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“The point still stands, Dante. Elio doesn’t trust me. And I don’t trust him. I don’t trust your second in command, Matteo either. How can we ever be on the same page if there’s no trust between us? You two should go. I’m done discussing this.”
Erik nods and motions for me to follow. Once we’re back in the car with our guns, Erik says, “We failed.”
“Viktor will come around. He has to. He did once before.”
“He used to be on my side until I made an alliance with you.”
“Don’t blame this on me. You never had to make an alliance with me.”
Erik shoots me a glare. “You kidnapped my wife’s sister and then she fell in love with you. What the fuck was I supposed to do? Let you die? Nadia would have been crushed, which would have crushed Anya. And I will do anything to protect my wife. They are the reason we have this alliance. Viktor has no ties to us.”
“He was going to when he agreed to marry Aria.”
“We should have offered that deal to him before he fell in love with Inessa. He’ll never leave her to marry Aria now. Maybe there’s some other deal we could make him.” Erik is silent a long moment. “He does have a sister.”
I scoff. “He is not going to use Julia to secure a marriage alliance with one of our men. It’s not happening and you know it. He might even see it as a sign of disrespect if we offer one of our men to his sister. He probably thinks Julia deserves the best of the best and unless the man in question is the best of the best, he won’t go for it.”
“It’s an idea though. One we have to consider. I don’t want to return to another war, Dante. So, you need to find Finn and kill him this time so he stops fucking up all our plans.”
“Trust me. I’m done with Finn now. He kidnapped Aria. I’ll never be able to forgive him this time. Our friendship is truly over.”
“Good. Get it done.”
Finn will be the sacrifice I’ll make to ensure peace. It just won’t be easy.
Aria
It’s completely dark out by the time I reach the nearby town. Since I don’t have a phone with me, I have to find someone who will let me borrow theirs so I can call my dad. But the entire town is closed with it being so late at night. The café is closed. The bookshop is closed. I search for a pharmacy but even that place is closed.
I find a gas station and it’s not open either. What the hell? I’m used to the large city where everything stays open twenty-four hours.
This is why I’ll never move to a small town.
Then I find a motel. Ok. This place has to be open. I find the front office and see an open sign. Thank god.
I rush inside. “I need to use your phone.”
The man behind the counter glances at me. His shirt is stained and he’s chewing gum and his backwards baseball cap hides part of his face.
“Phone is for paying customers.”
“I’m in danger. I was kidnapped. I don’t have a phone or money on me. I need to use your phone to call for help. Please.”
He shrugs. “You don’t look kidnapped to me any longer. If you can pay for a room, you can use the phone.”
“Seriously? Then can you call a ride for me? I need to get back home. Please.”
“Paying customers only.”
Fuck this. I’ve been kidnapped, almost raped, and almost killed all within the past couple of days. I am done playing around.
I grab the man by the shirt and yank him towards me. “I am in danger. A very dangerous man is out there looking for me right now and if he finds me here, he will kill you and no I am not exaggerating. Just call for a ride. Please.”
“Fine. Whatever.” He grabs his phone and calls a cab for me.
“Thank you,” I mutter. Asshole. “Can I stay in here until the cab comes?”
“Sure. Whatever.”