Page 5

Aria's attempt at trying to weasel out of paying her dues was ridiculous, and no part of me thought she was serious. Sure, she could talk all she wanted to try and avoid retribution for the weapons that were stolen, but that didn't necessarily mean she intended to follow through with it.

That was what I assumed, anyway.

I proposed myself for the pact as a bluff; I thought the moment she heard I was willing to step up, she would refuse.

However, she caught me by surprise yet again.

As absurd as it all seemed, we had an agreement.

Of course, that didn't mean all was forgiven. Nor did that mean I trusted her in the slightest.

Even if she sounded adamant about wanting a truce and carrying out the marriage pact as a means of doing so, I still couldn't rely on her to commit to it.

I had every reason to be suspicious of her. To believe she had a bigger plan.

We never accepted her attempt to make amends between our organizations, and if she was the type to hold a grudge, then it was plausible she was still sour about it. If she felt offended by our refusal to act on the offer right away, then there was a high chance she ordered the ambush herself.

Aria likely didn't anticipate being caught and held up in our interrogation room, but proposing a marriage pact could very well be a game of hers.

That was how most things in my world worked, and if that was the case, then at least my head would be in the right place. I'd be a step ahead, even if Aria assumed she had already won against me.

She would be sorely mistaken.

Despite being surprised by her confirmation of the marriage pact, I was determined to use it towards my best interests. Any angle I could spin it to work in my favor, I was determined to do so.

Aria's looks and demeanor were disarming, without a doubt, but that gave me all the more reason to be wary of her—to keep my guard up above all else.

I'd be damned if I let a rookie pull a fast one on me.

"It seems we have ourselves a deal, then," I said, keeping my eyes on her still.

Regardless of my doubts and suspicions, I needed to follow my gut, which meant going along with the sham arrangement.

I wasn't the type to even give marriage a second thought, let alone commit myself to that kind of restriction. To feel anything outside of carnal urges. Yet, if anything, the arrangement would give me and my brothers a decent hold on the Pesci business. By being legally married, I had the rare opportunity to directly keep both Aria and her ranks in check. And if there was any truth to the inside saboteur story, then at least I could squash that at the same time. With her under my control, it was one less thing for us and the Levovs to worry about—one more reason for our collaborators to be assured of our partnership.

Despite the look of uneasiness that moved through Aria's eyes, she didn't deny the fact that her fate would soon be sealed. Instead, she remained in place, surprisingly complacent.

A part of me wondered what was going through her mind while I moved behind her and released both her bindings and one of the cuffs. I expected her to whip around and try to take me on while I took her smaller wrist in my hand and clasped the metal around it to ensure she was fully locked up. But she didn't.

The warmth from her skin despite the relatively chilled room seeped through my glove, and a small yet annoying voice in the back of my mind wished there hadn't been leather between us.

Still, it was hard to ignore how much smaller she was compared to me while I guided her into a standing position with her arms pulled behind her back. How weirdly compliant she was being.

While it made my job easier, it only raised my suspicions higher.

"Walk," I muttered, giving a slight push against the small of her back.

Aria huffed out a breath but did as I wanted, approaching the door while I opened it and let us both through.

I could tell she was getting more nervous, regardless of how hard she tried to hide it, and something about it stroked my ego, knowing my presence was enough to make her second-guess herself. And I didn't even need to threaten her physically to achieve it.

The walk to the staircase and through the main floor of the warehouse was silent. All the while, Aria kept her lips tightly sealed with her chin up. Even if she was conceding to me and my family, she was still proud enough to not look like a victim.

Perhaps in her mind, she wasn't one at all. Maybe she assumed her life would be mostly unchanged. That realization would surely be a difficult one for her to swallow, and I was more than looking forward to seeing that moment for myself.

Guiding her through the building garnered us a few looks from the others, and I was sure I’d get a call from Alex sooner than later about what the hell I was up to, but in the meantime, I didn’t care. I’d have time to explain at some point.

When I said nothing, those eyes quickly turned away from us, and I ushered Aria on.

It wasn’t until we made it outside and across the parking lot to my car that I felt her tense up beneath my hold. She tried to throw me a questioning look over her shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

“To my place,” I said simply, hitting the unlock button on the key fob before popping the rear door open.

Her legs seemed to be full of lead all of a sudden, and she craned her neck to look at me more pointedly. “What?”

“You heard me—my place.”

Aria’s brows pinched together while another rush of panic moved through her gaze, and while it looked like she had a lot on her mind, she couldn’t seem to voice it all.

Realizing her thought process, I gave her an amused grin. “What, you thought I’d just drop you back off at your place after everything?”

“Well…yes.”

I huffed out a breath. “Then you thought wrong. If you’re going to be my bride, then you’re going to do things my way.”

Horror raced through her features at once, not even bothering to try and hide it. “You could at least let me prepare first—”

“Not a chance,” I mumbled, enjoying the upper hand I still had. Nudging her into the back of the car, I didn’t allow her to resist. I guided her head in, and due to her hands being cuffed behind her back, she was forced to sit awkwardly against the seat. Not bothering with the seatbelt, I gave her a final glance. “Don’t move.”

Despite Aria’s obvious concern for her wellbeing, she threw me a glare, as if that last-ditch effort would have some sort of effect on me. If anything, I thought it was amusing to see just how bothered she already was.

Closing the door on her, I went around to the driver’s side, already imagining how she’d look folding and conceding she wouldn’t be able to handle a legal marriage between us.

Even if she had a solid resolve, I would find a way to break her down, one way or another.

The drive home was as silent as expected. Glancing through the rearview mirror, I caught whenever she switched between looking terrified and incredibly angry. Both were equally entertaining.

I couldn’t help but assume she was already realizing just how greatly I planned to restrict her. Just how far I was willing to take it to prove my point and to wear her down.

She was used to being the boss and calling the shots, and I had no doubt me taking her usual freedoms away would feel like a blow to her pride. The thought of me being the one taking them from her likely stung even more, and that was beyond satisfying to me.

Given how it looked like she was already trying to think up a way to save her ass, I had every reason to believe she’d change her mind about it all sooner rather than later. And when she decided to start begging to be released, I’d have absolute control over the outcome. She’d have no choice but to bend to my will and be put back in her place in a way she’d never experienced before.

Moving my eyes between the highway in front of me and her reflection in the rearview, I let myself bask in what would soon be a triumphant victory.

But, as smoothly as everything seemed to be unfolding in my favor, I knew better than to completely write her off.

She was a boss, after all—even if she was new to the scene, she was still living and breathing somehow. She had some kind of backbone, even if it seemed like she was complying easily enough.

There was a chance her current demeanor was just to get me to lower my guard. It could be a strategy in her overarching game.

Whether I was just being paranoid or was justified in my suspicions, only time would tell.

The silence from her didn’t bother me one bit; in fact, I preferred it. The less I had to listen to her complaining, the more easily I could focus. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d have to practice more restraint than normal.

Aria was an unusual case for me across the board, and as much as I believed in my ability to be detached and able to navigate difficult situations, I wasn’t immune to someone as easy on the eyes as she was.

I didn’t want to admit how attractive I found her, but even a blind man could tell there was something about her—some sort of allure that could pull anyone in.

Regardless of that fact, I had to keep it from affecting me any further. And I certainly couldn’t let Aria know that. If she did, there was no telling how she might try to run with it.

Keeping my face as emotionless as possible, I eventually pulled up to the garage, parked the car inside, and killed the engine. When I went around to open the door and pull her back out, Aria didn’t cease glaring at me.

“We didn’t agree on this,” she grumbled at me, attempting to pull away while I reached in and grabbed her arm to pull her back out.

“We agreed to one thing,” I returned, tone indifferent as I gave her no choice but to come with me. With some struggle, given how Aria’s wrists were bound behind her back, I eventually got her out and closed the car door behind her. I tightened my grip on her arm and began towards the house. “The only part that matters—you proposed this arrangement, so now you have to deal with my terms, regardless of what they are.”

“That’s not how a business arrangement works,” she uttered, purposely making the task of bringing her inside more unbearable by digging her shoes into the smooth concrete.

“Tough.”

She only huffed as a response while I pulled her up the small steps and into the main house, but I could tell she was stewing inside.

Surely, she knew I had a point, or at least could see how she screwed herself over.

Aria could blame me all she wanted for how things unfolded, but ultimately, she snared herself in that net, either by intentionally screwing with my family’s business, or through her inability to control her own.

Regardless, she was in over her head, and I was basking in every moment of it.