Deal • REWRITE • BOOK 1

3; Smoke and Mirrors

Throughout it all Aria stayed awake, her now known fear for flying leaving me to do the same since she'd actually gone out of her way to ask me to stay awake with her.

I didn't mind considering I could easily function on a few hours of sleep, my habit for years now coming in handy as Aria sat on the chair opposite me with her legs up to her chest.

She bounced between staring out the window aimlessly and playing a stupid game on her phone, the relentless ping coming from the tiny speaker sounding like a personal echo in my head by the time we'd landed in New York.

When we did it was one in the afternoon, the September chill catching Aria by shock as she shivered and cursed in Italian under her breath.

I wasn't surprised since she was wearing a small top that showcased a strip of her toned stomach, her skin not going unnoticed by me as I led her towards the car Alex was sitting in and prodded the dámn thought of her ass out of my head again.

Gesù Cristo.

"Aria!" he smiled, way too happy for my liking as I took the front seat once Aria was safe in the back, my eyes rolling at Alex's behaviour when he turned to look at her.

"You must be Lucien's older brother judging by the look he just gave you," Aria got out, pulling the leather of her jacket closer together as she kept shivering.

"Yup, that's me," Alex said, pulling out of the parking space as I shrugged off my own jacket and extended it back to Aria.

She thanked me quietly, draping it over her front as she settled into her seat whilst I glared at Alex who was smirking, my actions having prompted him to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut the fück up," I muttered, slapping his hand away from me when he went to grab my shoulder. He smiled further when I did, his mood way too lively for my liking as we drove back towards our house since Aria would be spending a few nights until her location was settled and secured to the highest it could be.

"Are we not going to see my dad?" she asked, my fingers quick as they typed a message to Johnson.

"Not yet, he's currently in Vegas sorting out business with your brothers but he'll be back tonight," I told her, not looking up to see her response but it seemed I didn't need to when she spoke.

"Great," she puffed out quietly, my head turning to Alex as we both looked at each other with narrowed eyes.

He mouthed ask, my eyebrows furrowing when I told him to fück off.

It was bad enough that I was a babysitter. I wasn't about to become a therapist too.

Alex rolled his eyes at me, keeping silent when I gave him a warning look. It worked in my favour since the rest of the journey was quiet, a half hour rolling by quicker than I thought as I picked Aria's suitcase out of the trunk and set it down next to her once we reached my house.

She was looking up, staring at my family house that stood at three storey's high. It looked small from the front, the illusion one of the best parts considering how spacious it was inside.

Typically I had loved how big it was, and even though I now had four others living with me it still felt huge, the loss of two important people felt constantly when I was inside.

"Just a heads up that the others will be waiting for you inside," Alex said to Aria, knocking me out of my thoughts as I shut the trunk and followed after them.

"The others?" Aria asked, turning back to me with a confused look.

"When I'm not there to keep you safe I'll have someone from the rest of the group to do it," I said whilst Alex unlocked the door, the smell of food wafting around us as we walked into the foyer.