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"Aryana?" I checked the bathroom, but she wasn't there. I surveyed her room, but nothing was out of place. It didn't look like she had been attacked or kidnapped. Maybe she was downstairs?
But when I got downstairs, I still didn't see Aryana anywhere. As I exited the kitchen to head into the living room, just on the opposite side, past the foyer, I noticed something from the corner of my eye and halted in my tracks. I moved closer to the coat rack and saw a coat missing. Alarm bells started ringing, and my eyes widened in panic.
Don't tell me that she-
I rushed to the vintage table and pulled the drawer out uncontrolled, almost sending it careening to the floor. Right at the side was a wad of cash missing. I had previously arranged the money such that they were level with one another. Still, now, it was obvious that money had been taken.
Damn, it!
I hit the table in anger.
What the fuck did Aryana think she was doing, especially after I told her no? Did she not understand the amount of danger she had put us in? Why did she have to be so stubborn? I didn't even know how long she had been gone. What if she had been recognized? What if she had been kidnapped? Was she even alive or lying dead in a ditch?
Dread flooded my veins. My system felt like lead, making everything slow down. The only thing I could feel was my blood rushing to my head as countless unfavorable scenarios flashed before me. I needed to find her now.
I ran upstairs to get my phone and gun. I tucked my pistol into my waistband and was already dialing my second-in-command, Tony. I was already downstairs when Tony picked up my call.
"Alex? What's the matter?"
"Fratello! It's Aryana! I can't imagine…."
Just as I was about to inform him about why I panicked, I heard the sound of the door opening. I paused and whirled on the spot and was relieved when I saw that it was none other than Aryana herself.
The relief that ran through my body was enough to leave me falling on the floor. I was relieved to see her uninjured, but when I looked at her hands full of shopping bags, my relief transformed into anger.
"Where the fuck did you go to!" I hissed at her, dragging her inside the house while peeking through the front door to ensure she hadn't been followed.
Seeing nobody, I shut the door and spun to face her.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" I hissed at her as I grabbed her wrist. With how tightly I held it, it would surely bruise if I didn't let go anytime soon, but I was too infuriated to care.
She looked back at me with a defiant glare which further pissed me off. She didn't even look remorseful. She ripped her arm out of my grip.
"What does it look like? I went shopping." She retorted with a snark.
"I am not blind. I can see that. What I'm asking is, why would you do that even though I said no?"
"Because you refused to take me!" She hissed back at me. "I've been locked up here and felt like I was going crazy."
I scoffed. While I understood, it was difficult for me to sympathize with her after her actions endangered us.
"And that was why you decided to risk our lives?" I asked in a bitter tone. "The clothes were not even important, Aryana."
"No…they weren't." She admitted.
I didn't understand this woman. I couldn't understand the way she thought.
"Then why?" I was reaching the end of my rope.
"Because I wanted to clear my head."
I immediately scoffed.
"So, you ignored my order and went outside without informing me because you wanted to clear your head?" I repeated with derision in my voice.
This was ridiculous.
"I'm not one of your men you can fucking order around. You can't tell me what to do." She sneered.
