Page 17

17

Brianna

F or years, Bri had dreamt of meeting her father. It had always been at some faraway point in her life, when she was older and wiser and more capable. An abstract concept that bore little resemblance to reality.

Instead, she felt like a dog who had successfully caught its tail for the first time, unsure of what happened next.

Roman had delivered a meeting with her father on a silver platter, and only now was she realising all of the things that could go wrong. What if he was like her mother? What if he thought she was weak, just like Mom did? Roman had already told her she had two half-brothers. What if they didn’t like her?

The rumble of Roman’s motorbike was ever-present as he led them down the desert track, down to the Silvas compound. Rocky outcrops slid across the car’s windows, but she was too lost in her thoughts to take much notice.

Something that didn’t escape her notice was that both sides of her family were involved in criminal activities, and, according to Roman, they were very much opposed. Would she be forced to choose between them?

Bri would happily leave her mother behind, but she couldn’t leave Reina.

A large, warm hand landed on her thigh, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “Hey,” Aldous began, his brows pulled down, “you okay?”

Bri suddenly realised the car had stopped moving. “Fine,” she replied automatically, before realising she didn’t have to lie. “Actually, I’m kinda terrified.”

Her husband gave her all his focus, leaning in slightly. “If you’ve changed your mind, love, we can leave.”

She took his hand and clutched it to her chest, instantly feeling calmer when his fingers wrapped around hers. Affection for Aldous warmed her from the inside out, until she felt like she could do anything at his side.

Bri tugged him closer and pressed her lips against his, sighing as he deepened their kiss. She was falling for Aldous Stone, and that fact didn’t scare her nearly as much as she thought it would. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

It wasn’t like he had nothing else to do. After her latest seizure, Aldous had worked from home, waiting on her hand and foot. She’d napped on and off throughout the day, but every time she opened her eyes, he was on the phone with someone different, constantly solving problems made by other people. It was gone two o’clock in the morning before he finally joined her in bed.

Aldous shrugged as if it had all been nothing. “You’re my wife,” he murmured, kissing her knuckles. “I go where you go.”

A knock on Aldous’s window made her jump, but one glance at the motorbike helmet told her it was Roman. Aldous pressed the button to lower the window. “What?”

“You stopped moving,” Roman answered, opening his visor as he straddled his bike. “What’s up?”

Aldous slammed the visor back down with a closed fist. “We’re fine. Fuck off.”

“Thank you though,” Bri added, lifting up in her seat to give him an appreciative smile before Aldous closed the tinted windows. A week ago, she would have chided him for being rude to Roman—before she walked in on them kissing.

That added another dimension to their relationship.

Besides being even more cantankerous towards Roman, since then Aldous’s strategy appeared to be to steadfastly ignore their kiss had ever happened.

Could he, though? Because Bri knew she certainly couldn’t. She’d rushed upstairs expecting to have to interrupt a fight, utterly unaware of what she was about to walk in on. Bri fidgeted in her seat as she remembered watching Aldous devouring Roman’s lips, revealing a side of him she hadn’t seen before.

In her interactions with Aldous, he was always gentle, his touch soft and his lips even softer. She had come undone at just how primal and rough he could be.

Is it wrong that I kind of want him to be rough with me?

Is it worse that I want to watch them kiss again?

She didn’t just want it; she needed it. Somehow, Bri didn’t think that was a normal response to walking in on her husband kissing another man.

It had all come crashing down at the unadulterated fear in Aldous’s eyes, seconds away from evolving into a full-on panic attack. Bri was thankful he’d allowed her to help him rather than pushing him away like he did Roman.

For whatever reason, Roman let it slide, absorbing Aldous’s barbed insults and glares with apparent ease, but Bri saw the hurt in his eyes.

She knew how she’d feel if Aldous suddenly pushed her away.

Roman cut a lonely figure on his dirt bike, guiding them down the narrow track that he promised would take them to the Silvas compound. Clouds of dust travelled in his wake, settling over the SUV as it traced his path. Was Aldous’s rejection why he’d chosen to ride instead of travelling with them in the car?

Bri had made an effort not to exclude him over the past week. Just because Aldous rejected him didn’t mean she needed to as well. Roman had pulled away nonetheless, spending more and more time out with Jasmine or tinkering with the security equipment.

I want him back.

She sat up as reams of chain link fencing appeared, displaying a plethora of vaguely threatening warning signs. Was this it?

Her question was answered moments later as a guardhouse draped in cream stucco appeared, its windows blacked out. Just as she was wondering whether it was manned, the heavy black gate slid open, audibly grinding as metal scraped against metal.

“Yes or no?” Aldous asked, waiting for her go-ahead. In the back seat, Jasmine popped up, her eyes forward and her attention pricked—as though she recognised where they were and was getting ready to leave the car.

She couldn’t go back now, could she? They’d already come all this way, and she’d spent years wondering who her father was.

If I turn back now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Bri swallowed, giving her husband a single nod. “Yes.”

Her heartbeat was an audible rhythm in her ears as they passed through the gates. More signs of life appeared the farther into the compound they went. Tyre tracks criss-crossed the roads, linking the buildings within. There were a few large warehouses, but as they reached the top of a hill vast swathes of property was visible in the valley below. Densely packed pines hid most of the detail from view, but she could make out log cabins within—and the rugged mountainous terrain behind.

How long does it go on for?

Judging by the turn Roman took, she wasn’t going to find out today. Instead of going right down into the valley, they headed left. The trees were less densely packed here, allowing her to catch sight of buildings through the brush. They were few and far between at first, but quickly became more numerous, all surrounding a larger warehouse.

Judging by the collection of cars haphazardly parked outside, it acted as a central hub for the compound. But as Roman pulled up next to one of the cars, indicating they should do the same, she was less certain it was a warehouse at all. People spilled out clutching alcoholic drinks, and a few danced along to the music thumping through the air.

She shared a confused look with her husband, noticing his throat bobbing at the sight of the crowd.

The Syndicate was the only criminal network she had any knowledge of, but she knew very well that Mom didn’t throw parties. She ruled through fear alone—the same way she ruled as a mother.

And she wonders why her youngest daughter doesn’t want anything to do with her.

“Stay here,” Aldous told her, stepping out of the car in a wave of desert heat and slinging his work laptop over his shoulder. In the side mirror, she watched him share a few terse words with Roman before approaching the passenger door. Warm air rushed in as he yanked it open, offering a gentlemanly hand out to her.

Bri took it, simultaneously savouring his touch and feeling guilty for it, because she knew Roman was watching. “So this is it?”

Roman nodded, his dark hair sticking up in all directions after being locked in his helmet all afternoon. His eyes landed on Aldous, but he opened one of the back doors, releasing Jasmine from her doggy seat belt harness and letting her bound out of the car. “This is the lounge. Come on, I’ll show you in.”

The lounge’s interior was far warmer than its exterior suggested. Jasmine clearly knew where she was going, disappearing into the fray. People milled about near the bar, playing pool or putting their feet up on the sofas dotted around the space. A vast wall of bottles stood behind the bartenders working, but Bri wasn’t taking in the specifics.

Because all she could think about was her father—and her brothers. Were they here? Her gaze bounced from man to man, trying to decipher whether they shared any features. Were they going to look like her? Would they think she was just her mother’s pawn?

Her brain fired off questions quicker than she could process them, but Aldous stayed at her side through them all, a possessive hand drawn over her waist. Mine , it said.

She was glad of it. It tethered her to reality in the face of uncertainty, reminding her that even if her father was everything she feared him to be—she would always have Aldous at her side.

The only downside to his touch was Roman’s distance. He glanced over his shoulder to check they were still following him. “Through here,” he called, elevating his voice above the music. He led them around the lounge’s perimeter to avoid the crowd before taking them up a flight of stairs.

As they reached the floor above, her attention was drawn to a large, broad-shouldered figure standing in one of the doorways. For a man firmly in his golden years, he remained strikingly handsome. A closely cropped silver-and-black beard covered his jaw, with a crooked nose that looked like it had been broken many times over. His skin was darker than hers, but the colour of his eyes was so familiar it was like looking in a mirror. A warm smile stretched across his face as he saw her, and he spread his arms wide. “Brianna,” he whispered, emotion glinting in his eyes.

Bri didn’t think, she just moved, crossing the landing to meet his hug. Tears clogged her throat as his arms swept around her, breathing in the unfamiliar scent of his cologne. “Hi,” she sniffed, her voice a high imitation of its normal self. Tears spilled over her cheeks, wetting his shirt.

“Don’t cry, mi amor,” he laughed, sounding dangerously close to tears himself. “You’re home.”

She pulled back far enough to savour every aspect of her father’s face. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me, I didn’t know if—if you’d want to.”

He sent her a quizzical expression. “I’ve been waiting to meet you since the day you were born.”

“Then…” Bri’s brow furrowed. A cold, wet smear across the back of her legs made her jump, but it was only Jasmine joining them, her tail whipping through the air as she greeted them all. Roman had assured her that Jose—who now went by Dante, apparently—and his family were good people, but seeing Jasmine happy to see everyone confirmed it; Roman didn’t just trust Jasmine with anyone. “Why did you stay away?”

He took her hands in his, looking as though he was choosing his words carefully. “It wasn’t up to me, mi amor. I don’t wish to speak badly of your mother, but…”

Bri almost laughed. “If no one ever spoke badly about Mom, we’d never mention her at all. Tell me. Please.” She was desperate to know any details of her father’s involvement in her upbringing.

“I didn’t even know she’d gone into labour, let alone given birth. As soon as I arrived, I was told she’d taken you and left.” He gave her a soft look of commiseration, before clearing his throat. “But you’re here now.”

She nodded. But that didn’t make up for all the years they’d missed, did it?

“Now.” He laid his hand over her shoulder, guiding her into the room behind him. “This is your brother—half-brother—Arturo.”

Out on the balcony, Bri hadn’t noticed the figure leaning against a wall. He walked into the light, ducking beneath the doorway to join his father— their father. The mugshot she’d seen that night came to the forefront of her mind; there were differences, sure. Heavy tattooing and muscle roped around Arturo’s neck. Her half-brother was taller than Dante by far, a veritable giant towering over them all, but the resemblance between them was uncanny.

Thankfully, though, his smile was every bit as warm as his father’s. “Hey, hermanita.” His hug wasn’t as crushing as Dante’s, but Bri was glad of it. From what Roman had told her, Arturo was the current leader of the Silvas cartel—and she could see why.

If he really put effort into it, his strength could crush her into a million pieces.

Her father’s eyes never left hers, bright with happiness. He pointed towards a sofa next to the balcony. “Sit, mi amor. I want to know everything about you.”

Bri took a seat between Aldous and Roman, filling her father and brother in on her life. A mixture of disbelief and happiness bloomed in her chest, but through it all she knew that—for once—she was exactly where she was meant to be.