Arianna
If there’s one thing I hate more than being babysat, it’s being babysat by my own brother. I love Alessandro with my whole heart, but God, he can be so overprotective. All I can think about the entire day is the kiss that Carmine and I shared. Even as I drive out of the garage, I can feel the warmth of his body pressed against mine. I don’t know when he’ll be back, but I just needed some time.
I enjoy the drive to Long Beach, it isn’t too long, but it’s long enough to relax me. Traffic seems lighter than usual, and the kiss replays in my mind repeatedly. I’m just going to drive around for a while before I find a race to join.
God knows I need some adrenaline.
I don’t pay that much attention to the passing scenery.
Carmine.
That’s all I can think about.
I remember the way he searched me, the feel of his hands working their way up my legs. Searching is kinky, I won’t lie, and I’d be jealous if he did to other women. Jealous? What am I jealous of?
Alessandro, Dominic, my father, and Frankie will never let me see Carmine as anything more than a mercenary for the family and an old family friend. If they got wind of the thoughts I’m entertaining, of being on top of Carmine while I ride his sizable cock, they would kill him and lock me away forever.
What if Carmine doesn’t even feel the same? Dominic is always saying that Carmine is a player and always has been. I haven’t seen him with anyone recently, though. Also, we keep bumping into each other, all the heavy flirtations and glances that pass between us.
I wonder if there’s a way to convince my family to see him as a good man for me, someone I could be with. I doubt it. I doubt anyone would ever be good enough for me.
Alessandro has made that very clear when I’ve dated men in the past. No one is good enough for the princess of the Sorvino family. Baby sibling and illegal racer.
Well, I’ll soon be a professional racer, so I’ll have that going for me.
I sigh and pull up to a traffic light. Glancing out of my rearview mirror, I see a vehicle with tinted windows. I keep an eye on the car before I go to the next block and turn. The vehicle turns with me. I turn down the next block, and they follow. Are they my brother’s men?
I fumble in the bag next to me on the seat and fish out my phone, trying to keep my driving speed the same so they don’t suspect I’m reaching out for help.
I see a bunch of missed calls from Carmine, and I dial him back, putting it on speakerphone.
“Arianna, where are you?” I hear his voice over the roar of an engine.
“Are you in the jag?” I ask, distracted.
“It doesn’t matter. Where are you?” he asks again.
“It’s not safe for you to be out on the streets by yourself.”
That reminds me of the car following me, and I turn to head back toward the motorway. “I need some guards to meet me at South Central Park. I’m being tailed. I thought maybe it was our guys, but now I’m not sure.”
“It’s not our guys,” Carmine says. “Don’t dilly dally.
Drive like it matters and lose the tail. We’ll be at South Central Park soon.”
I drop the call and put both hands on the steering wheel. I reach a red traffic light, wait a moment, spin my tires, and take off through the red light.
As suspected, the vehicle follows me at speed, but I have a slight advantage with the head start.
I weave my way through the traffic, clipping my mirror once or twice as I get too close. Sometimes I hear people hooting or cursing me as I pass, but I don’t care. I swerve onto the on-ramp of the motorway and gun my accelerator.
I feel something drive into the back of me, and I glance back. They’re trying to push me off the road. The heavy-duty vehicle is close, and they speed up, clipping my car again.
I ramp over the side embankment and land inches from another car, forcing the tinted car to fall behind them. I change lanes quickly and take off, not giving them a chance to weave back into the same lane as me.
My heart is thudding in my chest. I swear I can hear it.
After half an hour, I glance back, but I don’t see the vehicle anymore. I still don’t let off the gas. I keep going until I reach South Central Park and see Carmine and the Jag parked there with three other cars. A group of smartdressed and probably armed men is standing by the vehicles. I pull up next to the jaguar and climb out.
“Are you okay?” Carmine asks with his hand on his gun.
“I’m fine,” I breathe out. “I think I lost them.”
“Don’t you ever do that again.” Did Carmine just raise his voice at me? “Don’t you ever leave without an escort again, Arianna. This isn’t some bullshit game you’re playing.”
“Don’t speak to me like that, Carmine,” I spit back.
The men watch on uncomfortably.
“Get in the jag. You’re driving with me,” Carmine says, opening the door for me. “Give Carlos your keys.”
I glare at him before I drop my keys on the floor in defiance. I feel bad for Carlos but fuck Carmine. I can’t believe I wanted to have sex with him. He is as bossy and demanding as Alessandro.
He shuts the door, and everyone piles back into their cars, Carlos in my Impala.
Carmine starts the car, and we head back toward the estate. I don’t say a word to him. I think if I do, I’ll take his head off his shoulders.
A film of sweat forms on his face as the sun shines through the windscreen. His lips are pursed, and there’s a different kind of fire in his eyes-it’s almost scary.
I know he kills people for the family, I’m not deaf, and I’m not stupid. I, however, have never felt anything but safe with him. I’ve never seen him as someone who could hurt me. Having him angry at me now, though, does scare me. Why? Does it scare me because I’m scared he hates me now? What a childish thought. He obviously doesn’t give a shit about me at all, or he wouldn’t boss me around.
Or would he? Is this his reaction to being afraid of losing me? He still has no right to boss me around, but it would make more sense.
He pulls into the estate and opens the garage.
While he’s waiting for the door to open, he turns to me. “You go where I say you go.”
“Get fucked,” I spit, climbing out of the car without another word. I don’t care if I like him or if he likes me. I’m tired of everyone feeling like they can control me. I storm through the garage and the kitchen, and I ignore my parents as I storm up the stairs and into my bedroom, slamming the door closed.
Carmine
I can’t fucking believe that she doesn’t take this as seriously as we do. I know she’s been raised in a bubble, but she’s not naive, and I know that. We both know that.
My anger is beyond anything I’ve ever felt. I’m not Dominic. He thinks he controls everything, but the man has temper issues. I’ve always been calm and calculated. Plan the move, execute, and resolve the problem.
How do I resolve Arianna?
Not only do I want to ravage her, but I also want to keep her safe. I’d spank her, but that might seriously give off the wrong idea.
As I leave my room this morning, I don’t even want to speak to her. It’s too much. She placed herself in such unnecessary harm. She could have been taken or, worse, killed. And even then, we know that in the underworld, there are things worse than death that many families are willing to do to get what they want.
I sit at the kitchen table, and she follows in a little later. She looks at me, then at her brothers, and greets them. I don’t say anything, and Dominic glances at me. Shit, I don’t want him suspecting anything has happened between us.
I start to dish some fresh bread onto my plate with homemade jam. Mom’s clearly been busy.
The rest of the family speaks amicably as Arianna and I eat in silence. Dominic is now concentrating on his food, thank God, and has stopped giving me weird looks.
We disperse afterward, and I follow Arianna to the garage. She puts on some overalls and opens the hood of her car. She glances at me. “I’m not going to run off.”
Her voice is cold, and mine matches her, “If I didn’t have to watch you, I wouldn’t be here. I’m just doing my job.”
I stand to the side, out of her way, my arms crossed in front of me. I’m sure I see a flicker of something in her eyes. Is it hurt? I don’t know, but I can’t let my feelings cloud my judgment now.
She gets in her car and turns the radio on, blasting music as she works. She wouldn’t hear me even if I did speak to her. I watch her in disbelief. She doesn’t look at me at all while she fixes her car.
I’m about to tell her to get some lunch when an explosion rocks the house. She glances up at me in panic, and I draw my gun. “Stay behind me.”
She reaches under her workbench and withdraws a gun as well. “Okay.”
I nod and lead her toward the garage door. It bangs open, and three men I don’t recognize come storming in, guns in their hands. We both stop and start to shoot at them. We hit one immediately but the other two duck down behind one of the cars. I push Arianna behind one of Dominic’s cars just as they rise and start shooting at us.
“Are your keys in the ignition?” I ask.
“Yes,” she says breathlessly. “What about my family?”
“My job is to get you out of here, Arianna. You need to do as I say.” I hear the firing stop and assume they’ve gone to reload. I stand, and a bullet barely misses my face. I aim and shoot a guy through the head before I duck down again.
“Get to the car, start the engine. I’ll get in and go with you.”
“Where are we going?” she asks desperately.
“Get in. I’ll direct you once we’re on the road. We need to get out of the estate. I can smell smoke. Something’s on fire.” I nudge her and peek over the car. The third man has made his way back to the garage door and calls through it.
I get up quickly. “Go now!” I fire at the man who dives through the door, although I’m sure I got him in the leg as he lets out a desperate cry of pain.
We rush to the Impala, and I click the button for the garage to open as I pass it.
Arianna starts the car, and I stand guard while the door slides open, watching for more men. When it’s almost entirely open, I slide into the passenger side. “Go! Go! Go!”
She reverses out of the garage like a bat out of hell, and I hold onto the window frame as she spins around and drives toward the wide-open gate, dead men lying on the floor-my men.
She swerves into traffic amidst a lot of honking and brakes squealing, and she takes off.
“Where to?” she asks. “What about my family?”
“They will each have their own means to get out. They have their own guards,” I explain, reloading my gun with my last rounds.
“Will they meet us wherever we’re going?” she asks.
“Go toward West Hampton. There are numerous safe houses there.” I move, and my neck stings. I check in the rearview mirror. I’ve got a cut, maybe from the bullet I thought had missed me, and it’s bleeding.
I take out my phone. “I’ll direct you once you get there.” I dial Dominic’s number first. Alessandro will be busy.
“Did you get out?” I ask as soon as he answers. “Is everyone okay?”
“I don’t know about anyone else. I was with Sofia when it happened,” he says. “But we’re out and on our way home. Have you spoken to anyone else? Is Arianna okay?”
“Shook up but okay.” I glance at her. Her hands aren’t trembling, which surprises me. “Mostly taken by surprise.
Your parents?”
“They were with Alessandro. I will try them again shortly. I’ve spoken to Frankie to let him know what’s happened ’cause he’s going to see it on the news and panic.” Dominic sounds so tired.
“I’m taking Arianna to a West Hampton safe house. I’ll let you know which one when we arrive. I’ll give Alessandro a moment and call him, see if everyone got out okay.” I sigh. “Dominic, they better have gotten out or else.”
“I know,” Dominic says seriously. “They won’t get away with this, even if everyone is okay.”
“Agreed, talk later.” I hang up and turn to Arianna.
“Dominic is fine, and so is Sofia.”
“My parents, though? Did he say anything about them?” she asks, her eyes wide.
“No, he doesn’t know any more than we do. We’ll get to the safe house, and then I’ll call Alessandro to get an update.”
She nods, and I plug the address into her GPS. I look out at the passing traffic. When we arrive, I’ll make sure she has some sweet coffee to calm her nerves and maybe a shower to relax her.
“That was good shooting,” I comment. “I didn’t know you had a gun in there.”
“I don’t. Alessandro does,” she comments. “But I’m not an idiot. I know how to shoot.”
“Clearly,” I offer her a smile. “Try not to stress, I’m sure everyone is fine, or we would have heard something.”
“Why hasn’t Alessandro called?” she asks. “Why hasn’t he checked on me?”
“He will,” I promise. “He’s probably doing disaster management right now. There are things at the house the cops can’t find,” I point out. “He’ll be taking care of that and any of the attackers that remained behind before the cops pull in.”
She nods numbly.
I wish I could make her feel better, so I squeeze her leg. “They’re all….” My phone goes off, and I read the text aloud. “Everyone okay. Are you all safe? Get to safe houses.
Further instructions later.”
I smile at her. “See, that’s from Alessandro.”
She looks visibly relieved, and I feel the same.