Page 49 of Red Retaliation

“Thisis what you meant when you said you’d expose the Bristoni lies?” She looks up at me with pain in her eyes. “It... it will make me look like a traitor...”

The sadness on Arianna’s face almost convinces me to scrap the idea of the press conference.

Almost, but not quite.

I’m not stupid. Arianna won’t get her claws into me, using her female wiles to manipulate me. It was bad enough having to lightly kiss her at the end of the wedding, when all I want to do is claim her mouth with savage abandonment, along with the rest of her.

I stare at her cooly. “I told you what I intended to happen, and I expect you to run with what I do and say.”

Arianna grabs the lapel of my suit - a worried gesture, not an aggressive one. Her touch sends desire rushing straight to my balls. Her eyes then drop to where her hand lies, and she rapidly removes it.

“What if the press ask questions, like how can I remarry when Roberto’s not been dead a week? Won’t they think... I don’t know, doesn’t it seem rather... suspicious?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s all in hand,” I say confidently. Actually, I haven’t given that any thought, but I’ll say whatever is needed to put her at ease. She must play ball, otherwise the effect will fall flat on its face. I want the Bristonis and the Galvatores choking on their own fucking tongues with impotent rage when they read about what’s happened today.

I smile reassuringly. “Trust me, it’ll be fine. If any hacks are stupid enough to ask volatile questions, I’ll come up with something.”

Arianna looks no less worried by my assurances, so I attempt one last tactic. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

“You don’t need to say that. We’re not playing to the public yet!”

I laugh, despite my annoyance at my brothers and the pressure of the situation.

She’s right - we’re not in public yet, but I meant what I said all the same.

CHAPTER

34

Arianna

IHOPE I HIDE my surprise well enough. After all, Iammarried to Red Bateman, albeit for a few minutes. But regardless of that, most people will assume I know what his casino looks like, rather than the truth, which is that I’ve never set foot in the actualclubpart before. I’ve never had reason to.

Although I’ve always been aware the Batemans owned a casino - I’ve heard my father and Roberto slating it for years - I was under the impression the casino was seedy; a front for one ofthosetypes of clubs...

You know, a “gentlemen’s” club - and, in the Batemans’ case, a cheap, sleazy strip club full of ugly women and perverted men.

That’s what I’d been told, and there was no reason to believe otherwise.

But this...

I scan the vast expanse of the opulent casino. Tastefully furnished in golds, russets and deep burgundy, the club oozes class - nowhere near the “speakeasy” backstreet brothelesque dump I was led to believe. I expected to trudge through ankle-deep dog-ends, my stilettos sticking to beer and vomit-soaked, threadbare carpet. I’d braced myself to be greeted with overweight, ageing strippers wearing only PVC G-strings and gyrating their flabby bodies around poles. I presumed I’d have to ignore groups of middle-aged, raincoat-wearing men, while sleazy jazz crackled through tinny speakers and women led their customers off into side rooms for “extras”...

I was wrong!

The place is spotless. And itisa casino. There’s gleaming glass tables and several bars, a full restaurant over the other side and plenty of gaming tables, sporting neat green felt, spaced around the room. There are also lots of shiny roulette wheels. It’s beautiful and impressive.

I run my hand along the edge of a soft, burgundy leather sofa. At present, the place is empty of customers; the only people around are neatly uniformed staff stocking the bars and immaculately dressed croupiers getting their tables set up and ready for the evening.

I imagine it will be busy later, and not with undiscerning customers either. The place reeks of money, and I don’t doubt it has a long waiting list for membership.

“Not what you expected?”

Red’s voice catches me off guard. In my surprise, I’d almost forgotten he was here and why. “No! Well, yes... okay, yes, itiscompletely different to what I... what I...”

“What you’ve been told, you mean?” Red raises an eyebrow. “I expected as much. I should tell you though, what you see here is only for appearances for one night only. Every other night we have the usual crap strippers, group sex, bloodletting and human sacrifice!”

I scowl. “Very funny! There’s no need to...”