Page 11 of Wicked Union

"What are you doing, lady? What are you up to?" He walks toward me, looming menacingly over me. I don't flinch or cower. I have no reason to fear him at all. I'm not breaking my marital contract by placing seeds of doubt in Carlos's mind. If Tito can scheme and plot against my family, I have no shame in doing it to him.

"I'm saying, you seem to be the one fit for the job." Not even looking at him, I can sense the room shift. It gets ten degrees hotter, maybe because despite being confident in what I’m doing, I'm starting to sense that I'm treading in shark-infested water.

"Yeah? How so?" Carlos stops, his shadow cast across my cup, and I look up at him.

"Well, you make sense and he makes messes. Isn't that what you told your father the night of our wedding?" He has no idea I overheard that little spat between him and the older Ramiro. "What if we can work together to get you what you want, and me what I want?

There is a long, pregnant pause. He's thinking it over now. I have him right where I want him. I know men like him. He's going to take the bait, even if he doesn’t do it now. His ego is too largeto allow Tito to run the show and get all the credit. Carlos isn't happy being second in command. He wants it all, and I know I can convince him to take it.

"And if I said yes, what is it you think I want? And what is it that you want?" He hasn't told me off yet, so that's good. I turn in the seat and look up at his stern expression. It's amazing how much the brothers look alike, though Tito is by far the more handsome of the two. But who knows, maybe Carlos is the smarter one.

"You want the leading role, and I want to go home to my family and for my father to retain full ownership of his businesses—completely bailed out."

I can almost hear the wheels turning in Carlos’s mind. He's thinking of it, but before he can answer, Tito's voice booms through the back door, making me jump in right.

"Fuck! Goddammit! Carlos, we have a problem." His shout is so loud it rattles my nerves, and I turn to look down into the cup again. Focusing on anything besides Tito's anger is what I need to do. I can't let him see me anxious or flustered like this. He'll know I'm up to something.

When he questioned me about whether I had been eavesdropping on his meeting, I was certain he was going to corner me and force me to tell him the truth. That hand around my neck when we fuck won't be so nice if it's there for any other reason. I can't give him any excuse to want to harm me. Tito is strong. He could crush me.

"What the hell?" Carlos barks out, then he turns and walks into the hallway off the back door, meeting Tito as he bursts in. As they walk up the hallway, I hear him shouting about the drug deal.

They can't see my face, and I'm glad. My lips curl into a smile at the mention of his deal being interrupted. Of course it's interrupted. Jasper and I concocted a plan to leak the information to a few friendlies we have on the police force. There was never a chance that deal would go down as Tito planned it to. I won't let his drugs flood the market and create the "problem" to which he could provide the solution.

Yes, I heard every single word of that meeting and raced up to the library before he ever suspected a thing. Or maybe he suspected it. Maybe he still does, but he can't prove it. Now he's irate and screaming about revenge and finding out who did what, and I pick up the tepid tea and sip it, grimacing at how awful it tastes.

When the sound of Tito's shouts fades, I pull my phone out and call Jasper. I want someone to celebrate with. This tiny victory is mine, and while my brother has no clue that I'm scheming to get Tito to back out of this arrangement, he can appreciate that I'm a troublemaker. Besides, it saved my father this time, though next time, I may not be so lucky.

"Aria, how are you?" Jasper says after answering on the third ring.

"Big brother," I say, grinning. "It's done. It worked." I am positively giddy, bouncing in my seat so much that the tea sloshes on the marble and I have to grab a paper towel to wipe it up.

"Slow down, Ari. You know you have to be careful. Your husband is a dangerous criminal. Your overexuberance will get you caught." Jasper sounds like a parent, not a partner in crime, besides the fact that as the heir to my father's throne, he is Tito'scounterpart. As if I'm unaware what my own brother is capable of. I roll my eyes.

"God, just celebrate with me. And don’t call that bastard my husband. He is nothing more than a contracted relationship." I wipe up the tea, but as I say the words, my gut churns. It's not altogether true. When Tito slides into me and makes me look him in the eye as I come, I feel something. There is some sort of sick fuckery that goes on in my mind, connecting me to him, and I hate that part of me.

"Well, don't be so quick to claim the victory. We won a small battle because your ear was tuned in. If this continues to happen, he'll become secretive. His little plots against our family will be carried out without your ever knowing of them. Then how will we defend ourselves?" Jasper asks, and I already know.

"I'm going to ask Sergeant Nix to get me a few bugs to plant on him, in his car, around this house. I can have access to take down other deals too, not just ones that pertain to our family. I have to make him look bad in front of his father." The plan begins to come together in my mind seamlessly now. If Carlos is on board, all we have to do is make Tito look foolish in front of his father. Mr. Ramiro will choose Carlos to lead the family instead of Tito, and all I have to do is get my "husband" to fuck me so hard he leaves bruises on my neck, then claim he tried to kill me.

I know it will work.

"Aria, you have to be careful. You don't know who you’re dealing with." Jasper's warning comes in hushed tones, and I get the feeling my parents are nearby, or at least one of them.

"Don't worry, Jasper. I know exactly what I’m doing. And I'm going to do it right. Hopefully soon, too." The shouting hasstarted again, in the other room. Tito is furious. "Listen, I have to go. I have to hide or something. I'll call you later."

I hang up knowing my overly concerned brother is probably worried sick. It just shows how close we really are. He cares about me so much, he would storm the castle and save me, but this time, I'm saving him and myself. All of us, really. And I'm not going to stop until my job is finished.

10

TITO

Aria has been nothing but snappy and stubborn since we walked into my father's house. We're gathered for a family meal, as requested by Dear Old Dad, who knows he's on his last legs. He wants us all together. I think it makes him feel like death isn't so imminent, that he is still strong enough to lead, but we all know he's been fading lately.

She remains firmly on my arm, dressed in white dress slacks and a pink floral top. The lighter colors only make her thick, dark hair all the more alluring as it curls around her shoulders and drapes over her chest. The plunging neckline of the top is a hit with most of my cousins, though I'll pry their eyes out with my thumbs if they even so much as look at her with attraction. She is mine alone, and I'm actually feeling proud to have her tonight.

"Do you have to have such a cold expression on your face? This is a party—smile." My gentle chiding seems to irritate her. I'm not one to coddle, either. She will get her act together or I'll be forced to put her in her place.

"Do you have to be such a bore?" The sardonic drawl of her tone makes me clench my jaw. "And it's a family gathering. Theonly way this would be a party is if your father kicks the bucket tonight."

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