"I will happily pull out one tooth for every half minute you don't fücking speak up."
A R I A
"Blunt head trauma is what killed Fabio."
I looked at Aaron through the threshold of the bathroom as he sat at the side of my bed whilst I did my makeup, his fingers pushing past the papers of the dossier that contained the medical files belonging to Fabio.
"Oh my god, fück," Aaron suddenly hissed, his abrupt reaction leaving me to look at him instantly as he cupped himself between the legs and looked at me. "It says here that he suffered a laceration on the tip of his dick two years ago."
I cringed at the sudden picture in my head whilst Aaron shivered and cursed again, my uneasy hum pressing my lips together as I shook my head at my reflection before I turned back to Aaron when he looked to the side and widened his eyes as steps were heard.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Aaron's head followed in suit just as Lucien appeared in my sight, his entire outfit speckled with fresh blood that I knew wasn't his when I registered the smug look on his face.
"What?" he asked casually, walking towards me as he unbuttoned his jacket before leaning forwards to my face and then pulling back abruptly when I did the same.
"I just did my makeup and you have blood on your-"
In lieu of listening to my explanation Lucien cupped the underside of my jaw and tilted my head towards him so that he could kiss me, the feeling of his mouth on mine suddenly leaving me surrendering to his heat instantly before it left as quick as it came when he was pulling back and tapping my áss whilst walking towards the shower.
His actions made me narrow my eyes into a glare as I looked at him in the reflection of the mirror whilst blinking a few times to rid myself of my momentary daze, my lips pressing together at the sight of him until I felt a rush of heat when I looked at myself and stared at the bloodied marks on my face that he'd pressed into my skin.
Hm.
"Who'd you kill?"
"Nobody important," he mused out loud casually, my body turning to lean against the bathroom counter as I braced my hands back against the marble and looked at him once again, my sharp hum sounding out loud.
His white dress shirt was dyed in pools of blood along with the random flicks against his face, the metallic smell of it suddenly invading my senses when I neared him and registered the smirk that curved at his lips again.
"Missed me?" he asked, my head tilting as I pressed my tongue to the inside of my cheek and stopped to be right in front of him. "Tesoro..."
"Mhm," I hummed, appeasing him for a moment until I reached up and tried to grab his tie only to gasp sharply, my movements seeming to be predictable when Lucien gripped my wrist and pulled me flush against him so that I could feel the heat of his skin and the moisture of fresh blood.
"I'm always one step ahead, you know – fück."
I smiled deviously as I cupped Lucien between his legs bluntly with my other hand, his lips pressing together at the painless but harsh pressure that made him groan low in his throat as he glared at me.
"I'm so going to get you back," he bit out through gritted teeth, his face scrunched until I let go and watched him breathe out an unimpressed sound, his chest rising and falling with his breath as I then went ahead and tapped his chest mockingly.
"Stop underestimating me and we'll get on fine...tesoro," I spoke teasingly, flashing him a fake smile that made him narrow his eyes as I walked back to the mirror to inspect the speckles of blood he'd transferred onto me.
"Bítch."
"Speak a bit louder so the rest of the voices in my head can hear too," I quipped back easily, finding it hard to supress the smile on my face at the look on Lucien's face. "Grumpy."
"Shut up."
"Make me," I replied, my words leaving a sudden spike of tension to flood the bathroom when Lucien narrowed his eyes at me and pressed his lips together, the both of us seemingly thinking back to the séx we'd had last night when I watched Lucien inhale a sharp breath before glaring at me.
"No," he spoke bluntly. "You'd enjoy it too much," he said to me, his words leaving me with no control over my devious smile when I watched him shake his head at me before he stripped and then walked into my shower naked. "Strawberry and passionfruit...really?"
"Just for you," I drawled out amusedly at the tone of his voice, my eyes scanning over the misted outline of his body as I watched him pick up my shower gels and then turn on the shower with an unimpressed sound grumbling past his lips.
I used the time he cleaned himself to re do parts of my makeup whilst I ignored the fact that he was naked in my bathroom, the memories from last night leaving me fighting off another smile as I rubbed my red lips together and then walked out the bathroom to see Aaron lying on my bed like a starfish.
"You okay?" I asked when I registered the thinking look on his face, his head snapping up to look at me as he spoke.
"I have a weird and bad feeling about tonight," Aaron said, his face scrunched up in unease as he sat up and looked at me whilst I tightened the bow on my robe, my eyes slightly narrowing at him when he sighed and rubbed his hands into his face before looking up at me again. "I don't want you to get hurt."
I smiled small.
"I won't, don't worry," I reassured him, seeing him stare at me for a few moments before he nodded and then looked down to his phone when it started ringing beside the foot of the bed.
He retrieved it easily and excused himself to walk out of the room to take the call after he'd reminded me that we had to leave in ten minutes, his movements leaving me to walk into my closet at the same time Lucien emerged from the bathroom with a fluffy white towel tied around his hips, the sight of him pushing back strands of his wet hair from his forehead leaving a deep heated twist to melt my insides instantly.
Fück.
"...and you tell me that I stare?"
I looked up at Lucien from the middle of my closet when he spoke, my eyes struggling to settle on his face when his entire upper body was on show.
It wasn't surprising that the sight of tattoos and muscles was becoming one of my favourites, my tongue swiping across my lower lip as I hummed and inhaled before meeting Lucien's gaze as he stood a few steps away from me.
"You do stare," I replied to him easily before turning around to distract myself with the outfit I'd already planned out to seduce the nurse, Emily, with, my distaste being something that I'd had to put aside when I'd picked out the simple casual outfit that all of Emily's significant other's had in common.
The thought only made me frown as I picked up the jacket and then the loose fitting jeans, my sigh resonating between my ears until I pressed my lips together and felt Lucien directly behind me, his body pressing into my back.
"Do you remember what I taught you about flirting?" he asked in a drawled out tone, almost half distant as his hands settled onto my waist and his head tilted to speak closer to my ear, the proximity between us leaving an all too familiar heat to leak in my veins as I recited what he'd told me out loud.
"Three senses," I started, inhaling lightly as the warmth of Lucien's skin radiated through the thin material of my silk robe, his fingers pressing into my waist as he coaxed me to turn around until I was pressed to island I had in the middle of my closet and meeting his heated gaze. "Sight."
Lucien revelled in the way I looked at him, the impromptu revision of his lessons leaving the both of us creating a heated bubble I knew we had no right in making considering we were supposed to leave in ten minutes. "What else?"
"Touch," I whispered almost inaudibly as his fingers trailed up my thigh and under my robe, the heat of them casting a hot trail against my skin just as he leaned forwards and dipped his head low to kiss just beside my ear. "...and hearing."
Lucien hummed low against me as my body involuntarily arched into the heat of his naked chest, my head tilting accordingly to succumb to his actions as he kissed my neck, his nose nudging against my jaw until my head turned and our lips were meeting.
I knew I shouldn't have but I couldn't help the way my body reacted to Lucien, his carefully calculated movements that seemed to be tailored just for me leaving my body in a heated mess that fit perfectly between his hands, his palms burning marks into my waist as he kept me pressed to the island until I was being picked up and placed on it.
His hands settled on the sides of my thighs with a strong grip as he kissed me, his mouth just as eager as mine as I felt the ache between my legs grow almost instantly at the feel of his tongue inside my mouth, the heat of him goading my reaction as he leaned into me and did one of the things he was best at.
I was easily distracted within a matter of seconds as he kept kissing me, his muscled body tight between my legs as he groaned against me and then moved his mouth lower just as I blurred back into reality when I heard Aaron curse loudly from downstairs.
"We have..." I trailed off, distracted by Lucien's mouth as my eyes closed and my head tilted back to feel his lips move further down my neck, the heat of it leaving me to bite my lip as I moaned lightly and found myself disorientated for a moment once again. "We have to leave in ten minutes..."
"I can do a lot to you in ten minutes," Lucien promised, my hands cupping the back of his neck as he neared the steadily opening V of my robe, his groan vibrating against my body. It made me shiver just as his hands moved up and under the silk material again, his fingers nearing the inside of my thighs where I struggled to close my legs with his body trapped between them. "Plus...I think I'll feel better about watching you flirt with someone else when you struggle to walk because of me..."
My séx tightened at his words as my chest caved with the moan that left my lips at the same time Lucien picked me up swiftly, his arms strong around me as he walked into my room before letting me go so that my body fell to the bed.
His movements made the sheets pull around me as I leaned up and watched him move to my door to close it, my head tilting in time with his body before I scanned down to the pull of his towel where his cóck was. The sight of him being hard made me hum low in my throat as I untied my robe whilst he neared me, his hands quick to remove his towel before he leaned down and fulfilled his promise until I was breathing hard and gripping the sheets beneath me.
"So so good..." I whispered to myself slightly dazed, my chest rising and falling with every little breath I took as my body stayed completely lax with the two orgasms Lucien had stolen from me like they were his to take.
...which they were...
"I'll never get tired of seeing that," Lucien groaned to himself as he stood and looked down between my legs, his eyes narrowed in concentration until he looked at me when I pressed my legs together and swallowed to catch my breath back.
My movements only led Lucien to smirk smugly as I told him to shut up whilst I stood up with a slight struggle I didn't admit to, the sound of Lucien voicing his amusement ignored as I tied my robe back to being closed, flicked my hair back behind my shoulders before walking into the bathroom to clean myself up whilst ignoring the aftermath of the pleasure I'd just received.
I did so easily than expected, the shout of Aaron telling me that we were late only goading my process of changing as Lucien did the same until I was already downstairs and packing things into the bag I was taking with me.
"You just had séx, didn't you?"
I hummed distantly as I bit my lip and tried to supress the smile on my face at Aaron's words, his amused chuckle resonating in my ears just as Lucien descended the stairs with a tie in his hands.
"Tie or no tie?"
I turned to see him as he stood in a new suit that he'd brought along with him, my head tilting as he stood with an open black dress shirt and a red tie hanging from his fingers casually as if he hadn't just fücked me into a slight daze again.
"No tie," I said to him, ignoring the lingering séxual tension between us which made Lucien smile smugly again when he caught on. "Don't even start," I warned him quickly, hearing Aaron telling me to hurry up before we missed our window to figure things out.
"I didn't even say anything," Lucien said through a conceited chuckle when I followed Aaron as he walked towards the front door with his gear in his hands, my steps retracing his own at the same time I looked behind me to see Lucien stepping in tow with a smirk pulling at his lips.
I narrowed my eyes and pointed at both of them with my fingers before directing them at him, my movements leaving him to raise his eyebrows teasingly as I turned my head back towards Aaron and then followed him out of my penthouse until the three of us were in the elevator.
"You have everything?" Aaron asked, my head nodding as I stared at the reflection of the three of us in the mirrored walls of the elevator, the sight of us leaving me to smile small before I leaned into Lucien when he pulled me towards his body.
We stayed like that until we were exiting the building and sitting in Lucien's car with Aaron in the passenger seat and me in the back, the both of us talking as Lucien put the address into his GPS and then followed the directions.
"Okay, so this is the tracker," Aaron started, pulling out a thin slip of paper with flat gold wire like threads printed onto it, the pattern forming a circle that mimicked the inside of a computer hard drive disk. "It's a sticker, so don't touch it directly...just pull it off at the sides once you're near her," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It'll work for three hours tops."
I nodded and placed what he'd given me into my bag before he pulled out a bracelet, his hands quick to hand it to me as I put it on and then pressed the tiny button on the underside to activate the GPS tracker that it had inside it.
"We'll be near you anyways, but just in case," Aaron mumbled, pulling out his laptop whilst Lucien kept driving, his eyes looking at me through the mirror before he focused on the road when Aaron pulled out a smaller, rectangular case. "You're wearing your hair down, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, take this," he said, opening the case and handing me an ear piece that was about the size of a fingernail before passing me brooch that I pinned to my jacket. "There's a microphone in that so we'll hear everything you'll hear and the ear piece will allow us to speak to you."
I already knew what Aaron was talking about but nodded casually anyways considering I could see the slight nervousness he had, his own thoughts on the situation no less important than Lucien's as I placed the ear piece into my right ear before going over the plan in my head and then looking at my watch.
"Her shift finishes at nine thirty, right?" I asked, hearing both Lucien and Aaron reply to confirm my words as the time ticked past nine twenty, my chest rising and falling with the breath I took whilst I made myself comfortable in the back by looking out the window.
The sky was completely dark and blanketed the entire city in an eerie glowing darkness, the sky scrapers of New York lighting up in between it as we kept driving until we were parked by the curb a block away from the hospital.
"Ok, you ready?"
I nodded at Aaron's words before looking at Lucien who was already looking back at me, the look on his face slightly unreadable until it softened when I leaned forwards and kissed his cheek before doing the same with Aaron.
"Tell me when to speak so we can test the ear piece," I spoke before leaving the car, my hands smoothing down my outfit that I still hated as I proceeded to walk until I turned at the sound of Lucien saying my name from his opened window.
"Be careful," he said to me simply when I turned, his arm resting against the window frame as he looked at me with that same unreadable expression, his actions only leaving me to walk back to him as I leaned up, kissed his lips and then spoke.
"Always," I whispered, my tone mischievous which made Lucien smirk steadily as I walked backwards before turning and continuing until I was a fair distance away from the car.
I looked back at both Aaron and Lucien when I did before Aaron gave me a thumbs up, my body turning in tow to face away from them as I spoke.
"Can you hear me?" I said, hearing a slightly muted static before I could hear Aaron's voice.
"Loud and clear," he started. "GPS is also working, so you're good to go."
I nodded to Aaron's words before proceeding to walk whilst flicking my hair behind my shoulders, my lips rubbing together as I reached into my bag and pulled out the wired headphones that I popped into the ear I didn't have the ear piece in.
"Are you hungry?" I heard Aaron ask Lucien from inside the car, his words leaving me to laugh lightly as Lucien told Aaron that he was always hungry before Aaron groaned and then sighed. "This is going to be a long night, isn't it?"
"Sì," I replied easily, plugging the headphones into my phone as I neared the crossing that would take me onto the hospital property across. "Check if she's left yet."
I heard Aaron respond to me easily as I narrowed my eyes at the hospital entrance before stepping a few times until I was leaning against a bricked wall that was parallel to the crossing, the surface scratching against my jacket but I ignored it considering I hated the outfit anyways.
"Says here that she clocked out two minutes ago," Aaron spoke through the ear piece, my head nodding subtly as I breathed out a light breath and then took out my phone, my fingers quick to unlock it as I made myself look occupied by aimlessly playing a parking game I had installed yesterday.
I kept doing so along with keeping the single headphone in my ear so it looked like I was occupied with listening to music, my head subtly bopping along to an imaginary beat until Aaron spoke up.
"She's walking through the last corridor, go," Aaron said, my face emotionless as I looked up and nonchalantly stepped over to the pedestrian crossing, my phone still unlocked and held in my hand as I waited for the traffic lights to turn red so that I could cross.
Within moments I was walking across and looking up whilst maintaining my preoccupied look, my eyes slightly narrowed as I walked across and then watched the blonde nurse we'd been tracking for the past few days exit the hospital with her phone in her hand.
I slowed my walking when she did, the plan I'd curated in my head with the help of Lucien and Aaron blurring past my mind quickly as I waited for the right moment to come into contact with her.
"Do you think pizza could be delivered to a car?" I heard Aaron ask Lucien again as if what was happening wasn't, Lucien's gruff tone when he spoke up and said really leaving a small smile to poke at my lips until I easily shifted my poker face into visibility when I watched Emily walk towards me whilst looking at something on her phone.
It was the perfect opportunity as I stepped forwards and walked towards her as she did the same with me, her eyes still glued to her phone which only made me roll my own until I breathed in a small breath and then calculated my steps so that she could walk right into me.
"Show time," Aaron whispered just as I over exaggerated and let my knees give in when Emily and I's bodies came into contact harshly, my body falling to the pavement with a hit that made my body ache for a split second but it was easily ignored when Emily was gasping and reaching down to me.
"Oh my god, are you okay? I'm so so sorry," she blurted out, reaching for me as I hissed dramatically and grabbed my ankle, my eyes crinkled in pain that wasn't even there. "Are you hurt? Oh my god."
"I think I just hurt my ankle," I spoke quietly through a painful sounding breath, feigning my act of innocence which made Lucien snigger when I sharply said ow as Emily reached for my foot.
"I wasn't looking," Emily breathed out nervously until she stuttered when I looked up to her, our eyes meeting as I kept my eyes squinted to fake my pain just as she kneeled and cleared her throat. "Can I uh...take a look? I'm a nurse."
I nodded subtly as she told me to sit back against the bricked wall behind me, my body shuffling with a wince on my face as Emily adjusted the way she was kneeling and lifted my jeans a little so she could take my shoes off.
"Ow," I breathed out when she pressed her fingers to my ankle and concentrated her sight on where she was touching, the pain that was non-existent leaving me to roll my eyes when Emily inspected my foot, my lips pressing again to grit my teeth and hum as if I was really in pain.
"I think you might've just sprained it..." she trailed off, looking up at me again where she visibly shrunk when I met her concerned gaze whilst shoving my phone and headphones into my jacket pocket.
"Martina," I finished for her, using the fake alias to my advantage as I looked at her and registered the way she suddenly got nervous again. "Martino Lupo."
"Emily Smith," she smiled small, meeting my stare before she lowered it and then cleared her throat to press my ankle again, her movements leaving me to hiss once again before I groaned when she moved it, my actions leaving Lucien to speak up.
"You're such a dramatic bítch," I heard him say, his tone amused which only led to me know that he was smirking just as Emily stood up and then reached her hand down for me to take.
"I just got off my shift, but I can get a doctor to quickly check you out," she said with a warm smile that faltered into an uneasy one when I curated a fearful look and didn't take her outstretched hand.
"A doctor?" I asked, my entire personality ceasing to exist when I inhaled a sharp breath to dramatize my fear.
"Yeah, just in the hospital here..." Emily trailed off, looking at me with concern again when I shrugged back into the wall so that she could finally realise what I was trying to convey. "Oh...you don't like hospitals?"
"Hate them, actually," I said quietly, my feelings towards hospitals not entirely fake as Emily pressed her lips together and then spoke up.
"Oh," Emily breathed out quietly, shuffling on her feet as she put out her hand for me. "I can stay with you if you'd like?" she offered, her kindness being something that I'd previously planned to take advantage of, the notion now set in place. "It's the least I can do."
"Are you sure?" I asked, once again playing the innocence card when I made it out to be inconvenient for her, the reverse psychology working when she smiled again and then nodded.
"I bumped into you, so it's only fair that I uh..." she stuttered again when I touched her hand and then stood up to be at her height whilst wincing. "It's only fair that I help you," she finished after clearing her throat, smiling nervously this time before she pushed her arm around my back and then led us to the hospital whilst I limped.
When she did I leaned slightly into her, her throat suddenly clearing at my movements which made me internally roll my eyes as I then put into motion the next part of my plan when I feigned the tension in my body at the sight of the hospital.
Emily only reassured me in turn, my body relaxing and noticeably showing that I was now calmer with her words to which she smiled at as I limped into the hospital and then acted on my flair of dramatics, my bad foot purposely put down as I tested the waters that I knew were fake so that I could hiss in pain again.
"I can't put any weight on it," I groaned lightly when my body buckled in turn, Emily's arms shifting around my waist until her hand was near my hip which simultaneously made Lucien suddenly speak up in my ear.
"If she puts her hand any lower, I'm going to fücking cut if off, Aria," he spoke sharply, his own jealously only leaving my insides to twist into a deep heat that I had to supress when I watched Emily call over someone, the man who smiled at her warmly being someone I assumed was a colleague.
"Hi," Emily smiled wearily when he reached her, his hands pulling at each end of the stethoscope around his neck as he looked at me and raised his eyebrow at Emily. "This is Martina Lupo, I knocked into her and she landed badly on her ankle."
"Do you think it's fractured?" he asked, my eyes narrowing at his badge that read out Doctor Blackwell as he neared me and then kneeled down to see my ankle. Again I hissed and acted like I was in pain, his fingers pressing around the bone before he stood up and then looked at Emily.
"Take her into one of the empty consultation rooms and just put some ice on it for twenty minutes, I'll cover for you," he smiled at Emily, the look he gave her leaving me only to put two and two together when I registered it and then proceeded to keep limping with Emily holding me up as she led me down the large corridor.
"Doctor Blackwell seems to have a crush on you," I muttered, laughing through the faked pain as Emily pushed open an empty room door and then turned on the lights.
"Uh yeah," she laughed nervously, letting me sit down on the chair that was beside a desk before she closed the door and set her bag and phone onto the desk. "He asked me out a couple times, but the man doesn't seem to know what no means," she puffed out as she pushed her hair behind her ears.
I went to say something but she told me that she would be back in less than a minute, my head nodding in time with the door closing as I watched it lock in place before I waited a few moments and then stood up.
I peeked through the glass part of the door to see Emily walking down the corridor, her movements leaving me with a perfect opportunity to do what I wanted when I stared back at her bag that she'd carelessly left with me.
"It's almost as if she wants to be tracked," I whispered to myself as I sat back down, my fingers quick to reach into my own bag as I picked out the wafer thin paper that shielded the sticker like tracking device I never knew existed until now. "Aaron, where'd you even get this tracking device?"
"You'd be surprised by what I can find on the black market," I heard him say in reply, my hands quick to file through Emily's bag before I reached behind my back and pulled out my penknife that was tucked into my jeans, the blade quickly springing into action as I made a barely seen rip into the interior fabric. I did so as quick as I could before slipping the sticker inside and between the linings, my fingers pressing it against the inside seam that was hidden from view before I closed the bag, pulled away and placed the penknife back to where I kept it just as Emily walked in.
"Ok, I have ice," she smiled through an amused breath, my lips curving to match her reaction before she placed some gloves on and kneeled in front of me. "It's gonna be cold," she said, looking up to me with the same nervous look she'd had before, my reaction to her actually being real when I found amusement in how easily she conformed to me.
It made me smug until I hissed at the same time she pressed the ice filled bag to my ankle, one hand doing so whilst the other pulled the swivel chair from under the desk so that my leg was propped up.
"Thank you for staying with me," I said to her when she pulled her gloves off, her smile becoming nervous again when I kept eye contact before she sat down on the chair against the other side of the wall and then sighed whilst thrumming her hands across her lap. I took the opportunity of silence to speak up, my tongue swiping across my lips as Aaron said something about pizza again that went ignored. "So doctor Blackwell isn't your type then?"
Emily inhaled a breath before shaking her head, her mouth opening to tell me information I already knew before she hummed uneasily and then smiled. "Men aren't my type," she admitted, smiling at me again when I hummed like I was sucked deep into conversation.
"You like girls," I said, more of a statement than a question as she nodded, the plan I was so far sticking to suddenly taking a left turn when I spoke up. "Me too," I agreed, smiling slightly mischievously when I heard Lucien speak up.
"You what?" Lucien blurted out, my amused reaction at Lucien's words leaving Emily to think I was happy with her when I openly voiced a humoured sound.
"Just to let you know Lucien is glaring," Aaron spoke up, my lips pressing together to stop myself from smiling too hard at Lucien's jealous actions that fuelled my mood, my arms crossing over my chest as I looked at Emily and spoke up with his lessons suddenly in mind.
"So is there someone special in your life?" I asked, my tone immediately flirty which made Emily look down at her hands before she tilted her head back up and showcased the light blush that was surfacing at her cheeks.
"No," she admitted again, laughing nervously in time. "Not for a long time," she added.
"Oh," I said, tilting my head and smiling at her with slightly narrowed eyes which made her laugh lightly as she placed a strand of hair behind her ear. "So that means that you don't have any plans after this, right?"
"After this?" she asked almost incredulously, her light blush soon getting heavier as the seconds went by. "Um...no, I was just going to go home," she smiled wearily, shifting the position she was in.
"So you'll be able to join me for a drink then," I drawled out before biting the inside of my lip, my words soaked in a flirty tone that made Emily smile excitedly before she nodded at the same time I heard Aaron speak up.
"Wow, I'll go out for drinks with you with the way you just said that," he said, his tone pleased which made me smile lightly as I cleared my throat before I spoke up and asked Emily about her life, my motives making it seem like I was invested on getting to know her better despite knowing everything already.
She explained within a matter of ten minutes that she'd moved here from Atlanta for a change of life, her brief explanation leaving me to squint for a moment as she kept speaking until my twenty minutes of icing my ankle were up and we were walking out the hospital.
I was leaning on her once again to feign my alleviated pain, my foot that was now only cold rather than anything else barely scuffing the ground whilst Emily kept speaking as we neared the curb.
"So her dad literally walked in on you two doing it?" I asked her as she laughed and nodded whilst recalling the memory I had no interest in, her head shaking in embarrassment before she drawled out an amused breath and then turned her head to me.
"What's your craziest experience?" she smiled at me as she flagged down a cab at the same time I saw a pizza delivery guy move past us on a scooter, my eyes narrowed for a moment when I watched Aaron leave Lucien's car to flag the man down.
I ignored him easily as I quickly thought of something in my head to answer Emily's words, my lips parting to speak as I stepped and then sat in the back of the cab before shuffling so that Emily could sit next to me whilst she told the driver to take us to the nearest bar.
"I once had a threesome with my then boyfriend, but he dumped me when I kept ignoring him throughout the entire thing," I said, seeing Emily smile at me as I heard Lucien huff on the other side of the ear piece I was wearing.
It amused me how he wasn't turned on but instead jealous when it came to the thought of me being with a woman, the thought leaving me fuzzy and warm on the inside as I kept up conversation whilst hearing Lucien say that he was going to follow us, his words easily taken in as Emily and I kept moving until we were walking into a bar that wasn't too crowded due to it being a Sunday.
It left me with an ample opportunity to get what I really wanted out of Emily until we both realised that the bar was closing in twenty minutes, the short amount of time leaving me to frown at the temporary halt in my plan until Emily spoke, her words surprising me.
"You know..." she trailed off, placing her hand on my knee and growing suddenly bold with her movements as we both sat down on the bar stools. "We could just go back to my place," she said, looking at me and waiting for some sort of discomfort which I was feeling but didn't make visible...my actions only leaving her with a confidence that led her to lean into me a little whilst pushing her hand up and over my thigh.
Hm.
"I don't have any roommates," she smiled mischievously, her fingers trailing higher which made me move my hand down to stop her, my fingers curling around hers which made her raise her eyebrow in slight nervousness, almost as if she'd regretted getting too comfortable with me.
...she would in the long run.
"The cake never tastes as good if you have a little taste before eating the slice," I said to her, hearing Lucien huff once again on the other side of my ear piece as I turned to the bartender and looked at Emily when I spoke.
"Two tequila shots," I said, reaching into my bag to pay as I flashed my fake ID that had the name Martina Lupo on it.
"You're really young," Emily commented when she saw my faked date of birth that was just another month in the year that I was born, her eyes boring into the plastic before she looked up at me when I slid over ten dollars to the bartender and then told him to keep the change. "...and very giving."
"You haven't seen anything yet," I flirted easily, hearing Aaron suddenly gasp on the other side of the ear piece before he egged me on with a whoop that made me bite my lip as he laughed.
At the same time Emily blushed at my words before turning to the shots that were placed in front of us, her fingers quick to grab her glass as I did the same whilst pouring salt over the bend between my thumb and forefinger.
"Here's to a night of giving," I promised teasingly, my words leaving Emily to not meet my eye contact as we clinked glasses before licking the salt, drinking down the alcohol and then squeezing the fresh lime wedge into our mouths. "Yum."
"You like that?" Emily asked with a laugh that faded between her wince at the alcohol, her tone leaving me to realise how comfortable she'd suddenly gotten with me when she sat down and then ordered four vodka shots before smiling at me again.
"Tequila is nothing," I told her with a smug look, my eyes narrowed teasingly at her before the four vodka shots were put in front of us. "To life," I toasted mockingly as Emily blushed before smiling wearily, her sudden loss of eye contact again leaving me to squint for a split second until I ignored it when we clinked glasses again before downing the two shots.
The sting of heat that reached my throat did nothing for me considering I liked wine better, the thought suddenly plaguing my mind as we were ushered out of the bar once we'd had a few more shots, Emily having three more than me which led her to be slightly woozy as we both walked out to the curb where I continued to feign my limp until we were in another cab and going back to hers.
"I didn't really think my night would turn out like this...especially after the year I've had," she smiled lazily as she looked at me whilst drawling out her words, the slightly glazed look in her eye showcasing hints of tipsiness as she placed her hand on my knee again and squeezed.
"They do say that good things come to people who wait," I said to her, meeting her eye contact until she broke it when she looked down again, her gaze falling against the same place Lucien always stared at when he wanted to fück.
My lips.
I licked them in time to smiling once again, Emily's stare soon pulling up to meet mine when she blushed heavily and licked her lips.
"How's your ankle?" she asked in lieu of addressing the tension she was creating between us, the notion more so uncomfortable for me when I knew what she wanted to do but ignored it easily, my mind focused on getting the information I wanted which would now be easier with the alcohol in her system.
"Better now that I had you to attend to it," I said to her, flirting shamelessly and in turn leading Emily to hum low in her throat before she neared me and leaned her body over to my seat, her stare lingering on my mouth again before she tilted her head up and spoke.
"I really want to kiss you," she whispered bluntly, the smell of swallowed alcohol invading the space around me as I grit my teeth at her words at the same time Lucien spoke up.
"Fück the information, I will kill her," he snapped, his words heating me from the inside out again as I remembered back to the limit I'd discussed with him...the same one that I was now walking on eggshells around when Emily looked at me with a heated gaze that told me that she wanted me.
"Martina..."
"Not just yet," I whispered to her, playing hard to get which made Emily bite her lip before she moaned quietly, her hand squeezing just above my knee before she sat her back against her own seat.
She stayed touching me when she did, my body trying not to be tense when I knew I had to do what I had to considering the things I wanted from her, the feeling of Emily's fingers trailing against my leg ignored the best they could've been as we kept driving until the cab driver rounded a corner and then told us that we'd arrived to our destination.
Both Emily and I turned to see outside the window before we shuffled out and found ourselves staring up at a large building that was situated in the outskirts of New York, the shady looking area doing nothing to instil fear in me when Emily led us both to the entrance of the building with a slight tilt in her step.
"It must take you long to get from here to the hospital..." I said, sparking up conversation as Emily hiccupped and then turned to smile at me lazily.
"About forty minutes," she said to me slowly, pressing the bunch of keys she'd taken from her purse against the buzzer at the front of the building before it sounded out an unlocking sound weakly. I watched as she opened the door whilst hearing Lucien in my ear again, his words that let me know that he was stuck behind a sudden car accident leaving me to simultaneously and abruptly think back to what Aaron had said to me earlier about being weary about tonight. I didn't know why I thought back to it but the reminder suddenly stuck in my head as I looked back and held the door that Emily opened, my eyes scanning the empty and dimly lit street before I turned back in the direction I was walking in and followed Emily.
"Three forty two," I mused out loud when I shook away the daunting feeling that coursed through me and read the number on her door, more so to notify Lucien and Aaron since what was happening was something that wasn't exactly in the plan we'd made.
Knowing so didn't leave me fearful considering I was always quick to think on my feet, the thought plaguing my mind as I heard Aaron mumble something to Lucien about reversing and driving through a different route, Aaron's voice showcasing his nerves again which made me press my lips together as I looked forwards and watched Emily push open her door.
She did so with a force that made the door slam back against the wall behind it, the sound leaving met to squint momentarily before she walked through and then told me to make myself feel at home.
I nodded more so to myself when she did as I closed the door behind me and watched Emily walk down the corridor we'd ended up in after walking through the door, my feet following her into the apartment that looked lived in as I spotted the multitude of pictures and the plaque that hung from the bathroom door with hearts all over it.
The sight of everything only left me to inhale a light breath when I remembered back to how Emily had said she'd only moved here less than two weeks ago, the reminder only contradicting how lived in the apartment looked as I then found myself thinking back to what Aaron had said again.
Hm.
It made me tense as I kept walking until I was in the fairly large living room alone, my hands quick to shrug my jacket off as I took the brooch and pinned it to the hem of my jeans whilst the sound of dishes being moved was heard, my eyes scanning across the room before I tilted my head in time to Emily speaking up.
"Do you want a drink?" Emily called out from the kitchen that was blocked from sight with a wall, my decline voicing out loud as I crossed my arms over my chest and then stepped to inspect the pictures on the wall, my eyes squinting at the several images that showed a younger looking Emily holding a little girl who looked just like her.
"Is that your daughter?" I asked her when she reached where I was with a glass of wine in her hands, my eyesight settling against it when I watched her fingers shake before they curled harshly as she cleared her throat.
I was suddenly betting that her visible nerves weren't because of me when I watched her entire demeanour shift for a split second until she shook her head and smiled at me, my eyes narrowed on her before I looked back at the picture again and tried to figure out why she was behaving so awkwardly suddenly.
"That's my niece, Chloe," she explained, sipping from her glass before we both turned at the sound of her phone pinging out loud with a message, her body visibly tensing all over again. She excused herself before retrieving it from her bag laying on the table next to the windows that were barred, the brightness of her screen reflecting a hazy white light across her face as she nodded once to herself before looking up at me and smiling...again. "I'm just going to go freshen up, I won't be a minute."
I watched as she placed her wine glass and phone down to the glass coffee table next to the sofa before she vanished into her room and closed the door behind her, the click of the lock leaving me to halt my feigned personality as I opened the drawers underneath the showcase of pictures and ignored the bad feeling that crept up my spine.
Easily I filtered through old receipts and bills, the little bits and bobs that weren't necessary pushed by my fingers as I tried to find something that I could pin on her, my motives only goaded on to be faster when I reminded myself of the sudden show of weird behaviour she'd only showed me once we were here in her apartment.
The thought only led me back to believe that she was part of killing Fabio rather than her just observing someone in the room, the thought repeating in my mind as I pushed my hair behind my ears and then found myself squinting when I pulled out a folded bunch of papers conveniently stored right at the back of the drawer.
My eyes scanned over the legal document as I unfolded it and read the adoption papers that were dated a week ago, the papers completely wrinkle free which matched the newness of them as I read Emily's name along with her niece Chloe's, my confusion only increasing tenfold at the sight of them just as I heard Lucien speak up.
"What's happening?"
"She's freshening up," I told him quietly, hearing him telling me to be careful once again as he said that he was about ten minutes away, his words only nodded to as I shoved the adoption papers back into the drawer when I couldn't find a link to Fabio's death.
It made me sigh as I ran my hands through my hair and leaned back against the cupboards once I'd closed them, my eyes scanning over the expanse of the apartment I could see from where I was before I pushed myself away from leaning and walked towards where my jacket was.
"Emily," I called out, hearing her call back in response just as they were a tumbling sound of several objects. Hm. "Do you have somewhere where I can put my jacket?" I asked, using my words as a reason to snoop around before she granted my words indirectly and told me that there was a cupboard just beside the pantry where I could hang it.
I nodded once before walking in the direction of the kitchen, the dingy sight of slightly moulding wallpaper leaving me to crinkle my nose as I spotted the cupboard and opened it, my plan being to hang it up and then walk around some more until I suddenly spotted something whilst hearing Emily's door open.
I froze when I saw the brown leather jacket that matched the one Emily had taken out of Fabio's room, my brain suddenly in overdrive as I went to speak up to Lucien and Aaron until I stilled at the sound of a gun clicking from behind me.
"Don't move," I heard Emily say shakily, her voice leaving me to grit my teeth as I inhaled through my nose and pressed my lips together, the threat behind me not registering when I started to turn. "I said don't move, Aria!"
I didn't listen considering how scared she sounded and kept doing so until I was actually facing her, my hands up and mockingly surrendering when I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You know my name," was what I said to her first as I looked at her shaking with the gun in her hand, the worried look on her face filtering between trying to look confident as she cleared her throat. "How do you know my name?"
"It doesn't m-matter," she snapped despite the way her hands were still trembling, her eyes blurring with tears before she breathed out a sharp breath when I tried to move my hand to reach for my penknife behind me. "I said don't move!" she shouted, leaving me to still my movements as I inhaled a light breath, adrenaline flooding my system in turn at the demand. "I will shoot you."
"What the fück?!" Aaron choked out on the other side of my ear piece until there was a sudden deafening sound of audio feedback squeaking that made me cringe, my head tilting in turn in a failed attempt to rid myself of the sound that made my mind ache.
"Don't...move," Emily breathed out at my movements, wiping her face hastily with one hand before she placed it back onto the gun she was holding.
"Emily..." I started quietly, cringing once again at the audio feedback that squealed deafeningly in my ear before I heard the crackly sound of Aaron wondering what was going on, his voice filtering between static as I stared at Emily and swallowed harshly. "Just give me the gun...we can talk about this-"
"No!" she shouted back defensively, her voice watery with her tears as she sucked air through her mouth and made a pained sound. "I have to kill you..." she whispered, wiping the tears that fell against her cheeks again before she shook her head to herself and tried to piece herself back to together in an attempt to look confident. "He said I had to."
"He?" I questioned quietly, feeling my heartbeat pick up as my instincts prepared my body for a fight that only flooded anger into my veins when I realised what was happening. "Joe?"
"Don't say his name!" Emily snapped, waving the gun with her erratic movements which made me duck out of nature just as Lucien said my name, the audio feedback squealing once again which led me to pull the earpiece from my ear with a groan, my hands quick to chuck it to the side as my body moved quickly to the right until I was kneeling against the floor and behind the counter with my hand retrieving my penknife.
"Fück sake," I muttered to myself when I realised how dumb I was to not have acted on my initial thoughts, the reminder that I'd thought Emily was in on everything at the start only being validated when I groaned quietly and watched her quickly move around to where I was. Her feet shuffled against the less than clean floor until she was in front of me and looking down to where I was, the gun in her trembling hands pointed at me weakly as silent tears streamed down her face.
"Get up," she said, sniffling to rid herself of the tears as she grew bolder with every second, her word leaving me to think on my feet within seconds. "I said get up!"
I watched as she reached down to me, her lack of being in such a situation only showing when she let her guard down and gave me ample opportunity to rid her of her weapon.
Easily I yanked her down before ridding her of her balance by sliding my feet under her own, her body falling to the floor as I disarmed her within seconds before sliding the gun across the floor so it wasn't in reach for the both of us.
Doing so let it settle against the bottom of the fridge with a slight clank as I wrestled Emily until her body was under me, my hands fighting to get her own as she screamed up at me whilst crying, her body flailing like a fish out of water before my grip on her hands slipped and she was punching me right in the mouth.
"You fücking bítch," I hissed at the taste of blood that invaded my mouth, my anger flaring almost immediately as I slapped her hard with a force that made my palm burn, her shock leaving her to shut up for a split second as she looked up at me before she twisted her arm. The bent angle left my hand cramping and allowed her to take the opportunity to reach up and past my face until she was pulling at the drawer at the counter that was beside us both, the entire unit pulling free as a multitude of utensils fell against us both.
Within moments she'd grabbed the knife that fell next to her head before trying to plunge it into me, her own movements being predictable when I quickly moved and watched her stab the air instead.
Fück, this bítch was crazy.
She screamed in frustration before lunging towards me since my body wasn't on top of hers anymore, my feet pushing me up to stand as I ducked down when she swung before kneeling quickly to grab the gun from beside the fridge.
Almost instantly I was pulling back the safety and aiming it to her with precision I'd been trained to use, my eyes narrowing at her as the both of us breathed harder than usual whilst I swallowed the metallic tinge of blood.
"Put the fücking knife down before I shoot your hand clean off your arm," I told her quietly with a sharp tone, my finger pressing threatening against the trigger when she didn't listen to my demand right away but instead started to sob, her actions leaving her mascara to start to leak around her eyes.
For fück sake.
"P-please don't kill me," she cried, tears falling against her cheeks once again as I squinted my eyes at her and registered her hands tightening against the knife in her hands.
Crocodile tears, I thought wryly in my head as I pressed the trigger and aimed it just past her head, the echoing sound deafening the both of us when I shot a hole right into her wall and watched as she ducked and screamed whilst letting go of the knife.
"If you don't want to listen to me, I'll have no other fücking choice but to kill you," I sneered, getting impatient with her fücking antics as I walked towards her and grabbed her by the hair.
Her threat to kill me wasn't forgotten even when she begged for mercy when I pulled her until she was standing, my fingers harsh in her blonde hair before I pushed her forwards and in front of me. I watched as she walked whilst still sobbing, the gun in my hand still pointed at her as I pressed it into her spine when she walked slowly, the motion leaving me to feel things a normal girl shouldn't have when I envisioned blowing her head right off her dámn spine.
"Sit down," I told her once we'd reached the sofa, my feet quick to shove her phone off the table as she sat down and sniffled before looking up at me when I lowered my aim of the gun and spoke. "Explain."
"Explain what-"
Emily screamed when I grabbed her hair again, her hands shooting up to grip my wrist as I tilted her head back and glared at her when she cried messily and begged me to stop.
"Explain why the fück Joe sent you and how you're involved," I snapped, my anger flooding my veins as I pushed her head back to the sofa and waited for her to explain. "Stupida puttana."
She continued to sob again whilst holding her head with one hand, her heaved breaths sounding out loud as I rolled my eyes and watched her continuing to cry until I realised what she was doing when I looked at her free hand, her body suddenly moving to the side to reach for the lamp across the table situated next to the sofa.
Almost instantly I reached out until I was grabbing her hair again, only this time instead of just doing that I forced her mouth open and shoved the barrel of my gun right into it and watched her gag.
"I'm not going to fücking ask you again," I bit out, pissed at her fücking tricks that left me restless and out of control, my own sharp eyes meeting watery blue when she made a weary sound and sniffled. "Tell me what Joe sent you to do, or I will happily pull out one tooth for every half minute you don't fücking speak up."
Again, I pushed her head back whilst shoving the lamp at the side to the floor so nothing was in her reach, the sound of the bulb smashing overlooked when she choked on her tears before she spoke up.
"It was a set up," she started, wiping her eyes with shaky hands as she continued to cry whilst explaining. "He knew you would think that he killed Fabio so he cut the CCTV and made me make it look like there was someone in the room."
"Why would he do that?" I asked, pointing the gun at her as she hiccupped and wiped her tears that didn't seem to stop.
"He wants you d-dead," she sobbed, pushing her hands to her face before she breathed in a large breath that didn't help her crying when she only dry heaved because of it. "He knows you'd do what you did tonight if you looked into i-it," she coughed, sniffling once again as I registered her words that didn't settle well with me.
"How do you know all this?" I asked, glaring. "Nobody tells the pawn they're playing with the entire plan...it goes against the entire objective of having one..."
"He had my s-sister."
"Had?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow as Emily's bottom lip shook just before she sounded out a wretched sob that made me inhale a breath when I registered the pain behind it.
"He used me because I was n-new to the hospital," she sobbed, the mascara around her eyes starting to patch around her face in blackening lines. "He grabbed me and told me I had no choice in doing what he wanted but I said n-no anyways and t-then he-"
"Killed your sister," I finished off as she held her chest and cried, my eyes squinting at her.
"He has my niece now so I had no choice but to d-do i-it," she stuttered, choking on the breaths she was taking as she kept crying. "I have to kill you so that he doesn't kill C-Chloe."
"Someone like Joe wouldn't get a pawn to kill someone, he'd do it himself," I told her bluntly whilst ignoring the tinge of emotion at the thought of a child being killed, my throat clearing in turn as I narrowed my eyes once again at Emily before I went to speak up until I could hear a phone ringing.
I turned with my gun still pointing at Emily to see her phone lighting up with a call from the floor where I'd kicked it down to, my head turning back to her as I kept my focus on her whilst reaching for the ringing device.
I picked it up and easily swiped my finger to accept the unknown call, my thumb pressing the speaker button before I waited for someone to speak.
"You know," a gruff voice spoke out loud with an amused tone after a few seconds. "I admire your mind, Aria."
I found myself stilling as a voice was put to the villain in Lucien and I's story, my lips pressing together as I swallowed harshly.
"You always follow the trail..." Joe whispered, almost teasingly as his voice rasped on the other side of the line. "...do you remember where that got you last time when you were in Sicily? I thought you would've learnt your lesson."
I stilled at the memory of my grandfather's car blowing up, the direct threat to Lucien and I leaving my chest to tighten with anger that electrified my body and left me speaking harshly.
"I'm still here though," I responded. "I'm never going to die at the hands of you, Joe."
He chuckled.
"See that's where you're wrong," he said, inhaling a large breath that crackled on the phone. "I will always be one step ahead of you Aria..."
I found myself scowling at his words as I flexed my fingers around the gun I still had pointed at Emily, her body still shaking as Joe spoke.
"There's no need to scowl...it ruins such a pretty face like yours."
With his words I instantly looked around for the cameras he could see me through, my movements leading him to laugh tauntingly.
"You won't find me, Aria," he laughed once again, teasing his violence once again. "...and it's so sad that Lucien won't either after this phone call."
With his words ringing in my ears the phone line went dead just as the front door was kicked in, the sound of wood splitting along with the gruff sound a man walking through leaving Emily to scream in fear.
I pulled her instantly to be behind the sofa as I felt my chest tighten with all the information I now had, the sudden fire of bullets leaving me to duck as I heard the man laugh manically.
"You don't have anywhere to hide!" he chuckled, amused with what was happening as I was quick to check how much ammo I had before I clicked the magazine back in place and inhaled a sharp breath, my head turning to Emily before I shoved her own hand to her mouth to stop her from being so fücking loud. She struggled to as I heard the man move towards us with a click of his own gun, my lips pressing together as I set my eyes on the lamp I'd chucked to the ground beside me.
With a split second plan forming in my mind I reached forward and chucked the lamp across the floor and behind me towards the cupboards underneath the photos I'd seen before, the movement leading the man to shoot at the lamp before I pushed myself up and fired at him from behind the fake safety of the sofa.
With two bullets I got him right in the head, my eyes watching his body slump to the ground as I stood up once I calculated that nobody else was here and moved towards my bag to get my phone, my feet quick as Emily let out a cry whilst I swiped my screen and dialled Lucien's number, the ringing sound echoing out loud twice before I heard his voice.
"What the fück is happening? Are you okay?"
"It's a set up," I told Lucien as I ran my hands through my hair and balanced my phone between my ear and shoulder, my body moving closer to the man who was shooting us as I kicked his bleeding head and then quickly sifted through his jacket with precision that wasn't called for considering the situation.
"A fücking set up?!" Lucien sneered, his angered tone showing through as I looked back at Emily when I heard a multitude of steps running down the corridor. "I'll be there in-"
"No, Lucien," I snapped, my chest suddenly tight with his pissed off tone as I swapped my gun for the shooters and pressed my back against the wall that hid me from whoever was coming through the corridor. "You're not fücking coming. It's what he wants."
"You think I'm going to let you fücking fight it out by yourself?!"
"Don't fücking come!" I snapped at him before hanging up and letting my phone drop to the floor, the sound barely heard when there was a rush of footsteps into the corridor and men shouting as they blindly walked into the apartment without knowing where I was.
I used it to my advantage when the rushed footsteps moved closer until one of the men were in my sight, my leg quick to move up and kick him until I hit him in the face with the hilt of my gun and then shot him, the spray of blood against my face ignored when I moved and used him as a shield.
His body was heavy but the adrenaline in my system alleviated the pressure in my hands as I shoot at every man in my sight, the five that were in the apartment falling like dominoes with each shot I'd killed them with until I was dropping the dead man leaning against me with a large breath exhaling from my mouth.
"Fück," I breathed out, my heartbeat echoing loudly in my ears along with the deafening aftershock sounds of loud gunshots, my eyes scanning over the dead men as I rubbed my chest and swallowed at the sight of them.
Within seconds I felt my panic lessen before it spiked when I heard a loud smashing sound of glass from behind me, my body turning quickly to fire the gun in my hands out of defence until I watched Emily hold a large glass shard in her hands from the coffee table she'd broken.
"What are you doing?!" I questioned loudly as she sobbed, her mascara dripping in pale black lines down her face as the blood from her hands dripped down her arms from her holding the glass shard so tight.
"You're not going to die..." she started, dry heaving with her sob as she looked down at her hand and then suddenly went silent when she looked back up at me. "...and knowing that, I can't live with myself knowing that my sister and Chloe are dead because of me."
"Emily, don't!"
I wasn't quick enough to reach her when she pulled up the glass shard and slit her own throat, her head lolling back in turn as blood gushed from her jugular vein in a thick red spray, the liquid permeating the air in a metallic stench as it coated the floor and Emily's clothes before her body fell to the floor in a thump that echoed in my head.
"Fück!" I snapped out loud, my body numb as I ran my hand through my hair and felt the blood speckled onto it leaving it matted between my fingers, the feeling leaving me to groan harshly as I kneeled and grabbed Emily's phone from the floor whilst proceeding to leave until Joe validated his words of being one step ahead of me.
One by one, a quiet hissing sound came from all the men I'd shot down, my hands suddenly holding my gun tighter until I watched an opaque smoke leave each of their belts.
"What the f-"
I didn't get to finish my sentence when I was already coughing at what I now knew was tear gas since I'd been trained to be immune to it from a young age, my eyes and throat burning lightly in turn as I heard my phone ring again, only this time I had no time to answer it as I grabbed the table cloth from the table at the far side and pulled it harshly.
Doing so left everything on top to fall to the floor in a mess as I placed the cloth over my mouth and moved quickly to get myself out of the apartment, every quick step I took leaving me to still feel the effects of the teargas as my eyes watered within the closed space, my throat burning in turn as I moved over dead bodies until there was a sudden tug on my leg.
It was clear I hadn't killed all the men who were after me when one on the floor grabbed my ankle, his movements leaving my hands to drop the table cloth when I tried to yank my foot but struggled to, especially when I was being blinded briefly with the tear gas being pushed into the air of the corridor five times over.
The intensity made my lungs burn and left me wheezing as I groaned and moved my foot to step into his wrist, my leg proceeding to fulfil my plan until there was a sudden shot from behind me and my ankle was being let go off when the man's head bled with the gunshot.
Instantly my body sagged at the abrupt halt in pressure before I felt an arm grab me, Lucien's groan sounding out loud as he pulled me towards him and into the misted fresh air of the corridor.
"I got you," he mumbled as he pulled me and moved until I was in front of him, my eyes stinging with the remnants of the gas as Lucien coughed behind me whilst we both moved through the corridor where another seven men were dead.
"You killed them?" I coughed, wheezing slightly with my breaths as Lucien validated my words and then led me outside until we were moving towards his car.
"What the fück happened?" was the first thing Aaron asked me as I closed the door behind me at the same time Lucien pressed his foot harshly against the gas pedal once he was in the driver's seat, the car tyres squeaking in turn as Aaron handed me a water bottle that I downed quickly before explaining everything that had happened.
Fabio dying naturally. The entire thing being a set up. Emily being in on it. Joe's phone call...and his attack on me.
"Aspetta di capitarmi fra le mani," Lucien muttered sharply under his breath, his promise for me to wait till he got his hands on Joe leaving me to shrug into the back seat as I swallowed through the burning in my throat and then closed my eyes when everything began to register with me properly.
I'm so fücking stupid, I berated myself in my head, the sick feeling in my stomach of now realising that a child was going to be killed because of me leaving me to be silent the entire trip to my penthouse as I ridded myself of the blood on my face, my hands quick to do so as we walked into the building until the three of us halted at the sound of my name being called.
"Miss Moretti!" the doorman Norman shouted for us when we entered, my head turning as Lucien put his arm around me protectively at the same time Norman smiled at us and then told us to wait until he was back.
I was confused for a second as he vanished before he reappeared with a large parcel in his hands, his smile leaving me to return one weakly as I held it and then turned when Lucien pulled me into him.
"Does it say who sent it?" Aaron asked as we entered the lift, my head shaking as I leaned my head back into the mirrored walls and felt Lucien move from me to scan my penthouse card against the scanner. It beeped successfully as I felt the ache in my chest tighten when I looked at Lucien rubbing his eyes once I opened my own again, his fist moving in front of his mouth when he coughed.
"You okay?" he asked me, showcasing the same look he'd given me when I was lying in a hospital bed, the guilt in his eyes abruptly resulting in an annoyance that was uncalled for when I recalled that there was a child that was going to be killed because of me.
"Don't blame yourself," I told him in lieu of responding to his question, my tone off which only emphasised his sudden and abrupt switch in mood that matched mine.
"Are you serious?" he asked me as the elevator doors opened, my sigh echoing between my ears when I registered his annoyed tone and felt myself press my fingers harshly into the cardboard of the parcel in my hands.
"Yes, but drop it, okay," I muttered bluntly, walking past Victor and Louis guarding the doors as Lucien scoffed and kept speaking.
"You really going to tell me not to blame yourself when I've literally put you in the situation directly?" he asked from behind me as I walked into my penthouse once I'd unlocked the door, Lucien's anger only sparking my own attitude when I tried to breathe through the blurred irritability that hit me with a force of a freight train. "Aria, don't ignore me."
I grit my teeth as I kept walking until I was in the kitchen and hearing Lucien say my name once again, my hands quick to push the parcel down to the counter before I turned around and couldn't help but snap.
"You didn't put me in any situation, okay?" I started straightforwardly, swallowing down the venom laced words that I wanted to voice out loud but refused to. "Yes, you're my boyfriend now, but trust me when I say that if I don't want to do something, I will gladly voice that issue out loud despite our relationship."
"How the fück is that relevant to-"
"Jesus, Lucien!" I breathed out bluntly, feeling my body tense as he narrowed his eyes at me whilst Aaron walked past the both of us, the sudden tension between Lucien and I rising with no means of stopping. "It means that I don't fücking understand why you're blaming yourself for something that I got myself into!"
"I'm supposed to protect you," he stated bluntly, his chest rising with his harsh breaths as he tried to contain his anger that I could see bursting at the seams. "I shouldn't have let you even go, you could've died."
"You really want to play the security card now?" I spoke almost lowly, puffing out an unamused breath which made him grit his teeth as he clenched his fingers into fists. "Lucien, I will never ever put you in the position to choose between your relationship with me and your work, but please, for the sake of my own sanity, let me know whether you're going to be my security or boyfriend so that I can behave accordingly."
Lucien swallowed harshly at my words that were soaked in my attitude, both of our moods clashing harshly and leaving us with angered tension between us that felt like electricity in the air. It only emphasised the adrenaline in my system as I heard Aaron open a drawer from behind me, my stare narrowed against Lucien's as I spoke up.
"You should know by now that I choose to put myself in these situations," I started, swallowing down my attitude with a struggle as I tried to convey my mood to Lucien without snapping at the thought of Chloe being killed. "What I do is on me...if I hurt myself, it's on me. Never you."
"Aria, you could've died toni-"
"Lucien, I could be walking down the road and a sniper can shoot me right in the fücking head," I couldn't help but snap at him with his words. "Stop blaming yourself for situations that aren't in your-"
"They are in my control!" Lucien easily bit back, his anger flaring once again when he shook his head lightly and furrowed his eyebrows. "This is the second fücking time that I've jeopardized your safety because I've stepped away, and yet you still want to tell me not to blame myself for it."
"My own judgement calls aren't yours to take the consequences for!" I retorted loudly, annoyed that he wasn't understanding what I was trying to say as Aaron cleared his throat from behind us, his actions going ignored when I kept on speaking. "Do you want me to blame you or something? Is that it? Will it make you feel better?"
Lucien stayed silent at my question, the ironically deafening sound only irking me more when he kept his lips pressed together in a forming scowl.
"Why do you want me to blame you for something I chose to do?" I asked again, pressing on the matter where it hurt most when Lucien visibly tensed and still chose to stay silent, his lack of words leaving my anger to snap inside me like lightning bolt. "If it's some sort of fücked men needing to protect woman shít then I'm not having this conversation."
"Aria, I have-"
"No!" I snapped back, cutting him off when he went to validate my words, my heartbeat thudding loudly in my head as my nails pressed half-moon shapes into my palms. "In this relationship we are equals, ok? None of that dominant bullshít is going to stay out in the open because then things aren't going to work between us...how would you like it if you got hurt and then I started blaming myself for it?"
"You can't flip it like that," he sneered quietly, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration that only left me bouncing my own mood off of his at an emphasised rate. "I have a blood oath to abide to, Aria. I'm your se-"
"If you're my security then get the fück out," I snapped, the heat in my words burning my chest and throat as I pointed towards the door. "I went out with my boyfriend tonight who had no fücking issue with letting me do what I did, so if you're not going to be him and actually understand what I'm trying to say then you can leave."
He had the audacity to laugh.
"You really want me to leave?" Lucien asked bluntly through an unamused breath, maintaining eye contact as the sound of tape being cut echoed in my ears along with my heartbeat.
"If you're going to keep on blaming yourself for something that I chose to do, then yes, leave," I spoke simply, crossing my arms over my chest and watching Lucien scoff and shake his head at me before he went to speak up until Aaron was loudly gagging from behind me, the sound of a knife dropping against the tiles echoing around the room.
Almost instantly I turned only to have Lucien move quickly and place me behind his body, his hand pressing against my waist as I watched Aaron cover his mouth whilst looking down to the opened package and then up to Lucien and I.
"What the fück," Aaron muttered, stepping away as the sudden smell of blood invaded my space, my nose crinkling as Lucien moved forward and inspected before he visibly tensed and then shut the box abruptly.
"Wait, what are you-?"
"You're not looking in it," Lucien spoke simply, only adding fuel to the fire that was inside me. His words left me scoffing loudly as I moved towards him only to have him turn around and easily pull me into him so that I couldn't see the box, his body strong against mine which pissed me the fück off.
"You don't fücking control me, Lucien," I bit out, looking up to him when he pulled me into him harder and then spoke.
"In this dámn situation, I do," he told me, narrowing his eyes and meeting my glare where I calculated his movements and easily made an impromptu plan.
I relaxed myself and surrendered into his actions with a feigned sigh until his hold became less tight, the slim opportunity grasped without struggle when I pushed myself out of Lucien's hold and moved towards the box quickly.
Despite how fast I was Lucien was still able to grasp my arm and pull me back, his fingers harsh around my wrist as he pulled me back quickly but not fast enough, his mistake showing when the box I'd been pulling towards me tipped over the edge of the counter and spilled the contents he was adamant on me not seeing.
With greedy eyes I waited to see what he was hiding from me until I suddenly froze in his grip when I did, my body rigid with a specific emotion that I'd buried deep down as Lucien exhaled a large breath and then said my name, my lips pressed together to not respond as I watched the severed head of Emily's young niece Chloe roll across the floor and showcase the bloodied words that were scarred into the skin of her forehead.
You're next.
*A/N*
*screams in 57 different languages*
WHAT IS GOING OHHHHHHHHHHHN
Lol hello it is me...the author who said she'd update once a week but you know ((: LIFE HAPPENS
ANYWAYS
HELLO LONG TIME NO CHAPTER
How did y'all like this chapter??? I lowkey feel like its kinda like chapter 14 on crack but instead of lucien doing everything, it was our main woman Aria
UGH
I love a non-sexist queen who can take care of herself whilst slaughtering people without batting an eyelash
AND LUCIEN BEING POSESSIVE?
WOW
A whole ass kink, I want him to nut in my eye so I can see our kids
BUT FOIADIAJDOIAJIFJAIJ
I just felt everyone judge me from that line so LET ME ASK QUESTIONS
What do we think of Emily actually being in on it? Did y'all see that coming? I love twisting things lmfao
Mr famous popular put the hit out on Jeremy, Joe has actually made an appearance! Are y'all ready for shit to get super real now that he's officially spoke to Aria!
Do we like scenes with Aria being a bad bitch? Asking for future reference so I know lolllll
Aria and Lucien fighting? Who was right?
Have y'all sort of put together what Joe is doing? COS YA KNOW...IF MANS REALLY WANTED ARIA DEAD THEN ANIODAFOIAFAOIFAOIFAI
Ugh I love being so shady with what I write
I am : a jeaneeuhs
ANYWHO
I really hope y'all like this chapter...I'm like super proud of it idk why
It might be all the flower power but ya KNOW
ANYWHO THO
I have the whole of the next chapter planned! Aria's mom's fundraiser will start OR be in it fully, idk yet but just prepare yourself ((:
Can we get 210 votes and 1.1k comments again???? Y'all got 1.8k comments on a FILLER chapter which blows my mind, I love YOU ALL SO MUCH
LIL SUGAR MUFFINS
I'll see you in the next chapter ok!!
OK OK OK
BYE CHILDREN
VOTE + COMMENT + ALL THAT GOOD SHIZ FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
COME FOLLOW ME AND TALK TO ME ON MY SOCIALS (I put my Instagram back up);
Twitter | btwitssurina
SC | btwitssurina
Instagram | btwitssurina
Ask.fm | jxnnerslayss
CHARACTER SOCIALS;
Aria's IG | ariamxretti
Lucien's IG | lxcienromano
SEE YA LATER LIL CHICKENS
I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER 💖
I love u to the moon and back 🌙✨