Razed (Barnes Brothers #2)(71)

So he drove, no destination in mind.

At least not one that he was aware of.

It wasn’t a surprise, though, when he found himself in front of the empty space that he planned to turn into his studio.

If things kept moving, they’d be finalizing soon. Things were moving forward with a speed that almost satisfied Zane’s desire to do this—now.

He’d even gotten the door code. Not that the Realtor knew about it. The current owner apparently trusted Abby, so that trust transferred onto her brother-in-law.

When the SUV stopped, she looked around with a grim expression.

She was pale.

Whatever had put that haunted look in her eyes was something he wanted to kill. He wanted it dead and battered and buried.

“Where are we?” she asked, although the lack of interest in her voice didn’t reflect all that much enthusiasm.

“I’m setting up my studio here—made the offer the other day. The current owner accepted.” He shoved open the door. “Come on. I want you to see it.”

He thought he might have to convince her to go inside, but apparently she wasn’t too big on just sitting and brooding. She was out of the car almost before he could shut his door, meeting him on the sidewalk.

But she was closed off, arms wrapped around her middle, her shoulders slumped. Even the tattoos bared by her shirt seemed less . . . vibrant. He didn’t pull her against him the way he wanted. Not yet.

He was going to give her a chance to open up, without him pushing. She might not do it. He’d try not to force it. But that would make it hard for him to kill whatever had done this. Batter it. Bury it.

She really brought out the bloodthirsty Neanderthal in him.

“Let’s go inside.” He grabbed his laptop bag from the back and held out a hand.

It surprised him when she accepted it.

Once in the cool, slightly stale air, he led her deeper inside, away from the windows. “I’m already thinking about the design layout I want to go with.”

“You just found this place, right? How did you get things rolling so fast?”

“I didn’t just find it. It’s been a few days.” He looked around, rocking back on his heels. “This is the place—I knew it when I saw it. Talked to the previous tenant. His family owns the place. They’d like to sell it, but for now, they’re willing to let me take it at the price he was paying for rent. He really wants to move out of the state. I’ve already got my business plan, everything lined up. I’d been half planning for this for a while and now that I’m done with the half planning part . . .”

He stopped and shrugged.

“You’re tired of waiting,” she finished.

“Yeah. So they gave me the code, let me come in so I can start getting measurements, figure what I’m going to do with the space. I guess Abby vouched for me.”

“And he just let you have the code.” A faint smile curved her lips. “I swear, you and your brothers. You just ask, and you get. Spoiled.”

He snorted. “Yeah, that’s me . . . the world is my oyster.”

Impatience all but gnawed him with hot, sharp little teeth. Zane had spent the last twenty years of his life acting like this was just a hobby, but now that he was ready to make it something more, he was stuck with waiting.

“I put this off too long,” he said, intensity burning inside. “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Under most circumstances, waiting for anything didn’t bother him.

He was the patient one. Everything happened when it was supposed to and him pacing the floors and brooding and bitching didn’t do a damn bit of good, so why bother?

The past few months had twisted things up on him.

He didn’t want to wait to put his life into motion anymore.

He didn’t want to wait to get this business growing.

And he didn’t want to wait for . . .

Keelie came to stand next to him and he had to jam his hands into his pockets to keep from pulling her into his arms and making demands he had no right to make. Asking questions he knew she wasn’t ready to answer.

He didn’t want to wait for her.

He was a hypocrite.

He’d been nagging his brother to make a move on Abby and here he was, standing next to the only woman who’d ever made him feel much of anything . . . So maybe he hadn’t carried a twenty-year torch for her, but he’d known her six years, and even that very first time he’d seen her, he’d felt a pull. It had been another year before he saw her again, and the pull was stronger.

But he still hadn’t done anything, not for a couple more years.

Then she’d smiled, shrugged it off. He’d tried again, with the same result, a few months later. Normally after that, Zane would let it go—if a woman isn’t interested then she isn’t interested, but there was something about this woman that wouldn’t let him let go.

The more he got to know her, the more he needed to know.

And he was tired of waiting.

He was closer now than ever, but it still wasn’t enough.

He opened his mouth, those questions burning on the tip of his tongue.

Keelie tipped her head back, studying the slanted ceiling set with wide windows. It was one of the features that had caught his eye, although the bare, naked white didn’t exactly fit in with what he had in mind.