Twisted Games of Revenge (Sinners of Ravens Hollow #3)

Chapter 18

Leaving a sleeping Alessandro in my bed back at my apartment, I throw on a pair of black jeans and a tank top then run a brush through my hair, fixing then twisting it up and under my blonde wig. I run my eyes over the list the four of us formulated yesterday. They’re finally working with me, and all I have to do is agree to marry Alessandro. Or fake marry him. I’m not sure how it’s all going to work yet, but his ring is on my finger again.

Dr. Northgate

Mayor Chambly

Detective Hops and Detective Carillon

Police Commissioner Palmer

Every name high-profile and very influential in Ravens Hollow. It’s not going to be easy to take them down, but it’s necessary. And the idea gives me a thrill of excitement. There is just one thing still playing on my mind. The boys said they hadn’t seen Geovani since I left. Where the hell is he then? A nagging feeling at the pit of my stomach tells me I need to find him.

I hope Sloane might be able to help me, but I also want to check in with her after what she told me yesterday. I creep out of my room before Alessandro wakes up. I open my front door but stop moving when I hear voices just outside her apartment.

“You need to be more careful. The last thing we need is trouble with the Morettis,” comes a man’s voice I don’t recognize. “There is already talk about Enzo fucking losing his mind. Why do you think Alex was able to take over so easily from him? He’s likely to think you’re a part of his downfall, out for revenge on Pia,” he continues, and I know whoever it is, she hasn’t confided in him what she did to me yesterday.

“You think I don’t know that?” she snaps back at him. “But I wasn’t leaving another poor girl out there on the streets for Enzo to destroy. The Moretti boys won’t hurt her. Or me, for taking care of her. They’re just pissed she left, but it’s damn obvious how much they all love her.”

That voice I do know, it’s Sloane. Whoever she’s talking to is trying to warn her off helping me because he’s worried about her. Maybe she does have a guy in her life after all.

“Hope you know what you’re doing. Bringing home stray animals to take care of was cute when you were seven, but…” He stops talking when I move into the hallway, his eyes lazily roaming over me with a scowl.

I recognize him immediately. Cruz Stryker, one of her brothers, not a guy friend. He’s the blond one, with a scar just above his right eye, the one I haven’t met yet. I can see he’s worried about protecting his sister, and I won’t hold that against him. She’s risking a lot to help me. But this fight for revenge is as much hers as it is mine.

“Hey, Viv, how was your date?” she asks, trying to fake a perkiness in front of her brother.

“Interesting.” I smirk, remembering yesterday afternoon. Those boys are a fucking lot to take in more ways than one. But I would quite happily work it out with them for the rest of my life if I had to.

Her lips tip up at the sides like she can read my thoughts. “I bet.”

I move toward them, her brother still watching me with a scowl on his face. What the fuck is his problem? “You must be Cruz. I’m Viv.” I hold out a hand in greeting.

He raises a brow. “I know who you are. You and your boyfriends bring any trouble to my sister, you won’t have to worry about Enzo Moretti, I’ll kill you myself.”

I give Sloane a look. “Understood,” I sass.

“Cruz,” Sloane warns her brother, moving around to my side, tugging me to her as we walk back toward my place. “I know how to take care of myself. Go worry about someone else.” She waves him off. He takes one last look at me, his eyes narrowing, then turns the corner on his way to the elevator.

I push open my door, letting us both inside my place. “He’s friendly.”

“Probably best you stay out of his way. He’s hella protective over me. He thinks just because we shared a womb, he has to protect me for the rest of my life.”

“Twin?”

She nods.

“I only have one brother. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have four.”

She leans into my kitchen counter watching me. “Welcome to my nightmare. I will literally never have a boyfriend; they won’t allow it. Any eligible dude around runs scared as soon as he realizes who I am. It’s fucked up, sis. Seriously, count yourself lucky you found your harem or whatever it is you have going on. I’m going to be alone forever.”

I pout for her, taking two mugs from the top shelf and popping a pod in the new coffee machine I purchased. “I’m sorry, Sloane, that sucks.” I get to work frothing the milk for mine. “You’re not alone though, you have me, the girls at the club, and Onyx.” I offer a half smile, knowing it’s not much of a consolation prize, but it’s the best I have. I guess I understand now why she spends her whole life at that club.

“Onyx. Pfft. Don’t even get me started on him. Another of my brothers’ overprotective implements to keep me safe. And a constant cock blocker. At this rate I’m going to die a virgin.” She whispers the last part, her eyes coming to mine, wide with embarrassment. Maybe even surprising herself that she just admitted that little nugget to me.

“Wait, what did you just say?” I ask, sure I must have misheard her. She’s like the most attractive girl I have ever met, so confident and with her shit together. Guys must fall at her feet.

“I’m not repeating myself,” she mutters, turning away from me and looking back into my apartment.

I take hold of her upper arm and spin her back to look at me. “Sloane Stryker, how can you own the biggest sex club in town and not have actually participated in the act yourself?”

She covers her face. “I know. And if you ever tell a soul I will have to kill you. That’s a promise, Viv.”

I laugh nervously, sure she would. “Okay, my lips are sealed. But girl, we need to get you some action. Like seriously, you’re missing out.”

“You think I don’t know that?” She sighs heavily. “Looks like you’re just going to have to have all the fun for the both of us.”

I smirk back at her, remembering last night. It certainly was fun. “Is there reason to believe you could be in danger?” I ask, wondering why she needs a bodyguard following her around.

“Other than the threat Enzo now poses, it was just one of the precautions my brothers took when I became the owner of the club. Women don’t normally do all that well running the kind of business I do. Especially in this town.”

I nod, agreeing with her. And I’m grateful she has Onyx looking after her. He certainly makes me feel safer when he’s around.

She tosses her hair over her shoulder. “Anyway, enough about me. What’s going on, were you looking for me?”

I hand her a steamy mug of coffee, black just the way she likes it, and take a sip of my own. “I wanted to check on you after yesterday,” I say, my voice quieter.

“Thank you.” She collects her mug, slotting into the stool at the breakfast bar. “I’m fine, just had a moment, but I’m back on track now.” She forces a smile.

“Okay,” I say, looking her over, wondering if she really is okay. Seeing the dead body of your best friend wouldn’t be easy to just shake off. “If you’re looking for a distraction, I could use a hand with something.”

“Please.”

“If I wanted to find someone who had disappeared in the last couple of weeks, where would I start looking?” I ask her.

“Geovani?” She raises her brow in question.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“Jagger mentioned he hadn’t seen him in a while. He normally runs a training session with some of the Iron Strykers’ crew, and he just didn’t show up at his gym. The place was pitch-black and locked up tight.”

Worry fills me. I had thought maybe I was overreacting, but now I really do think he could be in trouble. “Shit. Where the fuck would he be? I don’t want to go to his apartment because my brother and Dani are back there, but maybe I can send one of the boys over to have a look,” I say thinking out loud. “Or he could be at the gym, hiding out there.”

“He could be?” she agrees, taking a sip from her mug.

“Have you ever thought maybe Geovani doesn’t want to be found? Maybe he’s disappeared for a reason.” Alessandro stands in the doorway, his hair all messed up from sleeping, and the only thing on him is a pair of cotton boxer shorts that he slept in. He looks edible, and I have to stop myself from drooling.

“What, like I did? You assholes still came looking for me,” I snip, knowing he might be right, but what if he’s not and Geovani needs me? And even more selfishly, I need to know he’s okay.

Sloane watches him with caution as he approaches me, kissing me on the lips before taking the coffee right out of my hand and sipping from my mug, like I made it for him.

“What are you doing here so early, Sloane?” he asks with a hint of jealousy to his voice. “Was Vivian just dying to tell you the happy news?”

She looks me over with curiosity then she spots it, the fucking great diamond on my ring finger. She spits her mouthful of coffee out all over my kitchen counter. “Oh, fuck off, already?”

I glare back at Alessandro. “See, I told you it was too soon.”

He kisses my cheek then wraps his arms around me. “Trust me, my parents will only ever be happy about this, they won’t question it. They have been trying to marry me off for years.”

“If you say so,” I mutter, rolling my eyes just for Sloane.

“Congratulations, lovers. How exciting,” she coos. “I’m going to call Onyx, help us check Geovani’s gym, see if we can’t locate him. Maybe Alessandro can be a darling and go check Geovani’s apartment for you,” she suggests.

He mutters something under his breath as she walks away. He doesn’t like having a female tell him what to do.

I chuckle to myself while I get to work wiping up the mess Sloane just made. Rinsing the cloth and hanging it over the tap, I turn back to him. “Is this really going to work? It has my stomach in knots.”

He closes the gap between us, wrapping his arms around me, his lips finding mine. “Start trusting me to take care of you, princess. I wouldn’t let you go through with it if I didn’t think it was a good idea. My parents want me married off, my papa thinks you are his little spy, and my mother adores you. This is going to work.”

I stare up at him, getting momentarily lost in his dark eyes. “It’s just a fake engagement, Alex. Fake, you do understand that, right?”

He grins at me, and I know he’s no longer taking me seriously or listening to a word I’m saying. Fuck, I’m going to end up married to him, aren’t I?

Twenty minutes later, we pull up outside of Geovani’s gym. The original one I was training with him in when I thought he was an undercover detective. The front glass door is wide open, and I get a horrible sinking feeling. I leap from the car before Onyx even has time to kill the engine and run toward the building in a panic.

When I get inside, the stench of stale alcohol hits me in the face. Then I see the mess. Discarded pizza boxes lie open on the combat mat with half-finished pizza hanging out. Empty bottles of whiskey and beer are scattered amongst them. I push my way through the rubble and head for his office. There flopped over his couch, head down, is Geovani. And I pray to whoever will listen that he’s just passed out.

I go to him, shaking his shoulder, trying to get him to budge. “Geovani, it’s me,” I say quietly, not wanting to startle him. He doesn’t move, and I really start to panic.

“Looks like he’s out cold,” Sloane comments from behind me, sounding less worried.

My anxious eyes rise to meet hers, and I know she can see I’m starting to freak the fuck out.

“He’s just passed out drunk, if the mess we walked past is anything to go by.” She shrugs it off like it’s no big deal.

“Geovani,” I call louder, trying to snap him out of it, shaking him more vigorously, but still nothing.

Next thing I know it, Sloane’s marching past me with the jug out of the water cooler. She turns the bottle on its head and ice-cold water rushes out over his face.

He sits up in a rush, coughing and spluttering, scrubbing his hands over his face as he tries to get his bearings. “What the fuck,” his gorgeous voice croaks out.

I throw my arms around him in a hug, so happy to see he’s alive, regretting it immediately when my clothes get all soggy. I give him a tight hug then pull back to study his face. His lip is busted up and he has a black eye, but that’s nothing new for him really.

His eyes narrow like he’s trying to work out who the hell I am.

“Geovani, it’s me, Red,” I say, remembering I look a fuck load different to when he saw me last.

He blinks a few times then his head sways. “Red, what are you doing here?” He looks between us, his glassy eyes trying to focus. “With Sloane Stryker?”

I offer him a goofy smile, knowing it makes no sense at all. “It’s a long story. What the hell are you doing? You’ve been missing for days.”

He scrubs his hands over his face, then holds on to the couch like his head is spinning while he is trying to gather himself.

While I wait for him to get his shit together, I pull out my phone and call Alessandro. “Found him. He’s been hiding out at his gym. He’s a mess. I’m going to take him back to my apartment and get him fixed up if you want to meet us there.”

“Marco, never mind, he’s been located,” I hear him call down the line to my brother. Fuck, he must be at Geovani’s place right now. “Bring him to the mansion.” He disconnects the call before I have a chance to say no. And I get it, it’s probably safer to take him there, and at least he will have stuff there to change into, so there probably wasn’t cause to argue, but still.

I return my attention to Geovani. He takes my hand. “I couldn’t see you anymore, thought I lost you. Is it really you, Red?” he asks me softly. He looks all kind of dazed.

“Sure is, just had a little makeover so Enzo couldn’t find me, you know the drill.”

His eyes narrow in, trying to focus on me. He’s really out of it.

Guilt eats at me. I close my eyes and inhale deeply. When I open them, I notice the computer that normally sits on his desk is smashed to pieces, and his knuckles are also all cut up. If I had to guess I would say he lost his shit when he realized I destroyed every way of him finding me. I hold a hand out toward him, and he takes it and stands on shaky legs, wrapping his arms around me, before pulling my face to his for a kiss.

“Why do you look like one of the Iron Strykers? Don’t tell me you married one of them while I was out of it.”

I laugh at his dramatics. “You know my thoughts on marriage, Geovani.” Then I remember the ring on my finger and my heart sinks. It’s all for show, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt him. Fuck. “This get-up is to help me blend in with my new friend.”

He looks over to Sloane and offers her a nod. “Oh yeah, hey, Sloane, been awhile.”

“Sure has,” she mutters with a sideways smile, and I can already tell she likes him more than she likes Alessandro. But most people do. Alessandro is an acquired taste.

He slings an arm over my shoulders and lets me help him out to Sloane’s car. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Red. A fucking shit ton of it.”

Guilt eats at me again. “I know,” I agree, not ready for this conversation just yet. He needs to sober up first, then I will explain it all. And hopefully, he will forgive me.

Sloane locks up his gym for him then hops in the front, leaving me in the back seat alone with him. I give Onyx directions to the boys’ mansion, and Geovani leans into me, falling asleep on my lap again as we drive.

Sloane looks over her shoulder at the two of us. “Shit, Viv, what do you think happened back there?”

“Me.” I shake my head. “He couldn’t find me. Geovani has a slight stalking obsession, and I ditched all his tracking devices.”

She shakes her head and gives a little sly look to her bodyguard sitting stoically in the front. “Might have fucked with his head a little,” she agrees like she gets it, and I wonder if there is more to her relationship with Onyx than meets the eye.

I’m sure she’s right. Maybe even I didn’t realize how bad it would be if I just disappeared on him. But he did promise me I was on my own, and from the scene I witnessed back there, that was never going to be his intention at all. He thought he was going to be able to spy on me from my new location, and when I just disappeared, he flipped his lid. That’s my guess, anyway.