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“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir,” I say, standing a little taller. “If there is an issue with my job performance, I’m unsure of what it is.”
Antonio smirks and shakes his head. “You are good. I’ll give you that much.”
He doesn’t say anything else before walking away. I watch the hallway until he is gone. The moment I can no longer see him, I turn and stride confidently back into the party. I have no doubt that Antonio is watching me on the cameras he has throughout the house. He will be waiting for me to make a mistake; something that will prove I’m plotting against him.
Aria glances up as I enter the room. She gives me a small smile but makes no move to acknowledge me beyond that. I stare at her, trying to convey a silent message that we need to talk. If she understands what I’m trying to tell her, she ignores it.
I’m both pissed off and turned on, and she knows it. The little smirk she wears as she turns to talk to the woman beside her tells me that she knows exactly what she is doing to me.
“Fuck sake,” I mutter, crossing the room to come to a stop in front of her.
“Hello,” Aria says, keeping her tone polite but indifferent as there are others around. “Is there an issue?”
“Yes,” I say, gritting my teeth. She isn’t going to make this easy on me.
“Excuse us,” Aria says to the women beside her before stepping away from them. Once she has put a few feet between them, she turns to me. “What is it?”
I can feel someone’s eyes burning into my back. When I glance over my shoulder, I see her brothers gathered with her father. Salvatore looks up and nods at me before immersing himself in the conversation once more.
It’s the look in Damien’s eyes that unsettles me the most. Out of the four brothers, he is the one I fear the most.
“Dance with me,” I whisper.
“I thought you wanted to keep whatever this is professional,” she says, arching an eyebrow as she crosses her arms. I sigh and check the microphone for the earpiece, making sure it’s off.
“Did that sound like a question?” I ask before I take her hand and spin her in a quick circle before bringing her back into my arms.
Normally, Aria fights me at every turn. She pushes back against me. There is not a single moment where anything has been easy with her.
Yet, when she dances with me, she follows my lead. She doesn’t try to get under my skin or push when I pull.
“What’s the problem?” Aria asks as I spin her again.
I pull her close, my mouth next to her ear. “Your father knows who I am. It took him longer than I thought it would, but he’s finally figured it out.”
Aria rolls her eyes as she leans back slightly to look at me. “You’re being paranoid. He doesn’t know anything.”
“Aria, he’s going to kill me. If he knows who I am, it’s safe to guess that he suspects what we’re doing.”
Aria laughs. “Tyson, you worry too much.”
“I’m serious, Aria. We need to pack some bags and get out of here as soon as possible. I don’t know what’s going to happen once he has enough suspicion to make a move. He already killed your best friend. Do you want to risk your life as well?”
The song ends as Aria’s eyes fill with tears. I know that I’ve said the wrong thing but it’s the only thing I could think of that might get her to listen to me.
“I’m an ass,” I say before she gets the chance to say anything. “I know that, but right now, you need to go pack a bag so we can get to my car and get the hell out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She bites back the tears, her gaze traveling up and down my body before she meets my eyes. “Especially not with you.”
I sigh as she turns and weaves her way through the people. She walks over to her father and brothers, pulling Damien into a hug. I hope that all she is doing is wishing him a happy birthday but I can’t be sure.
Instead of going after her and trying to convince her to leave with me, I take up my position by the door. The end of my shift is soon but I can’t leave until the other guard is here to replace me.
Aria smiles and laughs as she dances with some of her friends. Thankfully, she isn’t dancing the way she did at the club. If she did that, I don’t know how I would control myself.
Her father is already suspicious enough. The last thing I need to do is give him another reason to want to kill me.
My relief arrives a few minutes later. The guard is another one of Jameson’s men, working undercover to help bring Antonio Russo and his family down. I nod at him, hoping that he isn’t suspected of being a threat too.
