Chapter twenty four
Saint
I jolted awake, the distant echo of a dream I couldn’t remember fading away, replaced by a dull ache in my head. Exhaustion made my limbs feel heavy.
I felt like I’d been drinking. I didn’t remember drinking.
Where the fuck was I? The bed was too soft, and the smell of roses saturated the air.
I closed my eyes and tried to think. It all came rushing back—Aria, my mother’s house, the dead guards. I sat up, my eyes scanning the room for Aria.
I checked the clock next to the bed. It was nearly noon—almost twelve hours since we’d arrived. I’d never slept more than four hours at a time. I’d been down for more than ten. Something didn’t feel right. But then, I had been exhausted.
I sniffed, smelling food. I got out of bed, barefoot, and made my way to the kitchen.
“Where’d you get that?” I asked, my voice rough from sleep. There had been no food in this house last night.
She didn’t look up, just picked up my phone from the table and tossed it to me. “I ordered it. For someone who has people trying to kill them, you sleep like a bear in hibernation.”
I caught the device and looked at the confirmation screen, my irritation rising. My muscles tensed.
In a second, I crossed the space between us and grabbed her wrist. “Who did you talk to?”
She exhaled, unimpressed by my aggression. “No one. You still have my friends locked away, remember? What was I going to do? Beg UberEats to send a rescue team?”
I studied her, looking for any sign of a lie. “You shouldn’t have ordered anything to this house.”
Aria rolled her eyes and pulled her wrist free. “Yes, because the mob monitors UberEats grocery delivery. Do you want the food or not? Because you’re being stupid right now.”
I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. She had a point, but that didn’t make it any easier to let it slide. I let out a breath, shaking my head.
“Yes,” I muttered, grabbing a container. There was steak, eggs, and waffles. I sat across from her, picking up a fork. After a beat of silence, I added, “I’m only this way around you, letting my guard down. I trust you more than I should.”
Aria paused mid-bite but didn’t respond. Instead, she resumed eating, letting the tension settle into something quieter.
“What have you been doing? How did you stay off everyone’s radar?” I asked suddenly. “I think I have the right to know.”
She raised a brow. “Just ask. Don’t demand I tell you.”
I rolled my eyes but stayed quiet, waiting.
She sighed, placing her fork down. “I won’t tell you how I hid, but after what happened—after creating havoc and gaining a whole lot of enemies trying to make everybody responsible for my family’s destruction pay—I packed up and left.” She toyed with the edge of her napkin. “My par—mother wanted me to go to Africa with her. I went north instead. That’s where I met my friends—the ones you currently have tied up.”
I smirked at the bitterness in her tone. Her friends were in trouble because of what they did. I hadn’t randomly picked them to hold hostage. But I let her continue.
“I wanted a fresh start. A friend, a boyfriend who didn’t know my family or what happened, who didn’t know the stigma attached to my name.” She shrugged. “I got my heart broken. Graduated college.”
I sneered. “You loved someone.”
Aria shrugged again. “Thought I did. But no, I was infatuated.”
My gaze darkened. “Did he teach you how to do that thing you do with your mouth?”
She burst into laughter. “As a matter of fact—”
My blood pressure spiked at the thought of her mouth on anybody else. “What’s his name?” My voice was dangerously serious.
Aria’s laughter died. “Why would I give you that man’s name?”
My jaw tensed. “Because I should be the only man who knows what you do with your mouth walking this earth.”
She shook her head. “Then you’ll have to kill a few men. I said he taught me. It took years and many men to perfect it.”
I reached across the table, stilling her hand. “You’re purposely pissing me off.”
She smirked. “I am. But it’s stupid to be mad. You’ve slept with women. I’m sure you cared for someone or thought you did.”
I leaned back, the ghost of a smirk playing at my lips. “I’ve never slept with any woman but you. I fucked different women, always different. Every week since I was seventeen. I never kissed them. I always used a condom. I never even asked their names. I saved all that for you.”
She stilled. “So I was your first kiss?”
“Yes.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, something unspoken passing between us. Aria blinked first, breaking the moment. She huffed a soft laugh. “Okay, so you really are crazy. But I guess I am too, because that made my heart flutter a little bit.”
I smirked, feeling victorious.