Page 15

“You’re really gross,” I said quietly before pulling away.
“My engagement to her is—” His eyes and words changed direction. “Sorry, I got carried away.”
Caleb ran his fingers through his hair and looked angry. “It won’t happen again.”
“I understand why you didn’t answer my call.”
Sebastian, who was angry, stood in front of us. Caleb immediately moved even farther away from me.
“Get out, Pumpkin, and get dressed. We have an important dinner to go to,” Sebastian said with a dry laugh and shook his head in disapproval. He took off his tie and then stormed back inside.
He shouldn’t be upset, should he?
I waited for Sebastian on the porch. I wore a black dress that was tight and elegant and fit me perfectly.
“How do you look?”
When I turned around, Sebastian’s eyes were wandering. When they finally focused on me, they got darker. He looked great in his all-black tuxedo. It was simple but sexy.
“Like my mother’s daughter,” I said angrily. It was getting on my nerves. How could I do this to my mom?
“I was going to say ravishing,” he says.
I looked down shyly, bit my lip to keep from saying anything mean, and just said thank you quickly. He took my hand and led me to his car in a nice way.
Sebastian’s mood swings are making me dizzy. One day, he likes me; the next, he doesn’t, and then he thinks I’m beautiful. It’s too much. The radio was playing soft music, which made things awkward.
“I hope you didn’t get Caleb in trouble,” I said.
“He’ll get more than that.”
I turned around to look at him, and he tightened his grip on the wheel. “I don’t belong to you.” I rolled my eyes.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?” he asked.
“Yes, I did, and what are you going to do about it?” I asked angrily. Sebastian roughly pushed the car to the side, making my head hit the hard window.
“Don’t test me,” he said through clenched teeth, looking like a crazy person. Sebastian had a certain darkness about him. He’s slowly showing me how big of a monster he can be.
I slowly moved my hand up to my forehead until I felt something wet. I glared down at my bloody hand.
“You just made me f*****g bleed,” I said, out of breath. I mostly told myself that if I heard it come out of my mouth, it would make me realize how dangerous he really was and that he could hurt me and make me bleed like this.
Sebastian looked angry; he was about to explode, but when he saw how scared I was, his face changed completely. I could be wrong, but he looked like he was worried or even scared.
“Get yourself cleaned up before you get blood all over my car.” He threw a napkin at me, and I quickly picked it up and put it on my cut. I felt sick and dizzy because of how he was treating me.
Just call your mum and go home. Just leave and never look back.
My blood has dried up, and he looks more at ease. I’m so scared that I can’t even move a muscle.
Sebastian parked his car in the V.I.P. area. A man opened the door for me and helped me get out of the car. I didn’t look anyone in the eye; I kept my eyes on the ground. I probably had a big bruise on my forehead, and when I looked down, I saw Sebastian’s shoes right below me. He put his hand on the small of my back, and I didn’t even look up to see him. I just brushed it off. I was scared and angry. How could he do that to me? Has he ever done something like that to my mum?
Sebastian told the waiter in front, “Don’s party,” and the waiter took us right to the back. Because of the cigarette smoke, it was hard to breathe in this place. I tried to wave away the smoke with my hand, but it didn’t work. He quickly saw that I was having trouble breathing and gently pulled me to his chest, making sure to cover my nose with his scent. I breathed in his strong musk, which made my mouth water.
No, Aria, he really did almost knock you out in his car.
I kept my head inside of his suit to stay away from the awful smoke. There was loud music playing everywhere, and I could hear my heels clicking on the hard floor. I finally got the guts to look around and lift my head up, but I wish I hadn’t. We were at a men’s club, and the girls were walking around in nothing but heels.
“Keep your head down, Pumpkin,” Sebastian whispered in my ear.
I listened to him and kept my head pulled between his chest and suit. We stopped after a few more steps, and I looked up.
There were a lot of men in the room and very few women.
“Mr. Devereux.” A man came up to us and shook hands with Sebastian.
The old man quickly asked for my hand, and I gave it to him. He smiled at me as his rough lips brushed against the back of my soft hand. I almost threw up on this checkered floor in front of all these people. “You never told me your wife was so young and pretty.” The old man winked at me.
He could really be my grandpa, wait, wife? No, sir, that’s not right at all.
“I’m not his…”
“My wife is very young but very grown up.” Sebastian nudged my elbow to warn me not to finish my sentence. I looked up at him and saw that I was still hugging him, so I quickly let go.
The old man pointed out the bruise on my forehead and said, “Looks like she doesn’t listen very well.” spa.” I was mad that this person I didn’t know talked about me like I was a dog.
I don’t usually stand up for myself, but that made me want to grow some balls. I was going to say something bad about this guy, but Sebastian stopped me.
Sebastian softly pushed me behind him and then stepped up to the old man, his chest touching the old man’s. “Talk about my wife like that again,” he said. “And I’ll kill you with my bare hands, cut you into tiny pieces, and then feed them to your wife and mistress.” He growled angrily, and I could see his shoulders getting bigger and bigger.
“Okay, Mr. Devereux,” the old man said with a stutter. Sebastian took my hand and led me to the table, where there were a lot of people. They all seemed scared to be around us. I straightened up and crossed my legs to fix my position. His hand was firmly on my thigh, and it made my whole body feel fuzzy. Isn’t that crazy? Just one touch is all it takes to bring me back to life.
“I didn’t know your fiancée was coming with us.” A brave woman spoke up, and the word fiancée made my stomach flutter.
Sebastian said, “She surprised me.” He didn’t have the same stone-cold face as usual, so I was almost shocked to see a smile on his lips. “My fiancée means a lot to me, and you may or may not have heard that there are people after me and my new family. I need that to stop.” Every word he said was full of power. I felt it, and these people did too.
“Someone told me about it, but I thought it was just a rumor. Who would be dumb enough to go against the devil himself?” another man said.
Devil, I didn’t like that word, especially when it was used to describe him.
“I asked myself that same question when ten skulls with bullet holes in them showed up at my house,” Sebastian growled. The memory of the bloody kitchen flashed through my mind like lightning.
Sebastian says, “Dante won’t stop until he has my head, and he will kill anyone to get it.”
Dante, you kind of remind me of The Lion King.
“I want to make a deal.” Sebastian looked at me while he talked. He wasn’t talking to me, but I have a feeling it has something to do with me.
“Anything for you, Mr. Devereux,” said the man who had been threatened earlier.
Sebastian said, “If he does kill me.” “I’ll give up my cartel,” he says, and I don’t like where this is going. “I need my fiancée and step-daughter’s lives to be spared, and they need your cartel’s protection.” He whispered, but his voice was still loud enough to be heard.
Is he out of his mind?
“Please put them in a safe place and erase their names from everything. I also want them to be financially stable.”
“Are you crazy?” I turned all the way around to look at him, and my face was full of different emotions.
“This isn’t your business, Pumpkin,” he growled.
“It’s all about me. You think we’ll be safe with another cartel?” I yell angrily.