21. Arianna
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
ARIANNA
B efore I could respond to Matteo, a tall, muscular, half-naked guy and another one in a three-piece suit waltzed into the planetarium, and I yanked myself away from Matteo. Or I tried to, but Matteo refused to let me go.
“Look what we have here,” Gabriel drawled in a lazy tone.
“Isn’t that the wrong twin?” Nikola tsked.
“The right twin, fucker.” Matteo pinned him with a glare.
While men like Gabriel and Matteo were well polished, hiding their ruthlessness behind expensive Italian suits, Nikola couldn’t give a fuck.
Honestly, I couldn’t understand why or how Skye could ever find herself entangled with him.
“Are you afraid she’ll choose me instead?” Nikola asked, leaning against one of the building’s suspending columns.
“No chance in hell,” Matteo said, flicking me a glance and a smile.
“What he said,” I confirmed.
“We’ve received information on the shipment we talked about,” Gabriel stated vaguely. I didn’t bother asking for details. I’d learned there’d be no answers, and honestly, I probably didn’t even want them. “Today’s the day.”
Matteo nodded somberly. “Let’s go.”
Matteo slung his arm around my shoulders and led us out of the planetarium. The moment we stepped outside, a breeze swept through my hair and I closed my eyes, relishing the cooling sensation.
Gabriel and Nikola walked in front of us, three black sports bikes waiting for their owners. I knew it was the preferred method of transport when the Legacies went after their enemies.
My attention was on Nikola’s tattoos, a canvas of inked stories spreading from his shoulders down to his waist. As if he felt my eyes on his back, Nikola glanced behind him and caught me red-handed. “I knew you couldn’t resist me, little Morrelli.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’m actually sizing you for a shirt.” Feeling stupidly brave by Matteo’s presence, I added with a sweet smile, “I can lend you some money, with interest of course, so you can complete your wardrobe.”
A heartbeat of silence followed and then laughter rang out.
Gabriel tilted his head in his friend’s direction. “She told you , mofo.”
Nikola shrugged, pulling out a cigarette from somewhere.
“Little thief is feeling brave with her boyfriend around.” Boyfriend. Damn, why did that make me grin like a fool?
I squared my shoulders and pinned him with my most serious look. “And there’s nothing little about the way I wiped you clean when we were kids.”
Nikola snickered.
“As if you could repeat it.” I raised my brow and his expression sombered. He knew I could do it blindfolded. After all, I had done it a few times after Nikola’s father upgraded their safe. He was just tired of replacing it and called me a one-off thief he invited into his home.
“Oh, I so could.” I tilted my head, watching him. “And since you don’t believe me, I’ll take that as a challenge and prove you wrong.”
“It wasn’t a challenge, so don’t you fucking try and steal from me, Arianna.”
I grinned. “Only if you ask me nicely.”
“Whatever… please. Happy?”
“Ecstatic.”
He rolled his eyes. “Anyhow, moving on. About time you two got together. It’s no wonder Matteo threw himself into the hellfire.”
“Shut up, fool,” Gabriel gritted.
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I demanded.
There was a pregnant pause that seemed to last decades before Nikola apparently thought “fuck it” and continued. “How do you think you got out of that shitshow all those years ago without a single mark on you?”
“Shitshow?” I repeated slowly.
“Gianna’s kidnapping. Who do you think pulled you out of the fire?” Nikola pipped.
My smile froze, images of Gianna and I surrounded by fire and soaked in blood invading my mind. Nikola and Gabriel were arguing, but their voices faded into the background as I slowly turned to face Matteo.
“You?” I rasped. “It was you?”
He shrugged. “I was helping with the search. When your family, Pa, and I arrived at the scene of your accident, he could only save one of you. So I made up his mind for him. I went for you and he dove in for Gianna.”
My heart drummed in my chest. “Why can’t I remember?”
“It was chaotic. Gianna and you passed out in the midst of it all.”
I didn’t want to imagine Matteo engulfed in flames just to save me.
“Don’t go there, Ari,” he murmured, both of us making our way to his bike. “It’s ancient history.”
I nodded slowly. “I better get home and get ready. I have a math class at eight.”
He pulled out an extra helmet.
“I’ll give you a ride.” After strapping it on my head, he swung his long muscled thighs over his bike, revved the engine, then ordered, “Hop on.”
Our dorm suite was a magnet for loud music and idiots that night.
Penelope swayed her hips to the music, seductively dancing on top of the table with Hannah. I looked around our dorm and shuddered at the thought of the mess we’d be waking up to tomorrow.
Every single glass and piece of furniture trembled with the bass and whatever the pop artist was singing about. If only any of it could keep my attention. My gaze flitted through the room for the umpteenth time, searching for a hint of that chiseled jaw and hazel eyes, but there was no sign of him.
“Come on, Arianna,” Hannah called, the overfilled cup of vodka in her hand spilling with her every move. “Don’t be a bore. Dance with us.”
Francesca and Gianna were on top of the makeshift bar, threatening to knock down our supply of liquor. Taking over as bartenders for the night, they completely missed the point that they weren’t supposed to be the ones to consume most of the liquor.
It would seem I was the only one presently sober. Even Anya was sipping her fruity cocktail, dancing seductively, her shoulder now bare from the way her shirt had slipped down. When—not if—Gabriel got wind of it, he would probably claw every man’s eyeballs out.
I debated warning the pricks that Hannah picked up from who-knew-where to avert their eyes, but I shrugged it off. They weren’t St. Jean D’Arc students and should have known better than to allow Hannah to smuggle them in for a party.
“You should dance,” Amara said between slurps. “It might loosen you up.”
Skye sat on my other side, her palm pressed against the table, feeling the vibrations of the music.
“You’ve been tense since you came back to us,” Skye remarked, signing with her free hand—the one that wasn’t clutching the stem of a wineglass.
I jumped to my feet, extending my hand. “I’ll dance if you two will.”
“The table might cave in,” Amara pointed out, but we were already climbing up.
It had been like this since our first year of college when we joined D’Arc. Some of us were extroverts while others were introverts, but we all got into—and out of—shenanigans together.
“Where’s Gabriel? He’s not going to like this.” Amara tilted her chin in Anya’s direction. She was getting too friendly with one of the visitors.
“Not sure.”
Skye scrunched her nose, then signed, “ He’s probably out there getting laid. Women throw themselves all over those Legacies. I’m surprised they don’t all have STDs .”
Amara huffed. “One of these days, I’m going to get some D without anyone getting in my way.”
Skye’s eyes met mine and I shrugged.
Hannah slid into our conversation, grinning like a fool. “Who’s talking about getting some D? Because I have a way to get more than one D-I-C-K.”
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. “Do you want to be on everyone’s shit list?”
“You mean, on everyone’s best friend list?”
“ Hannah is like a madam, pimping everyone out, ” Skye signed. I pursed my lips. It wasn’t exactly a compliment for my twin.
“I think I’d be a good madam,” Hannah said passively, almost as if she was seriously considering it.
“No, you wouldn’t,” I objected. “Stick to your English major.”
Hannah ignored me, shifting her undivided attention to Penelope. “Do you want me to find you a man?”
Penelope’s lips pulled up into a Cheshire cat grin. “Can you guarantee the man won’t end up dead before I get his pants off? If so, I’m game.”
“It happened once,” I protested. Penelope cut me off by lifting two fingers in the air and I smiled comfortingly. “Okay, twice. It’s probably a freak accident.”
“I refuse to give my virginity to the fucker I have to marry,” she grumbled. We all stopped dancing and sat in a circle, ignoring the guests that were still lingering.
“But your parents said they’ll find a way out of that stupid arranged marriage,” I pointed out.
“But they haven’t .”
“Yet.” My uncle Luca wasn’t the giving-up type.
“They should have thought twice about the arrangement.” Amara crossed her arms over her chest, the words Look away, mofo on her shirt staring back at us. “I could take care of Enzo Marchetti.”
Translation: kill him. Amara was way too optimistic for her own good.
“Stop it.” Anya obviously felt the same as me, nudging Amara with her shoulder. “The Marchettis aren’t to be messed around with.”
Hannah shot her a pointed look.
“Exactly why Enzo Marchetti should be—” My twin made a motion of slicing her throat, and I shook my head.
“Stop,” I scolded my sister. “Just think of the repercussions. If the Marchettis blame Uncle Luca, they’ll come after him, and Dad will get involved. Think it through. It puts us all in danger.”
Hannah rolled her eyes, ready to start bickering again, but a commotion at the bar drew her attention. We all followed her gaze and my mouth parted in shock. Gianna had one of the pricks in a chokehold while Francesca held a bottle of vodka over his face.
“Repeat that now?” My baby sister shoved her knee into his back, then shared a glance with Francesca. “Whenever you’re ready, Franny.”
Francesca flipped her red hair back and started pouring vodka into his mouth.
The girls and I shared a glance.
“Franny?” I murmured, the gurgling sounds mixing with the music overhead. “Since when do we call her that?”
“We don’t. I suggested once we should shorten her name and she hated the idea,” Skye signed.
“Are you two sane?” Hannah asked.
A set of brown and violet eyes lifted to us, grinning as they said, “Totally,” then went back to their business.
“Not so brave now, are we?” Gianna continued to threaten the drunk boy. “If you ever threaten a woman with rape, I’m going to find you and tear you to pieces.”
“Fuck, what happened to our baby sister?” Hannah muttered.
“Maybe she’s possessed,” Amara offered.
“Or maybe she’s as badass as her sisters,” Anya remarked, sipping from her cup. “The world is as it should be.”
I narrowed my eyes on Gianna.
“Gianna—” I started but lost my voice when her eyes met mine. There was more to her behavior than teaching a boy a lesson. Her hands trembled and she wore a daunting expression. I shared a glance with Hannah, who had been observing our sister with the same worried expression.
“I need this. Okay?”
I shifted to go to her when Hannah’s hand reached out and stopped me. “Let her. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“She’s been seeing her therapist, right?” I asked quietly, and my sister nodded.
“This whole thing is messed up,” Penelope commented, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Them teaching that guy a lesson?” I asked, unsure what she was referring to.
“No, not that. The fact that I cannot get a dick to stay alive long enough to…” Her face turned crimson. “You know.”
“Well, you should at least be able to say fuck if you want to get to that stage,” Hannah pointed out. When we all groaned, she continued, “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”
The conversation continued on and on, but I was no longer paying attention. Instead, I got up and made my way to Gianna and Francesca.
“Okay, how about I kick this guy out before you two kill him and we have an even bigger problem on our hands?” I offered, careful not to set off my sister’s demons.
Francesca shrugged, but thankfully my baby sister still had a bit of reason because she shoved the idiot toward the door.
“Thank the saints my sister showed up,” she spat. “Tell anyone about this and you’ll regret it.”
There was no need to escort the guy out because he was already running—straight into a hard chest that appeared at the doorway.
“Bump into me again and I’ll set your corpse on fire,” Nikola growled as he grabbed him by the nape. I winced even though the threat wasn’t aimed at me.
The smell of flesh was a hard thing to erase from one’s mind, but Nikola wouldn’t have known about that. Only my family and the Vitales would have details of that night.
“What’s your deal, man?” The guy looked like he was about to piss himself despite his brave but foolish words. “It’s just a party.”
Nikola shoved him down the hallway. “Run and never come back.”
“And this is how you scare those fuckers,” Francesca purred. “We have to step up our game, Gia.”
My eyebrows shot up. How much had these two had to drink exactly?
“Be good,” I told my sister and Francesca. “And ease up on the alcohol. Give water a try.” To my surprise, both picked up a bottle and took a sip while I made my way toward Nikola. “You have a shirt on, that’s an improvement. Although, it’s supposed to be buttoned up, not used as a cape.”
Those pale blue eyes that could be so unnerving locked on me, and just as I thought maybe I’d offended him, he grinned. “Maybe I’m a superhero.”
I rolled my eyes. “More like a villain.”
“Supervillain,” he corrected me. “Everything about me is super.”
“I see.” His ego was definitely inflated. “Why are you here?”
“No reason.” His attention shifted to Skye.
“Sure,” I retorted, sarcasm lacing my voice. “Where’s Matteo?”
His glacier gaze returned to me.
“If you two start using me to pass love notes, I’m going to murder you both.” He handed me a piece of paper. “Keep your goddamned phone on you, woman.”
I unfolded the piece of paper.
Planetarium. 10:30 PM.
I looked down at my outfit, debating whether I should change. I was wearing a peach-colored linen Valentino dress and sandals, but it was already ten twenty-five and the planetarium was fifteen minutes away.
“Don’t change,” Nikola grumbled as if he’d read my mind. I lifted my head to find him rolling his eyes. “The only thing he won’t like is that the designer’s name is Valentino.”
“How do you know that?”
“You forget who my aunt is.” Tatiana Nikolaev was known for her love of designer labels. The woman had impeccable taste. “She rubbed off on me. Unfortunately.” He tried to sound grumpy, but there was unmistakable affection in his tone. “By the way, next time you give Matteo the names of fictional characters to murder, give me a warning.”
I gave him a blank look. “Huh?”
“Eric Northman and Simon Basset?” Realization sunk in. “What a disappointment not to be able to kill them. I recommended murdering the actors who played them, but Matteo wouldn’t go for it.”
I grinned.
“Nikola, you need serious help.” One more fleeting glance toward Skye and I couldn’t help but wonder what was happening between the two. “If the girls ask, tell them I’ll be right back.”
I wouldn’t, but there was no harm in telling a little white lie.