Page 24

“His name’s Mendez. He said he was paid by a gang…I’m guessing one of your rivals.”
“Which one?” My back straightens, a small frown creasing the lines of my face.
She makes a low, humming sound while flipping through the pages of whatever documents she has in her hands.
“Actually, there’s no mention of that here.”
“Damn!” My fist slams the table and for a moment, there’s silence at the other end. “What pussy would have the audacity to meddle with my affairs?” The words tumble out in a growl, my nails digging into my fists until I can almost feel the skin on my palm give way.
A light scoff from the other end reminds me that Aria is on this call.
“Well, it gets better,” she continues. I can hear the noisy flapping of papers in the background as she talks. “This Mendez guy is a walking rap sheet. Drug trafficking, extortion, you name it…”
“What else do you have on him?”
“Well, that’s all I have from my dad, okay? Show some gratitude.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, irritation flaring in my chest. This is Aria serving me a dead end, wrapped up in sarcasm.
“Where the fuck is this Mendez?” My voice is reduced to a growl now, as it’s taking everything within me not to yell at her.
“I don’t know his location. You should be thankful I got you anything at all.” I can feel her eye roll from here.
I need to find Mendez.
This can only mean one thing. Cortez and I were right. There’s a fucking mole amongst us. Some godforsaken motherfucker must have tipped off whoever this Mendez is. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known the contents of the warehouse. What the fuck was he doing in such a deserted place at dawn if he wasn’t in on the plan himself?
I swear by my late mother I will catch those fuckers and rip their very hearts from their chests, then discard them into the streets like the dogs that they are.
I gather my thoughts, and think of Aria’s investigative work. I can feel the familiar burn of frustration rising up within me. Aria is smart, annoyingly so, but reckless to a fault. I cannot have her do any more of this investigation from miles away. She has to come to me.
“You’ve been very quiet. Did I, by any chance, make you speechless?” I can almost see her lips curl up with satisfaction as she taunts me, but I don’t give her a response.
“Spend the night with me,” I deadpan instead.
The line goes silent. I take the phone away from my ear to check if she’s still on the call. She is. I can no longer hear the raspy sounds of her breathing at the other end of the line.
It’s almost as if she’s disappeared from the call.
“What?” It comes out in a soft gasp.
“You heard me. I said come to my place… my room. Tonight.”
She barks out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Elio Donatelli, you’ve officially lost your mind.”
“I’m done playing this game of hide and seek with you, Princess.”
That hit a nerve because her voice suddenly drops to a low and dangerous tone.
“Oh, so now you want to play babysitter. That’s so kind and thoughtful of you!” she snaps, banging whatever table she’s sitting in front of.
“I’m not playing anything, Princess. This is your reality now. You’re my betrothed.”
“You keep bringing this up,” she groans, “For God’s sake, Elio. I’m only pretending to be your fiancée. You don’t own me.”
Brash laughter seizes my throat and, for a moment, she stills at the other end of the call.
“Baby, I don’t just ownyou. I own your entire family. Your lives are practically in my hands.”