Page 14 of Cruel Bet

“Yes, something’s very fucking wrong. There’s a snake amongst us,” I snarl, not stopping to talk.

“You can’t mean the girl? She’s a nice one, sweet, the kind of girl you should…”

“Don’t even finish that thought,” I warn.

Both Dimitri and Endo know better than to mess with me when I’m like this. They step aside and leave me to it. Outside, Arianna is lying on a sun lounger by the pool, still dripping from a recent dip. She looks up at me with those seductive, lying eyes, and smiles.

“Nikolai.”

Her happiness is soon replaced by confusion and then fear as I grab her and lift her to her feet.

“Who the fuck are you? Who sent you? Why are you here?” I rattle off.

“What? I don’t understand?” she says, confusion marring her beautiful face. “You know who I am, and why I’m here.”

“Do I? All I know is that I went to De Luca’s for a meeting, one in which he finally had the guts to turn me down over using his trade routes, and then, lo and behold, this mysterious woman conveniently happens to bump into me and hand me a note. You. You claimed to be Arianna De Luca, the daughter nobody has seen, and that you wanted me to help you escape an arranged marriage to Lucchese in exchange for information. But, I have only your word that you are who you say you are. You’ve yet to give me any information at all, but you seem more than happy to make yourself comfortable in my home. So, I’ll ask you again, who are you and what do you want?”

“I told you. I want guarantees about my safety and freedom. Then I will tell you what I know. If I could have escaped without you, don’t you think I would have? I had to escape, I couldn’t marry that man,” she cries, her eyes pleading.

“Well, it seems someone did marry him. So, tell me this, how could the wedding of Arianna De Luca and LorenzoLucchese have gone ahead as planned, ifyou’reArianna De Luca?” I demand, unmoved.

A look of genuine confusion and surprise paints itself across her features. Either she’s a brilliant actress, or she genuinely didn’t know. At this point, I don’t know what to believe, but her reaction has me doubting my initial conviction that she’s been playing me.

“Wait. It… went ahead? Without me? How is that possible?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” I ask icily.

“You don’t think that I have something to do with this?” she asks, realizing my suspicions.

“That’s exactly what I think. I think you’re a mole, sent here by De Luca to spy on me. I have to say, it’s a brilliant plan, not something I’d have expected your moron of a father to come up with. I hear Di Stefano is a devious bastard though, perhaps he’s behind it.”

Her mouth pops open in an ‘o’ of surprise. Her eyes dart as she seemingly thinks of what to say, how to get out of this.

“Look, I can see why you might think that. But you don’t know my father. You’re right, that idea would be too smart for him, but having a replacement bride for me should anything happen to me would be exactly the kind of thing he’d do. You said so yourself, it wouldn’t be hard to pass off someone else as me, no one knows what I look like outside of my father’s inner circle. Lucchese’s a lecherous old pervert, as long as she was attractive and young he wouldn’t care. Especially if my father promised him he could have me too, once I’m found,” she implores.

She lets out an involuntary shudder as she contemplates her words. I search her face for signs of deceit but find none. Seeming emboldened by my silence, she continues.

“Father doesn’t care about me, he sees me as property, a means to an end. When my sister died, he used her death as an opportunity. He pretended she was killed by an enemy, but in reality, she did it to herself. Or at least that’s what he told me. For all I know that was another lie and she was murdered by the very man my father now allies with,” she beseeches me.

She says this with such conviction and venom it's hard not to believe her.

“I’m sorry to hear that about your sister, I know what it feels like to lose a loved one,” I say truthfully.

Her eyes flicker with surprise and she seems to soften a little at my genuine sympathy. But I don’t want to get into my past, especially not now. Besides, something she said intrigues me, something I think she revealed without meaning to.

“What opportunity?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.

Her eyes open wide, seemingly realizing her mistake. “I’m not saying anything further until you promise me what I want. I have been honest with you, Nikolai. It is time for you to start doing the same,” she demands though the quiver in her voice implies she isn’t feeling as brave as her words suggest.

“I have been very honestabout the kind of man I am,kukolka. The kind of things I am capable of. And all the ways I can make you tell me what you know. You think it’s your father you should fear. You’re wrong. It’s me,” I promise.

I turn and walk away. I need to clear my head and figure out what the truth is. Being near her and listening to her makesme want to believe she’s telling the truth. And I don’t know if I can trust my instincts around her or if my attraction to her is clouding my judgment.

Chapter 9

Arianna

It’s been almost a week since I arrived here; since I discovered that some poor girl was married off in my place. I’ve barely seen Nikolai. He’s either been away on business or resolutely avoiding me when he’s here. If I was hoping some space would help me get over whatever attraction I feel toward him, I was sorely mistaken. Every night he pervades my dreams, leaving me waking with longing and unfulfilled need. Touching myself, ashamed for thinking of him but still doing so nonetheless, hasn’t helped to satisfy my hunger.

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