly, I turn, my sneer barely masking my outrage. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
He drops into the chair behind his desk, rolling back a bit as he clasps his hands behind his head, a slow shitty grin spreading across his face. “You heard me. I need to make sure you’re not wearing a wire.”
I blanch. He’s serious. “I’m not wearing a fucking wire. If I were, I’d be incriminating myself as much as you.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “Good to know. But you wouldn’t be the first person to entrap someone to set them up. So. The order stands.”
When I don’t respond, his grin gets bigger. “Unless you want me to search you like our boy, Matti, did. But I promise you, princess, I won’t be nearly as nice.”
Heat rises to my face as a mix of fury and humiliation pumps through me, but I refuse to let this asshole get to me.
Instead, I pull Emily’s water-damaged phone from my bag and place it on the desk. “I don’t need anything from you except a number. That’s it.”
His grin falls off his face, replaced with a flat, dead-eyed expression, as he rolls his chair back to his desk. “Can’t help you.”
Desperation rips through me. For one reckless moment, I consider stripping down just to prove I’m not hiding anything, but the fact that he might still refuse to help me after that makes my stomach churn. No. Humiliating myself in front of Vin is not an option.
But I need her number.
“This phone belonged to my sister, Emily Bellamorte-Briarone.” My voice is shaky, but at least I have his attention. He stops what he’s doing, his cold gaze shifting to the phone. “It’s dead—water damage—and I need someone to fix it and get inside. I just—”
“You want to break into your dead sister’s phone. Why?”
“I just… I want to understand what happened to her. Why someone would want her dead.” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat to cover it up and stand taller.
Vin’s expression hardens. “Your sister married a deadbeat little bitch with zero loyalty and less integrity. She’s dead because she had bad taste in men. Learn from her mistakes, princess, and get the fuck out of here before the same shit happens to you.”
I blink, stunned. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m not with anyone. I’m not here for you, if that’s what—”
Vin cuts me off with an eye roll. “From what I understand, you’re pretty heavily involved with one of my best friends. Which begs the question: why aren’t you asking him for help? Why me?”
“You’ve got it wrong,” I say, my face flushing. “I haven’t spoken to Matti in weeks. I just need—”
“Why not?” Vin’s glare sharpens, and I can’t tell if he’s fucking with me or genuinely clueless.
If he’s one of Matti’s best friends, basically his brother, and doesn’t know what happened, it’s because Matti didn’t think I was worth mentioning. The realization sinks through me like a rock.
“He was never serious about me. We were never serious.” Saying it out loud, the truth of the statement cuts even deeper.
Vin stares at me hard. “Were you serious about him?”
“It was…” My voice falters, the words tangling in my throat. Frustration and shame build until the dam snaps, and they come spilling out in a heated rush. “What the fuck does it matter? He killed my sister!”
The words hang heavy in the air, and I instantly regret saying them.
Vin settles back in his chair and frowns. “I thought you said you didn’t know who killed her. If you really believe it was him, why are you here? You think I’d help you dig up dirt on my own brother?” He shakes his head and goes back to his paperwork. “Fucking delusional. Get the fuck out.”
I swallow hard. “You think he did it, too?”
“Jesus Christ,” Vin mutters. “Not to be a total asshole, but I don’t fucking care, princess. Now get the fuck out.”
Desperation leaks from my bones, and I start to shake despite my winter coat and hat. “Please. I don’t want to be here anymore than you want me here. But if someone killed your brother, wouldn’t you do whatever it took, no matter how much you hated it, to know what happened?”
Vin regards me suspiciously, but something about him softens the littlest bit. “What do you think I have that you need?”
“Valentina’s contact information.”
“Fuck me,” Vin groans. “I don’t have that bitch’s number. And if you’re smart, you’ll stay far away from her. She’s not the type to do favors.”
“I’ll worry about that. If you could just get me her number.”
Vin sighs, and folds his hands on the desk, barely able to contain his irritation. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, princess. She doesn’t play nicely with other women. Hell, she doesn’t play nice with anyone. You’re barking up the wrong tree. Find someone else.”
I set my jaw, determined. “I’m aware of who she is. Just… please,” I say, swallowing hard.
Unbidden, an image of Valentina in her red lingerie and trench coat, Matti kissing her, ripping her trenchcoat open, his strong hands gripping her body as he pushes inside her overwhelms my brain.
Shame washes over me that I actually thought he could have ever really wanted me, and I wonder if I’m being just as stupid to believe that I can get Valentina to help me.
I shake my head to erase it, all of it, as fast as it appears. I can’t let Matti continue to fuck with my life.
Vin is watching me, like he’s trying to figure me out, trying to guess my angle. He rubs a hand over his face and turns his attention back to the paperwork. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Hope blossoms in my chest, and I feel myself light up. “Really?”
“Yes, princess, but only if you get out. Leave now. And don’t fucking contact me again. If I want to talk to you, I’ll find you.”
“Okay,” I nod.
“I’m serious. If you reach out to me even once, the answer is ‘no.’ A hard no.”
I nod again. “I understand,” I say, walking backward away from his desk. “Thank you.”
But he’s not listening anymore, and I’m already in my head, going over how I’ll approach Valentina.
What I can say, what I can offer to get her to help me.
I step inside the elevator in the office suite and hit the down button, not realizing that it doesn’t have any other options until it settles to a stop and the doors open.
I frown and step out. I’m in a deserted parking lot that I don’t recognize, and I swallow hard, hugging my jacket around me. Darting my gaze around the expansive lot, I see an exit that I’m praying will take me to the street and back to the train that brought me here from work.
The exit is on the other side of a beautiful car backed into the spot directly opposite the elevator. A deep forest green car with recessed doors and thick purple stripes on the hood. The same crazy expensive car I’ve noticed parked in my neighborhood more than once over the past month.
No way there are two of these things, and even if there were, the likelihood of it showing up in front of my house and here too is practically nonexistent.
Has Vin been stalking me? Or is this Matti’s car? Fuck, is he here?
I start to shake for real and turn in a quick circle, looking for some sign of him, but I’m alone.
God damn him! Who the fuck does he think he is? Why does he keep fucking with my life? Did Vin tell him that he was meeting me here today?
Wait. I yank off my hat and run my fingers through my hair. Maybe Vin is right. I am delusional. Simplest explanation is usually correct, right? Only Vin is here, so this is Vin’s car. But why has Vin been in my neighborhood?
I stomp back to the elevator, ready to go back and get some fucking answers, but there’s a keypad, and a code is required to get the doors to open. Fuck.
I pull out my phone and open my text thread with Amelia.
Something came up. Going to take a bit
longer than I thought. Be back soon.
I lean against the car, sliding the phone back in my bag and ignoring her response. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Nothing is stopping me from getting some answers.