by Ash, Nikki
“All right.”
“Thank you. I don’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened to Aria had you guys not been here tonight.”
“We got your back, Boss. Always.”
I lie with Aria for a little while longer, stroking her hair and watching her chest rise and fall until Natalie comes up to stay with her while I go down and pay the soon-to-be former senator a visit.
“What do you need?” Caesar asks as we walk down the hall toward the holding room. I shake my head because I don’t need a fucking thing to end this man’s life. Just like he put his hands on my woman, I’m going to put my hands on him. I swing the door open, Rome closing it behind me, and Weston’s eyes widen as he tries to edge closer to the wall like it’s going to camouflage him.
“Take the cuffs off him,” I demand. Caesar unlocks the handcuffs and removes them from Weston’s hands. “Get up, motherfucker, now!” Hightower scoots back and up the wall, barely able to stand. Rome wasn’t kidding when he said Edgardo did a number on him. His face is barely recognizable and judging by the way his eyes are dilated, he probably sustained some sort of head injury. Soon though, it won’t matter because his life is over.
“You think you’re any better than I am?” Weston spits out. Knowing his life is about to end apparently gives him some brass balls. “You think you and that tease are going to ride off into the sunset? You’re just as fucked up as the rest of us. You whore women out for Christ’s sake!”
My initial plan was to draw this out, create a blood bath, make him hurt the way he hurt Aria repeatedly, but listening to him spew this shit—words that are hitting too close to home—has me stalking over to him, wrapping my hand around his throat and pushing down on his windpipe.
Anything to shut him the fuck up.
The back of his head hits the wall and I press harder and harder against the carotid artery watching as his breaths become labored and his body begins to convulse. “You will never hurt Aria again,” I tell him, staring into his eyes as they slowly dim. Within minutes, his body is no longer fighting and shortly after, it goes limp beneath my touch. I keep my hand pressed tightly for several more minutes to make sure he’s dead. When I let go of his throat, he falls to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Leaning down, I place my hand over his heart to confirm there’s no longer a heartbeat.
His words run on repeat in my head. You’re just as fucked up as the rest of us. He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know, but the words being said aloud make them feel more real.
Aria deserves so much more than the life I can give her. I know killing Weston Hightower was the only option. But the question that runs through my head is, did I just pull Aria into a life just as fucked up as the one I saved her from?
Chapter Twenty-Four
ARIA
I wake up and, for a second, I forget about the events that took place last night. That is until I look over at Gio and see him lying next to me, his beautiful lips curved downward. His thumb gently grazes my cheek and it stings. When I flinch, his frown deepens. I don’t need to ask him if he was part of what Weston did to me last night. I know he would never put me in harm’s way. I also don’t need to ask if Cecilia was a part of it. I know she was. Why a woman would stick an abusive rapist on another woman is incomprehensible to me.
“I didn’t know,” he says, his voice gravelly.
“I know.”
“He’s dead. I can’t give you the specifics, but he’ll never hurt you again.”
I would never wish death on anyone, but knowing he can never get to me again gives me a sense of peace I desperately long for.
“And Cecilia?”
“She’s gone.”
My eyes widen. Surely, he wouldn’t…
“Not dead,” he says, answering my silent question. “She’s just gone from here. I fired her.”
Gio stares at me for a few minutes, with a mixture of sadness and something else marring his features. It causes a weird feeling in my gut to stir, like there’s more but he doesn’t want to say it.
“Can we get out of here?” I ask. “Let’s go away. Anywhere but here. Just the two of us.”
His frown deepens. “I can’t. There are too many fires to put out and I need to do damage control.” He gets up from the bed and goes to the bathroom and that feeling in my gut intensifies. He didn’t kiss me and he hasn’t touched me. I could be overthinking this but something in me is screaming that I’m about to lose Gio.
I hear the shower running, so I throw the covers off me and, ignoring the pain radiating from my body, strip my shirt and panties off. Gio’s shower is different from most. It’s a huge rectangular shape, tiled throughout but instead of having a shower door, it’s completely open, with two entrances you can step down and walk through. There are five shower heads that spray down and there’s a bench that runs along the entire back wall.
I step into the shower and, coming up behind him, wrap my arms around his middle. He stills for a second then turns around. “Aria, you should be resting. You were attacked last night.”
“Nothing happened.” I know I’m downplaying it, but I don’t want him to push me away.
“You might not have been raped but you were still assaulted. Please go lie down.”
Standing on my tiptoes, I wrap my arms around his neck, but he reaches around and removes them, stepping back. “I need to get ready for work. Go rest.” His voice is no longer soothing but cold, devoid of any emotion.
“Don’t do this, Gio. Talk to me, please.” Stepping toward him, I put my hands on his chest, but once again, he removes them.
“There’s nothing to talk about, Aria. You were attacked last night and you should be resting. I’m not going to fuck you right here in the shower mere hours after you were almost raped.” I flinch at the way he’s speaking to me. He’s never spoken to me like this before. Before he can see my tears, I turn and get out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap myself up in.
I pull the top outfit out of my drawer and throw it on. Snatching my cell phone from the nightstand, I push it into my back pocket and run downstairs and out the door, needing some air.
“Need to go somewhere?” I look over at Rome standing behind me. “I figured I would ask before you steal another vehicle.”
“I can drive, you know. And now that Weston is dead, I don’t need to stay here under lock and key.”
“That’s true, but you don’t have a car.”
“Maybe I’ll go buy one today,” I challenge.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Would you like a ride to buy a car, Aria?”
I sigh, having no idea what the hell I’m doing, then sit on the curb on the side of the house. “I think Gio needs some space. Would you mind taking me over to Amber’s place?” I pull my phone out and dial her number. She answers on the second ring. “Aria? Nico just told me what happened last night! Are you okay?”
“I am, but I need to get away from here for a little bit. Can I come stay with you?” There’s a pregnant pause and then Amber shocks the hell out of me when she says, “Well, I’m actually living with Nico. A few of my roommates graduated this year so we had to give up the apartment.”
“You’re living with Nico? How did I not know this?”
“It literally just happened. I was so busy moving everything, I haven’t had time to tell you. Why don’t you come here? Nico won’t mind. Plus, he’s out of town until the end of the week. We can do a girls’ night.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any issues with you two.”
“Oh my God, stop! Get over here and let’s hang out.”
“Okay, I’ll be over shortly.”
After hanging up, I head back up to the room. Gio isn’t there anymore, so I grab a suitcase and fill it with some clothes and toiletries. Then I go back to the first floor to his office. He’s not in there either so I write him a note to let him know I went to stay with Amber for a few days.
Rome is outside waiting for me when I walk
out. He grabs my suitcase from me and throws it into the trunk. “Where am I taking you?”
“To Nico’s place, please. Amber is living there now.”
The ride to wherever he lives is quiet and I use this time to do a mini-evaluation of my life. Everything has changed so much this last year and a half. I went from being a college student, to being kidnapped, to being saved by Gio. I told a man for the first time I love him only to have lost him because I was attacked. I thought I was finally in a good place. Even after Weston attacked me, I woke up this morning and wasn’t going to let it bring me down. I can’t control what others do, but I can control what I do, what I say, and how I choose to handle what life throws at me. I wish Gio would tell me what’s on his mind so we can work through it.
“Aria, we’re here.” The hotel comes into view that Gio encouraged me to stay away from.
“He lives in this hotel?”
“Yep. Just go to the east elevator and type in this code.” He hands me a sheet of paper. “It will take you right up to his suite.” He gets out with me and hands me back my luggage.
I thank him and say goodbye, then head through the front door and to the east elevator. The code works as Rome said and a minute later, I’m face-to-face with a guard standing outside the only door on the floor. “Is Amber here?” He nods and knocks on the door for me. “Thank you.” Another nod. Okay then…
Amber swings the door open and pulls me in for a hug. “Eeeeek! Get in here!” She slams the door shut behind us and grabs my luggage, throwing it to the side.
“You didn’t tell me Nico lives here, and what’s up with the mute guy standing outside your door?”
“I didn’t know! The night of the charity function we went for a drive and after that we spent time at my place. I didn’t know he lived here until he asked me to move in, and that guard is a requirement. Nico said it’s to be on the safe side.” Amber parks her ass on the couch and I plop down next to her. “So, what’s going on, Aria?”
“If that isn’t a loaded question.”
I explain to her how good things have been between me and Gio recently, about our shared confessions of love, and how everything finally felt good. Then I tell her about last night, about Cecilia being fired, and how cold and distant Gio was to me this morning.
“Maybe he feels responsible. You just might be overthinking this, chica.”
“Maybe, but it all felt off—I had to get out of there and give him some space. He yelled at me like he does to his employees when he’s mad. He was so cold and distant. I want to put what happened to me behind us, but he wouldn’t even talk to me about what’s wrong.”
Amber bounces in her seat. “You know what we should do? We should go clubbing!”
“And how will that help fix my Gio situation?”
“Oh, it won’t, but we’ll have a blast! We’re both finally over twenty-one. Weston is out of the picture and we need to have some fun. We can call Holly and Natalie and Sienna! Oh, and I can call our friend Vicki!”
“I don’t know…”
“C’mon! Some drinking and dancing. It will be a fun girls’ night.”
“Gah! Okay! Fine.”
Amber jumps from her seat, grabbing me in a hug and pulling me up so we’re dancing around the house. “Call the girls at the club and I’ll call Vicki. Tell them to meet us here and we can all go get manis and pedis!”
We spend the day hanging out. We go to the nail salon, to lunch, and then everyone comes back to the hotel to get dressed and ready for tonight. All of us are dressed similar, tight dresses in various styles and colors with high heels. Throughout the day, I kept checking my phone in hope that Gio would text or call but he hasn’t. It makes me sad that after everything, this is how it will end.
Since we’ll be drinking, we’re having one of Amber’s guards, Mack, drive us to the club. She said Nico promised her she wouldn’t be guarded around the clock, but since he’s out of town she’ll be with a guard until he gets back.
When we get out of the car, I eye the name of the club and immediately recognize it as one of the clubs Benjamin mentioned owning. “Maybe we should go somewhere else.”
“What? Why?” Vicki whines. “This is the hottest new club.”
I don’t mention I escorted the guy who owns it, instead following her lead as she walks up to the bouncer and flirts her way in.
“What are we drinking to?” Amber shouts over the music, after shots of tequila are brought to the table. We all look around at each other and laugh when not one of us can think of a single damn thing to drink to.
“To each other?” I shout back. Everybody nods in agreement and shouts, “To each other.” We down the shots, then make our way to the dance floor. Forming our own little circle, we dance our asses off as each song flows into the next and we get lost in the music.
Chapter Twenty-Five
GIOVANNI
I was rude to Aria this morning. She was confused and needed me to tell her everything is going to be okay, but I couldn’t do it. Not when I have all these thoughts swirling around in my head telling me that maybe she would be better off without me. I woke up this morning feeling all types of guilt: for her being sexually assaulted under my roof, for not being here when it happened, for not seeing what Cecilia, Sebastian, and the senator were plotting—I still don’t even know why Sebastian is mixed up in all this. But most of all, for feeling like maybe this happened for a reason, like it’s fate’s or God’s or whoever’s way of intervening and reminding me of where I come from. Not even two days ago, I told Aria I loved her. I’ve never spoken those words to anybody besides my family, and now I’m reminded of the type of life I live. The type of life where the woman who feels scorned doesn’t simply key the guy’s car but instead helps a rapist plot a way to kidnap his victim.
I’m not excusing Cecilia for what she did, but she was raised in this life like I was, and to her, you do what you have to do to get what you want. She sure as fuck did what she had to do, but she isn’t getting what she wants. I’m at my parents’ house where my dad has called a family meeting. Nico, who was supposed to be out of town until the end of the week, has flown in, and we’ve all congregated in the living room. I’m standing against the wall while Cecilia sits on the couch, pouting like she’s been scorned.
“Giovanni, Cecilia has come to me upset. She’s out of a job and for what? Because your girlfriend is upset with her?”
At my father’s words, I slam my fist into the drywall, a picture falling and hitting the ground with a loud crash. Stalking over to Cecilia, I grab her chin. “Is that what you fucking said? You want to lie some more, you fucking bitch?”
“Giovanni!” my mom cries out.
“Son, that’s enough. What the hell is going on?” my father demands.
“What’s going on, is she was jealous of my relationship with Aria, so she got the bright idea to help the damn senator kidnap her!”
“I didn’t know!” Cecilia sobs.
“It wasn’t your fucking concern! You knew damn well she was taken from her home by me. You knew she came to my house bruised and broken! You fucking knew.”
“He told me she was lying. He said she was acting out because her mom died.”
“Then you should have come to me. This isn’t fucking business. This is my goddamned life. It’s the life of a twenty-one-year-old woman!”
My dad comes over and places his hand on my shoulder. “Giovanni, you need to calm down, Son. I understand this girl is important to you, but she isn’t family. Explain to me what happened.”
“He had raped her repeatedly when I found her. She was locked in the basement, drugged and passed around.”
Cecilia cries harder. “I didn’t know!” A little too late to fucking care, bitch.
“Why didn’t you tell us all this?” Dad says. “I knew she was the senator’s stepdaughter, but you should have made me aware of what was going on.”
“I got her help. I was keeping it all under wraps because Weston H
ightower disappeared. Aria was staying with me so he couldn’t get to her, and what does Cecilia do? She hands her over to him. Edgardo ended up almost beating him to death in order to stop him from raping and taking her.”
“Almost?” Dad questions at the same time Stefan says, “Did you handle it?”
Walking away from Cecilia and toward my dad and Stefan, I say, “Yeah, I killed that fucker with my bare hands and Louie made it look like a hunting accident. When they find him, he will have been destroyed by animals.”
“Cecilia didn’t know. None of us knew because you kept it from all of us. You can’t fire her because of this,” Dad says matter-of-factly. “And what were you thinking killing the goddamned senator? You know we’re trying to lay low right now with Lorenzo causing all types of problems.”
“Bull-fucking-shit, I can’t. She’s not stepping foot in the bordello as long as Aria is under that roof and as far as killing the senator, I don’t give a fuck. He got what was coming to him.”
“Cecilia is part of this family,” Mom points out. “She didn’t know the man was going to hurt her. She made a mistake. If Aria and Cecilia can’t be under the same roof, maybe it’s time for Aria to leave.”
“I don’t give a damn what Cecilia thought. Have her go work at one of the clubs or restaurants or the damn casino! I don’t care. But she isn’t coming back into the bordello and Aria isn’t going anywhere.”
“Who’s going to take care of the women?” Mom asks.
“I was hoping you could help me train another woman.”
Cecilia huffs loudly and lets out a sob. “Gio, please. I’m sorry.”
