28 - Eliana

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Chapter Twenty-Eight | Eliana

Sitting outside in the huge garden of the Marino residence is probably the first bit of calm I've had in a while, despite tossing and turning in bed for hours, I finally accepted that sleep was not going to find me.

The wooden floorboards creak behind me as I sit on the swinging chair, and I smile assuming it's my Reid who has suddenly woken up to find me.

"You should be sleeping," I speak out, keeping my eyes on the moon above me.

"I'm not familiar with sleep these days." I tense. That is not Reid. I turn my head to look over my shoulder to see Ivan standing behind me with his hands tucked into the pockets of his grey joggers.

"It's cold. You should put a coat on." I mumble turning back around to stare at the moon again. "And this isn't your house. You're trespassing." Ivan chuckles and walks around until he is in front of me, blocking my view of the moon, and leans against the wooden bannister.

"Wouldn't say trespassing, just visiting, angel." He smirks, and I roll my eyes at him fiddling with the loose threads on my pyjama shorts.

"Don't call me that." I grit, glaring at him. Ivan shrugs at my comment, his eyes trailing down to my bare legs, and I try to pull Reid's large hoodie as far down as it will go. "Why are you here?"

He looks back at me, but no words escape his mouth. He runs his fingers through his dark hair, his piercing blue eyes penetrating through my skin.

"I've got some information." My brows furrow.

"Reid is the don; this is a conversation you should be having with him." I point out. "And you didn't think to come at an appropriate time, it's a bit weird having you show up now while I'm coincidentally out here."

Ivan's face is void of emotion and he pulls his hands out of his pockets.

"Are you watching me?!" I hiss at him and his jaw ticks.

"You're a target, Eliana. I'm just watching out for you." He rasps and my mouth drops open. "I still care about you."

"I have a bunch of people in this house that can look out for me, Ivan. I have a boyfriend, you're familiar with him, his name is Reid Warner. And if he saw you out here right now, I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to blow your fucking head off. In fact—" I pull the pistol out of the pocket of the hoodie and aim it right at his head. "I'll do it for him."

"You wouldn't kill me, Eliana. You don't have it in you to be doing all that." I release the safety. "Look, I heard Reid was losing the plot."

"He has bipolar, and it's been sorted. He's taking his medication like he's supposed to. Who told you?" I stare at Ivan with a suspicious look on my face with my finger still on the trigger. "Don't make me ask you again."

"Noah." Of course, he fucking did because not only was he close with me and Reid, but he was also close with Ivan. "I was worried. That was all."

I lower my gun and let out a quiet sigh, resting my head back against the chair, my eyes fluttering shut. "What information have you got that you so badly needed to tell me at three in the morning?" I ask him with my eyes still shut, and I sense him move until his warm body takes a seat next to me on the swinging chair.

"The information is on your parents." My whole body tenses and my eyes fly open. I turn my body to face him as I wait for him to continue. "They're living in Aruba, where you were born."

I let out a sob and cover my mouth to muffle the sound.

Ivan sighs, running his hands down his face and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His tense body language causes me to frown and worry to seep in.

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