Genius (CENTURIES series: Book #2)

11

The whole drive was excruciatingly silent, but it gave Mia some time to do some thinking.

So Elana wasn't his sister. It was his friend's Caleb's sister, the one he had threatened to abduct. So had he? If so, was that the real reason he didn't want her driving them home, perhaps because they weren't actually going home, but going to some crazy biker crib or wherever Eli stored himself when he wasn't at the school or at the club?

Okay, she was probably overreacting. Despite his many flaws, Eli didn't strike her as a kidnapper. A bully, a criminal and maybe a gang-member, yes, but not a kidnapper. Plus, Eli seemed to have a soft spot for the girl. Whatever their situation was, it wasn't kidnap. But then what was it?

"Eli?" Mia hesitantly asked as she drove to the address he had provided. "Who is this Caleb guy and why isn't he taking care of his own sister?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Came the reply from the back seat. He was sitting next to Elana, making sure she felt comfortable. Funny thing was, she was perhaps the most comfortable of the three of them. The tension was thick inside the car, but Elana was happily oblivious to that.

"Actually, I think you would like to know as well," Mia said, gripping onto the steering wheel tighter. "From what I heard from your conversation with the voicemail of your friend's phone, you don't have a clue where he is either."

"I am one second away from knifing your backseat up with my pocketknife if you don't shut the fuck up and just drive," Eli said, leaning forward so his mouth touched her ear. "Or maybe you'd like me to use that knife on your tongue instead?"

Swallowing hard, Mia kept her cool. He was just feeling cornered by her snooping, so he threatened her. There weren't any realness behind his words. She hoped.

"Calm down, Eli. I'm just trying to understand you."

"Don't."

There were a couple more minutes of silence where Mia thought some more. She was debating whether or not she should tell Eli what she knew about him; that she knew he was the genius. In her rearview mirror she saw Elana signing away, Eli responding with some brief gestures. Mia suddenly wished she understood ASL so she could know what they were talking about. Where had he even learned to sign? Where had he learned anything?

Finally they arrived at the address Eli had provided, and Mia was shocked to see that it was an actual building, not just a trailer or something. It was a scrappy apartment complex, located in the worst neighborhood she had ever been to, but it was a building nonetheless.

Eli grabbed his duffle bag before he practically wrung the door open on her car. "Thanks for the ride, now drive home before the thugs see your wheels and decide they like them."

He didn't wait for her reply, just took Elana's hand and begun leading her out of the car and onto the curb. Mia knew she shouldn't, but she just couldn't leave things there, so after a second of hesitation, she jumped out after him, quickly locking her car up good. "Eli, wait!"

He glared over his shoulder and rolled his eyes when he saw her running after him. He didn't wait, only kept walking towards the building. "Jesus Christ, I've heard about chasing pussy, but chasing dick... Go home, princess, don't make me say it again. I still got that pocket knife."

"I don't care," She replied and stalked after him, ignoring his other comment. "I have to talk to you."

"I told you, people don't come to talk to me, they come to fuck. And I'm not in the mood," He flatly replied, unlocking the front door. He led Elana in who despite all their arguing didn't notice a thing. She was continuously smiling, perhaps just happy to be home.