26. Arianna
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ARIANNA
O ur feet back on solid ground, Matteo handed a stack of bills to the waiting men who had been tethering the hot-air balloon so we wouldn’t wander off course. Truthfully, it made the whole experience even more enjoyable because it would have been terrifying to get lost in the air. Or God forbid, get into an air crash.
Matteo took my hand, tugging me along as he checked his phone with his other.
“Merda… Figlio di puttana…” He let out a string of Italian curses as we stopped in front of his bike, and I bit my lip as he typed on his phone. “Porca miseria.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, the ridges of his face now hard, his eyes stormy. I’d seen the same look in Dad’s eyes when business called.
He handed me my helmet, smiling tightly. “Nothing. I just need to stop at my penthouse.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You have a penthouse?”
“Yeah.”
I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Just yeah , huh?”
“I don’t use it all that much.” He swung his leg over the bike and revved the motor. “Come on, hop on.”
All the way there, I noticed Matteo checking behind us, but I didn’t notice anything unusual when I followed his line of sight.
An hour later, we arrived at a luxury building in the heart of New York City. After he parked the bike in the underground garage, we took the elevator to the reception area.
One guard stood right outside the door of the building and another sat behind the reception desk, eyes trained on a monitor.
“I’ll be right back, okay? I don’t have my keys on me, so I’ll need to grab one from the manager.”
I plastered on a smile. “No rush. I’ll be here.”
Once he disappeared from view, I studied the luxurious waiting area with marble floors, sofas, and floor-to-ceiling windows while I waited for him, observing the passing crowds as they rushed out into the night.
“Hello, Arianna. I’m surprised to see you here.”
I startled, a yelp falling from my lips as I whirled around and came face-to-face with a familiar face. It took a few seconds for my brain to place him, and the instant it did, I gasped. It was the man I hadn’t seen in years. Not since that frightful night I went after Gianna.
He was a bit older, darkness around him a lot more intense. But beyond a doubt, the same man stood in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” was my greeting.
He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his dark eyes as he towered over me.
“I live here,” he answered, a hand tucked in the pocket of his trousers. “And you?”
I didn’t know why I was unwilling to share any details about it. Yes, this man—who’d never divulged his name, I was now realizing—helped me free Gianna from the clutches of kidnappers, but there was still something unsettling about him.
“Visiting a friend,” I muttered.
“Does that friend happen to be Matteo Vitale?” The gleam in his eyes threw me off, something about it warning me to tread carefully. “Or is it Francesca you’re visiting?”
My brow furrowed. Matteo didn’t mention anything about sharing this penthouse with Francesca.
I steadied my breathing, taking a step back before I answered, “Considering I don’t know anything about you, I don’t think you’re in a position to be asking me questions.”
“You’d be dead if it weren’t for me, and so would your sister.”
Okay, well, he had me there. “Fine.”
“How is she, by the way?”
“Yeah, she’s good.”
He stared me down with darkness so tangible, I could taste it on my tongue. I couldn’t grasp his intentions, but I was certain I didn’t want to try. He saved us once, so he couldn’t possibly be that bad. Right?
After the whole incident with Gianna, I’d worked for years to uncover the identity of this man. Unsuccessfully. I even tried to use our family’s secure database, but I was only left with blank spots. It was as if he didn’t exist. I couldn’t even go to my dad and his friends, because he’d warned me not to tell a soul. The or else hung in the air, and there was no need for either Gianna or I to ever question it.
Yet here he stood.
“Who are you?” I breathed, hating that just seeing him brought all those horrible images from that day to the forefront of my mind. “What do you want?”
He took my elbow, lowering his head as he bored into my eyes. “It’s best if you don’t know. And make sure your sister and her friend stop sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”
“Which sister?” I rasped, but he didn’t answer.
Instead, he released my arm and I stepped back on wobbly feet. He left abruptly, storming out of the building and disappearing into the crowd.
“Who was that?”
I yelped for the second time, jumping out of my skin. Matteo. It’s just Matteo.
“Jesus Christ, you scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.” He slid his hand into mine and tugged me toward the elevators. “Who was that?”
For a brief moment, I debated whether I should tell him, but then decided against it. That man seemed every bit as threatening as when he’d sworn me to secrecy.
“No idea. He said he lives here,” was what I said instead, praying he didn’t look too closely and catch the beads of sweat gathering at my temples.
I’d have to ask Gianna whether she’d been snooping around. It had to be her because Hannah wouldn’t know anything about him. And then maybe—just maybe—with the help of the city’s CCTV, we could finally learn who he was.