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I hate doing it, but it’s what is expected of me.
* * *
After I zipup the black cocktail dress and slide on a pair of heels, I head down the stairs to the formal dining room. Mom and Dad are seated at the head of the table, talking to people on either side of them. My brothers are moving around the room, each of them trying to make new connections with the men and women surrounding them.
“You look lovely tonight, Aria,” a woman says, appearing at my side.
I don’t miss the way she glances over at my father, making sure he knows that she is making a point to approach me.
“Thank you,” I say, giving her a bright smile. “That’s a stunning necklace. Where did you get it?”
“The jewels were taken from an ancient ruin and fashioned into a necklace for me,” the woman says, her chin tilting upward as she spoke. “Javier is quite kind.”
“Javier Molina?” I ask, my interest spiking.
“Yes. Do you know him?”
I shrug and grab a flute of champagne off one of the passing trays. “I knowofhim. My father does business with him often, but I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet. I hear that he is a powerful man with much to offer the family.”
She smiles so wide I wonder if the plastic in her face is going to tear through her skin. The woman hasn’t offered her name and I don’t ask for it. The only thing that matters is the man that she’s connected to.
Javier Molina is known for running guns up and down both coasts. He controls most of the gun sales within the country and he supplies the family with more weapons than my father could ever need.
If this woman is his latest plaything, it’s in my best interest to keep her entertained while my father and Molina talk business. Dad looks up at me as both he and Javier stand. I nod to him, knowing what I’m supposed to be doing.
“Why don’t you tell me more about that necklace and these ruins while we get something else to drink.” I ask, not bothering to wait for her reply.
I know that she’ll come with me because it’s what’s expected of her. She knows her place in this world as well as I do. She follows me over to the bar, talking about her necklace as she does.
We’re only on our second drink when the sound of gunfire fills the room. I look around, watching as men dressed in all black enter the room, their guns drawn and aiming at some of the guests.
My father reappears, his gun drawn as he looks over at me. My heart is pounding in my chest and I wonder what he suspects. Does he know that I was out meeting with FBI agents today? Does he suspect that my loyalty to the family is gone?
“Get out of here,” I say, shoving the woman in the direction that the others are fleeing. “Follow them.”
The woman doesn’t hesitate, running in the direction of the other people trying to escape. I look around, ducking behind the bar as a bullet whizzes by. Dad is going to be pissed once he realizes that I’m still here but I can’t leave yet.
I need him to see that my loyalty is still with him, even if that’s a lie.
6
TYSON
The black van Jameson and I are hiding in is parked near the end of the Russo’s driveway. The screens that line one wall are showing the cameras attached to the agents as well as the ones we planted inside. Bullets are flying and more than one person is on the ground and bleeding.
The agents who entered the mansion are undercover as members of a rival mafia family. Jameson thought it would be best to send members of the Bureau in. He didn’t want to risk mafia members turning to the Russo side without ever instigating a fight.
“This is insane,” I say, watching as another man is shot on camera.
On the far screens, I can see Aria still standing in the middle of the mess. She ducks behind the bar, still glancing around the room. There’s a look of determination on her face as she steps out from behind the bar and runs across the room, using other people as shields.
Before she can get to her father, she’s shot.
My stomach lurches and the world around me freezes as I watch the blood drip down her arm. She grits her teeth and pulls a gun off a dead man, turning it on the person who fired it at her.
Thankfully, it is one of the mafia members and not an agent, but it is still hard to see her shoot someone without batting an eye. It’s a reminder of the person that she was raised to be.
Even if the sex is good, I can’t allow myself to get wrapped up in her.
