Chapter 16
Sophia
It had sucked not spending the previous weekend with Zack, but I’d done my due diligence and went out with the guy that the girls had chosen for me and even attended more house meetings. It seemed to be enough to satisfy them - for now. I didn’t like walking this tightrope over my relationship with Zack, but it was almost over.
After being nearly caught in his office and one of the sorority girls seeing me with a mystery man, we decided it would be a good idea to be more careful, so we were meeting for our date at a bar close to an hour’s drive away from the campus. This was the third time meeting here and this was becoming our normal meetup point which would ultimately end up in his apartment and in his bed. Looking down at my phone I grimaced looking at the price of the Uber ride to the bar, I was going to have to swallow my pride and perhaps hit Isaac up for some money if I kept burning through it like I was. College was proving to be much more expensive than I’d anticipated – but the experience and Zack were well worth it.
“We’re here.” The Uber driver pulled up to the front door and after thanking him, I stepped outside and into the cool night air. It was so much colder here than it was in Italy, it was one of the few things I was beginning to hate about this experience. I didn’t handle the cold well.
Heading towards the door, I felt eyes watching me as I approached. It didn’t take me long to realize who it was that was watching me. The man was tall, with a tanned complexion and dark eyes that seemed to pierce into me. It was the suit, however, that was the final piece of the puzzle that gave him away. I could spot a finely tailored suit a mile away.
Dammit.
He looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t quite place where I knew him from. However, by the way he was looking at me, he knew exactly who I was. My hand went to my handbag. All I had to protect myself with was my knife and I had a feeling he was packing something a lot more lethal than a knife under that suit jacket.
But what about Zack, surely it wasn’t a coincidence that the man before me found me here? As the man approached, I didn’t try to run away. I wouldn’t make it far in my heels and there was a good chance if there was one goon waiting on me there were more lurking about.
“Sophia! Mi Amor! Long time.”
Before I could stop him, he’d slipped his arm over my shoulders and began to steer me away from the entrance of the club and down the sidewalk. He was Spanish. Cartel. Fuck. I’d heard about the war although considering how well my father kept me hidden, I didn’t think they’d even consider me as a target. The big question was, was this guy one of the bad guys or the badder guys?
“Who are you?”
His arm tightened on my shoulder, pulling me tighter. As he pulled me tighter, my hand slipped into my handbag, my fingers grasping the handle of the blade.
“If you’re reaching for a weapon, please drop it. Isaac won’t be happy with either of us if we end up entering the bar bloody. He wants out of this country and back on Helka as quickly and as much as I do.”
Helka Island. My eyes looked to the back of the man’s hand and confirmed my suspicions. He was one of the Horsemen – one of my brother’s partners.
Relief washed over me.
It finally came to me who he was, “Asher.” My brother’s ‘bestie’ of the four.
“I knew you’d remember me!” He smiled, but the smile wasn’t carrying all the way to his lips.
“What do you want, Asher?” Knowing he was one of the Horsemen, I knew it would be safe to tear myself from his grasp. Grabbing his hand on my shoulder, I removed it and skirted out of his reach. “And please don’t touch me.”
“You’re hurting my feelings, Sophia. I came all this way just to check up on you and make sure you’re safe.”
“Bullshit, why are you and my brother here? And where’s Isaac?” My eyes scanned our surroundings seeking out my brother. Despite asking the question, I already knew the answer. Somehow, they must have found out about Zack. Why I ever thought that I’d be able to keep anything personal from the Marinotti family was beyond me.
I tried to make a break for the door, but Asher was too quick for me blocking my path. “Let’s talk for a minute then you can get to your boytoy…” He frowned. “Or old man rather, you realize he’s almost old enough to be your father. It’s kinda eww, Mi Amor.”
My hands balled into fists and I planted them onto my hips, not trusting myself to not punch the smug bastard before me in the mouth. “He’s thirty-six, not seventy. He’s only five years older than Isaac, he’s hardly old.”
“Regardless, Isaac just wants to have a little chat with him and then we’ll have a nice weekend together – just the four of us. It’s very rude to have a boyfriend for what – a few weeks now – and not tell us about him.”
“Who I date isn’t my brother’s business and sure as hell isn’t yours,” I growled through clenched teeth.
The smug grin returned to his lips. “Come on now, Mi Amor, you’re doing a hell of a lot more than just dating him. You’re fucking him pretty consistently from what we’re hearing. I do hope you two are wrapping it, I doubt your father would like you coming back home knocked up.”
My mouth dropped open at the audacity of that bastard in front of me. Hauling my arm back I slapped the smug asshole’s face, my fingers leaving a bright red handprint on his cheek. Wagging my finger at him, I took another step toward him so we were nose to nose, “One more word Asher, and I’ll make sure you never have children of your own. Stay out of my fucking business!”
Turning, I began to make my way towards the club only to have his hand reach out and grasp my wrist, pulling me back to him. “Does he even know who you really are? Have you told him who your family is?”
I spun around to face him again, my blood running cold. I hadn’t told him. I didn’t know how to tell him such a thing. Where would I even start? “No. He knows nothing. And he won’t know anything until I feel he should.”
Asher grimaced, but I could see the amused sparkle in his eyes. “Boy are you two going to have a really intense talk once we’re gone ‘cause that can of worms is being opened as we speak. You know you shouldn’t lie and keep secrets from the one you love. How will he ever trust you again after this? You do realize this, don’t you? And if you can’t trust him, then we can’t trust him and that’s a problem. You get my drift.”