AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tears prick the back of my eyes. I swear I didn’t do it. I didn’t. I didn’t tell anyone anything.
“He already told her if she doesn’t listen, then—” Daniel starts to say.What? Told me what?
“Did he tell her that, though? You know Declan …” Jase’s voice quiets and I wonder what all they mean. Declan didn’t tell me a damn thing other than that it’s over. He didn’t tell me to stay here. A cold sweat at the back of my neck forms as the realization dawns on me.
The front doors beckon to me. With their etched glass and copper handles, the large double doors offer me a glimpse of freedom. There are iron bars on the other side of the glass and beyond that a gated fence guarded by armed men loyal to the Cross brothers. It takes me a second before I notice thekeypad beside the set of doors. Without that code, I’m not going anywhere.
My fingers tremble as I realize I’m trapped. I don’t know if I’ll ever leave here.
“Hello,” a voice states behind me and my heart leaps out of my chest. I’m thankful I don’t scream because if I wasn’t filling my lungs with the shock of being caught eavesdropping, I would have.
A gentle hand reaches out, landing on my shoulder and I stare wide eyed at a beautiful woman. She’s tall with long dark hair, gorgeous hazel eyes and cloaked in a deep red silk robe that skims the floor. In bare feet and not a bit of makeup on, it’s obvious that she lives here and I know without asking who she is.
Aria Talvery—now Cross. A chill runs down the length of my spine. It’s well known that Carter is cruel and heartless, and they say Aria was made for him, his perfect counter. She destroyed the Talvery mafia, burned it all to the ground when she chose Carter.
Their story sent fear through every street. When she and her men joined the Cross brothers mob, no one on the East Coast stood a chance. Men who refuted the hold the Cross brothers held were murdered on sight. Hell, four men were murdered one week and their tongues cut out of their mouths for disparaging Aria … saying she would always be a Talvery.
They rule with fear and murder. Always have and always will.
Although there are other whispers, about the hellish story that brought the two of them together … I’m not sure what’s true or not, though. As I stand in front of her, I don’t know a damn thing.
“Are you lost?” Aria questions, her tone somewhat comical. “I’m Aria. You know Carter, correct?”
Nodding, I force myself to answer and tell her, “I’m Braelynn … I’m with Declan.”
“I know,” she answers, and her voice is so much softer than I’ve imagined. I grew up with the Cross brothers when they were the poor kids on the rough side of town. The unfortunate souls who lost their mother and had a drunk for a father. But the Talverys would never set foot in the public schools, they were like royalty. Corrupt and feared, but wealthy beyond imagine.
She straightens her shoulders some as she crosses her arms over her chest. “So you’re Declan’s girlfriend?” It’s then that I see the pearl and diamond necklace that she wears. My God, that must cost a fortune. It takes everything in me not to stare at her chest where the large teardrop-shaped diamond rests.
“Yes,” I answer as the voices behind us get louder before someone hushes someone else and then the men are quiet. Their footsteps are anything but.
“Good morning,” Daniel greets us easily enough. All the while, as the men pass us, my heart beats wildly and my ears heat as if they’re burning. It’s odd, to see them all in black silk or flannel pajama pants and not crisp suits. Daniel lifts his coffee cup toward me and I respond with the effort of a smile as much as I can.
“Everything all right?” Jase asks and I’m not sure if he’s asking me or Aria but she hums an “mm-hmm” and nods and that suits Jase. He tilts his chin up at me, in a greeting of sorts and lets me know the machine is ready if I need coffee.
“Thank you,” is all I manage to say as Daniel and Jase continue toward the open doorway that I think leads to the den, a joint communal area much like the kitchen. I know the closed doors lead to wings, five of them total. One will forever be known as the Hell Hall to me.
“I’ll be in my office,” Carter murmurs to Aria, an arm wrapping possessively around her waist. He glances at me, the look neutral yet prying, before planting a single kiss on hercheek. It’s … odd, in a way I can’t place. A man like him being gentle. A man like him being kind even.
A smile plays on her lips as Aria closes her eyes and then pats his arm, like she’s giving him permission to go. “I’ll be in there soon,” she tells him.
With the farewell, he doesn’t follow Jase and Daniel and I find myself watching him as he goes through the doors on the farthest right. The doors to Declan’s hall are through the farthest left.
“Did you need help with something? Maybe in the kitchen?”
I need to recover more than anything. To just be alone. I shake my head and tell her I was just going to go back to the bedroom.
“But you haven’t even gone to the kitchen yet,” she points out. My cheeks flush as she leans forward and whispers, “There are cameras.”
A spiked ball forms in my throat as I swallow down the feeling that consumes me once again. That this beautiful place is a prison for me.
“I was going to get coffee for me and Declan.”
“And you know how to work the machine?” she questions. I nod without thinking and then I realize that I don’t know. I have no fucking clue but I’m not stupid. I can figure it out.
She nods slowly, her eyes never leaving mine and her fingernails play along the pad of her thumb as she searches for something in my expression. “I find it’s best not to eavesdrop.”
“I wasn’t.” The words come out of me quickly, dripping with denial and even I know it’s a lie.
