Gabriele’s POV.
The drive to the party was awfully quiet and me being painfully aware of Arianna. I could feel the heat of her skin as it brushed mine occasionally. The scent of her shower gel or was it shampoo I really didn’t know and didn’t care. All I knew was that she was doing something to me. Something that made me itch to claim her as mine in every possible way and I’d never let her escape.
I looked outside the window to clear my head. I still had to deal with the situation I found myself in.
“So…” Arianna started. “…. where are we going? Can you tell me more about the party? Is there anything I can’t do or say there? I mean give me something to work with.”
I shut my eyes and rubbed my forehead slightly with my fingers. “You don’t need to do anything. Just stand by my side and look pretty.” I turned to her and she looked surprised but she nodded.
“Then how will Sofia be able to get her job back if I’m not doing anything at the party?” She asked, tilting her head towards me in confusion.
“That’s for me to decide,” I said and turned away. The worst thing that could happen to a man was an unattended hard-on. Looking at her only made things worse for me. Out of sight, out of mind. I closed my eyes and went through the motions of the plan to be executed at the party, making sure we weren’t missing anything and that it’ll go smoothly.
I wondered who it was that would be sent by my uncle. I already had the earphones in place that would help me communicate with my godfather and his team. Finally, after thinking about these things, the hard-on disappeared. I couldn’t appear at a party with it.
We soon arrived and before we came out of the car, I turned to Arianna “When we got inside. Don’t answer any unnecessary questions or questions you don’t know. Most importantly don’t stray away from my side. Do you understand?”
She nodded and didn’t say another word. We stepped out of the car and she hooked her arm in my elbow and we went forward. We confirmed our names on the guest list and were ushered into the hotel. I could see the way her eyes lit up at the decorations and the size of the hotel, and I could also see the attention she was attracting to herself. I stared at those men looking at her and they turned away. The damned woman didn’t even seem to notice.
When we got to the Hall. I touched the earphone in my ear and led her inside. This party was very dangerous and anybody here could be involved in the plan against me. Immediately we came in and someone I was familiar with walked up to me with a smile. “Mr. Andino, it’s a pleasure to meet you here.”
“Nice to see you too..” we talked a little about work and he turned to Arianna, a peculiar glint in his eyes. “And she is?..” he was obviously str
aring at her boobs in a very cunning way. I glared at him and he averted his eyes. “My escort for tonight, miss Howard. Be careful Mr. James, especially with your eyes…” Then I walked towards him and leaned in a little to whisper in his ears. “If I see you staring at her like…. I’ll gouge your eyes out.”
I stepped back after that and my eyes met his horrified ones and I smirked, exactly the look I was aiming for. “Now if you’ll excuse us,” I said as I held Arianna’s elbow and steered her away. She looked confused and surprised, then she opened her mouth to say something. I gave her a look and she quickly shut up.
I grabbed a glass of wine from a waiter and she did as well. I didn’t take a sip and just allowed my eyes to roam, looking for any suspicious people. We made a few rounds in the hall, greeted some people, exchanged pleasantries, and kept an eye out. “Fratello, we’ve made rounds in the hall, but we’ve not found the suspect.” I gave a little hum and exchanged glances with our men in the hall.
We took a seat, Arianna with the escorts of my business partners and I with my business partners. Then the host of the party came over to address the guests and I was even more alert. As soon as he was done everyone raised their glasses to make a toast and went back to socializing. Arianna didn’t look uncomfortable or awkward in the hall. She was dealing with the crowd really well.
“Hello there.” I turned toward the source of the voice and found it to be a very sexy brunette in a red suit, too bad I had no interest in her. Arianna also turned to the sound of the voice and I watched her face for any reactions, but unfortunately, there were none.
“Hello,” I said lukewarmly and was about to turn away when she continued with a broad smile. “You must be Gabriele Andino. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Hilda Garcia”
“Yes, I am, very nice to meet you.” I wasn’t very enthusiastic about our conversation but she didn’t seem to catch the hint and even if she did she chose to ignore it, obviously because she tried to carry on.
“And who is this lovely lady?” She asked, still smiling. “Arianna Howard, my escort for tonight. If you’ll excuse me, we’ve got an appointment to keep.” I was beginning to get irritated and honestly, dinner parties like these were what I detested the most. “She likes you,” Arianna said as we walked away.
“So? What’s that got to do with me?” I asked her. She shrugged “I don’t know, I’m just saying that I hope she doesn’t pull any fast ones at me at the party.” Hearing what she said, I scoffed. “Fast ones huh? I’ll be glad if you didn’t mess with her a little.”
As we walked over to the middle part of the hall. Arianna attracted stares from most people that we passed and I wasn’t happy about it. I suddenly had the impulse to hide her away or better still wrap her up with a shawl or something. I felt a twinge of regret for taking her to the party.
Well, I was glad that no one has the guts to step up to talk to her seeing that she was my escort. I still hadn’t received any news from Basilio and the team, meaning that they still hadn’t found him. Just as I was thinking about it, Basilio’s hurried voice came in. “Brother, quickly get down there ‘s going to be a big commotion any moment from now and gunshots will be fired….” Before he could finish, the chandelier in the hall suddenly fell and I dragged Arianna away from the crowd
The hall was in a state of chaos. I took her to the furthest place in the hall and hid behind a table as I loaded my gun, her eyes flew wide in surprise at the sight of it and she gulped heavily but said nothing. “Stay here and don’t move.” I didn’t have time to wait for her reply and all of a sudden I heard a rain of gunshots in the hall. People screamed and fled. I and my men stepped out and they dealt with the men downstairs while I went to find the main assassin.
“Brother, fifth floor, second room from the elevator. I held my ear and replied, “got it.” I held my gun and took the elevator to the fifth floor. Upon arrival on the fifth floor, I stayed alert and on the lookout for him. I entered the second room cautiously. There was no one in the room. I had a bad premonition at this point. “Basilio, there’s a problem, no one in the room,” I said as I walked out of the room and hurriedly took the elevator to the hall.
He didn’t reply and I soon arrived at the hall. The hall was mostly empty by now but still had littering of corpses on the floor, probably stray bullets. I walked over to where I had left Arianna but she wasn’t there again. “Brother, we’ve got the surveillance footage of the hall, turns out that it was merely a diversion and they’ve got Arianna. He headed toward the parking lot. If you hurry now you’ll be able to get him.”
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, I was angry at myself for bringing her here, but I didn’t have time to think about it anymore. I hurried to the parking lot and met the man dragging Arianna into a minivan that didn’t have a license plate on it. It was parked in a very inconspicuous corner and wouldn’t be easily discovered if you didn’t look closely.
I ran towards them and kicked the man to the ground. He got up and we started fighting. I kicked him in the knee and his movements slowed down a bit. Dealing with him wasn’t a problem because I’d received far worse training. His fist connected with my shoulder and I flinched a little in pain. Luckily the rest of my men came over and tackled him to the ground. Basilio ran over as well. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah I’m done, he wouldn’t be able to hurt me. Arianna’s in the van.” I said and walked to the car leaving Basilio to carry her over as she was unconscious. I really didn’t know what the aim of this man was. At first, I thought I was the target but then it was Arianna. I leaned on the chair and closed my eyes to rest. It had been a Long day. We’d figure out everything later.