15. Chapter Fifteen Tristan
The moment I saw Adriana wasn’t at her table, a cold dread washed over me. My heart raced as I scanned the crowd of the ritzy hotel venue, my eyes sifting through the sea of glittering dresses and tailored suits for any sign of her. Nothing.
I knew that she was dancing with an acquaintance but I’d gotten caught up talking about a deal with one of my guys…who was supposed to be watching her.
And now she was just gone, disappeared into the night somewhere.
“Have you seen Ade?” I asked Ray, who stood next to me having his…I don’t know, twelfth beer.
“Nope,” he replied. “Sorry, boss. You want me to go looking for her?”
“No, it’s okay,” I said, though it was definitely not okay. They were supposed to be watching her. I would deal with them later.
As I looked around and couldn’t find her, the knot in my throat tightened.
“Adriana!” I called out, my voice barely a ripple in the noise of the bustling event. With each second she remained hidden from view, I felt more and more nauseous.
She wouldn’t have wandered this far away from me. She knew exactly what was at stake.
My fists clenched by my side, I made my way out of the ballroom and toward the hallway.
As I walked to the exit, pushing past the guests with hurried apologies, my mind pictured her face—those sharp, observant eyes that missed nothing, that mouth quick to quip a witty comeback. The thought of her in trouble set my nerves on edge.
That’s when I bumped into him.
“Watch where you’re goin’—“ The words died on my lips as I caught sight of Nick Rossi leaning against the wall just outside the bathrooms, his arms crossed, a smug look on his face.
I would have recognized him anywhere. Even with the mask on, I could see his features, the set of his mouth, the glint of his veneers. “What the fuck? You weren’t invited.”
“I wasn’t going to miss your engagement party, man,” Nick said. “No matter how rude you were not to invite me.”
I glared at him. “What did you do?” I said, holding back the urge to slice his throat open right then and there.
It was too public. Someone would’ve easily seen me. My fingernails made divots in the skin of my hands.
“Looking for your girl, Callahan?” he sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.
“What did you do?” I demanded again. The air between us crackled with tension, thick enough to slice through. “Tell me.”
“Or what?” His smirk widened, and I knew then he wouldn’t budge without a fight.
I was more than happy to give him one.
I lunged at him without another word. Our bodies slammed against each other, the sound echoing off the marble walls. Nick was trained, and trained well.
I was relatively good at this, but I was tipsy, tired, thrown off balance by the very fact that Adriana was missing.
He dodged my first swing and landed a solid punch to my jaw, the force of it snapping my head to the side. I tasted blood.
“Come on, Callahan, is that all you’ve got?” he taunted, circling me like a predator.
“Shut up,” I spat, wiping the blood from my lip with the back of my hand. I charged again, but he was ready. His fist met my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I doubled over, gasping for breath.
“Pathetic,” he hissed. “Lucky your girlfriend isn’t here to see you.”
Anger surged through me, hot and blinding. I ignored the pain, the dizziness, and pushed forward. My knuckles connected with his cheek, the impact sending a jolt up my arm.
Nick staggered but recovered quickly, throwing a jab that caught me in the eye. Stars exploded in my vision, and for a moment, I feared I might black out. But I couldn’t give up. Not when Adriana was out there, possibly in danger.
“Where is she?” I demanded between gritted teeth, ducking another one of his punches.
“Who knows?” he replied with a shrug, but his eyes told a different story. At least he looked bruised. That didn’t help me find her but it did a little to ease my nerves.
In any case, I had to end this fast. I couldn’t let him—or anyone else—hurt her. I sidestepped his next attack and with all the strength I could muster, I threw my body into his, tackling him to the ground.
“Tell me where she is!” My voice echoed in the empty hallway as I pinned him beneath me.
I was vaguely aware that people would start looking for us now, that there was every chance we might attract a crowd.
“Get off me, Callahan!”
But I didn’t. I held him there, every muscle in my body tense, ready for whatever came next. Because I would do anything to find her. Anything to keep her safe.
I could feel his muscles tensing under me, ready to throw me off, but desperation lent me strength. I needed answers, and I would get them by any means necessary.
“Adriana,” I growled, the name like a prayer and a curse on my lips.
In that split second of distraction, Nick’s arm whipped around, elbow catching me in the ribs with a sickening crack. Pain seared through me, but it only fueled my resolve. With a swift motion, my hand found the hilt of the blade strapped to my ankle.
“Enough,” I snarled, ripping the blade free and pressing it against his throat.
But Nick was quicker, or maybe luck was just on his side. He turned his head at the last moment, and instead of the kill shot I intended, the blade sliced across his cheek. Blood welled up immediately, a dark crimson line stark against his skin.
“Damn you, Callahan!” he spat.
He tried to wriggle out from under me but I ignored his attempt and pressed the blade deeper into his skin, drawing another line of crimson. His breath hitched as he looked at me, fear flickering momentarily in his eyes before it was replaced with that same damn smugness.
“Tell me where she is,” I demanded again, my voice growling in the silent hallways. “Tell me!”
He reached out, trying to grab the blade. He managed a weak laugh, his eyes never leaving mine. “You think it’s that easy?” His fingers closed around the hilt of my blade, his blood washing over us both. “This is only the beginning, Callahan.”
Every muscle in my body tensed as a cold wave of dread washed over me. Adriana was in more danger than I had realized, and I was wasting precious time wrestling with this bastard.
“I swear,” I growled, closing my fingers tighter around the hilt of my blade, ignoring the sting as Nick’s blood seeped into my grip. “If you’ve harmed her...”
Nick laughed, and in that time, he managed to leverage his weight so that he could roll us over, pinning me beneath him with a triumphant grin. I grunted as my back hit the cold marble, the blade slipping from my grasp and clattering uselessly to the floor.
“Too slow, Callahan,” he mocked, his lips curled in a twisted sneer. He shifted his weight onto one knee, pressing into my chest.
Struggling beneath him, I grasped for anything to fight back with – my fists, my teeth – but Nick was quick and he pressed a mocking finger against my bruised lips, cutting off any attempt to bite. “I think it’s time for you to learn your place,” he snarled.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through me. With every second that ticked by, Adriana could be getting farther away. I couldn’t afford to waste time here.
With a sudden burst of energy, I brought my knee up into his stomach, harsh enough to knock the wind out of him and give me a moment to scramble away.
I lurched to my feet, ignoring the way the world tilted. My ribs ached with each breath, but I pushed through the pain. Adriana was all that mattered.
Nick, winded and surprised, started to rise but I didn’t give him the chance. I sent a swift kick to his side, hearing a satisfying grunt as he crumpled back to the ground.
“Adriana,” I growled, my voice echoing off the marble. I would beat this man to death if he didn’t tell me where she was. It had stopped mattering that people had seen us, that they were now surrounding us.
Nick just spat blood onto the floor and gave me a defiant smirk. “You’ll have to do better than that, Callahan.”
I could do better than that. I searched for my blade, finally finding it on the blood spattered floor under me.
But as soon as I leaned down, I heard Nick Rossi start to book it.
Before I could pursue him, a firm grip latched onto my shoulder. Kieran. I whirled around, my eyes blazing with fury. “What the fuck, Kieran?”
“Tristan,” he said, voice calm but insistent, “we need to talk.”
“Talk?” The word came out as a snarl. “Now? I almost had him!”
“It’s in your best interest not to kill Nick Rossi,” he said, a note of urgency creeping into his voice.
“Since when do you decide what’s in my best interest?” I couldn’t contain the rage boiling inside me. With a quick pivot, my fist flew, connecting with Kieran’s jaw. The blow rocked his head back, but he barely staggered.
“Damn it, Tristan!” Kieran countered, blocking my next punch with ease.
“Tell me where she is!” I demanded again, every hit, every block fueled by my need to protect Adriana. As if he would’ve known. I had no idea why he had protected Nick Rossi, but I wanted to kill Kieran right then and there.
“Tristan, listen—“ Kieran attempted to reason, dodging another swing.
“Fuck listening!” I yelled, the stress, the worry, the protection I had failed to give Adriana—all of it vanished behind the red haze of my anger. My brother was holding back information, and I wouldn’t stand for it. Not when it concerned her.
We were locked in combat now, two brothers who shared blood, but at this moment, enemies. Every strike was a question, every parry an unspoken betrayal. But even as we fought, I felt the exhaustion setting in, the adrenaline no longer enough to keep the weariness at bay.
My knuckles were white, clenched around Kieran’s collar. He matched my grip, our faces inches apart, both of us panting from exertion and anger. I could feel the blood from his split lip on my fist, mixing with my own from where he had landed a solid hit.
“Tristan! Kieran! Enough!” Carmen’s voice was like a whip crack in the cold air, sharp and commanding. Liam’s cries echoed hers, a frantic plea for sanity amidst the madness.
“Stop this now!” I barely registered Liam’s hands on me, pulling me back with surprising strength. The fire in my veins urged me to shake him off, to finish what I’d started, but then reality struck—Liam, my little brother, the one I was supposed to protect, not harm.
“Sort it out,” Carmen said firmly, her green eyes flickering between us with concern etched into her freckled face.
“I don’t know where your sister is,” I said to her, and if I hadn’t been raised never to hit a woman, she would have gotten the worst of it right then.
“So find her!” Carmen practically screamed. “Talk to your brother and find her!”
Kieran and I exchanged a long, hard look before we wordlessly agreed to move away from prying eyes.
“What are you all looking at?” Liam started, turning to the crowd who had gathered to look at us. They started to dissolve through Carmen and Liam telling them to go back to the party.
I was barely paying attention. My heartbeat was hammering, and I felt sick to my stomach.
Kieran and I ended up inside the closed restaurant attached to the venue, the dim lighting casting shadows across the empty tables. It was empty and I supposed Kieran gave the host some cash to keep people away from now.
“What the fuck was that?” I asked, plopping myself on an empty chair.
Kieran ran a hand through his dark hair, looking every bit the enigmatic figure he always was, but bloodied. “There’s more going on here than you know, Tristan,” he began, his voice low. “It’s not just about Nick Rossi.”
“Talk then,” I demanded, rubbing the soreness from my jaw, my tone brokering no argument.
“I don’t know if I can make you understand,” he said. “It’s hard to explain.”
I leaned against a table, crossing my arms over my chest. “Oh, I’m sure you can make me understand, brother.” My voice was tight with a mix of pain and impatience. “Because right now, I’m in the dark and I hate it.”
“Believe me, I know how you feel about being left out of the loop,” he said, meeting my gaze squarely. “But this is bigger than any of us realized. I kept thinking about how to tell you about this and I’ve been having a hard time.”
“Why did you stop me from killing Nick Rossi?”
Kieran looked up, his gaze darting around toward the cameras in the restaurant. “I know you have a reputation, but you want to keep some plausible deniability,” he replied. “And like I said, there’s more to this than you know.”
“So what don’t I know?”
“Nick Rossi is a snake, but he’s not your problem, Tristan,” Kieran said, his eyes steady on mine. I could see something in them, a warning that this conversation was about to turn my world upside down.
“Then who? Spit it out.” I leaned forward, my hands flat against the cool surface of the table between us.
“It’s Silvio Orsini,” he stated, cold and hard as the marble beneath my palms. “Adriana’s father.”
“Yeah, I know who he is,” I said, because I thought the name would feel heavy on my tongue, a weight that sunk deep into my stomach. “What the hell does he have to do with this?”
“Everything,” Kieran replied, his gaze shifting toward the shadows of the closed restaurant.
Carmen stepped forward, Liam trailing behind her, his expression grim. “Okay,” she said. “Yeah, sorry, I’ve been eavesdropping. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
“What the fuck are you both talking about?” I asked. “You better tell me quickly because my patience is wearing very thin right now.”
Carmen rubbed her temple. “I think,” she said softly. “I think Adriana might be in danger.”