Beyond What Meets The Eye

Chapter Eight

Mira stared at him blankly.

"Whose the Lucchese family?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Jesus Christ, Mira," he let out a long breath, raking his fingers through his thick, dark hair.

"I'm going to take you back to my place so we can get that gash on your head sorted out then we'll go from there." He began reversing.

"Wait..." Mira said softly. "Pickles."

"Pickles?" Adrian repeated.

"My dog, he's still back at my apartment, I can't just leave him there." She explained.

"Mira, the last place we want to be is there." He stated firmly.

"Please, I know it sounds dumb, but he's like my best friend." She pleaded him. He grunted.

"Fine, let me make a call." He pulled out his phone, holding it to his ear.

"Yes, I know. Just have someone from the area keep an eye on it for me, ok? No, I'm not going to tell you what it's about. Ok, thanks." He ended the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket.

"Who was that?" Mira asked curiously.

"A coworker." He replied vaguely, his tone signaling that it was the best answer she was going to get.

They drove in silence, Mira's mind racing with questions. Why did Adrian know more about whoever was looking for than she did? And more importantly, could she even trust him?

She pondered the thoughts in her head, sparing Adrian multiple glances. He couldn't have been much older then her, twenty maybe? His clothes were clean cut, his outfit that of an off duty businessman, they had always been, it was one of the reasons she'd found him so attractive when he first stepped foot in the cafe. His skin was tanned, his fingers along the wheel decorated with a number of rings. And his face looked like it was sculpted from stone, his high cheekbones accentuating his chiseled jawline. And those eyes, they were an eerie grey, like those of a ghost, yet somehow, they twinkled with emotion from time to time.

They pulled into Mira's parking garage and she concluded that although she didn't know much about him, Adrian wasn't going to hurt her.

"Alright it seems like they didn't think you were dumb enough to come back here, so let's make it quick." He said, and they hoped out, walking briskly through the lobby, and took the elevator to the top floor.

"So what exactly do your parents do for a living?" He asked, taking the buildings expensive architecture.

"Well," Mira unlocked her door. "My moms dead and my dad is head of a large accounting firm."

"Hmm," was all he said in response.

"Pickles!" Mira exclaimed, bending down and scooping him up into her arms.

"So it's a pug." Adrian's words were laced with disappointment.

"Yes, he is, and he's adorable," she scolded defensively. She walked into her room, grabbing all of Pickles necessities and shoving some of her own into a duffel bag.

"Hey, what's in this room?" She heard him ask from the hall. She peaked out of her room to see him staring at her dad's bedroom door, eyeing the padlock.

"That's my dads room." She replied before slipping back into her room and grabbing Pickles' travel crate.

"So your accountant dad needs to have a padlock on his bedroom door?" He questioned again. Mira rolled her eyes, lugging the duffel and Pickles crate out and dropping them in front of the door next to him.