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“I’ll see you in a week, then,” Aria says, heading to the door.
“Aria,” I say, my voice echoing through the building.
She turns around to look at me with a curious gaze.
“Wear some fucking underwear next time. I don’t need to be walking around the office with half an erection.”
Aria’s laughter is the last thing I hear before she leaves the warehouse. It’s a sweet sound, and even though I know it’s wrong to get involved with her, I want to hear more of that laugh.
5
ARIA
If I thought that being an informant was going to make me paranoid, I never would have met with Tyson a week ago.
Since then I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that my father’s been keeping a closer eye on me.
Every time I turn around, one of his men or one of my brothers is lurking nearby. Even my mom has been spending more time around me even though she usually travels the world this time of year. The summer is her favorite time to disappear to a beach and pretend she doesn’t know what my father is doing.
I stare at the night sky as I stand on the balcony. There are men walking across the front yard, guns leaning against their shoulders as they march. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear my father was running a military compound.
What he is doing is much worse.
I sigh as I lean against the railing and look at the moon. It’s a clear night and the stars are shining bright. The breeze smells like the flowers in the garden and I wonder how long it will be before I can sneak out to meet with Tyson and his boss.
My heart is hammering in my chest even thinking about it.
After my father gave me a black eye and split my lip, I made the decision to work with the FBI. Apparently, me not reacting at him killing my best friend had not sit well with him and he decided I also needed a physical reminder that sleeping with FBI agents was a big no-no.
He’s running the family into the ground, and my brothers are carbon copies of him. If the only way to stop them from treating their family like possessions and killing their children’s friends is to put them in prison for several years, then that’s what I have to do.
My brothers will see it as ruining the family but I see it as saving them from themselves.
The knock at my door draws me away from my thoughts and back into reality. I take a deep breath before heading back in my room and opening the door, revealing a capo I don’t recognize.
“What do you want?” I ask, crossing my arms and looking up at the man. “Has my father sent for me?”
“No,” the man says, his face expressionless as he looks down at me. “I was told that you have a meeting to attend and it’s my job to get you there.”
“And who told you that?” I ask, my heart hammering.
Does my father know that I’m sneaking out to meet with the FBI? Does he know that I’m about to turn against the family and risk everything to put them in jail?
Panic starts to set in and I can feel the room starting to close in around me. I fight back the feeling as I look up at the man, waiting for a better explanation.
“Wilson.”
A wave of relief washes over me. My father is still in the dark and this is my opportunity to save myself. I nod and follow him out of my room and to the garage.
* * *
When I getto what looks like an abandoned office, Tyson is sitting outside, reading a newspaper and looking entirely out of place. He looks over the top of the paper and winks at me before inclining his head slightly toward the side of the building. I see a door and head over, not bothering to stop and talk to him.
Even though the office building looks like it has been abandoned, there are dozens of people walking and driving along the busy street.
Once I’m inside the building, I lean against a wall and wait. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Tyson comes walking through the door. He barely looks at me as he leads me through the first floor of the office and to the stairwell at the back.
We climb several flights of stairs before stepping out onto the top floor. There is another man sitting behind a desk with a pile of paperwork in front of him. He looks older than Tyson and there are wrinkles worn deeper into his face.
