Exhausted from going nowhere either physically or mentally, Carson sat on the edge of the bed.
Maybe it wasn’t the religion. Was it the husband who popped out of nowhere a week ago? Had Sienna been in a violent relationship and run to Vegas to escape it?
The answers to all those questions could be yes, and she still might not be Lilach. It might be only an awful joke. All he had to go on were the similar time frames, and the look set deep in both women’s eyes.
Well, and Sam Charles, who had Sienna pretty spooked. Was she afraid her past was catching up with her?
The pieces were all falling into place, but Carson needed to be one hundred percent certain.
He formulated a quick plan so he could get back to the Tunnel before Sienna started to wonder where he was. Obviously, he wasn’t going to breathe a word of this to anyone. He would head back to Brooklyn next week, even though he really didn’t want to, especially now that he and Sienna were becoming so close, crossing a chasm and entering a new phase in their relationship.
First, he would question the husband and get more pictures. Her family needed to provide more information and stop being so damn outlandish about their customs. Fucking weirdos. He knew he hated this case for a reason.
Carson definitely wasn’t going to share what he knew about Sam Charles. He would let the man provide a great distraction while he did his own work in the background.
All he could think about was the fact that he was all-in with Sienna now. His first priority was to put his suspicions to bed about Sienna being the runaway he’d been looking for, so he could move forward with her. There was no denying it, he was in deep. And it was way more than physical.
This was the price he paid for never getting involved and falling hard for the first woman who twisted his head up.
Grabbing his valet ticket and room key, Carson ran for the door. Now he wanted to find Lilach more than ever, to prove himself wrong and get back to convincing Sienna to take a chance on him.
Somewhere deep down, Carson knew that wasn’t going to be the case.
SIENNA FINISHED her second act of the night and headed straight to her dressing room. She was surprised how much she missed Carson being in the crowd. Looking out, finding his gaze hot on her, had become part of her routine. It didn’t matter whether he was front and center or sitting at the back bar, she felt more alone than ever before without being able to make eye contact with him.
She was done fooling herself how much she was drawn to the man. She was going to enjoy this with him, whatever this was, until she came up with a new fallback plan.
Sienna wasn’t in a hurry to run, although she probably should have been. She was being selfish and wanted to soak up every last ounce of perfection, goodness, and sweetness she could, which she was ready to indulge in now that she was finished dancing for the evening.
After changing quickly and settling in to unwind on her couch, she heard a heavy knock on her door. She sighed out loud. The person behind the knock wasn’t the source of everything ripe and delicious in her life at the moment, she could tell even before opening the door.
Opening the door a crack, she found Mike filling up the doorway with his huge bulk, wearing his usual high-tops, jeans, and black warm-up jacket. Missing his usual smile, his face was grim.
“Hey, Sie. You did great tonight. You feeling good?” he asked as Asher followed behind him into her dressing room.
Ugh. Asher is going to be pissed.
Sienna pasted a smile on her face. “I’m good. I swear. I was a little spooked earlier, but I know you guys have it under control.”
“Sie, doll, you can’t go off to the Strip or public places without us knowing. I know you trust Carson, and strangely, I do, too. But I can’t protect you without knowing all the details.”
This, from Asher, wasn’t as bad as she thought, and Mike nodded in agreement. Both men wore the same serious expression.
Time for a little damage control.
“I know. I was swept up in the moment with Carson picking me up and wanting to go somewhere new. I’ll check in from now on,” she promised.
Sienna knew she had to give them the words they wanted to hear, despite what she might be planning. There was no way she could let them catch on to her line of thinking. Her Tunnel family wanted her to make promises, so she did, yet she felt guilty that they were empty ones.
“Okay, baby,” Asher said while pulling her in for a hug, then placed a kiss on her forehead. “You’re my family, you know that, right? If something happens to you, I have no clue what I would do.” His lips turned up into a tiny smile.
Carson knocked lightly, then walked in right as Asher was hugging Sienna. He stiffened and shot a quick look of possessiveness Asher’s way, but softened when he saw the look in her eyes. It was clear Asher was holding Sienna like a sister, which apparently was cool with him, and let her relax.