CHAPTER 27 - ARIANNA
CHAPTER
Arianna
STARING OUT OF THE window into the dark of the November night isn’t getting me anywhere. It isn’t giving me answers or explaining just how goddamn awful I feel.
Not that I can see much through the drizzling rain, which gives the illuminated streetlamps halos.
There are no halos here.
My sense of achievement in mastering the shooting and Red’s respect at my ability to grasp a tactical approach and think on my feet, has crumbled to dust ever since striking him with the butt of that pistol.
All the days I lay tethered in Luca’s bed, resenting my mistaken belief that Red truly loved me, yet left me to my fate, I veered from desperation in wanting to see him again so he could make me feel safe, into hatred where the thought of cracking his head open with something was at the top of my list.
But now I’ve accidentally achieved that, it wasn’t gratifying in the slightest.
I absently watch my breath steam up a patch on the cold glass before wiping the condensation away with my fingers and stare out once again into the blurred street below.
Red wasn’t part of anything with Matteo and Luca. Or with my father. I know that now. I also know that he tried to reach me with everything he had. He sacrificed loads for me and still is.
So why the hell was I so bitchy today? Why the fuck did I whack him?
I press my fingernail against the glass, part of me hoping it snaps under the pressure. It’s how I feel inside.
I can pretend all I like; I can erect a wall of steel across my expressions; switch off any trace of emotions I have left.
Those are the easy bits.
What isn’t easy is coming to terms with what Matteo engineered and what Luca did during those days. Nor that my father never gave a shit about me and still doesn’t.
My memory still won’t allow me to fully access the details. It’s a way of self-preservation, I guess.
But it’s not good, because however much I dress things up, it’s clear that if I’m so screwed up within my mind to convince myself that it was Matteo in front of me earlier, rather than Red, it only underlines just how damaged I really am. And in ways I haven’t factored in.
The reflection of my own angry eyes glares back at me from the glass, leaving the dark world outside fading into oblivion.
What I did tonight shows that if I can’t separate fact from fiction, then I’m not capable of being the one to rid the world of my tormentors.
Fucking ridiculous concept in the first place. What was I thinking?
What I do know is that I should apologize to Red. I cut his head quite badly, yet the apology I did give was a half-baked blame-game and I’m better than that.
Pushing away my anger with myself, my brother, father, Luca and everyone, I wipe my hand over my eyes to remove the traces of frustrated tears and stalk across the room.
Leaving the bedroom, I hasten down the stairs.
Red said he had calls to make, so he’ll be around somewhere.
I need to genuinely apologize, plus make sure he’s okay.
Approaching the sitting room, I hear his voice. As I open the door, he’s ending a call. Walking in, the first thing I see are white strips edged with blood stuck to his temple, and fresh shame engulfs me. “I came to see how your head is,” I mumble. “I also wanted to apologize properly for...”
“Don’t worry,” Red mutters. “I’ve already said it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing! I shouldn’t have been so...”
“I said, don’t worry about it.” Red snaps, “If I said don’t worry about it, that’s what I expect you to do!”
I stop midway across the room, indignation rising at his aggressive attitude.
“I wish I hadn’t bothered then, if...” I pause, seeing past the makeshift strips holding the cut on his temple together.
His face is thunderous. He’s furious, yet I don’t think that fury is aimed at me. “W-What’s happened?”
Red stares at the blank screen of his mobile phone like he’s expecting it to ring. He then raises his head to me, the intensity in his eyes taking my breath away. “There’s been an ambush.”
“A-Ambush?” All manner of scenarios crash around my head. Maria? They’ve got Maria? “What sort of ambush?”
Red flexes his large hands, and I stare at the phone within his fist, waiting for it to crack under the pressure. It doesn’t.
I might though.
“Tell me!” I yell, all niceties flying out the window. “If something’s happened to Maria, then I have the right to know.”
“It’s not Maria.” Red’s voice is laced with grit. “I had a delivery due today - a shipment of guns from the Irish. Oscar and Liam dealt with it in my absence.”
Absence, because he’s here with me, he means.
“The delivery went to plan, and some of my second tier were left to unload and distribute.”
Red waves his hand as if I should know what he’s talking about. I don’t, but I wish he’d get to the point.
“Someone shot one of my men after he delivered to a customer.”
“Shot...?” I blink, a flash of guilt washing over me for my short-lived belief that Maria was safe. “Who would do that? Who...?” My voice trails off. The expression on Red’s face tells me all I need to know. “Matteo?” I gasp. “It was Matteo, wasn’t it?”
Red nods. “That’s what I assumed, and this confirms it.” He fiddles with his mobile, then holds the screen up.
I peer at the illuminated phone in the semi-darkness of the sitting room.
[Unknown number 22:07 23 Nov]
One to me again.
Still hiding away?
All will be picked off 1 by 1 until you relinquish my goods
I feel sick. “And by goods, he means me?” I stumble into the chair next to where Red sits as matters slowly focus in my mind.
All of this is happening because of me. Red and his men are being targeted because of me.
Again.
Matteo is succeeding in his twisted games because Red is out of the picture. And he’s out of the picture because of me. It’s clear what needs to happen. “Was that him on the phone just now? Matteo?” I ask.
Red shakes his head. “No, it was Liam. Trying to give him orders when he’s blowing like a steam train isn’t an easy task.”
“You need to go and sort this out.” Without thinking, I place my hand on Red’s arm.
He stares at my hand. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, pulling my hand away. “You must go to deal with this poor man who’s been shot and sort out whatever needs doing at the Scorpio Lounge. You’ve been stuck here for days and...”
“The man is dead, so I can’t help him now,” Red says. “And Liam and Oscar can manage without me.”
“Except they can’t!” I counter. “None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for me, so go! Give your orders to who you need to give orders to and...”
“I am not leaving you alone.”
Red’s stern voice isn’t enough to dissuade me. “You can! I can shoot a gun now - you said that yourself and...”
“What is the matter with you? I said, I’m going nowhere!
” Red gets up from the chair, phone still in hand, his eyes filled with rage.
“If Matteo wasn’t the one who shot the gun, he was behind it, and so what do you think he’ll expect me to do about this latest stunt?
Think about it - what do you think your brother will be doing right now? ”
Folding his arms, he waits as the penny drops and the truth dawns.
“He’ll... he’ll expect you to appear and.
.. He’s watching this house right now, waiting for you to rush to the casino.
” I don’t mean to, but I glance over my shoulder, half-expecting my brother and Luca Bristoni to be standing behind me. “And then he’ll...”
“You’re correct that Matteo will expect me to appear.” Red paces the room, his strides purposeful.
It’s only then that I notice him limp every so often. That shot that Oscar mentioned - it was in the leg. Feeling even worse, I’m about to speak, but Red continues.
“However, you’re not correct that he knows where we are. Not for definite. But your brother has scouts, and the minute I’m seen at the Scorpio or anywhere else, I’ll be followed, and when I return here, he’ll know where you are.”
“But the invite and note...” I frown. “It was here, so he must know where we are.”
“You think I’d let you remain here if that were the case? He got one of his goons to take it to the Scorpio. It did not come here!”
My relief does not last long when he adds, “the longer Matteo remains living, the shorter your whereabouts are safe, if they’re not already known. Plus, more of my men will die.”
“We have to stop him!” I stand up too, my terror turning to anger. “If we knew where they were, then...”
“I do know where they are.” Red faces me, his face unreadable. “I found out earlier today.”
I’m so shocked I take a step back. “Then why...?” He doesn’t need to answer my question because I already know the answer. I can’t believe I’ve been so short-sighted. “You haven’t already taken Matteo out because of me. That’s it, isn’t it? Because I’m demanding to be the one to do it!”
Jesus wept, I’m so furious with myself I could scream. “I’ve slowed everything up by demanding you teach me everything, and now more people have died!”
Red’s silence confirms I’m correct. “Where is the address you have for him?”
He falters. He doesn’t want me to know. He’s still holding back. I move to grab his arm to reconnect that physical contact but stop myself. There’s a force field that I dare not push through. “Red? The address?”
He runs his tongue along his top teeth, and I’m transfixed, remembering where that tongue once visited and that feeling when he...
“I’m reluctant to bring you into this more than you already are.” Red’s gaze is directly on me, his power jolting the length of my spine.
“I’m already involved. I must get this done immediately. You said I am capable. I’ve already affected so much. Look, you can’t protect me from this.”
“I can protect you from everything if you’ll let me.” He brushes his thumb over the top of my hand. “Arianna, princess, let me take care of you.”
I’m drawn to his mouth: those full lips, sensuous as fuck, beckoning me.
He still wants me - he’s made that clear, and he’s doing everything to make me trust him again. And despite everything, now that I know I was wrong about his involvement, the feelings I thought dead and gone are flickering with life.
Maybe his lips on mine is what I need? That raw desire; the effect he had on my body is the antidote to bring me back from purgatory?
Still focusing on those lips, my body tilts towards him. “Red... I...”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Red snatches his ringing mobile from his pocket, his eyes narrowing as he looks at the screen.
“Who is it? Is it Liam?” I tense, my moment of weakness gone. Have more of Red’s men been killed? I can’t stand this.
Believing Red can mend me with a kiss is insanity. The phone call is a sharp reminder that until I take on board and deal with what’s happened to me, and this situation with Matteo and Luca is razed to the ground, I’m unable to begin to mend.
Red’s face reveals nothing as he answers the call and listens to his brother down the line. “I’ll be right down.” Ending the call, he looks up. “Liam’s on his way. He needs to speak to me.”
Forgetting myself, I clutch at Red’s arm. “Tell me what’s going on.”
There’s reluctance in Red’s eyes as he gets up, knowing I have to drop my hold of him. But as he stands, a familiar dread cascades. “Is it Maria? Have they...?”
“As far as I know, nothing’s happened to Maria.” Red smiles almost apologetically. “I’ll be back up as soon as I can.”