Page 26 of Deadly Don's Baby Contract

I pull over to the side of the road and pick up the phone. Aria can't be far, and neither of us heard a car pull away while we were fighting. Unless she took one of the electric cars she loves. "How did I fall for a do-gooder?"

I pick up the phone and call Harold, the house manager.

"Did Aria leave the compound?" I ask him without greeting.

"Yes, sir. She took the keys to the Prius but didn't give an indication of where she might be headed." He sounds panicked. No doubt Marco has already laid into him, and he's scared for his life.

Everyone working at the compound knows that Marco and the family are dangerous. It wouldn't occur to Marco that the staff might have no reason to prevent Aria from leaving. The terms of her living there and the arrangement are not their business.

Marco comes on the line.

"Where is she!" He barks.

"I don't fucking know! You scared her off. Once again, I have to clean up your messes! Just leave it to me!" I cut the call.

I don't know what it is, but something's changed between my brother and me, and we both know it. A shift so subtle but obvious. I'm not the blindly obedient little brother who does everything he is told and is obedient to a fault. I've found something worth fighting for and defying the family for, and he knows it.

Maybe that's why he's being such a hard ass about this and insisting on marrying Aria. To keep me in line and where he needs me. "Could it be? He sees Aria as the only way to keep me close and malleable?"

Even when we were boys, it was always clear that Marco would take over as Don of the family. We knew as children what we had been born into, but none more so than Marco.

He still moves through the world with a sense of authority and entitlement that used to make even school teachers buckle. He has a deceptively kind demeanor that hides a ruthlessness and determination to get his own way.

His greatest weakness is his fear of losing control. For a moment, I was convinced that he was in love with Aria and that maybe I should back off for the sake of familial peace, but the truth is Marco only loves himself, and everyone around him are just pawns to be controlled. They are kept and discarded as he needs.

What's to become of Aria when she's provided the heirs he needs and I have moved on? I don't know that I'll feel about someone else how I feel about her, but I know that I will move on. It's not in my nature to sit around pining for my brother's wife. Watching him enjoy the love, family and devotion that should be mine. Aria may not want to marry him, but she will, for the sake of peace and my sake. She will sacrifice herself so that I don't lose my family or my life. She won't even ask me for permission or if it's what I need her to do—she'll just do it to save us both the agony of a tortured goodbye.

My mind returns to the task at hand, and I force myself to think about the woman I love and what I need to do to get her back and keep her safe. I can't let her make this sacrifice, and I won't. My brother cannot be left to ruin life after life in search of ultimate control. I love him and would never do anything to hurt him, but this is my life and my love, and come hell or high water, she will be mine. No matter the cost or Marco's rage—we will be together.

I start the car up and take to the road. Like the path ahead of me, dark and treacherous, my life has taken a turn down a path that's forbidding. I fight the fear creeping through me at the thought of what I'm risking based only on a gut feeling.

Aria has never given me any indication that she feels anything for me. All I have to go on is the look in her eyes when we're alone and the quiver in her voice when I touch or the longing in her embrace when we're together.

I know that she was meant for me the way I know this car or myself. She may not realize it or even want to show it, but we belong. She is mi familia. She's the home I've been waiting for for so long. She's the balm to the ache I've felt my whole life. The only place I've ever felt safe. I want to build a home and a life with her. I cannot let her go or risk losing her. I will die for her. For us.

I speed up. I am fueled by the need to find her and make her mine. I need to get to her before Marco or one of his soldiers does. I know her better than he ever will, and until she comes around and gives herself heart, body, mind and soul completely to me - I will rely on my instinct that it's meant to be. She will come around. She will look past my flaws and my work and love the man beneath it all. I have to believe it, or this is all a suicide mission.

Chapter 10

Aria

“Drive fast, and I’ll tip you enough to cover the fines,” I say to the Uber driver as I slide into the backseat of his Mercedes. I ordered an Uber black. If I am making my getaway, I might as well do it in a fast car. “I mean it. There’s a hundred dollars in it for you if you beat that GPS by five minutes or more.” I’m glaring at him in the rearview mirror, wondering why he’s not flooring it yet. Eventually, Warwick, who has five stars and doesn’t like chatting with passengers, gets the fucking hint, and his tires screech as we peel away.

I can’t believe I didn’t get caught—those two were going at it to the point they missed me escaping. They both have their heads up their asses. I literally called an Uber and walked straight out of there. Fuck me, am I glad I don’t have sibling wars like that in my life. This is stupid—men are fucking stupid. All of them. This is why there are so many girls-who-like-girls and declining population numbers globally. Franco and Marco are examples of why women won’t marry anyone. Okay, maybe Franco not as much. But if I didn’t like dick, I’d totally find a wife.

My driver takes the corner at speed to beat the red light, and I slide along the seat while clinging to the door handle. He’s smiling, clearly enjoying being able to drive like he’s in a NASCAR racer and not Uber Black chauffeur service.

I keep thinking about Franco, mostly, but also his brother. Do they honestly think I want to marry either of them? This is like choosing between a rabid dog and a bear that someone poked. Neither of these men is husband material, fucking hell.

The fact that they haven’t even noticed I’m gone yet is all I need to know. They were so busy fighting like toddlers over a toy that I managed to get away from them. I won’t marry Marco, no matter what they do. I’ll chew off my wrist before I walk down the aisle to that pig. I’m an organ donor. I’d rather die and save 26 other people than be his plaything.

I check my phone again, no missed calls or texts from Franco, so I have a bigger head start than I thought I’d get. This Uber driver best move it, though. I’m almost certain there will be a tracking device on me somewhere. I should chuck my phone, too. But I’ll wait until I have paid the driver and withdrawn some cash at the ATM. In fact, I’ll leave it in the car so they can chase him all over the city for a while first. I might as well make them work to find me. I can only hope it’ll all buy me enough time to get out of the city and state. With enough distance between us, and I’m sure I can forget about Franco and this sick feeling I hope to God isn’t love.

Who could love a cold-blooded killer? It’s just wrong—my brain is being stupid, and I have to trick it. That means I can’t be close enough to fall for his fucking sex-eyes and charms.

“Here,” I bark at the driver as he pulls into the entrance of a large, busy shopping mall, which is perfect to get lost in. I can draw money and ditch anything else traceable.

The door slams, not on purpose, but because fear has me moving so fast, I am not in control. Fight or flight? This is flight. I am flying away from those two men as fast as I can. My brand new iPhone is taking a drive around the city with Warwick, the five-star driver, and I’m about to buy a burner.

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