Chapter Sixteen
Aiden
That asshole Romero is keeping Ella and me separated so we can”t talk. I can still see her, which is just enough to stop me from going berserk.
My entire body is coiled tight, and it”s becoming increasingly hard to stay level-headed.
My usual composure abandoned me when Ella appeared by my side after I tucked her in behind me.
I”m furious with her!
She should have taken the cue and let me handle it.
It”s taken a lot of mindful breathing on the drive back to the house to regain some degree of sanity.
But I need to stay focused. Ella”s life and those of Rhia and Lex depend on it.
I”ve been racking my brain on how to warn Lex of the imminent danger. The Romeros are a notorious crime family known throughout America. They”re old-school mafia based in Chicago. I heard rumors one of their sons had returned to Sicily to muscle in on their old turf, but I never expected to come face to face with him.
I know nothing about Niccolo, but like the rest of them, he seems unpredictable.
He”s been talking with Ella, trying to gain information on where he can find what he came here for. While I couldn”t hear them at the heliport when they mounted the quad bike, Ella going ghostly white had my every protective instinct alight. Only the gun pointed at my head stopped me from charging over to her.
Their conversation here, though? I could understand every word between them.
Ella”s expression suggested she believed him when he told her, he”d leave once he has the papers, but I”m not convinced. Men like him don”t leave witnesses alive. And whatever is in those papers is clearly important enough for him to chase personally. He wouldn”t want anybody else knowing about them.
I watch Ella as she climbs up the stairs to the house, Romero keeping a firm grip on her elbow. I hate that he”s touching her.
My Sunshine turns her head over her shoulder, seeking me out. The fear and trepidation that were so obvious in her earlier are replaced with determination.
I”m pleased she”s connecting with the tremendous inner strength she possesses. However, that look… she”s planning something. And I”d bet my brewery that I won”t like it.
Don”t do anything reckless,my eyes implore her.
She shakes her head almost imperceptibly, before staring back at the house, her shoulders drawn back and her head held high.
My blood is boiling; I”m overheating, and sweat is beading on my skin.
Stay the fuck calm, I remind myself for the umpteenth time.
I have to bide my time, wait patiently for an opportunity. It will come… eventually. Most people are too impulsive and botch things up.
Not Lex and I though. We will get us out of this mess.
We reach the top of the stairs and enter the deck. There is no sign of Rhia or Lex, but happy chatter comes from the kitchen.
Silas, Romero”s sidekick, disappeared behind the house, presumably to ambush them from the back.
The guy holding me at gunpoint makes sure he and I are a few feet behind Ella and Romero who now enter the living area.
Rhia comes out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a tea towel.
”You were gone for ages. I nearly sent Lex out to go looking fo—” The last part of her sentence trails into nothingness when she spots Romero behind Ella.
”You”re not the Reverend,” she says and then notices her best friend”s bound hands.
”Lex,” she yells from the top of her lungs.
He rushes into the room, a knife in hand. Not sure if he was chopping veggies or grabbed it as a precaution hearing the alarm in Rhia”s voice.
Romero promptly points his gun at Ella”s temple.
Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.
”Well, hello there,” Niccolo says in his smug voice. ”I suggest you drop the knife. We wouldn”t want anything to happen to the bride, would we?”
I can see Lex assessing the situation. When his eyes land on me, I blink three times to signal to him that there are three of them.
Thank fuck he seems to understand and immediately turns toward the kitchen. But too late. We all watch as Silas walks through the door, his gun trained on our friends.
”Drop it,” Silas repeats.
Lex does so without hesitation, then grabs Rhia”s arm and shoves her behind him.
”Cute,” Romero mocks with an exaggerated eye roll. ”Always the protectors.”
”Now, before we get to the fun of recovering the treasure you found, I think your two friends should get in costume like you two.” He”s speaking to Ella, pointing at her bound hands. ”It”s symbolic, isn”t it? Though perhaps I should have tied you and your fiancé together.”
”Max, why don”t you help Mr. Burg get more comfortable sitting down,” he tells the guy behind me, who”s digging his gun into my ribcage.
”Sure, boss.”
I”m certain I could overpower the guy, even with my hands bound behind my back. Lex could too, but neither of us is willing to risk our girls” lives, and Romero knows it. So, we play along… for now.
Max nudges me toward the small dining table and pulls out a chair, proceeding to duct-tape me to it. They do the same with Rhia and Lex, leaving only Ella standing.
”Shall we, Miss O”Neil?”
Without looking at any of us, Ella storms into the bedroom, Romero hot on her heels. But before he completely disappears, he turns around and winks at me, a suggestive smile on his face.
I growl loudly, trying to stand up with the chair attached to me. Silas and Max are quick to push me back down.
”Easy, tiger,” they laugh, but I hardly hear them over the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears.
Ella is alone with this criminal.
All I see is red.