52. Ariyan
ARIYAN
“Why can’t we go to the fair together?”
He put down his cup of tea and looked at me. “I already told you why. We’ve gotta work.”
Disappointment clenched my stomach, and I looked at my palms. Last week, he said we’d go, and now he’d suddenly changed his mind?
“But it’s not fair.” I scratched my arm. “You’re going to stay here while I’ll have to be with that stinky old man.” I hated that geezer. He smelled bad and tasted even worse.
“Oh, come on now,” Ariyan said as he sat down beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close.
“You know it’s how we work best, right? Me being the brain and you out, doing the fieldwork.
” He pinched my nose before flashing me a big smile.
“Besides, I also used to do that job when I was your age.”
“So does that mean I’ll stop doing it, too?”
He took out a cough drop from his pocket and popped it in his mouth. He always sucked on those candies.
“Of course, silly.” He ruffled my hair.
My cheeks turned hotter. “Do you promise?”
Meeting my stare, his dark eyes locked with mine. “Have I ever broken a promise before?”
I clamped my lips shut and shook my head.
He smiled, once again draping his arm around me. “You and I are in this together, Teo. We’re family.”
His words warmed my heart, and I leaned closer to him, wishing to stay like this forever, but his phone rang, and he got up to take the call, leaving me behind.
And while he talked, I watched him, like I always did—since the very first day we met on the street.
He walked around our shared room, which was filled with his half-full paper tea cups, talking to some client while running his fingers through his hair.
He loved dying it different colors, and for the last few weeks, it was snow white—same color as his pet rat.
He was a few years older, cooler, and much smarter than me, so even though I didn’t like the color white, I didn’t say a word.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling.
It had been a while since that fucker last came to my mind, and I couldn’t say I missed him.
Taking a deep breath, I straightened in my chair.
It was already evening, and yet, since getting back to the hotel, I hadn’t done a single thing.
There was work to do, but I couldn’t bring myself to focus, not when Santiago’s hurt expression kept flashing before my eyes.
That damn idiot. What did he expect would happen?
I thought it went without saying that he’d fight again, or else why would he take me up on my offer in the first place?
It wasn’t like I asked him to do it for free either.
I gave him what he wanted, did my best to make him happy and feel seen to the point I allowed myself to enjoy it, too.
And while it was foolish, it felt right because for a second there, I honestly believed he was different.
Only he isn’t.
Santiago Rivas was a liar who, just like that other guy, wanted to get rid of me the first second he could.
My heart paused, remembering the moment he reached for those knives. He said I got it all wrong, but had I really? It wouldn’t be the first time someone I loved tried to kill me. And yet, he didn’t look like he wanted me dead, not to mention, he was so gentle last night, and even before—
Just give me a break and fucking die, you piece of shit. But not before I gouge out your eyes and slit your throat, you fucking whore.
I gripped my head, squeezing my eyes shut so that awful voice would give me a break. Luckily for me, my phone rang at the perfect time, and I answered it without even checking to see who it was.
“What?” I snarled, not in the mood for manners.
“Well, hello to you, too, mon poussin.”
I was immediately on alert at the sound of Dion's voice. “Why are you calling me?”
“Well, forgive a man for trying to be polite.”
I gritted my teeth. “Polite? You wouldn’t know the first thing about manners, so why don’t you just cut to the chase.”
“Me-ow. Someone woke up on his bad side today. Tell me, is there trouble in paradise? Has lover boy been naughty—”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll get to my point,” he laughed. “I called to see if you’d like to raise your bet for tonight’s fight.”
My brows knitted together. “What are you talking about? There’s no fight tonight.”
“Of course there is.”
I got up from my chair, feeling as if someone had just kicked me. “That can’t be.”
“And yet, here I am, looking at your sweet boxer getting ready for his fight.”
My heart galloped in my chest as my alarms went up. Why on earth would Santiago go there after this morning? Nerves twisted my gut, and I swallowed down the worry that crept to my throat.
“He’s there?” I rasped, barely finding the voice to speak.
“Oh, yes, he’s here. Wanna say hello?”
The mockery in his voice didn’t help, but ignoring it, I took in a short breath.
“I’m on my way to you right now. Don’t start before I get there—”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but since when do you give me orders?”
I clenched the phone tighter. “Listen—”
“I’ll start the fight when I feel like it. And you, well, if you don’t want to miss it, I’d suggest you hurry your skinny ass over here.”
He then hung up, and I was left to stare at my phone, ready to break it, when a knock came at the door.
“Not now,” I snarled, but the door opened anyway. “I said, not now!”
The second one of my men walked inside, I was more than tempted to throw my phone at his head. But then, he opened his mouth and spoke, and the words that came out made no sense.
“What do you mean there are issues on the fourteenth floor?” I hissed, annoyed.
“Exactly as I said, sir. We have trouble with one of our clients, and you’re requested up there.”
Holding myself back from exploding, I forced a smile. “How could there be issues when no one should be there to begin with?”
Yes, it was a Saturday, but we didn’t host clients every weekend, only once or twice a month, and tonight wasn’t one of those times. Thus, as far as I knew, the fourteenth floor should currently be as empty as an old maid’s bed.
But rather than explaining himself, this moron of a guard shrugged and stood still, clearly leaving me with no choice but to go and check it out for myself.
He followed me to the elevator, where I pressed today’s code and waited for the door to close.
The entire ride up, I tapped the floor with my shoe, eager for this misunderstanding to be over with so I could deal with the real issue—my boxer.
Why on earth would Santigo go there on his own after making such a fuss? I thought this morning would be the last I’d ever hear from him, and yet, that foolish man kept on surprising me. My thoughts came to an end the second the elevator doors opened, and I walked out into the red hall.
“What room?”
“The one at the end, sir,” said the man following me like a shadow.
It was odd, I’d admit, but this guy was relatively new here. Not to mention, handpicked by Alejandro himself. Unfortunately, I didn’t always have a say in who worked on this floor, and I assumed that after Alejandro caught my little slipup with that girl, things would change for the worse.
One of our sirens passed me in the hall on her way to a room before another siren, a guy this time, walked hand in hand with a client wearing a muzzle.
Seeing that people were indeed occupying this floor made me increase my pace until I reached the final room, not waiting before I knocked on the door.
The sooner I fixed whatever was going on in there, the better. Still, I’d have to get to the bottom of this issue and understand why the hell this floor was operating tonight, and more specifically, by whom.
The door opened, and I strode in. Already on edge, I was beyond prepared to take someone’s head off, so imagine my surprise when I came face-to-face with one unwanted guest.
“Ambassador,” I said, not bothering with a smile this time. “What an unpleasant surprise seeing you here.”
He grinned at me, showing one ugly smile that pissed me the hell off and reminded me of this pig’s last visit. I still hadn’t forgotten that beautiful boy’s face I had to kill because of this filth.
“Oh, my sweet boy. Still a sight for sore eyes, I see.”
Ignoring his words that made me want to vomit, I clasped my hands behind my back and walked further into the room. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t I ban you from coming back—”
“I invited him,” someone spoke, and the sound of his voice immediately made my skin crawl. It was only then that the strong reek of unfiltered cigarettes reached my nostrils, and slowly, I turned my head to glare at the far end of the room, where he was sitting with his back to us.
“S-sir—”
I shut up, my eyes focusing on his back as he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray next to him.
Not even a second later, the sound of the door opening made me glance behind me to see that Alejandro had also entered the room.
Like a mouse walking into a trap, my pulse quickened, but I forced myself to keep calm, at least until I knew what this was all about.
“It has been a while since we last met. Come over here.” Eduardo signaled with two fingers, and I moved fast, crossing the room and circling his chair until I faced him.
His cruel eyes landed on me.
“My talented hotelier,” he said in Spanish, flashing me a big smile that showed his golden tooth. “You must be wondering why we’re here, aren’t you, Ariyan?”
Chills ran down my spine, but I smiled anyway.
“Of course not, sir. This is your hotel, after all—”
“Come on, now, don’t play with me.” He snorted, and one could mistake this graying old man for some sweet grandpa.
If only they knew.
“At the very least, I can tell you’re bothered by the ambassador’s presence.” He cocked his head in the direction of the other two men standing by the door.
“Not at all, sir.”