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She slid up with no hesitation in her movements. Mariella stood opposite me, folded her arms and seemed less than enthusiastic about my appearance.
"Dario de Archard. To what do I owe the honor? And you brought a guest?" Mariella Moretti was a tall woman who showed her academic background. She expressed herself in a chosen manner and always behaved as if she were superior to you– even though she was in the compromised position.
I pulled myself together and scrambled for a friendly pitch, when all I wanted to do was grab her and scare her into making it clear to her husband he needed to stay out of my business.
"There's something you and I need to talk about, Mariella."
In the background I heard a child screaming, another joined in, as if they were playing some chasing game.
I raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I don't intend to get violent. I'm not that stupid."
"Then get to the point before my patience breaks. You know that I have nothing to do with this shit! Yet you all keep standing on my doorstep thinking I can have any influence over my husband!" The anger at this was clear from her voice.All? So other club owners had shown up here and made their displeasure known?
"Your husband has tried to infiltrate my ranks. And unless he's planning on messing with the mafia and watching his stores get razed to the ground, he should stay out of my business in the future. Best he doesn't even come close to it," I growled. "I hate to say it, but if he makes another mistake like that, my next visit here won't be friendly."
Mariella folded her arms. "And the little one you brought along so I'll be afraid you'll put a collar on me or my kids, too?"
Before I could respond, Gia had already stepped to my side, her arms folded behind her back. "No. He brought me along so that I could advise you, woman to woman, to talk with your husband. Most children don't feel very good about being in adoptive families, and it would be a shame if they became orphans because their mother wasn't able to keep her husband on a short leash. After all, we all know that behind every successful man is a woman with brains. And you? You are not as ignorant and uninvolved as you are pretending to be right now."
Surprised, I watched as Gia drove Mariella further toward checkmate with every word, beating her cleverly.
The color drained from the other woman's face and a not imperceptible tremor settled in her hand. The muscle under her eye twitched, a sure sign of stress. Likewise, she stepped from one foot to the other. Gia had grabbed her by the balls and ripped them off. In a matter of seconds.
My respect for her skyrocketed but not only that. I felt a certain desire for her, which after last night should actually be satisfied.
Mariella swallowed before she forced herself to answer. "So theTycheis a taboo subject in the future, understood. Likewise, the de Archard family. Anything else?"
A grin spread across my lips. "No, I think that's it for now."
"If you cannot restrain your husband, you will get another visit," Gia added. With that, she turned on her heel.
"Have a great day, Mariella," I said in farewell, then followed Gia to the car.
Even if I had wanted to, I couldn't have been angry with her for interfering. Within a few seconds, Mariella had shown her true colors, revealing that she very well had an inkling of her husband's business dealings and was likely involved in them.
I pulled out of the driveway and onto the street first so we could get as much distance between us and the house as possible before turning to Gia.
"How did you know to do that?"
"Let's call it instinct. Apparently everyone knows where she lives, but there are no bodyguards? Her husband doesn't think it's necessary to protect her? In the end, all that means is that she either assumes she can handle it herself or that she thinks everyone will buy her innocent act. In either case, she knows far more than she is admitting."
I expelled the air through my nose. Unbelievable. In all the time I had known that Aurelio Moretti had a wife and children, it hadn't even occurred to me that there was more to it or that her words might not be true. She had always seemed too vehement in her actions for her husband and his business.
Besides, it was rarely possible to keep it a secret if someone was involved in a certain business. So that meant that she was brilliant in that respect, too, if she was a partner.
"I take my statement on your ability back ," I finally said. It had been nothing more than a hasty assessment that had turned out wrong.
Maybe she had no idea about my world, but she had just proved that she didn't necessarily need it.
"How generous," she replied, looking at me from the side. "I was at the club because I was upset about saying no to you. After the kiss it's been very hard for me not to think about everything."
Again, she surprised me with her statement, which came out of nowhere. I had hoped for an answer like that, but had not expected to hear it from her.
"And when I thought it was just a scam, I wanted to protect myself. All of this scares me a little. Not because you're doing all these things, but because it puts me in danger and it's a wonder I'm even sitting here."
"Because of the bomb," I stated.
"No. Not because of the bomb. Because my mother begged to save her life when I was born, not mine. Because we both survived, only to have a car accident days later. She died. I didn't. I shouldn't be sitting here, there's no rational reason for it. And yet, I always leap from the brink of death. But how can that be when I'm challenging it? I mean, I've done that many times before, and "
