Aria Ruso
The next person who came into my room wasn’t Cade, though I fully expected that to be the person who pushed through my door. Instead, Cade’s guard stood there, looking me up and down. Though he was just as tall as Cade and a bit broader, I didn’t feel the same level of intimidation from him.
“Hi, Aria,” he said, extending a hand. “I’m Carter.”
Carter. It wasn’t the name that I would have anticipated for this strong, tall man. Carter sounded like the name of a child or a teenager, not this person, but I extended my hand anyways, shaking his slowly. “You’re
Cade’s guard.”
He chuckled, almost as if I told a joke. “His cousin and underboss, but I do act as his guard when we are facing a dangerous situation.” He took a deep breath. “I know that you’re not interested in training, and I can respect that. Unfortunately, Cade isn’t willing to let you leave this room until you agree to learn a few things.”
“I’m not training with him,” I cemented. After what I’d let happen two days prior, I wouldn’t allow myself to be alone with him again. I didn’t want to have sex with a man I hated, but my body clearly took control in those situations, and I wouldn’t let that happen again.
“I thought that’s what you’d say. That’s why I offered to train you.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that, either, but if Cade wasn’t planning to let me leave the house without training, I had to do something. I would never get information for my brother if I were constantly confined to a room. “And if I do it…” I paused, biting my bottom lip for a second before continuing. “I can finally leave my room. Walk freely around the house and go wherever I please?”
“You can leave your room, but you’ll need to talk to someone before leaving the house.” I opened my mouth to protest. “It’s a safety measure. Until you can defend yourself properly, you’d be in too much danger moving around freely, especially with your last name.”
I didn’t want to feel like a prisoner in this home, but I understood why he was giving me these boundaries. I had to understand. If I trained for a
while, I would have freedom. It was a fair trade, I supposed.
“Okay.”
Carter and I finally left my room, and I exhaled a long breath. I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever leave the room, and if training with Carter was what it took, I could happily do that.
He began walking me through a few basics-how to hold my fist when I punched, the proper way to extend my arms and use my body to back it up, and a few painful pressure points. Then, he showed me a combination of punches that I constantly butchered as I practiced them against his bare palms.
“So, Aria,” he said as I did another combination, and he adjusted my elbow. I met his eye. “I know who you are, but what did you do for your family? We never heard about your involvement in anything they did.”
He did have the eyes of a hardened man, but he spoke to me as if I were a friend to him, so I didn’t hesitate to tell him a little bit about myself. “That’s probably because I wasn’t involved until the last two months. I’m a nurse. I just moved back home this year to help my father with battle-sustained injuries, but before that, I graduated college and became an ICU nurse for a couple of years.”
He nodded in approval and gestured to his hands, so I’d continue. I gave him another combination, and he nodded in approval. Maybe I was beginning to get the hang of this.
“Nurses might be the most valuable people in the world. Does Cade know what he has?”
I cringed. “He doesn’t have me,” I told Carter. “I’m here out of an obligation. Nothing more.”
He raised his hands defensively. “Enough said.”
A tinge of guilt blossomed as I realized how rude I’d been to someone who seemed to have my best interest in mind, so I changed the subject.
“What have you done with your life, Carter?”
His eyes darkened for just a moment before he regained focus and replied. “I was a Marine for seven years-a sergeant. I was discharged for stealing weapons for the family, and I was in the Brigg for a few years after that.”
I could see Carter being in the military. There was something about his clean-cut jaw and the way he looked meticulous, even when not wearing a uniform, that shouted military. I had a distant cousin who had been in the navy, and he’d come back a different man. He had the same haunted look in
his eyes as Carter. “So you go by your last name, then? Burns?” He chuckled and shook his head. “Most people call me Serg.” Serg as in Sergeant. “That’s creative,” I replied slowly.
His smile only grew, and he shook his head. “It wasn’t my idea. You can be honest. It’s pretty lame.”
I laughed and nodded. “It is.”
Once I did the combination correctly a few times, he changed it, showing me how to do an uppercut properly. I incorporated that into the routine and continued. I wanted to ask the golden question, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it for long moments as we practiced the different punches and pressure points. Finally, when we paused for a minute, and I took a step back, I spoke.
“Why would you work for him?”
To my surprise, Carter didn’t look surprised by the question. “Cade isn’t the man you think he is, Aria. He’s decent, especially compared to all the
other power-hungry bastards out there. I don’t know what he did to you when you were young-”
“He tormented me,” I told him. “He played stupid pranks. He cut my hair. He did so many cruel things to me, and I just took it, knowing that he was my brother’s best friend. But then, after humiliating me one evening, he nearly killed my dog. I don’t even think he realized he did it, but he did. He sprinkled onion powder all over my bedroom, and Bailey got out of her cage and ate so much of it that she nearly died. It was supposed to be a joke, but he took it too far.”
Carter looked surprised to hear that. “That’s why you told your Dad?” From that question alone, I could tell that he did know parts of the story. “She needed a vet, and if I hadn’t told him, he would have thought I was irresponsible. My Dad made it clear that if we weren’t responsible, he’d take our dogs out back and make them pay for it, and I wouldn’t lose her because of him. I told Dad everything while they pumped my dog’s stomach, and I would do it again.”
Carter nodded, taking in what I’d just told him, but I was too angry about the situation. Too worked up. I kept talking, my voice rising.
“He left me no choice. I had to tell my Dad everything. He was a fucking monster, and because of what he did, my father came down on my brother, too. Matt has hated me ever since, all because of a stupid prank that ended poorly. It was Cade’s fault that my Dad killed Matteo’s dog as punishment. His friend tried to kill mine, so Dad killed Matteo’s. Matteo hates me, and no matter what I do, I can’t make it up to him. And all of it is Cade’s fault. And you work for him. You’re trying to tell me that he’s decent, but I know he’s not. He can’t be after what he did.”
“Cade has been through a lot of shit because of that decision, too, Aria,” he said.
“I don’t care. He made the bed, and he deserves to lie in it.”
I’d never said anything that I meant more than that. I may have been attracted to him physically, but I would always hate him for what he did to my family and me.
“Because of the broken truce between your brother and Cade, your father began launching constant and relentless attacks. Cade took the role of boss only for his father to move far enough away that he’d never have to deal with this place again. He built this mob from the ground up, despite losing almost all his friends and family along the way. He has me and his sister, Elizabeth. Everyone else is dead or gone.” I gaped at the words. “You weren’t the only one affected, and I don’t think anyone deserves that much loss in their life, even if they made a mistake.”
I gaped at the revelation. I hadn’t realized he’d suffered that much, but I still couldn’t allow myself to be too sympathetic when it had been his fault. Now, we were finally getting the revenge we were owed. I was here to get the justice that was owed to my family for his actions. My father would still be alive if he hadn’t made the decision to kill him. All of this started because of something he did, and now, I would end it.
I would regain the love and trust of my brother.
I would destroy Cade Burns, and I finally had a small tidbit of information that may help Matteo follow through on his plan. I had the names of the only people he cared about, and I knew they could be used.
Physical attraction wasn’t enough to get him out of all the things he’d done. I could see that Carter was trying to make me feel more empathetic toward him, and I smiled. He could believe what he was doing was working, but I wouldn’t let it.
Abruptly, the door to the training room slammed open, and I stood mere feet away from Cade.
He looked pissed.
“There’s been a situation-a bad one,” Cade said, and Carter straightened, taking two steps to the door before turning back to me.
“You remember where your room is?” he asked.
I narrowed my eyes, shooting my gaze past Carter and toward where Cade waited in the doorway. “That’s it? You’re just going to leave me here while you two go off doing… whatever the hell you want? I’m your wife, not a damned prisoner. I want to be involved in the workings of your people.”
Cade stared intently for a moment before the corner of his lip tipped up.
“You know what, you’re right,” he said smugly. “Come on.”
For some reason, as I followed him through the halls and outside, I had a feeling that arguing hadn’t gotten me what I wanted. I wasn’t exactly sure what it had gotten me, but I wasn’t sure I was prepared to find out.