I went into my office and shut the door. I went to the wardrobe behind my desk and flicked the second key lock behind the wooden panel. The wardrobe swung out, and I stepped into my secret security office.
Closed-circuit video cameras gave me a view of every room, closest, hallway, staircase, and bedroom in the whole estate.
Dante and Dominic stood talking outside Ariana’s room. I could well imagine what they were talking about. They were discussing whether they should go along with this plan or try to stop me from putting Ariana in danger.
I didn’t blame them. I didn’t want anyone laying a finger on her. When I first came up with this plan, I told myself that if anything happened to her in the crossfire, that would only be justice for Lorenzo Luciano’s murder. It would complete the cycle that started when Matteo fled the Fortino family.
Everything changed when I confronted her in that room. I must have buried my feelings for her years ago when she first vanished out of my life.
Now they flared to life as never before. I didn’t think I could stand another man touching her, much less one of those cocksuckers, the Vittorios.
If this plan worked and they kidnapped her to wring some ransom out of me, I wouldn’t need an excuse to start a war. I would hunt them down and tear them apart with my bare hands.
The twins separated and walked off in different directions. I switched over to the camera in Ariana’s room. She still sat in the chair where I left her. She didn’t know she was free to get out of it.
Was she waiting for me to come back? She wasn’t panting in excitement and anticipation to see me again. Should I be happy or sad about that?
I zoomed the camera in on her face. Goddamn, she was beyond stunning! Her hair, her body, and her girl-next-door casual style didn’t impress me nearly as much as her direct no-nonsense attitude. She never pulled any bullshit.
When she looked up at me with that open, searching gaze, my heart cracked to have her keep looking at me like that. I didn’t want her to look away, even if she was afraid of me.
A lick of adrenaline scorched my insides when I thought about it. Having her scared of me excited me just as much as having her trust me and fall into my arms in matchless delight. Which would be better? I couldn’t decide.
She finally stood up, but it took her another long wait before she dared to venture away from her chair. She went to the door, pressed her ear to it, and listened.
She must have realized we weren’t coming back. She looked around and noticed the light switch by the door. She flipped it and saw the bedroom.
She advanced into the room, taking in the antique furniture, the big king-sized four-poster bed, the curtained double doors leading out onto the terrace. Did she remember any of it from her childhood?
She paused at the double doors. I would have given anything to see her face when she laid eyes on Archhurst for the first time in thirteen years, but that would have to remain in my imagination.
She wandered over to the bed and sank down on the corner. She hung her head and rubbed her temples. I smiled to myself watching her. That’s right. Make yourself comfortable. You are never going to leave this house. You’re mine forever.
She eventually raised her head and saw the bathroom. She went in there, and when she came out, she pulled down the covers and crawled into bed.
My heart melted watching her go to sleep. She needed a man curled up behind her, holding her, and keeping her safe and happy while she went to sleep.
Would she dream about me tonight? Would she remember how much I cared for her when she was younger? Would she remember how much she loved me?
I shut my eyes and faded into a bittersweet memory of her as a little girl. She used to wrap her little arms around my waist and tell me how much she loved me. I used to kiss her hair and tell her I would never leave her. I used to tell her we would be together forever.
We weren’t kids anymore, and those words meant so much more now, but I couldn’t let her know that. She had to keep seeing me as a dangerous, deadly mob boss who would kill her rather than look at her. That was the only way to keep the power I worked so hard to win.
She switched off the light, and the camera changed to night vision mode. She pulled her knees up to her chest under the covers, shut her eyes, and didn’t move again. I watched her sleep for a while. If I didn’t leave now, I would probably sit here all night.
I left the security office and returned to the corridor. I knew what I’d be dreaming about tonight, and I headed for my own room.
I turned a corner toward the stairs and had a split-second to see a massive figure charging me. The next instant, Dominic slammed me against the wall and pinned me by the throat.
He stuck his face near mine and hissed through gritted teeth. “You lying sack of shit! You lied to my face, you filthy son of a bitch! I swear to Christ I’ll tear your fucking head off!”
“What the hell are you doing?” I choked. “Get the fuck off me!”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt her. You gave me your word… and now you come up with this fucking bullshit about letting the Vittorios kidnap her! I never should have trusted you. I never should have obeyed you by bringing her to you.”
“Dominic…”
“You think you’re some big, bad boss because you have Fortino after your name? You’re shit to me! Do you hear me? You’re nothing! I’ll fucking kill you if you hand her over to the Vittorios. Don’t think I won’t. I don’t give a fuck who you are. I didn’t pledge my loyalty to the family for this shit!”