CHAPTER 84 - ARIANNA
CHAPTER
Arianna
C RANING MY NECK, I look out of the back window of the car, wanting to see another glimpse of the Scorpio Lounge before I’m too far away, but it’s already out of sight.
A bit like how this shift in my life and what happened with Red feels.
Last night and this morning, my life took on a new dimension. There was finally a point to my existence, yet now... now everything is in tatters.
A bomb ?
Being in this car doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable either.
I nervously glance around the interior of the large motor - the blacked-out windows obscuring me from anyone outside. I know it’s bulletproof glass because I heard what Red demanded.
And that underlines I’m a target. The Bristonis are gunning for me. Quite literally.
I wonder if that’s the real reason Red gave me a traceable phone?
Nausea rises.
What if this car gets hijacked by the Bristonis?
I raise my eyes to the stranger sitting on the backward-facing seat in front of me. I’ve never seen him before, and he hasn’t said a word. His head is too large for his body, and he’s got horrible beady eyes, which make my skin crawl with ants. I don’t like him, and I don’t know why.
Is it Cal Bennett? Or is Cal Bennett the one driving this thing?
I don’t even know what Cal looks like, but even if I did, it wouldn’t matter because the front of this car is blanked off from the back by a thick sliding piece of black glass.
The strange thing about it is I can’t see through to the front.
It’s like the one-way glass has been installed the wrong way around.
Sensing the man opposite staring at me, I retrieve my mobile from my bag. Although I’m sure Del has informed Red I’ve already left, I’ll text him anyway to put his mind at rest. I know he didn’t want me to leave.
That this apartment I’m heading to is one Red lived with Lorna no longer bothers me either. Things are different now.
Or I hope there will be a chance for them to be different.
Pushing away the dread that a bomb is in a building where the man I now know I’m meant to be with is currently inside, is the best way of getting through this. I can only pray that the device is found and diffused.
The other option is not something I can think about.
Red will do it. He’ll find the bomb, make it safe and then...
My phone suddenly “dings” with a notification, and I glance up, seeing a flash of irritation aimed in my direction from the scary-looking man opposite.
It must be a text from Red!
My heart thunders. Maybe he’s found the explosive? Perhaps I don’t have to go to this apartment after all?
Scrambling to open the message, I stare at the words, my veins running cold.
[Unknown number]
17 Nov - 07:06
4292
It’s Cal. The car is ready. Back entrance.
Perspiration breaks over my face as I check the phone’s clock. That text was sent seven minutes ago, yet I’ve only just received it.
My mind swims. Is it a duplicate?
I fumble to open the call log and compare the phone numbers.
Shit! They’re different...
Heart hammering, my eyes dart to the brick-headed man who is still watching me. He isn’t Cal Bennett. Cal Bennett is not in this car.
And if Cal Bennett is not in this car, then who is ?
Bristoni men?
Fuck! It’s a setup!
Trying my best to act casual, I glance out of the window, fear expanding within me.
We’re not heading towards Mayfair either.
Sweat trickles between my breasts as I nonchalantly rummage in my bag, using it as a screen to hide my phone.
If I can just send a message to Red - send him anything to let him know this is a trick.
Not w Cal
This is –
“That’s not a good idea...” A gravelly voice snarls as my phone is snatched from my hand. These are the first words this odd-looking man has spoken. It sounds like he has a throat full of broken glass.
Head spinning, I look at the man wearing a scowl like a rabid animal. His meaty fist bangs on the black glass divider which slides open, showing the back of the man driving.
Then another face appears from the passenger seat side and I suck in a breath.
“Matteo? I didn’t realize you were back in the country! What’s going on? Is Papà all right? Has he sent you to get to safety from the threat that’s...”
“Give me her phone.” Matteo digs the brick-headed man in the shoulder.
“Matteo?”
“Shut it, you stupid whore,” he barks, the venom in his voice cutting me to the quick.
My initial elation at seeing my brother, rather than Edoardo Bristoni or one of his men, evaporates and instead curls into a paralyzing fear around the base of my spine. The look of pure hatred on Matteo’s face shows that I have nothing to be relieved about.
It is then, like a slow-moving poison creeping through my veins, I realize that my brother isn’t here to take me to safety after all.
It’s precisely the opposite.
All I can hope for is that once Red realizes something has happened and I’m not with who he thinks I’m with, then he’ll use that tracking app he put on my phone.
He will. He’ll track where I am and come and get me. He hasn’t let me down yet.