“See you soon.”
We both lingered on the line. The words hung in the air, but neither of us said them until, finally, I murmured goodbye and clicked off.
Fucking coward, I admonished myself. He’d all but said them. I hadn’t even come close to telling him.
I stood, pulled down my black sheath dress, and snagged the leather jacket of Pierce’s I’d taken to wearing. Since winter still fought spring for control.
Patton led me to the door, checked around every corner, and then out to the waiting car. I didn’t need to tell Holt where to go. He drove me straight to Bianca’s building.
When we parked, I looked up at Patton. “Any chance you can stay here?”
He answered in a short, cut off laugh. “Not a chance, love.”
I let Holt open the door and talked myself through all ten floors to Bianca’s apartment. The one my father bought her outright when she got into NYU, his Alma Mater. As I walked the long hall, I kept trying to reframe my reasons so she would understand them, but I couldn’t wrangle them in a way to keep her from being mad at me.
I knocked on the door and waited, my insides pulled tight. She didn’t answer.
A sound cut through the door, so I knocked again. No answer.
Was she ignoring me now, or trying to piss me off? I dug into my bag for a set of keys and found the spare she gave me last year when she changed her locks. It fit in easily, and I pushed the door open, Patton right on my heels. I scanned the room, and immediately, my eyes hit on why she didn’t answer.
My sister, naked, straddled an equally naked stranger in the middle of her living room floor.
I spun around as she scrambled and squealed behind me to find clothes. Once she seemed to be reasonably covered, and so did he, I turned back. “Sorry to, uh…interrupt.”
The young man couldn’t be older than her, with dark Italian features. Immediately, the events of the attack flashed in my head. “Who are you?” I demanded.
Bianca threw him a boot which he shoved his bare foot into. “Ignore her,” she said.
He glanced up at me and quickly away while he hunted for his shirt.
“Then you tell me who he is,” I asked Bianca.
She didn’t answer, only went into her kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. Her damp hair hung over her shoulders, and I looked back at the kid, finally clothed. “Are you going to tell me who you are now?
“Rodrigo,” he supplied, holding out his hand to shake mine.
“Don’t shake hands with her. My sister is currently enemy number one around here.”
He dropped his hand. An interesting development. My sister didn’t often date, and when she did, it was never casual. “You can leave now, Rodrigo,” I told him.
He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze. My sister laughed and climbed up on her counter to sit on the edge. “You’re the one who sent him here. He’s the bodyguard supplied by the Cambio family.”
I caught Patton stiffen out of the corner of my eye. No doubt he didn’t approve of the kid cavorting with his charges. Neither did I. “Fine, go stand over there until I can call someone about this.”
He took up space near Patton who glared. I rolled my eyes at them before stepping around dirty clothes and stacks of books to join Bianca. “Can we please talk about this?”
“If you think unenrolling me from school will mean I’ll move in with you and Pierce, you’re an idiot. I’m staying right here whether in school or not.”
“And food, how did you plan to pay that? Last I heard, your inheritance is still locked up.”
She shrugged and pulled the edge of a cardigan up one shoulder. “Like the rest of the world, I guess. I’ll find a job.”
“Doing what exactly? You don’t have a lot of work experience.”
My phone chimed. Pierce. I clicked the text.
Did you find her? Work things out?
I jabbed the reply button and typed out a quick response.
Found her. Not exactly. Will text you when I’m headed home.
“You should probably run back to your little puppy now. I think he misses you.”
Anger bubbled up too fast for me to moderate my response. “Hey, he saved your life. Show some respect,” I snapped.
My sister’s eyes flew wide and guilt chased the anger down. I’d yell at everyone except her. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy week, and I’m stressed and…” I stepped forward so the guys couldn’t hear me. “I’m scared.”
Something softened in her face. “Do you promise to put me back in school the second everything is cleared up? I’m supposed to graduate in a couple of weeks. I will not retake any of those science classes because you screwed up.”
“I promise.”
She nodded, picked up an envelope from the counter near her butt, and tossed it to me. I dropped my bag and caught it before it veered off at a strange angle across the room. The cardstock felt thick and heavy. I checked the address.
No. It couldn’t be.
Peeling back layers of paper and vellum, I caught the familiar gold script. It was an invitation to a party. The traditional one which accompanied a change in leadership in any of the five families. Except this one had my name on the bottom. “Why haven’t I seen this yet?” I asked her.
She shrugged, and I dug into my bag again to call Pierce. “Did you get a heavy invitation today, addressed to me?”
Papers shuffling came through the line, and then he answered. “Yes, it’s addressed to Katherine Minola, but I guess I can overlook the error, since they probably had these made before we married.”
“Thanks.”
“Wh— “ I hung up and placed my sister’s invite on the countertop. “This isn’t good.”
She sipped her coffee, and I finagled myself up to sit beside her, my bag abandoned on the floor near our feet. Once I settled and my dress didn’t pull anywhere, I took her mug. “Got anything stronger?”
“There’s a bottle of whiskey behind you.”
I canted backward and snagged it off a little ledge, gave her back the mug, and cracked the cork on the mostly full bottle.
“Drinking before noon, huh? Setting an excellent example, sister mine.”
I flashed her a finger and took a drag from the amber liquid. It burned a trail down into my belly. “Pierce thinks one of the five families is making a power play for leadership right now. The attack on us was paid for by the five, not by anyone on his side of things.”
Fidgeting came from the door. “Hey, pretty boy,” I called at Rodrigo. “What do you know about it? Anything.”
He swallowed so heavily, I could hear it from across the room. “I don’t have any information, but I can ask.”
“You do that.”
I focused on my sister again. “So what was that about?”
She shrugged, folded her legs up on the counter, and wrapped them in her arms. “Mostly about pissing you off, but he’s cute.”
“You met him like five minutes ago. Try to be careful, okay? If you aren’t moving into my house, I’ll need to get more protection on you.”
“Says the woman who didn’t even want to look at a bodyguard two months ago.”
I threw up my hands. Guilt, anger, fear all swirling together in a noxious cocktail inside me. “What do you want me to say, Bianca? I’m trying to keep you safe. As both the head of our family, now, and the five families, it’s kinda in the job description.”
She scowled and rested her chin on her knees. “Fine, I’ll be careful.”
“And stop sleeping with your guards. It’s probably not conducive for a great working environment, for either of you, unless you plan to keep them around.”
“Fine. Any other directives for me today? Want to take my cell phone and ground me too?”
I pushed off the counter, collected my bag, and stared her down. “Now you’re acting like a child. Knock it off. For the record, I don’t want you at the party, but I can’t tell you what to do so, be careful.”
She didn’t say anything as I walked out, casting one final glare at Rodrigo. I planned to find out as much as possible about him the second I returned home.
Holt opened the door, and I tossed my purse in first and scooted in after. Patton entered last and sat as far from me as he could get. No doubt feeling the waves of anger radiating off me.
What kind of bodyguard sleeps with his charge? I shook my head and leveled a stare at Patton. “You better make sure everyone in Pierce’s crew knows I will gut them if they touch my sister.”
He didn’t answer until we made it home. Stopping me gently as I got out of the car. “None of us would ever do that, I hope you know.”
I sighed and pulled away from his grip. He didn’t need to confirm it. I’d already known, my anger got the best of me. As usual.
Pierce met me on the sidewalk with the invitation. “What does this mean?”
I took it and stared down at the same gold foiling. “It means you need to get your tux back out.”
Thirteen
Pierce
Despite several arguments and a round of protests from both me and Gerry, Kat insisted we attend the five families party. She called it “the inauguration.” Sometimes, it sounded like a joke. Others, I couldn’t be sure.
The invite directed us to the Aristo compound for the party. Any place labeled a compound also didn’t get my vote for a visit. I straightened my cufflinks for the fifteenth time while I waited for Katherine to come out of the bathroom. The finger of whiskey I poured had long since disappeared, and the wait bordered on ridiculous at this point.
“Kat, we are going to be late if you don’t hurry it up,” I called through the door. The smile spread across my face unbidden. Two months into marriage, and we were already waging meaningless domestic battles.
The sound of water shut off, and I held my breath she’d exit this time. The door jerked open and stepped back to let her out. It took time for my brain to catch up with my eyes. Her dark hair curled and hung loose to her shoulder blades, covering only a portion of the bare skin on display. The emerald green dress cut almost to her ass in the back, and a deep v bisected the front half way down her belly.
I popped my mouth open and closed like a fish for a few second before my brain fired back up. “You look incredible.”
She smiled and crushed a curl behind her ear. “You look amazing too. All the ladies are going to be offering to cook for you tonight.”
“Is that an Italian thing?”
She shook her head. “It’s a woman thing, I suppose. A way to get in your door to get in…” She dropped her eyes to my crotch.
I pressed my lips to her forehead, careful not to muss anything. “No one is getting in any doors of mine, except you.”
She bit her lip and mocked surprise. “Doors?”
“Get out there.” I pointed to the living room. “Watch your mouth, young lady.”
She spun around and walked backward through the hallway. “But just to be clear, though, how do you feel about…” She wiggled her fingers at me.
I captured her wrist and dragged her close to whisper in her ear. “I’m willing to try anything once. How about you?”
When I let her go, she winked and grabbed her clutch from Patton who stood waiting by the door. My choice of guards were limited with them split between us and Bianca, who refused to get rid of the five-families-appointed Rodrigo. I assigned a team to her until the situation could be sorted. After Kat told me about finding them together, I almost stormed into her apartment myself to tear the kid a new…door.
“Ready?” Kat called, stepping into the entry.
I followed her out, once again pulling on my cufflinks. I hated wearing suits. Once my father dictated I needed to stop dressing like a “rale Bulgarian” whatever the hell that was, I started wearing my usual uniform. But never a tie, not unless the Pope dropped by or I happened to get married and then was required to dress for an apparently important event.
When I broached the subject of not wearing the tux, the look she gave me could have melted the skin of someone who wasn’t fortified with a decade’s worth of experience.
The ride across town took a half hour, and every time I tracked my hand down her bare leg to run it under her dress, she slapped it hard.
“Be a good boy, and maybe I’ll give you a treat after the party,” she said.
I dropped a bite to her tiny shoulder leaving a red ring and fresh teeth indentions. “Be nice, Baby Girl.”
When we arrived, holt helped her out first, and I followed, Patton on my heels. A red carpet lay rolled out. A crowd milled to one side with cameras and flash bulbs. I gripped her waist and whispered quickly, “what the hell is this?”
She pasted on a wide, toothy smile. The kind for magazine covers and post-scandal photo ops.
“I explained what I do for the families. This is it. I’m the public face for our organization now. So stand up tall and smile.” She gritted out low, a weird grin still in place the entire time she spoke
I jerked her tight to me, so we walked side by side up the red carpet. She waved at a few of the photographers. We stopped and allowed them to snap pictures, and then I dragged her through the gleaming double doors.
My pulse pounded in my ears as we made our way into a large ballroom. Gold and black décor dominated the tables and lighting. On the far end of the room, an empty dance floor sat waiting.
We were on time, but the party only seemed about half full. My heartbeat started to return to normal as we squeezed through ordinary people. I caught sight of Bianca at the bar and pointed her out to Kat. We aimed straight toward her, two birds, one stone.
Bianca’s blonde hair sat high on her head in curls, her violet dress hugged her curvy figure, but paint stains down one arm did not complete the look.
Kat frowned, but hugged her sister close anyway. Bianca greeted me with a sharp nod, still not over my refusal to help her get back in school.
The bartender passed some drinks over the edge of the bar, and Kat used the opportunity to lean in and whisper to her sister. “Have you seen them yet?”
She shook her head and glanced back at Gerry and some kid who seemed vaguely familiar. I assumed he was the guard Kat had told me about, but something about his face pinged in my brain. It would bother me all night.
We didn’t wander, and I felt fine with that. A seat by the bar until we could leave suited me perfectly.
The pretentious ring of metal against a champagne flute silenced the crowd. An older man in his sixties with steel gray slicked back hair stepped off the stage with a microphone. He looked like he played the villain in a Bond video game, his face all points and angles.
Kat leaned in and whispered, “that’s Argyll Aristo.”
The man even had a villain name. I watched him as he started speaking, and eventually he began talking about Kat and the legacy of the Minola family. Mostly tuning him out, I caught snippets until he said Irish and hooligans in a condescending tone. My focus snapped back to his voice, and I stiffened. Kat gripped my hand hard, my bones creaking from the force of it. I didn’t mind as she was the only reason I hadn’t jumped up and smacked the man with his microphone wire.
He directed his cold eyes to Kat and held out his hand. She didn’t take it, nor the microphone, simply took one step forward and pitched her voice loud. “Thank you all for coming.” It resonated and echoed off the chamber walls. AB Punch to the throat, old man.
She continued, “I sincerely want to thank you for all your support since our father’s passing. It’s been a difficult time, but I think I’m finding my feet. It would have been impossible without my husband, Pierson St. James.”
A knot took root in my throat, sucking out the water and the air. I didn’t enjoy being the center of attention, but I couldn’t look away from her confronting a room full of her peers for my honor.
Everyone clapped softly. The clap of circumstance, a distant cousin to the golf clap. She went on. “As for the future, let’s see what i
t holds. My sister, Bianca, and my wonderful husband, will be beside me as we usher in this new era.”
She stepped back into the circle of my arms, and I swiped her hair to the side and planted a kiss on her neck. Marking my territory while an entire room stared me down? Probably. But she shuddered against me, and at least they couldn’t doubt the validity of our relationship.
After a couple more speeches, we drifted back to the bar for another round. “Hungry?” she asked.
“I’m always hungry,” I said, dipping my gaze down her body.
Bianca choked on her wine. “You two are gross. Keep all that sexual tension at home.”
Rodrigo skirted our little group, whispered into Bianca’s ear, and led her toward the dance floor. There were now three couples swaying to the great hits of the 80’s, and the pair joined them. “He looks familiar,” I told Kat, still trying to place him.
I wrapped my arms around her back, and she leaned into me. “I’m sure he’s not a threat. He had ample opportunity to kill her. Probably completely naked. What a story that would make.”
“We don’t joke about your safety,” I scolded.
“What are you going to do about it?”
I spun her to face me. “Is this the night you finally let me spank you for the years of torture you put us through?”
Her hands flew to her hips, like they did when she got annoyed. “I put us through, huh? Well, it takes two to…whatever… you were complicit in our entire history.”
I shoved my half-full whiskey at her. “You’re throwing words around like complicit. You must not have had enough to drink.”
She took it, and I slipped my hands around her waist again. “How long do we have to stay? I have plans with you and your dress.”
It took a second for her to throw back the liquor and grasp my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
We waved at Bianca and headed toward the exit. The car came around, and Patton squeezed in first, then Kat, and I followed.
Professional Liar Page 8
