Chapter 13
1625 Words
Aria
His expression hardened for the first time that evening.
He was silent, standing to pick up both our plates and place them in the sink.
“I didn’t lie when you asked before.” I was surprised when he spoke.
“I don’t know where she is, Aria. One morning she was there, the next morning she wasn’t.”
Something about the way he said it made me believe he genuinely didn’t know.
“That can’t be good for a Don.” I didn’t know when I said that.
“No, it isn’t.” He was done with the dishes, so he turned around to face me, holding my gaze so I couldn’t look away. Dante stepped closer until he was trapping me in.
Talk about déjà vu.
“My turn to ask questions.” His voice was low, drawing me in.
“I thought you didn’t have any questions.” My voice came out smaller than I intended, but he was so close.
I could feel his breath on my face.
And his scent… so familiar.
“Just one. It’s only fair, princess.”
“Okay, shoot.” I tried to act unaffected, when really I was swooning.
Leaning closer until he was near my ear, he whispered,
“Why do you care?”
I froze.
Really, why did I care?
Dante was a dangerous man and completely off limits. It would be foolish.
“I don’t,” I stuttered.
His gaze showed he didn’t believe me, but there was something else there. A longing for something he could not have.
Nerves ran through my body.
I licked my lips. Wrong move.
Dante’s eyes dropped to my lips for more than a second before meeting my eyes again. I knew what he wanted. I wanted it too, but if we crossed that line…
A phone’s vibration broke whatever spell we were both under. If he was pissed, he didn’t show it.
As Dante pulled his phone out of his pocket to answer, I muttered a quick, “Thank you for the meal,” before running into the bedroom.
I leaned against the door and let out a breath, subconsciously reaching for my necklace, only to be disappointed when I realized it wasn’t there. It’s times like this I miss Mom. She always knew what to do, but I guess now I have to figure things out for myself.
That night’s sleep didn’t come easy. I spent half the night tossing and turning, wondering what would have happened if the phone hadn’t rung.
The next morning, I woke up to a text from Dante. He had saved both his and Adriano’s numbers before handing the phone over to me.
“Change of plans. We move to the main compound today.
Carlos will take you by 10.”
That was it.
I couldn’t help the disappointment I felt.
Shoot. It was 9:30 already.
I rushed to take a quick shower and get ready. I didn’t have a lot of personal things, so it wasn’t difficult to put my stuff together.
Carlos was sitting cross-legged on the kitchen stool. He looked casual and more relaxed than he usually did.
“Good morning, sorry I’m late,” I said.
“Rough night,” he replied.
“You could say so.”
“Well, hopefully this makes you feel better,” he said, casually strolling to the kitchen and pulling out a plate of pancakes.
My face instantly lit up.
“Did he make that?” I asked, referring to Dante.
“I’m simply the messenger,” Carlos replied with a smile.
Suddenly, the disappointment I felt that morning was long forgotten.
“Now hurry up with that. We are already late, and Greta hates to be kept waiting.”
I responded with a thumbs up since my mouth was already full.
Delicious.
The ride to the compound was honestly more pleasant than I expected. Carlos was unexpectedly patient with me. He answered all my questions the best he could.
From the moment the gates opened, I could feel the tension. Armed men stood at every corner, cameras facing every direction. There were eyes everywhere.
Carlos greeted the men at the gate with a nod and drove in. The compound was large, with a main structure and detached houses all around it.
A stern-looking woman was waiting in front of the main building, where Carlos stopped the car.
She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were fixed on Carlos.
“You are late.”
“Mamma,” Carlos said, proceeding to give her a kiss on both cheeks.
Wait… what?
Then, pulling her toward me,
“This is Aria.”
“Aria, Greta.”
She finally looked at me, a shocked expression covering her features. She was quiet, just looking at me.
I looked nervously at Carlos. He seemed just as confused as I was.
“Mamma,” he spoke softly, drawing her attention.
She blinked, snapping out of it.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, pulling me into a hug.
“You just look so much like someone I used to know,” she explained.
“It’s not a problem at all,” I said with a small smile. “I look forward to working with you, Greta.”
“Stop,” she smiled, pulling me into the house. “Call me Gigi.”
I nodded.
“The Don already filled me in,” she continued as she started walking. “So you don’t have to worry. You won’t be doing much.”
Carlos disappeared almost immediately after that.
Gigi explained it was so it didn’t look like I was getting special treatment.
We hadn’t gone far when I felt eyes on me. I turned around.
A girl who couldn’t be more than ten years older than I was stood by the corridor, arms folded, watching me.
“Alice,” Gigi called.
Slowly, with her eyes still on me, she walked toward us.
“This is Aria,” Gigi said, gesturing toward me. “She will be helping out.”
The way her eyes moved over me made it very clear she didn’t like that.
“I didn’t know we needed help,” she snarled.
“Well, we do,” Greta replied simply.
There was clearly tension there.
“She doesn’t look like she has worked a day in her life,” Alice said, her voice mocking.
“I’m a fast learner,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“We’ll see,” she replied, walking away.
Greta rolled her eyes.
“Stay away from her.”
I nodded, but even I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
The next two hours passed in a blur. Gigi took her time showing me around and explaining everything. It was all a lot to take in, and I had a lot to learn.
Even though I wouldn’t be on kitchen duties, the staff were completely stretched thin, especially with the Don arriving in a couple of days. So I had to help out.
Greta set me to work moving some boxes of plates from storage into the kitchen cabinet before leaving to run some errands.
It was an easy task.
Right?
I was working with Gemma, and she seemed nice and friendly. We got into conversation easily enough.
After about thirty minutes, just as I was about to place the last plate on the shelf, the loud slam of a door caused me to drop it.
I felt it before I even knew she was in the room.
Alice slapped me. Hard.
“How dare you?” she screeched. “Do you know how expensive these plates are?”
“I knew it. Useless,” she continued, turning away. “Clean this mess up.”
My eyes watered, not just from the sting of the slap, but because of how humiliated I felt.
Gemma looked at me with pity, but she seemed too terrified to intervene. The others simply carried on like nothing had happened.
Gigi walked into the kitchen, immediately sensing what had happened.
I half expected her to tell Alice off.
But she didn’t.
“You need to be more careful,” she said, her tone even.
“I… I’m sorry,” I stuttered.
“It’s okay, child. You are done for the day,” Gigi said, then turned to Gemma. “Show her to her room.”
Gemma quickly led me upstairs and into one of the rooms.
“I’m sorry about Alice,” she said once we were safely inside. My things had already been placed in the room along with my uniforms.
“Is she always like this?” I asked, finding my voice.
“More or less, but she probably thinks you are after the job she wants.”
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
Gemma sat on the bed casually, going through the box of books I had.
“We aren’t exactly short staffed,” she said, looking at me. “Just when Greta is about to retire, they bring in a new girl, and you start staying in the main house immediately.”
She smiled, settling on one of the books.
“She probably sees you as a threat.”
“The last thing I want is her job.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t see it that way,” Gemma replied. “Anyway, I’m keeping this. Also, get some rest. The next couple of days are going to be busy.”
“Why?”
“The Don will be hosting a dinner for his capos and their families. It’s a big deal.”
She left, closing the door behind her.
I sat there, feeling alone.
Wondering what I had signed up for.
- Writer
