Aria Ruso
I was sick of being dragged to events, especially after the hotel room fiasco last week, but Cade insisted I either go with him wherever he went during the day or stay behind with Carter. Usually, I opted for the latter. Unfortunately, Carter had to go to many of the same events, which left me with no option but to go.
Cade sent another fancy ballgown up with Elizabeth that morning, and I immediately shook my head as I looked at the poofy waist and the conservative neckline. “I will absolutely not be wearing this,” was the only thing I said to Elizabeth before she grinned wickedly and promised it would be taken care of.
I was beginning to like her, especially when she had become my coconspirator in going against her brother’s wishes.
My phone rang from my bedside table a mere moment after she left the room, and I picked it up, noting the caller ID. “Matt,” I greeted. “How are you?”
“What do you have for me?” he asked, cutting straight to the point. He didn’t bother asking how I was doing with Cade, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t care even if I offered that information.
The utter lack of emotion in his voice rubbed me the wrong way. I was here to earn his trust, but he didn’t seem to give a shit either way. What if I went back home and he offered me the same indecency as he had for the past ten years?
“Seriously, you’re not even going to ask how I am?”
He sighed. “Shit, Aria. How are you? Is that more important to you than making this a quick exchange?”
My heart dropped, and I considered the information I could have given him. I could have told him where Cade had taken me the week prior for the drug deal, or I could have told him about where we would be tonight. There were a million different things I could have told him, but the thought of betraying that information felt wrong somehow. Matteo had given me to Cade without any concern about my life or well-being. He had to know that there was a hit on my head, but he did nothing to stop it.
Meanwhile, despite his attitude and lack of regard for my happiness, Cade had made sure I could defend myself. He cared more about me than my brother.
“I don’t know anything,” I lied.
Was this going to be the first of many lies to come? Maybe Cade would do something to prove to me that he deserved my brother’s betrayal, but for now, it just felt wrong. I couldn’t go through the house feeling guilty about giving up information. It wouldn’t be a big deal to think about it for another week before offering up information, would it?
Matteo huffed. “I should have expected you to continue being useless,” he said.
I decided not to reply to that. “It was nice talking to you, Matt,” I told him. I heard his voice rise as if to beg me not to hang up the phone, but I did, putting it on silent and tucking it beneath my pillow.
The guilt hit me squarely in the chest as Elizabeth returned a few moments later with a much different style of dress. I bit my lip and nodded, pushing away all negativity as Elizabeth and I worked on getting ready for the party.
***
“You’re the one who insists on keeping up appearances,” I told him with a shrug, leaning my head against the car’s backrest and giving Cade a satisfied smirk.
“I sent you a dress,” he argued, narrowing his eyes at me. “And it was not that one.”
I saw the way he looked at me-the way his eyes trailed down to all the exposed cleavage that my dress revealed. When Elizabeth had gotten it from her closet, I had no qualms about the slit that ran all the way down the center of the dress, stopping at my navel. His eyes had barely left me in the time we’d packed into the car and stopped outside a tall glass building in the city.
“If you’re going to keep taking me to these things, I’m not about to look like a grandma in a ruffled dress,” I told him.
“I did it because I know who will be here, and I know the attention you’ll be attracting in a gown like that.” I could tell he was barely containing his frustration, and I smirked.
“Too late for that now,” I chirped.
He groaned and guided me toward the building, Carter at his other side. “Serg,” he addressed. “If one person looks at her the wrong way, kill them.” I rolled my eyes, but I knew precisely how serious Cade was in his declaration. He looked at me again. “This is a meeting with all the lieutenants and higher-up soldiers. It’s a meet-and-greet style event, and nothing serious usually occurs at these events, so we should be safe. These men are all loyal to me.”
I nodded. “They’re not loyal to me, though.”
“That’s why you won’t leave my side.”
I wanted to argue with him, but I understood the reason behind his claim. I was, for all intents and purposes, the enemy of these people. I was Italian, and I was the daughter of a mob boss who had constantly upturned their lives. It made sense why they’d all hate me here.
If they knew that I was meant to be a spy, they’d only hate me more.
As he’d said, it seemed relatively easygoing. Many men came and greeted Cade, giving reports on different parts of his territory. If I paid enough attention, I imagined I’d have good information on guard rotations, but I intentionally tuned out the information, knowing that the guilt from not sharing would eat me alive.
An older man strode toward Cade and extended a hand. I cringed as I saw the two nubs on his hand in place of fingers, and I wondered what had happened. He gave me a respectful head nod, not once making eye contact, before glancing back at Cade.
“It’s a privilege seeing you and your lady here tonight,” he said.
I smiled respectfully as I had done with everyone else. I met Carter’s eyes over the man’s shoulder, and he winced. I wanted so badly to ask who the man was, but I would get the information from him during training tomorrow.
We continued with the same charade for a while, and I ignored the throbbing in my heels as we stayed on our feet far longer than anticipated. If I had known we’d be standing for so long, I would have worn much more comfortable shoes. Feeling the blisters brewing on my heels, I considered the merits of stuffing toilet paper back there, just to pad the space long enough to take a seat.
After another ten minutes, I decided that would certainly be for the best.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” I whispered to Cade, gesturing to the hallway that sat only a few feet away. “I’ll be back in just a second.” He glanced toward the bathroom, then he looked at the door. I knew he was noticing the distance between the two-that there would be no way for someone to sneak in, make it to the bathroom, and make it back out without his notice. He glanced around again, eyes stopping on where Carter stood across the room.
He exhaled loudly and nodded. “Make it quick.”
I scurried toward the bathroom, trying not to limp as the shoes dug painfully into my feet. I didn’t pay much attention to anything other than the handle to the bathroom door as I shoved it open, immediately reaching for my shoe and tugging it from my foot. I planted my bare foot on the ground and reached for the other heel as I went to close the door behind me.
It slammed open, and I hopped back a step, managing to pull my shoe from my foot and catch my balance.
“Sorry,” I found myself muttering, but my voice caught in my throat as a man entered the room, the menace on his face palpable. I didn’t need to hear him speak to know that he was angry, violent, and coming straight for me.
“Stop,” I told him, holding a hand in front of me to create some distance between us. But he continued barreling forward. I slammed to a halt as my back slammed into the bathroom stall. The man pulled a gun, and without hesitation, he raised it and slammed the grip of it into my jaw.
The sound that escaped my lips was a mixture of a scream and a gurgled cry, and as I lost all momentum and began to fall, he jerked me upright by the arm, pushing me back into the stall door with his body.
“We’ve all heard about the fucking Italian spy that the boss is bringing around,” he said, moving his gun and pressing it into my side as he leaned closer. “I heard he’s extra protective over you, but I don’t see what’s so special.”
“Let me go, or I swear to God, I will-”
“You’ll fucking what?” he asked, pulling me from the stall and slamming me back into it. My head slammed into the hard metal, and a ringing filled my ears. “I’m going to take you for a nice little go around, and then I’m going to take care of you. I’ll get a pretty penny off of you.”
I could hardly think clearly enough to move, let alone come up with a way to escape this. The man was nearly a foot taller than me and far broader. He had the weapon. The strength. The will to hurt me. I knew that when I didn’t come back soon, Cade would come looking, but would that be before or after this man “took me for a go around?” Would it be before he killed me, or…
I had to do something.
Carter and Cade had both been right about the necessity of learning to defend myself, and right now was the reason.
I thought about all the things Carter had taught me, compiling them in my mind as I tried to pull away from his hand that slid down the exposed skin of my stomach. Lower. I had to do something, and I would only need enough time to run for the door and get to Cade. That was all.
The second his hand reached my navel, I lifted my knee as hard as I could between his legs. When he bowed, I clenched my fist the way I’d been taught and swung as hard as I could toward the side of his head.
I cried out as my fist made contact, but the man toppled over, and I ran. I wasn’t going to fight him, and I certainly wasn’t going to turn and see if he was following. I only needed to get away, so I grabbed the handle of the door.
He grabbed my ankle and jerked me backward hard.
I couldn’t stop myself from falling to the floor, looking around frantically for a weapon as he moved slowly to get on top of me. I knew I’d hurt him, but not enough. He needed to be hurt more.
I grabbed the only thing in sight-my heel. I turned with all my force and slammed it into his face, aligning the point of it with his eye and plunging the heel into it.
He released me, and I crawled to the door, kicking my leg out just in case he reached for me again. I made contact with something, and he shouted in pain as I grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. I jerked it closed behind me and ran.