4. Chapter Four Adriana
We left the diner a while later, my mind spinning with everything we had discussed. As I slid into the passenger seat of Tristan’s car, I took a moment to center myself, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
Beside me, Tristan was silent as he navigated the city streets. Every so often, his hand would reach over to squeeze mine, the small gesture providing some comfort amidst the storm that was brewing.
“Well, this is a fine mess we’ve found ourselves in,” I muttered under my breath, gripping Tristan’s hand tighter. My heart pounded in my chest, a sickening dread curling in my stomach.
Despite the situation, his touch brought an immediate sense of calm washing over me. His blue eyes were intense, a soft comfort that seemed to say, we are in this together.
“We’ll figure this out,” he assured me softly, his voice carrying so much conviction that for a moment, I almost believed him. He gestured toward the front door where Kieran had disappeared as we dropped him off at his house. One of his men had brought him there but Tristan had dismissed him, wanting more time to talk to his brother. “I already have Kieran on it. I can put Liam on it too if you want, but I don’t expect any results there.”
“Do you expect any results from Kieran?” I asked him, then resisted the urge to clasp my hand over my mouth.
He glanced at me momentarily before his gaze flicked back to the road. “Kieran has his moments,” he admitted, the corners of his mouth twitching up in a half-smile. “He’s more resourceful than you give him credit for.”
I pursed my lips in thought, considering Tristan’s words. “I thought you said he was a clown.”
“He’s a clown,” Tristan said. “No question. He’s also pretty good at his job.”
My brows furrowed, contemplating his words. “I didn’t realize being a clown was his job,” I teased, attempting to lighten the conversation. Tristan’s lips twitched, working to suppress a smile.
“He’d be terrible at that. He doesn’t keep me entertained at all. He never kept Malachy entertained either.”
His words hung heavy in the air, as if Malachy’s absence was a tangible thing between us. Tristan was trying to lighten the mood, but the mention of their father brought an undeniable tension that was hard to ignore.
“He misses him,” I whispered, squeezing Tristan’s hand gently. Tristan didn’t respond, but I could see the flicker of emotions crossing his face.
“My dad always thought Kieran would be a better heir,” he started. “I mean, yes, he was irresponsible, and he often does talk without thinking, but he seems to be able to compartmentalize a lot more. I think if he’d been the one you were supposed to marry, he wouldn’t have backed out.”
I shook my head. There was nothing wrong with Kieran, but the idea of living through all of this with him instead of Tristan made my stomach churn. “What? And be stuck with the not quite as handsome Callahan? No thank you.”
Tristan laughed. “So, you’re saying I’m the best of a bad lot then?”
I squeezed his hand, my other hand reaching over to flick his nose playfully. “The very best,” I assured him, my tone teasing, but the truth behind the words was undeniable. I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else.
He glanced at me momentarily, a softness in his eyes that made my heart flutter. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Adriana,” he said, his voice firm with a promise he intended to keep.
I swallowed hard at his words, nodding slowly even though a part of me was scared. Scared of what was to come and scared of what it might mean for us. But I trusted Tristan and somehow, that made it all okay. Or at least, bearable.
We drove for a while in comfortable silence, the familiar sights of the city passing us by in a blur of color and light. It felt strange to be in this limbo, the looming threat hanging over our heads even as life around us continued on as usual. I watched as people walked down the street, going about their day without a care in the world - blissfully ignorant of the danger we were in.
Shaking my head, I turned to look at Tristan, focusing on his strong profile - the man who had somehow become my world amidst the chaos. He glanced sideways at me, offering a reassuring smile, as if sensing the turmoil within me.
“So what’s next?” I asked him.
“I’m going to shore up our defenses at home,” he said. “And you should go back to looking at the financial records for the time you were gone. In fact, you might want to look further back. You don’t know how long Carmen has been doing this.”
My stomach churned. “Carmen might not be doing this.”
He paused for a second before he answered. “Okay,” he said. “But someone is doing it, and the more information we have on that, the better.”
I nodded, pulling away from him to let him focus on driving. There was much to consider, mainly the shocking revelation of Carmen’s possible involvement. But we also had the ever-present danger looming over our heads - the mole in our empire and the growing threat of the Rossis.
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’ll speak to some contacts,” he said. “Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone at home?”
“I’m pregnant, Tristan,” I said. “Not a child. I can handle being alone for a few hours.”
His jaw tightened and his hand left the steering wheel to trace soothing circles on my belly. His babies. Our children. The tension around his eyes eased, and he gave me a tight smile. “I know you can,” he murmured, leaning over to place a lingering kiss on my forehead.
As the car pulled up outside our new home, I watched as Tristan’s face hardened with determination.
“Stay in the car,” he instructed, unbuckling his seat belt and opening the door.
“But...” I protested.
“No buts,” he cut me off. “I need to ensure everything’s safe.”
The sun was high up in the sky.
I sighed, inhaling the scent of Tristan that lingered in the car – warm and comforting – as I watched him exit the vehicle. He moved with a purpose, his strong form disappearing into our home. I waited, my heartbeat echoing in my ears like a ticking time bomb. It was a familiar routine he practiced every time we arrived home, scanning for potential dangers before giving me the all-clear.
It wasn’t until the front door creaked open again and Tristan emerged, his posture relaxed, and he gave me a small nod that I finally let out the breath I had been holding. Gathering my strength, I pushed open the car door and slowly made my way towards our safe haven.
I glanced up once more at our new home. It didn’t feel like my home yet— not really. Tristan didn’t love it, either, I knew he would have much rather stayed at his apartment than his dead father’s house. But until things were sorted with the estate, we needed to be there.
With a sigh, I turned, heading toward the door where Tristan stood. His figure was a beacon of safety, the only certainty in a world that had gone off the rails.
“Careful,” he said as I climbed the steps, his hand instantly at my elbow to steady me. As always, his touch was warm and comforting. His gaze held mine for a moment before he looked away, but the hint of unease in his eyes wasn’t lost to me.
I snorted softly. “I’m not that fragile, you know.”
He smiled then, his blue eyes lighting up. “Never said you are.”
I looked around at the totally clean living room as we moved deeper into the house. “What did you do with our…midnight friend?”
“Took him to the lake,” Tristan replied without missing a beat.
My eyebrows shot up. “You dumped him in the lake?”
He shot me a glance, his blue eyes unreadable as he shrugged. “He needed a bath.”
As much as I wanted to laugh at his nonchalant humor, my mind was too filled with worry. “Tristan, you know we can’t keep doing this,” I said quietly, my voice echoing in the vast room around us.
“Then they can’t keep breaking into our house,” he said.
I supposed he had a point there. “Did you... have any trouble?” I asked, hesitating on the details I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“No,” he replied, his tone even. “It went smoothly.”
“Good,” I responded, more out of relief than anything else. “And the rest of the team?”
“They are on high alert,” he reassured me. “We’ve beefed up security around the entire property.”
I nodded, unable to fully suppress the shudder that ran through me at the thought of the danger so close to our doorstep. I could only pray it would be enough.
“Okay,” he said, kissing my forehead. “You look into those records. Let me know if you need anything. I’m going to go meet up with some people who might have leads about last night. I’m a phone call away, okay?”
I nodded, knowing he had to leave but wishing more than anything that he could stay. I watched him walk away, the tenseness in his shoulders revealing the weight of the world he was carrying. “Be careful,” I called after him, my voice catching slightly.
He glanced back at me, a mischievous glint flashing in those gorgeous blue eyes. “Always am, love,” he replied before disappearing out the front door.
Once he was gone, I exhaled a heavy sigh that I hadn’t realized I was holding. My gaze drifted around the house - our house - and all its emptiness seemed to close in on me. I suddenly felt quite alone.
Pushing away the feeling of trepidation, I booted up my laptop and started poring over the financial records Tristan had mentioned. Hours passed as I sifted through data, my mind whirring with numbers and dates. Who was it? Carmen? Or someone else? Each possibility twisted my stomach into knots, and I forced myself to focus, knowing that somewhere in these endless numbers lay the answer.
Time passed by, and I had no answers except the certainty that someone was, in fact, embezzling from my father.
And that I absolutely needed to tell him.
I just hadn’t managed to bring myself to do that yet.
As if Carmen could sense I was thinking about her, my phone lit up with her face on it. “Carmen,” I murmured, answering the call. Her voice came through the line, crystal clear and as cutting as ever.
“Ade,” she greeted, her tone neutral. “How’s the new crib?”
I paused for a moment, considering her words. “It’s fine,” I responded, deciding to keep my concerns to myself. “What do you want, Carmen?”
“Brunch,” she said. “If Tristan isn’t keeping you under lock and key.”
“He isn’t keeping me under lock and key,” I said. “I’m here of my own volition.”
“Why?”
“Because he has a huge dick and he fucks like a fright train,” I replied quickly. “Why do you think?”
“Testy.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
She chuckled at that, a low, throaty sound that had me rolling my eyes in exasperation. “Of course you do, Ade,” she quipped back. “It was a joke. Don’t tell me living with Callahan has sucked the sense of humor out of you.”
Ignoring the jab, I sighed heavily into the line. “What day?”
“Tomorrow,” she replied promptly. “La Rêve, 11:00 am.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, already knowing that I would be there. As much as Carmen got under my skin, she was still my sister. And I loved her.
“Good,” she said, a hint of relief in her voice. “I’ll see you then.” And with that, the line went dead.
When Carmen’s call ended, I glanced at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see it was nearly eight in the evening. I had spent the entire day immersed in financial documents and my head throbbed with the effort.
Rising from my makeshift office on the coffee table, I moved to the kitchen. As I filled a glass with water, my mind kept circling back to the spreadsheet of numbers. The reality of the betrayal within our family hit me like a punch to the gut. It didn’t matter if it was Carmen or someone else; the damage was already done.
Tristan was right to be suspicious, but I didn’t want to believe that someone in my family could do this.
Setting my glass down, I decided to head upstairs for a shower, hoping it would help clear my head.
Walking into the master bedroom felt like stepping into another world. Tristan’s clothes were neatly folded on one side of the mahogany dressing table, his watch sitting alongside them.
I paused in front of the full-length mirror that hung on the wall and stared at my reflection critically. Dark circles had formed underneath my eyes - a stark testament to my stress and exhaustion. My short hair was in disarray and I was still wearing the same clothes from this morning.
With a sigh, I stripped off my clothes, left them in a heap on the floor, and stepped into the bathroom. Turning the shower knobs, I felt a sense of relief wash over me as the hot water cascaded down my tired body.
I leaned against the cool tiles and closed my eyes, allowing the warmth to soothe my weary muscles and frazzled mind. I let the water run over my body, washing away the dirt of doubt, fear, and uncertainty that clung to me.
I didn’t know how long I had been in there. All I knew was that I heard someone approach me, and I immediately went to turn off the water. But, in a second, Tristan was next to me.
“Don’t,” his throaty command stopped me mid-reach, and I opened my eyes to find him standing outside the glass partition. His gaze was dark and intense, his blue eyes smoldering as they roamed over me. A heat I hadn’t felt in the shower blossomed in my chest, spreading outward until it engulfed my entire being.
“I thought you were busy with meetings,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady and my gaze from wandering down his bare torso. He was already half undressed, his shirt discarded somewhere out of sight.
“I was. And now I’m not.” His voice was low and husky, a subtle hint of his Irish accent making my heart flutter. He moved closer to the glass partition, his fingers trailing over the surface as his gaze remained fixed on mine. “You want company?”
“Yes, but I’m so tired.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry, Ade. I’m not going to make you work.”
And then he was in the shower with me.