“You know everything now. And because I put this on all of us, it’s on me to fix it.” I run a hand through my hair.
“How the fuck are you supposed to find Aria by yourself?” Diego grunts. “Are you gonna comb through every club in Palermo?”
I shrug. “If I have to, yes. Whatever it takes, D. Isn’t that what you guys told me every time I lashed out at you for letting a woman make you spin out? That you’d do anything to protect her?”
“Yeah,” Tommy grumbles. “And Ant would agree if he was here.”
“And what are you gonna do once you find Aria?” Cristian asks. “How long can you hide her from this guy Nikola?”
“I have to find her first,” I say, pulling out my phone. “But you have my word that this threat will be eliminated, one way or another. Take care of your families. Watch over them. This is all on me.”
“The fuck it is,” Diego grunts, slamming his beer bottle on the counter. “You can’t do this alone. It’s a suicide mission.” He inches closer to me, his jaw twitching. “I’m not saying I forgive you for all of this shit, Vince. But I’m gonna help you find those assholes and take them out. Because that’s what family does. Yeah, we may hold grudges, but we always back each other up.” He claps a hand on my shoulder. “Tomorrow I’ll kick your ass from here to Rome, but tonight? We find the bad guys and we fillet their asses.”
“Fuck, yeah!” Tommy shouts. “I’ll get my slicer.”
I roll my eyes and let out a snicker. “Occupational hazard.”
“Who says it’s a hazard?” Tommy demands.
“We have a lot of ground to cover,” Cristian says. “Let’s get going.”
My cell phone buzzes and I grab it from my pocket. “It’s Ant.” I stab the Accept button. “Yeah, Ant? What’s up?”
“I just spotted the hot chick from the Salazar shootout,” he says, his voice muffled by all of the electronica pumping through the speakers around him. “Paolo’s cousin, right?”
“Is she alone?” I ask, furrowing my brow. What the hell is she doing at Ant’s club?
“Looks like it. I thought you might wanna know.” He chuckles. “We all have bets going that you fucked her. But I figured you might wanna close the deal if it hasn’t happened yet.”
I press my fingertips to my forehead. “I have a lot to catch you up on, Ant. And I’ll be there soon. Just keep an eye on her, and if anyone gets close, you know what to do.”
I end the call and look at my brothers. “She’s at Viviere.”
“Why would she be there?” Tommy asks.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I pull out my keys and walk toward the front door. But before I pull open the door, I look back at them. “You guys have some kind of bet going?”
They exchange amused looks and shrug. “There was a lot of heat between you guys,” Cristian says. “Seemed like a good bet to take.”
“Yeah.” My lips curl upward. “It sure as hell was.”
The guys follow me out the door and I stop short once we walk outside. “Guys, my mess, my cleanup.”
“Definitely your mess, shithead.” Tommy grins. “But all for one, yeah?”
“Let’s go get your girl,” Diego says. “I’ll fuck you up later.”
Gemma rolls her eyes at us, and just as she’s about to close the door, Tommy grabs her, kissing her so long and hard, she’s breathless as she locks the door behind us.
We pile into Diego’s car and head toward Ant’s club. I tug at my hair, the nagging feeling in my gut twists and tugs as I try to figure out Aria’s play. MIA all day after the hit at the club last night. Now she’s at Viviere. What the hell is she looking for, and will she find it before we get there?
After a tense few minutes, we pull the car up to the valet and jump out. Security lets us right in, the long line of people at the door groaning as they watch us bypass them all. We walk down a short hallway, and Ant meets us right outside of the main lounge area. He nods toward a corner of the dance floor, and I peer through the billowing smoke rings to see Aria shimmying in the crowd.
My throat tightens.
She’s not alone.
There are two guys on either side of her, sliding against her body, which is wrapped tight in a red dress. They murmur in her ear, all of them laughing.
“What the hell is she doing?” Tommy hisses.
Ant narrows his eyes. “Those guys just showed up. She’s been alone since I started watching her.” He grabs his phone. “I’ll have security get rid of those guys.”
“No,” I say. “I’ve got this.” I turn to Diego. “Fill him in, yeah?”
He nods.
I narrow my eyes at the trio now grinding together, and gritting my teeth, I shove my way toward them, ignoring the curses and spilled drinks crashing to the floor along my path.
I stop directly in front of Aria and she blinks fast in my direction, as if she’s trying to convince her eyes that it’s really me standing there. I grab her wrist, my jaw twitching as I pull her toward me. Her eyes blaze and she flicks her wrist away from me.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asks through clenched teeth.
“We need to talk,” I mutter.
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” She backs away from me, moving closer to her two new friends. The guys are a little shorter than me with dark hair and light eyes. One of them pulls her behind him and pushes me away. “Fuck off, man. She doesn’t want you around.”
The words are barely out of his mouth before I slam my fist straight into his nose, sending him crumbling to the floor. The other guy, clearly as much of an idiot as his friend, tries to take a swing at me. I block his arm and land a punch square in his jaw. He goes down as fast and heavy as the first guy. A couple of security guys make their way through the throngs of drunk patrons until they see it’s me. They back off almost as quickly as they appeared.
Aria’s jaw drops. “Are you crazy, Vince? And why is security not hauling your ass out of here?”
I grab her arm and drag her off the dance floor. She struggles with me every step of the way, pulling and yanking her arm, but I only grip it tighter in response. I lead her down a dark hallway toward the back of the building where I kick open a door and shove her inside.
Only then do I let her go.
“What is wrong with you?” she screams. “You can’t just drag me around like a fucking rag doll, Vince! I am not your concern! Understand? You made that pretty damn clear last time I saw you!”
“You need to tell me what the hell you’re doing here, what you did at that club last night, and why you disappeared today.”
“It’s none of your business!” she screams. “I don’t answer to you, and I sure as hell don’t need your help!”
“I think you do.” My lips press into a tight line.
“Well, I think you’d better tell me what the hell you’re doing here and why you’re following me!”
“I’m not following you,” I say. “This is my brother Ant’s place. He spotted you and called me. I’m here to get you the hell out of here.” I lift an eyebrow. “Your turn.”
“Your brother’s club?” Her face drains of all color.
“Yeah. And the reason why Paolo called me today is because he found some evidence that puts you at that murder scene last night. And he’s not the only one who knows where you were or what you did.”
Her eyes widen. “I wasn’t—”
“You were.” I stare at her. “Now tell me why.”
“You didn’t want to help me, remember?” she seethes, pushing against my chest. “So I did what I had to do. Same thing I’m doing tonight. And it’s going to lead me to find Nikola.”
“So you think baiting yourself is gonna get you in front of him? Are you fucking crazy?”
She folds her arms over her chest, pushing her tits up so they practically pop out of the top. “Before I took care of the guy from last night, he told me that this is the next place on their list. That’s why I came. I
’m going to kill Nikola,” Aria says in a calm voice. “And in order for me to get close to him, I need to get snatched.”
Fuck me. Viviere is on the radar of those sadistic bastards? “You’re out of your goddamn mind!” I roar. “He already knows you’re here! Nikola’s got a tail on you, Aria! Do you really think he’s gonna let you dick him around? If you get taken,” I say, a lump forming in my throat. “He will kill you. Do you understand that?”
“Why the fuck do you care? Because Paolo is your business partner and you’re stuck cleaning up his family shit because you don’t want to tarnish your name?”
I grab her arms before they take another swing at me and stare down into her eyes. “No,” I say in a choked voice. “It’s not my name I’m trying to save. It’s myself.”
“What are you talking about?” she whispers.
My hands travel down the sides of her dress, settling on her hips. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that day at the villa. I’ve tried. God knows, I’ve tried so hard. But I can’t. I shouldn’t have let you go. I shouldn’t have done a lot of things. But I know what I have to do now, and it’s not for Paolo. It’s for me.”
Her chest heaves, her cheeks flushed a bright pink. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
I lean her back against Ant’s desk, my hands moving up the slope of her back, fingers tangling in her hair. I give it a gentle tug so she’s forced to look up at me. “To tell you I love you,” I rasp. “And to promise you that I’ll never let anything happen to you, that I’ll protect you from him, Aria, and from any other demon chasing you.”
She melts against me as my lips crash down on hers. My tongue plunders her hungry mouth, coiling with hers as I pull her dress to her waist and shove my fingers into her wet pussy as she moans against my lips.
She yanks open my pants and grabs my hard cock, squeezing and pumping it harder and harder until I’m ready to explode. I pull out my fingers and grab her ass as I thrust into her heat. My hips drive into her as her walls clench me tight. I drag a hand down the front of her dress, kneading her tits as our lips attack each other in a frenzy. She snakes one leg tight around me, using the other as leverage to pull me deeper. I bury myself in her soft pussy, drowning in her juices as she writhes against my heated body. I swallow the roar rising in my chest as the orgasm erupts out of me, flames blasting through my insides as I fill her with everything I have.
And everything I want for the future.
Our future.
I lean over her, my breaths ragged and raw as I stare into her blue eyes. “You’re why I’m here, Aria,” I whisper.
Her lips curl into a quivering smile and she laces her fingers with mine. “I love you, too,” she whispers.
I stroke the side of her face before pressing my lips against hers once more. “I want to stay here and make love to you all night long, but we need to get you out of here, especially if what that guy told you is true. It might be a set up — Nikola leading you here so he can get his hands on you first.”
She purses her lips. “No, I can’t just go. I need to take care of him. Not just for me but for everyone.” Aria puts her hand on my arm. “Please. I need to be the one to end this, okay?”
“Listen to me,” I say. “We’re going to handle him. I promise. And you’re gonna be the one to pull the trigger. But it’s not safe here. And I need to find Ant to let him know what’s about to happen.”
“Okay, then I’m coming with you,” she says, sitting up and adjusting her dress.
I finish putting myself back together and shake my head. “No, you stay here. Don’t move from this room, do you get me? I’ll be back for you and we’ll leave through the back entrance.”
She looks at me, quirking an eyebrow. “I’m not some pathetic bitch who needs a man to protect her from the evils of the world.”
“Oh, I know damn well you’re not that girl. But you have to trust me right now, Aria,” I say in a soft voice.
After a long staring contest, she purses her lips and finally gives a quick nod. “Fine. I’ll wait here. But I’m not happy about it!”
“I wouldn’t be so in love with you if you were,” I say with a wink as I push open the office door.
I pull the door closed tight and collapse against the wall next to it. A deep sigh shudders my body as all of the jagged pieces of this sordid puzzle fall into place with alarming speed.
The phone call from Paolo.
The tail on Aria.
The place where Nikola decided to launch his final attack.
He has us all where he wants us.
But when he shows up with his army as planned, he’s going to find out how very fucking stupid it is to wage a war on enemy territory.
And that the opposing team always has the home field advantage.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aria
I nibble my thumbnail, pacing back and forth in front of Ant’s desk. Something tells me tonight wasn’t the first time it’s been fucked on. A smile plays at my lips as I replay Vince’s words over and over again in my mind.
He loves me.
I didn’t think I’d ever stop hating long enough to let someone in and develop those feelings for him. But it happened.
For both of us.
I want to relish the delicious sensations coursing through me right now, to let the aftershocks of what just happened ripple through me until we’re together again.
But rage runs too deep into the fissures of my fractured soul.
And the possibility that Nikola is behind a plan to put me here at Viviere, and within his grasp, makes it bubble dangerously close to the surface. Like, so close to the surface that I can’t even hear Vince’s words anymore.
All I can hear are the panicked screams of terrorized and exploited young women.
Myself included.
I clutch the sides of my head and squeeze my eyes shut.
I can’t just sit here.
I can’t wait any longer.
I came here tonight with an objective, and I’ll be damned if I leave without accomplishing it.
“No!”
A piercing scream from out in the hallway jolts me and I tiptoe toward the door, pressing my ear against it.
Shit. What the hell is going on out there?
With a thudding heart, I struggle to make out any other sounds, but the air is now silent.
I swallow hard. It was a high-pitched screech. A girl. What if—?
I tug at my hair and, in a split second, make my decision.
It’s probably just some handsy guy who is trying…and failing…to make a move on a girl.
“Stop!”
Okay. She clearly needs backup.
And he definitely needs to find out what happens to guys who don’t understand the word ‘no’.
I palm my knife and hold it against my back. I’ll only use it if I need to.
Oh, God, I hope I need to…
Because I have some serious anger issues festering in my gut, issues that I can only solve by unleashing the deep-rooted fury.
I turn the handle and slowly pull open the door, peeking my head out into the hallway. I immediately see a girl crumbled on the floor across from the office. Her dress is half off, her hair a tangled mess. Her face is streaked with tears as she quietly whimpers into her hand. I cross the hallway and kneel in front of her, clutching her hand.
“Who did this to you?” I ask.
She shakes her head, tears slipping from her eyes. Mascara runs down her cheeks and she sniffles. “I don’t know,” she whispers. “We were dancing and he bought me a drink. Then we started kissing and he said he wanted to take me home. But I didn’t want to leave. My friends are all here and I wouldn’t do that to them.” She sniffles. “I told him I wanted to stay and he got angry, like I was rejecting him or something. It scared me so I tried to get away from him. I finally lost him and went to the ladies’ room to find my friends. He followed me and dragged me back here.” She looks at me. “I yelled and he
took off.”
“You’re really lucky he took off,” I say. “You have to be so careful at places like this. There are men who will do horrible things to you. They’ll drug you and kidnap you and—” My voice cracks and I have to take a deep breath before talking again. “Just be careful. I’ll help you find your friends, but it’s over. You’re okay now. You’re safe.”
She stares at me for a second and swipes at the tears under her eyes, her lips curling upward. “Safe. Yes, you’re right. I am. But that’s more than I can say for you, love.”
A powerful force from behind yanks me backward, and before I can draw in a breath to release my own bloodcurdling scream, a large hand claps over my mouth. I chomp down in a frenzy, clutching the fingers in my teeth but whoever the hand belongs to isn’t flinching.
The girl straightens up and smooths the front of her dress, taking a few steps toward the main area of the club, and then turning back to give a thumbs-up to the person who has a death grip on my torso.
“I guess your mother never told you to mind your own goddamn business,” a deep, male voice hisses into my ear. “But that’s what we were counting on, Aria.”
My eyes widen and I let out a muffled yell, kicking my legs against the mountain of a man pressed against me. The hand clutching the knife is plastered against my side and I slash into the guy, barely making contact through his clothes.
“Stop moving, or this is gonna hurt more than it needs to,” he growls into my ear.
I thrust my head backward, hoping he’s my height and that I connect with his skull instead of his chest.
He lets out a loud roar, stumbling backward. I struggle in his grasp, now a bit looser, but he still holds tight, his hand still crushed against my mouth.
“Fuck this,” another voice mutters and a sharp arm prick follows. I wince as a burning sensation floods my veins, my knees buckling. I fall against my assailant…one of them…and my body immediately goes limp. My eyes flutter, my head rolling backward.
Light eyes, dark hair, dressed in black.
Both of them mutter in Croatian, but there’s a thick fog setting into my mind, making it impossible for me to really hear what they’re saying. My legs finally give out and suddenly, I’m floating, my arms falling to my sides as I’m hoisted into their arms.
Fallen: A Dark Italian Mafia Romance (Men of Mayhem Book 4) Page 19
