I gulped, leaning back against the wall as bile rose in my throat.
“I’ll tell you what men like him do to nice women like you. They use them for their own gain. He might keep you around for heirs while he fucks whores on the side, or he might get bored with you and cast you aside once he has your father under his command. Or, the worst outcome… he’ll kill you and make it look like an accident.”
I pushed the wave of nausea down and straightened my spine. “Callum, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. I’m not about to be anyone’s puppet.”
“Good. I’m not saying this to be harsh, but you need to hear the brutal truth. He’s using you. Don’t let him.”
I exhaled deeply and bent down to put on my heels. “I won’t. I need to go, Callum.”
“I know. You have a dinner meeting with your father. That’s why I’m calling, Aria, to prepare you.”
“What do you mean? Prepare me for what?”
“Your safety is the most important thing to your father and to me. We’ve agreed that if Santino signs the divorce papers tonight, we will drop the investigation into him and his businesses. We will find another way to bring him down.”
I froze. My heart raced. That was what Santino wanted. That was why this had all started. I’d be free of this marriage.So why did my stomach plummet?
“What if he doesn’t agree?”
“Why wouldn’t he? His entire empire would suffer if he didn’t. His legal business accounts are frozen; he can’t pay his staff, and his warehouses and shipments are stuck at the docks. He’d be a fool to refuse.”
Were his accounts frozen? I thought of the black card he’d handed me yesterday and of all the money I’d spent. Guilt pushed its way forward, but I tried to ignore it. His business may suffer, but I’m sure he has enough money of his own. That explained why he’d seemed so stressed whenever he’d reappeared from his office today.
“Aria. If he doesn’t agree, you’ll need to do what you can to protect your father. Otherwise, he’ll be in serious danger.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are in a prime position to gather information that could help us bring a criminal like him down. You are living in his home. You have access to his office, his devices, and his movements. If you play this carefully, he might even admit to things that would incriminate him.”
“You want me to spy on him?”
“Discreetly, of course. I don’t want you putting yourself in any more danger, but yes. If you hear or see anything that could help us build a case against him or his family, take pictures or record evidence on your phone and send it to us.”
“Bella Ribelle, are you ready?”
My rapid heart flew up to my mouth when I heard Santino’s deep voice heading my way.
“I have to go.” I didn’t wait for Callum to reply and ended the call, shoving my phone into my handbag.
“I’m coming,” I shouted, striding from the bedroom into the hallway. Santino emerged from the living room, and I tried to calm myself, turning to face him with a forced smile.
His dark gaze travelled down the length of my body, and he fell sideways against the wall, covering his jaw with his tattooed hand. He started towards me, each step slow and deliberate, increasing my heart rate as he continued to stare as if I were all that existed in the world.
“Is it okay?” I feigned uncertainty, running my hands down my body. “I didn’t know what to wear. I tried on—”
“This,” he interrupted, placing his hands possessively on my hipsas a slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “You wear this.” He leaned down to whisper in my ear, sending shivers down my spine with his next words. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me, looking like this while I’m trying very hard to be on my best behaviour tonight. I know you’re driving me insane on purpose.” He squeezed my hips in his bruising grip. “And it’s working.”
My eyes closed briefly, hoping it would hide how much desire he’d just injected into my veins.
“We should go,” I whispered as he buried his face in my hair and breathed in against my neck, making my head tip as I fought back a moan. “We’re going to be late.”
“You look and smell amazing,” he groaned, his nose brushing my cheek, and then he pulled back to stare into my eyes. He let go of me, lifting one hand to lean against the wall and then shoved his other in his pocket as if he didn’t trust himself to touch me. “You’re going to cause me trouble tonight. I can already tell.”
Instead of throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him as every cell in my body screamed for me to, I placed my hand on his side, wanting to pull him back into me but also push him away. The conversation with Callum had disturbed me for all the wrong reasons.
“I thought you liked trouble? I’m only giving you what you want.”
His gaze dropped to my lips, and a small, cocky smile tugged at his mouth, making my stomach flutter in a way that felt better than nerves. “I do. That’s the problem. I think… before we meet daddy dearest… you should kiss your husband before he loses his damn mind.”
