Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
ARIANA
I only had a short shift at the bar tonight, so I step off the bus a little before ten o’clock and walk to our house. My late shifts are usually reserved for the nights I don’t have to be up early to work at the law firm as a legal secretary.
I find my dad sitting on the couch, beer in hand, waiting for me. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here—he’d be off working some angle on someone somewhere. He always is. It’s the one thing I can count on him for.
“Hi, Dad.” I hang my bag and purse on the hook near the front door.
I grew up idolizing my father—he was my only parent since my mom ran off when I was five—but things have been tense between us since I told him I no longer want to take part in the family business.
“Ari.” He nods and takes a pull from his beer. “How was work?”
“It was good. Where’s Bast?”
“He’s out with Katherine.” A small smirk tilts the corner of his lips.
Katherine is Bast’s latest mark. She’s older, lonely, and wealthy, and when Bast turns on the charm toward a woman like that, she’s putty in his hands.
“Cool, well, I’m going to hop in the shower and go to bed. I have to be up early.”
I start toward the hallway, but my dad calls my name, and I stop in my tracks. I turn around slowly to face him. It’s then I notice the same newspaper Bastion confronted me with this morning sitting on the coffee table.
“Bastion told you.”
Asshole.
“Of course he did. He’s loyal.” Dad arches an eyebrow, and I blink back the sting in the corner of my eyes.
I know what I want for myself. I know that I’m on the right path, but it’s still hard to set aside decades of indoctrination that make me feel as though I’m abandoning my family by turning my back on the grifter lifestyle.
My arms flail out at my sides. “I couldn’t just let him drown.”
“At least you got out of there before the cops came. What if this guy comes looking for you?”
My forehead wrinkles. “Why would he?”
“You saved a billionaire’s life, Ari. Billionaire with a B. They live for being the center of attention and using the prose of rewarding their savior puts them in the spotlight.”
I’m not going to tell my father that I’m pretty sure the guy had been trying to end his life, and there’s just as good a chance that he’d be pissed at me for saving him. “That’s not going to happen. He was barely even conscious when I left. He has no idea who I am.”
He clucks his tongue. “Maybe you oughta think about telling him who you are.”
I blink a few times. “My entire life, you’ve taught me to fly under the radar, and now you want me to poke my head out of the bunker waving a flag to draw attention?” I cross my arms.
He shrugs. “Maybe the reward outweighs the risk this time.” He takes a pull off his beer until it’s empty.
“I didn’t save his life so I could get a reward from him. I didn’t even know who he was when I saved him.”
My dad smacks the empty bottle down on the worn coffee table and stands. “Ari, you’re the one who got yourself into this situation, not me. But now that you’re in it, you gotta play it for what it’s worth, kid.”
I shake my head. “I told you. I’m done with manipulating people and taking advantage of them.”
“What manipulation? You saved the guy’s life, didn’t you? You deserve something for that.”
“No, I don’t.” I start down the hallway toward my bedroom. “I just did what anyone would do.”
“Do you have any idea what we could do with the amount of money a man like him could give you?” He follows me down the hall, stopping in the doorway.
“I’m not reaching out to him. Besides, there’s no way to even prove it was me. There’s probably a bunch of people coming out of the woodwork saying they’re the ones who saved him for the exact reason you mention.” I stand in front of my mirror and unbraid my long red hair so I can get into the shower.
“Hadn’t thought of that.” A quick glance at my dad lets me see the concern on his face. “Still worth a try though.”
“No, it’s not.” I finger-comb my hair and turn back to the mirror.
“Ari, you gotta at least try. Where’s the harm in that?”
It’s the note of desperation in his tone that has me pause and slowly turn toward him. He hasn’t fought me since my decision not to con anyone, so why is he being so persistent on this?
“What’s going on?”
His face becomes a blank mask. “What do you mean? Nothing is going on.”
My eyes narrow ever so slightly. “Are you sure?”
He scoffs. “’Course I’m sure. Just thought a windfall would be nice, that’s all. But I can see that you still think you’re too good for us. Still think you’re better than us.”
My shoulders sag. “You know it’s not that. I just don’t want to live my life ripping people off and constantly looking over my shoulder.”
“Sure, Ari. Whatever you say.” He stomps down the hall, and shortly after, the front door slams.
With a sigh, I make my way to the bathroom to shower.
Rather than relaxing like I want to, I spend the whole shower feeling guilty and second-guessing whether I should try contacting the man I saved. But I realize, despite the feeling of letting down my dad, I won’t because that’s not me anymore.
I didn’t do it because I wanted his money, and I have no way to prove it was me anyway. And even more than that, I can’t help but feel like in saving him, I was a part of something deeply personal and that he won’t be thankful to me as my dad assumes.
I put it out of my mind as I get into my pajamas and dry my hair so I don’t have to go to bed with it wet. When I’m finally finished and set the blow dryer down on the bathroom counter, I hear someone rustling around in the kitchen. The bungalow we rent isn’t huge, so it doesn’t take much commotion for me to overhear anything from the kitchen, but this is louder than normal.
Did my dad come back already?
I open the bathroom door, then hear, “Shit,” and a moan.
Bastion.
Walking to the kitchen to investigate, I stop short when he whips around, a Ziploc bag filled with ice in his hand.
“What the hell happened?” My hand flies up to my mouth.
His face is covered in blood and bruises, and one of his eyes is almost swollen shut. He winces and walks with gentleness that says there are probably more bruises under his shirt.
My first thought is that maybe Katherine is a married woman, and her husband found out she’s been sleeping with Bastion and buying him extravagant gifts. But the way Bast looks at me tells me that isn’t it. He presses the ice to the corner of his eye and flinches.
“You need to get cleaned up first so you can see where the cuts are. See if you need stiches. Stay here.” I whirl around and rush to grab the first aid kit from the bathroom.
When I return, Bast is slumped down low on one of the kitchen chairs. After I set the first aid kit on the table, I open it and fish around for what I need. Then I head over to the kitchen counter and wet a few paper towels before sitting in front of Bast.
“Tilt your face up.”
He does as I ask but pulls away when I gently wipe his face.
“Stop moving,” I grumble.
He stills, and once his face is clean, I can see that he has a cut near the corner of his eyebrow and one on his bottom lip. I grab the alcohol wipes from the first aid kit and bring one to his face to clean the cuts. Bast hisses.
“I don’t think you’ll need stitches. But you need to put some antibiotic ointment on them and keep them clean until they heal over.” I wipe my hands with a clean alcohol wipe, then dot a bit of the ointment on my index finger before I coat his cuts.
It’s clearly painful from the way Bast’s jaw clenches, but he stays in place until I’m done.
“Now, tell me what happened.”
He blows out a breath then winces.
“Bast”—I gently take his hand—“who did this to you?”
What kind of trouble has my brother gotten himself into?
“Bast…”
“Uma’s goons.”
My spine goes ramrod straight.
Uma Delvecchio is a high-level criminal who operates along the West Coast. As far as I know, she doesn’t have any official association with the Mafia or any gangs, but she’s the kind of person you want to stay away from. She’s cold, heartless, and underhanded. She’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants and doesn’t care who she has to hurt to do so.
As long as we’ve lived in this area, we’ve never had any association with her, so I cannot fathom why her guys would beat up my brother.
“Why would they do that? Please tell me you haven’t gotten into bed with her?” My chest tightens when Bastion looks away. “Are you serious, Bast? Why the hell would you have anything to do with her?”
His jaw tightens, as does the fist he has on the table. He still won’t look at me.
My stomach curdles. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He stands from the chair and walks out of the kitchen without a word.
“Bastion! What the hell is going on?” The sinking feeling in my stomach sours as I follow him out into the living room. “Bastion!”
“It’s not me. It’s Dad. He made promises he couldn’t follow through on.”
The sinking feeling is a full-blown weight now, pulling me through the floor even though I’m still standing. “What? Why would he do that? When did he do that?”
Bastion whips around to look at me with accusing eyes. “A couple months after you left us in a lurch. And the why is obvious—money.”
I fall onto the couch in a daze, trying to assemble the thoughts rolling through my head into something that makes sense. I’m so pissed at my dad for having anything to do with that woman after we’ve spent years trying to stay out of her way. “Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
“For fuck’s sake, Ari, first you want out, and now you’re upset that Dad didn’t give you the inside scoop on the scams he’s running?”
I sink back into the seat. He’s right. When I told them I wanted out, I made it clear that I wanted nothing more to do with their illegal activity. I didn’t even want to know what they were up to.
With a sigh, I massage my temples. “Tell me what happened.”
Bastion frowns and sits in the chair, gingerly moving to get himself comfortable with his sore ribs. “Dad went big this time. Bigger than he’s ever gone. You don’t need the details, but the gist is that he made promises to Uma he couldn’t deliver on. Now Uma wants to be paid anyway. Plus interest.”
“Did you have anything to do with it?” There’s no hiding the accusation in my voice.
He scowls. “Of course not. If I’d known what he was up to before he went to see her, I would’ve stopped him. No payday is worth risking my life.”
“So, how’d you find out?” I suck my bottom lip into my mouth, biting it.
“When I was out with Dad running a good Samaritan ruse, and her goons approached us. They made it clear that Uma was tired of waiting and that every day that passed, the interest accrued.”
That explains my dad wanting to cash in on that billionaire I saved.
“You should have told me.”
He scoffs. “What would you have done? Picked up an extra shift at the bar?” Bastion shakes his head.
That guilt that gnaws inside me because I left them digs deeper. “How much does he owe her?”
“It’s a lot,” he says. “Well over anything we’ve ever owed or swindled.”
“How much, Bast?”
He sighs but tells me an amount that makes my breath come out in short spurts.
My dad will never be able to get that kind of money together. Not in this lifetime.
“What did her guys say to you tonight?” Tears overflow my eyes, blurring my vision as hopelessness spreads throughout my veins.
He presses his lips together and doesn’t answer.
“Bastion, tell me.”
“They said he has three months to pay up. Otherwise, they’ll pay another visit to me.” He swallows hard. “And you.”
The fine hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
I cannot believe my father got us into this mess. But should I really be surprised? He’s been pushing the limits for years. Getting into more and more unsavory things. Never satisfied. Always looking for the big payoff. The one that will leave him set for life. Which is why I finally opted out of the family business.
Running scams at the local flea market or on other criminals was one thing. Taking elderly people’s life savings is quite another. I just couldn’t do it anymore, even if it ostracized me from the only family I have.
The two of us sit in silence for a couple of minutes. I’m trying to take in the information, come up with some type of feasible plan even though it doesn’t feel as though there is one. Bastion is probably just thinking about how fucked we are since this isn’t news to him.
“We could run,” I say.
He looks at the ceiling. “Might buy us some time, but you know she’ll find us.”
“Yeah…” The last thing I want—besides being tortured and murdered because of my dad’s poor decision-making—is to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Always wondering if today is the day my past catches up with me.
“Face it, we’re fucked, Ari.”
I shake my head. “No. There has to be something we can do.” My hand goes up to the gold locket that hangs around my neck, and I slide the smooth metal between my thumb and index finger.
“What are you going to do—ask Uma?” Bastion laughs because it’s a completely absurd idea but…
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”