Anguish

by Elizabeth Knox

  "Aria, you will not be leaving the house now until further notice. This is the safest place for you." I plead with my eyes. I know it will be her instinct to fight this, but she needs to get how dire this is. I can't lose her, and even through my anger, I hope she feels why I feel this way. She is my love, my all.

  Her lips are tight, and she looks upset but says nothing on the subject other than, "What about Isa?"

  I nod, just now remembering she is still in our house. "I think it’s best I call her father and let him know there is a safety issue. He will want her to be protected as well and most likely not here, since the threat is against you."

  She sighs and leaves the room, likely to go say her goodbyes to .her best friend. I hate separating them because I know that today was meant to be normal for her and fun, but I can't risk anything here.

  I pull out my phone and call for Isabella's father, knowing he needs to hear this from me directly. He seems relatively easy to get to as opposed to some of the Clan men. He doesn’t have levels of security to get through. Maybe it is because he is only an accountant, but being the accountant for Funar certainly comes with its own threats.

  "Si?" he answers curtly, clearly not expecting a phone call.

  "This is Salvatore, I am sorry to be calling you like this, but the girls just got back from a shopping trip. They got spooked by someone who was following them. I have Isabella here at my place, but some other developments have occurred, and I am concerned for her safety. I thought I would leave it to you to decide how you would like this to be handled," I tell him, leaving out the gory details that are not his business.

  "Salvatore...I appreciate the information and your protecting my daughter how you can. I have great respect for you despite how the familias treat you. I will be there myself along with my security guards to take her home as soon as I can."

  "Thank you," I tell him in sincerity before hanging up the phone. I don’t receive any praise such as that most of the time. Even being married to Aria does not afford me any respect or kindness from even Baptiste himself. Not that I would expect any differently out of the man after the way he treated his own daughter.

  I retire to my office with nothing else to do but start digging in every crevice to figure out who the enemy is this time. To find out where Andrei Funar has gone off to. I lose track of time until my phone rings and I see that it is later into the evening. The number on the screen is a blocked one, and I already have a bad feeling about it when I lift it to me ear and respond curiously.

  "Salut?" I say into the receiver with caution, wondering who the hell is going to be on the other side and if they are even going to tell me.

  "Salvatore, I have a job for you to do," the voice says. "And we are willing to pay handsomely."

  I don’t miss the "we" in his statement, so I know whoever it is, is working for someone, likely a front. These bigger organizations never let their leader anywhere near me for obvious reasons. But this seems even more sinister than usual, and I can’t help but think this is entirely related to everything that has happened today. "Who am I speaking with? I like to do business with someone I can out a name with," I say, playing the game a little.

  There is a pause, and I can't quite make anything out, but I believe there is some talking as if the person on the phone is deliberating with someone about what to say. Just when I think I am going to get a completely fake name, I hear something I entirely did not expect.

  "This is Andrei Funar."

  I sit up in my seat, suddenly more invested in this phone call. If it truly is him, then this could either be something he is forced to do, or he has joined with the enemy. For Aria’s sake I hate to think that he would turn on her, but it would not be the first time a family member did that to another in this life. It happens much more often than it should. Power and money can often convince someone to do things they would never do otherwise. "That is interesting considering I have been receiving worried phone calls and messages from your family members wondering where you are." I decide to go for honestly and see if I can make him reveal anything at all.

  "I am perfectly safe for now," is all he tells me. Though his voice seems cool and calculated, there is an edge to it that only someone who has dealt with so many liars and killers could catch onto. "All you have to do is complete this job," he adds, making the purpose of this call clearer than ever.

  "Alright, I'll bite. Who am I being ordered to take out this time?" I ask, seeming casual.

  "Baptiste Funar," is the answer I get before the line goes dead..

  Chapter Twenty

  Salvatore

  Well fuck...this is an unexpected twist of events. I look down at the alert on my phone to see that some money has been wired to me from a foreign account, and I grunt in annoyance. Whoever the fuck this is must be serious about me killing Baptiste. It wasn’t like there aren’t plenty of people who want the guy dead, but now that I am married to his daughter, no matter how useless she has become, no one would dare try to get me to kill the guy. Well...almost no one.

  This feels like a very personal threat, and I began to pace back and forth in the small room, picking at my lip nervously as I work through this in my head. I could just go ahead and get the job done and see what happens next with Andrei. It's not like I couldn’t easily get access to the man, but there are two people in my life that would be greatly hurt in some way by me murdering their father; my wife and my best friend. Neither of them may agree with his tactics or the way he treats them, but it doesn’t mean they want to see him die at my hands. This is so fucking complicated my brain feels scrambled.

  If I kill Baptiste and it does lose me my wife and yet does nothing to get me Andrei or to keep Aria safe, then I am simply playing into the hands of the enemy. But if I don’t do it, I don’t know about anyone’s safety because this is one time that someone has managed to get a step ahead of me, and it is making me fucking furious.

  The best I can do right now is involve someone that might give me some insight and just maybe understand the predicament I have been put into. At least Andrei did not specify I couldn’t tell anyone.

  I instantly dial for Marcel and tell him to get his ass over quickly and safely because there’s a threat he needs to be aware of. I say no more, knowing it's best to talk in person. I also know with both Funars in my house, that my place will be the most likely target right now. Either, it will scare someone off because it is so well protected, or it will force this person to reveal themselves in order to get at Marcel and Aria. It is the best plan for the moment until I figure out our next move.

  While I am waiting for him to arrive, I decide to go check on my wife. I know none of this can be easy for her, and I realize with chagrin that I was not acting like the loving husband I should have been earlier. I was being protective, but she has voiced to me more than once her fears about marrying a man in the killing business. She is afraid to be married to her father. She is afraid I will become him in my anger and never go back to caring for her as I should.

  I find her on the couch, curled up in her pjs and holding a pillow as she looks at .her phone. "You just missed Isa," she says before I even fully make it into the room. She sounds angry and exasperated, but there is something about the way that she senses that I am in the room before I make it to her that makes me feel like I have finally gotten what I wanted. We are connected.

  "I am sorry, mio dolce," I say, sitting down next to her and reaching out to stroke her cheek. She glares at me but doesn't make to move my hand. I take it as a good sign and try not to make light of how sexy she looks when she’s angry. "My first priority was your safety. I was angry that someone would dare to come after you like that, but I was also trying to figure out how to protect you both. This was what was best. Just hang tight. You know I will figure this out. Marcel is on his way to me now so we can work this out."

  Her eyes light up at the mention of her oldest brother, and I can tell that as much as she loves being distanced from the cruelty and
control of her father that she misses her family, especially Marcel. I will have to let them have their time even though I need him to help me out here.

  ***

  "So, I am assuming this threat has to do with the fact that my brother is missing?" Marcel surmises as he sits across from me in my office. He made it here safely several hours ago, but I let him and Aria have some time before I made him come see me. It is a reprieve for both of them; a calm before the storm. I don’t know when I will be expected to kill Baptiste by or what they will threaten if I don’t do it. iI could be any time now.

  "Yes, I believe this has everything to do with it. But I am going to have to ask you a tough question, Marcel. I need to know how much you trust Andrei. I need to know if there is ever anything he could be offered to make him betray you," I say, looking into his eyes so he knows just how serious this is. If anyone can and will tell me the truth, it is Marcel. He has never held back from me his opinions about his family members.

  He scratches his head and sighs. "That is a hard question to answer, Sal, but I am sure that you have your reasons for asking. I, of course, do not believe that he would intentionally harm any of us or betray us without a good reason. But what is the reason that he would? Almost all of us have a price, and I can't say that he doesn't have one either. He has never been someone father has spent time on. What if whoever this is, is simply offering him something that father cannot or will not? I can't say he is specifically jealous of my position, but he has not made it a secret that he feels unhelpful."

  I nod, taking it all in. So, it is still inconclusive whether or not Andrei called me of his own free will or in order to save his life. "You should know there is a threat against your father," I say, going in that direction instead. "Even if your brother is in on all of this, I would have to say there is a threat against him as well. So, I would be willing to bet the threat extends to you. Aria and Isabella were already being followed by someone when out shopping. They didn’t recognize him but said he had to be Romanian or Italian. Someone is making a move here, Marcel."

  Marcel nods, and the stress is on him. "I would like to think that Andrei could handle himself if attacked, but then again, he has not received the attention I have, like I said, and that includes defenses. He is softer. Not a pussy or anything, but just softer. I think it's best we both sleep on it and stay close while we figure this out."

  "Pick a room."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Aria

  "Father just called." I snap my head up from breakfast and squint my eyes as I try to determine whether or not I care about the information Marcel is about to relay. I have liked having him close to me again, but I know he is still under my father’s thumb in some ways. He has to be because he will take his place one day, but sometimes he takes it farther than that. I hope that this is maybe some good news about our brother or at least that we know who the enemy is here. Because if that’s not it, I don’t even want to hear it.

  "And?" I ask a little curtly, waiting for what he has to say.

  "Gabriella is having an engagement party, and he expects to see us there. We'll be surrounded by family, so it should be safe, especially if we bring Sal's men with us."

  I shake my head in frustration, shoving my plate away. I no longer have an appetite. Sure, Marcel should probably go, though I don’t like the idea under these circumstances with the threat against us. Salvatore wants us to stay inside for a reason, a damn good one, and I haven’t fought the order because I know that. I saw the man following us with my own eyes. And I also don’t feel any more like any event like that will have me surrounded by family. My father hardly deserves the word, and I know what my uncle and his kind has done. Even if he is my familia, I just don't trust him any farther than I can throw him.

  "So, go," I tell him, crossing my arms over my chest. "I have no need to go."

  Marcel gives me a stern look, and I stand up to face him. It will be one of the first times I have ever placed my anger in my brother’s direction. "I am married off now, Marcellus, and to a non-clan leader." I feel Salvatore come into the room at that moment, and he looks at us with bewilderment but says nothing, letting me hash it out. "Why would I be obligated to the Funars or their extended familia any longer, especially considering our father deems me completely useless now?" I challenge him.

  I am not backing down on this one. My last name no longer ties me directly to the clans not in the same way it once did, and my father considers me nothing. I don’t have to do what he says. "Aria, this is not the time to be difficult or a brat. Marrying does not mean you are no longer one of us. And why should it feel like obligation to celebrate the engagement of your cousin? You need to keep Gabriele on your good side if nothing else. It only makes sense for you and your husband to go," he asks hard, his hand wrapping around my wrist to show his dominance. That is when I see a bit of my father in him, and I can't stand it.

  "I never thought you would turn out like our father. I always felt the day you took over would be a huge change in the way the Funar clan does things, brother, but I am not so sure anymore."

  His eyes go dark, and he lets out a growl. I see Sal inching closer to us just in case he has to pull us apart. He cares for the both of us, so I bet he will wait until it is necessary, but he won’t let this go on too much longer.

  "You really feel so much loyalty to your new last name? The only reason that he even married you was because I begged him to in order to save you from what had happened to you, from Father throwing you way."

  I gasp and pull away, angry tears stinging my eyes as I look over to my husband who is now right next to us, doing a very poor job of hiding the anger on his own animated face.

  "Marcel, I will not stand for any more of this. There is no reason to be hurting each other like this," he tells his friend before looking to me. "It may be true that I tried once again to marry you because Marcel asked me to do so to protect you, but I have been asking for your hand for years. I was just never deemed worthy by your father before," he confirms.

  The hurt is bubbling up, and I can’t seem to control my words. Maybe I have a bit of my father’s tempter in me too. "Yes, my father believes I’m low enough to be with a Moretti now." I spit it at Marcel, but I can see on my husband’s face who it is I have hurt with my words, and he leaves the room as my heart aches with guilt.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Aria

  I wake up to the light streaming into the room and glance over at my still sleeping husband. He came to bed late last night, and I can’t really blame him. As the day before comes back to me, I know I have been cruel to a man who has tried to give me the world. A man who has wanted to give me the world for years now, and I didn’t even know it because my father wouldn’t allow us to be together. So, he had never even told me this man was a prospective suitor.

  I go to my closet and grab the bag that I had brought home from shopping with Isa. I had managed to get one lingerie set that I believed to be tasteful for my figure, and I quickly take it out to the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I don’t want him to wake up in the middle of this and catch me. It will ruin the surprise.

  I smooth my hair out over my shoulders and check myself in the mirror and am surprised by how good I look. The curvy sides of my stomach and hips show out from underneath the lace, and just the bottom of my ass peeks out the bottom of the panties. The stockings match the lace on the sides and come up to my thighs. I think he is going to appreciate this, if he can get past the hurt from what I said yesterday. I fully plan on spending the day with him, getting to know each other like we are supposed to. I am ready to start acting like his wife. He has done everything to deserve it, protecting me in a way no one else can.

  I take a deep breath and walk out, turning on the light in the room to wake him up before I go to the edge of the bed, my hair spread out over me and my leg up on the edge of our bed. He stirs, and the covers slide off of him as he stretches, looking every bit like a god with his thin, musc
ular frame and the dark patch of his hair right below his lip that entices me so.

  His eyes flutter open, and he sits up straight in bed, his eyes gliding over me with nothing but pure lust. I can tell no words are going to need to be spoken now as he scoots forward. His legs are on either side of mine, and he looks as if he is in an act of worship while kissing down my leg, rolling the stocking down as he does.

  I don’t want to close my eyes because I want to see his, so I fight the urge as chills go up my spine at his touch. As he gets to my ankle, he nibbles at it lightly, and I gasp at the sensation. I can't imagine anyone ever having been better at this than he is. He knows just how to touch me, where to put pressure and where to just trail his fingers. My body is just aching and buzzing all over as the stocking falls to the floor and he motions for my other leg. I can tell this is going to be a slow and sensual process. He is going to take his time with me, and I can’t say I would have it any other way, though my stomach burns in protest, a need building that I am still not used to.

  Once my legs are bare, he pulls me to him abruptly, making me lose my breath and all train of thought. His lips are exploring the skin through the lace, and I struggle for air as he does, spinning me around to reach every part of exposed skin he can. My eyes are wide as I melt into his touch, and I can’t keep my eyes open any longer right now because the sensation is just too much.

  Then, I feel myself being jerked down, and through my thin panties, he is letting me feel how hard he is, allowing me to rub myself over him for a moment. But I know this is just the start; just foreplay. He wants me to know what my body is doing to him, and judging by the wetness I feel, he is doing the exactly the same to me.