CHAPTER 26 - RED
CHAPTER
Red
ARIANNA SITS DEEP IN THOUGHT. She’s listened to my suggestions, paid heed to the choices I’ve outlined and what I’d do in dealing with this “task”.
She’s asked questions, argued points and come up with alternative but feasible and workable suggestions.
And that’s thrown me because when I went upstairs to fetch those drinks, I received another text from Cal.
I now know Matteo and Luca’s new hideout.
When Luca escaped on the night we brought Arianna here, he clearly sourced another place for them to lie low, leaving Matteo to send notes to my club, like the cowardly wankers they are.
My temples throb with fury. Every cell in my body wants to grab my gun, go and fuck them up and remove them off the planet right this second, torturing them slowly until I finally allow them to die.
Giving Matteo and Luca even an hour’s grace without moving in on them is a surefire route to disaster.
They could have disappeared again already, so why haven’t I acted on the information I’ve been desperate for?
I have the address in black and white. I can do it right now and end this shit, for fuck’s sake.
I’m still watching Arianna, yet she’s too far inside her own head to notice. She’s now the problem - one I genuinely didn’t expect to have to face.
Arianna’s aptitude, nous and instinct for this kind of modus operandi are similar to the tactical discussions I have with my men.
A few more days of practice in all aspects and she’ll be capable of taking the job on. But allowing a further few days to elapse before acting could be fatal, so what the hell do I do?
Yep, against all my expectations, Arianna is almost on a par with one of my own rookies.
With one glaring exception...
From the chair opposite, my gaze involuntarily travels down her shapely legs before I pull my attention back to her face. That also has the power to push me off balance.
None of my men have legs like that or a face with the power to make me hard even without looking.
Fuck.
I clear my throat, determined not to let my screaming desire to possess her destroy the millimeter of headway and trust I believe has been reinstated during the hours we’ve been in this cellar.
I’m used to making the call on which way jobs go, but instinct tells me that despite it going along the opposite grain of what I should do and what I’d usually do on this occasion, I will leave the ball in Arianna’s court.
Her clashing with my expectations, her take on everything, her counterarguments and logic, reveal she’s far from the gilded princess in the ivory tower she was schooled for.
Arianna Galvatore’s reasoning and way of thinking are spot on.
And in ways I didn’t expect.
So much so that I have no choice but to uncomfortably accept that with a little more shooting practice and further tests of thinking on the spot, she’s near capable of killing Matteo and Luca. Provided she doesn’t lose her nerve.
I’ll give her one more day. Just one. It’s nowhere near enough to give her the full ability needed, but it will justify my decision to take over and do the job myself.
Once Arianna is aware I now have their location, she’ll realize it makes sense.
“Which way out of the ones we’ve discussed do you feel is the best to aim for? ”
Arianna looks up, so deep in thought a fleeting expression of surprise to find herself here with me flits across her face. “I think the last one works best,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Okay.” I stand up, grimacing as the plastic chair scrapes across the concrete floor. “Let’s try a roleplay situation where things don’t go to plan. I want to see how quickly you turn things around to your benefit.”
And this is the test I insist on. It’s a surefire way of throwing even the best men off to start with.
Even cracking this doesn’t make someone infallible.
If everything ran a hundred percent according to plan, there would be no history of injuries and no deaths in my men.
Arianna will not succeed at this part, which proves my point.
She doesn’t need telling to get into the chosen position to take her brother down.
She knows certain sides of him better than I do, so I’ll run with it.
Acting out the part that she’s facing him out at his safe house, I’m playing Matteo.
I don’t like assuming his character, even for roleplay, but for her I’ll do anything.
Arianna stands several feet away from me as planned, her arms by her sides, but poised the way I’ve taught her so she can draw the pistol at a split second’s notice.
“Okay, so his guard makes himself scarce, like you previously agreed when you arranged a meeting to talk in privacy,” I say. “Matteo enters the hallway. He’s facing you and then moves towards you.”
I take three paces in Arianna’s direction. “Ah, so you finally show your face? Seen sense at last?” My sneering voice sounds just like his. I hate it.
“Don’t come any closer, Matteo.”
Arianna speaks quietly, yet her voice is stable. She’s not exhibiting fear, but then it’s me here, not him. Would she be the same if faced with that cunt for real?
I stop, a sarcastic laugh spilling from my lips. “You said you wanted to talk, but what is there to say? How do I know your husband is not with you and lurking somewhere?”
“Because he’s got nothing to do with this and never has.” Arianna’s eyes drill into mine, confident and shiny even in the cellar’s gloom. “This is between you and me, Matteo. I need no husband to do this - even less so now, thanks to you.”
Bypassing the hurt of Arianna’s words, my face curls into a larger sneer as I force myself further into Matteo’s character, the whole act turning my stomach. “Then you’ve come back to us and to Luca? To take your place properly in our operation?”
Christ, how these words choke me. Speaking them out loud makes me feel physically sick, but they have no effect on Arianna - her face is set and cold. She’s doing well, but I see her flaw.
And if I see it, so will Matteo Galvatore.
I prime myself to react similarly to how Matteo would if he were really standing here, rather than me.
And there it is - just as I expected.
Arianna’s hand moves for the hidden gun. It’s obvious. But she’s too late because I’m already on her.
Knocking her off balance, I swing her around, my arm gripping her tiny waist. “Not quite good enough.” Pushing her up against the wall, I twist her to face me. “Now you’re back to square one or dead, depending.”
Feeling dreadful, I can hardly bear to see the terror in her eyes, but instead I’m met with a steely rage. Before processing this, something swings.
It takes a split second before the crack against my temple registers.
“FUCK YOU!” Arianna screams.
I release my grip and stumble back. With pain ricocheting through my head, I lean against the wall, disoriented in shock and surprise. There’s pressure on my forehead, and I look up through swimming vision to find the barrel of a pistol pressed between my eyebrows. What the fuck?
“Shit!” Arianna whispers, the pistol clattering to the floor as she presses her hand against my temple. “I’m sorry, I...”
Straightening up, it doesn’t take long to work out she’s clumped me with the butt of the gun. More than that, she’s succeeded in turning it on me. That she’s reversed the situation and won it is all I need to know.
Arianna’s face is inches from mine, her eyes now full of concern and remorse rather than rage. Her teeth dig into her bottom lip as she attempts to stop the blood from trickling into my eye. “I’m... I’m so sorry... I... I lost sight of... I thought...”
I grab her wrist to gently move her hand; her slender fingers wet with my blood. My head hurts. It fucking really hurts, but her concern and the way her eyes search mine is enough to show that Arianna Galvatore is not completely lost to herself. Or to me. “It’s okay. It’s fine. You did well.”
“No, no, it’s not okay! Look what I’ve done to your head! I wasn’t thinking straight... I...”
Her gaze falls to my fingers around her wrist, and I reluctantly release my grip and pull a monogrammed handkerchief from my pocket to press against my temple. The skin is split, but nothing a bit of butterfly tape won’t fix.
“I guess I did too much of a believable impression of your brother?” I chuckle, but seeing her expression, my heart sinks. “Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I...”
Arianna clears her throat, the concern and regret in her eyes replaced once again with a steely mask. “I think that’s enough practice for today, don’t you?”
I nod, immediately wishing I hadn’t broken the moment of tenderness by mentioning her brother. The shard of ice that broke between us today has reformed. “Sure okay. We’ll go over everything again tomorrow. Besides, it’s getting late, and I still have calls to make.”
I wait until Arianna walks up the cellar steps to the ground floor, reaching the conclusion that after how she turned that around and succeeded in getting the upper hand – over me – I have no choice but to accept that my presumption she’s not up to the task is unfounded.
With my handkerchief still pressed against my throbbing temple, I stand up and grimace as I gingerly make my way to the steps, hoping to fuck there’s paracetamol and butterfly tape somewhere in this house.