Page 33 of Wicked Union

"Fix it now, Tito. Before it's too late." Dad's stern warning comes just as his eyes flutter shut. He's tired, and I'm furious. I need to leave before I hurt my brother and start something I can't undo.

Without saying a word to my brother, I slip out of the room. Aria is here, at the door listening, and the instant the door is shut with Carlos and my father inside, she throws her arms around me. I am taken by surprise at the show of affection and pull away from her.

"Shh," she whispers, taking my hand. Her furtive glances and the way she pulls me toward the door intrigue me, so I follow without protest.

Safely inside the car and headed toward my home, she turns to me. "I can help you." Those full red lips speak words a man like me never hears. My wife helping me with what? My issue with my brother? Does she know something I don't? Is that why Carlos was speaking to her privately so many times?

"With what?" I ask, feigning ignorance. I don’t know how much she heard, and I'm not giving anything away.

"I heard that, Tito. Don't play dumb." Aria's expression darkens. "It seems to me your brother is trying to instigate trouble. He's telling your father things that make you look bad. Maybe he's hoping your father gives him the reins, not you."

Her accusation against Carlos is spot on, and now I’m really curious. "And exactly how can you help me with this?" I angle my shoulders to face her as the car rumbles onto the highway, and she lays out her plan for me as our fingers lace together.

"Petrovich Uhkov… I call him Peter. We went to high school together. We were close. He was my first—" Aria cuts herself off as her cheeks flush, and she looks down at our fingers locked together. "We have to stop the war, Tito. My father is weak." She looks into my eyes. "They took my brother from him. They’ve threatened my sister, and she's away now, where it's safe." This is news to me, but Aria doesn’t explain. She continues, "Peter can help. If you let me, I will do what needs done. You just can't ask me what I’m doing, and you have to trust that it's the only way."

I think for a moment as I notice the serious look in her eye, and for the first time, I wonder how dangerous my own wife is. I see a fire there I've not seen since the day we met. She'd have gutted me if she could have. Now I wonder about whom she is thinking, about whose throat she's dreaming of slitting while they sleep.

"And Carlos? You know he's involved?"

Aria nods but doesn't explain, and I wonder how she will take care of this.

"You won't harm him?" My question makes her bristle.

"I will only do what is necessary to save your life, your reputation, your family, and your father the shame of having a traitorous son. Now, no more questions. Do you want me to do what I need to do?" Aria's hand pulls away from mine and she reaches for her hair, collecting it and drawing it over her right shoulder.

The less I know about it the better, and I do trust that she has my back for a very strange reason. I'm not looking at her as a weak and powerless woman anymore. When she gave Carlos that business advice, I knew how smart she was. When she stood up to me, I knew how strong she was. And now, I know how deadly she is, and if it means saving everything, I can turn a blind eye.

"Most men who make a deal with the devil have to share fluids… Spit on their hand, mingle some blood…." My dick is already throbbing as I suck in the breath for the next sentence, but she beats me to it.

"Then get your dick out and let me suck you off… My spit and yours…" Her eyes haze with lust as she slides to the floor, and my fly is open before her mouth descends.

The way her lips wrap around my cock is glorious, sucking and sliding up and down my shaft. This isn't forced. It's not coercion. Aria and I have something no one will ever take from us now, and I’m beginning to see how wrong I was about this entire family. I don't have to take them by force. They're willingly giving themselves to me because they see my leadership and know it's good.

I wiggle the silk of her dress up over her hips and bare her ass, shoving my hand into her panties to finger her backside as she continues to suck. Yes, I think this partnership will work out just fine. Better than I hoped. And fuck, is she good at sucking me.

25

ARIA

Ihave to do this under the cloak of darkness. It's nearing midnight, but if I were to be seen with Peter, it would cost him his life. We go way back, but I know his ruthlessness. When he's ensnared, his temper goes supernova, and I don't want to be anywhere close to him if that happens. We have an understanding, but it'll never supersede the connection with his family.

Tito agreed to let me work my magic without asking any questions. It's a matter of trust, which I now have for him and he for me. When he said he wanted to be my partner in life and in business, he wasn't kidding. For all he knows, I could be working as a double agent for the Russians, hell-bent on destroying him, and though the double-agent part wasn't accurate, for a while, I was. I wanted him to weep at my feet and grovel for my forgiveness because of the things he threatened to put my father through.

Now I just want the fighting to end and my father to be of sound mind and safe in body for the rest of his life. Losing Jasper changed the game. It didn't necessarily change my outlook forthis arrangement. That came later. What it did was show me how short life is and how fragile we all are. If Tito can order a hit to take my brother out without even being suspected, then he could do far worse to my father, and it seems Dad is handing him everything he wants on a silver platter.

I drive a borrowed car, untraceable and donated to my cause by Tito who did not ask where I would go this late at night. Though he did kiss my forehead and ask me to be safe. My stomach rolled with nausea when he said, "You may be carrying my heir." He can only suspect things right now. There is no way he knows anything. I've hidden it very well, behind fatigue and grieving. But he's right. I need to be safe for the baby's sake.

The car—a small, early model Pontiac sports car with no registered plates—hugs the curves. I have such little experience driving, though Dad insisted both of us girls learn to drive. He cautioned us that we may need the skill in an emergency, and while I don't consider this an emergency, I do think it's a necessity.

The night swallows the road, sucking in the light from the headlamps into its void. It makes navigating the turns a little anxiety inducing. As if I don't have enough anxiety as it is. There is danger on all sides. If my father discovers I'm speaking to Peter, he'll be heartbroken. He told me a long time ago that the man—then just a boy—was off limits. An enemy is not a friend. But now that I'm grown and know better, it would tear his heart out. Two children dead, one gone off to safety, and the final one a traitor? No, I can't do that to him.

If Tito's men see me speaking with Peter, they'll kill me on the spot. It's their training. They'd do it to Carlos or any of the others. I'm just a tool to bind the Ramiros to the Peraltas, and in meeting with Tito's foes, I'm breaking the agreement. I haveto place my trust in Tito that he understands this is for his protection and my father's. He'll see what I'm doing and he won't see it as my breaking the agreement.

But if Peter's family catches wind that I’m with him, not only Peter will suffer. They'll make an example of me in front of both my husband and my father. They'd both be crushed. I can see it in their eyes when I look at them.

I park a few blocks away, armed with my pepper spray, a switch blade I taught myself to use with Jasper's help, and a Ruger .22 handgun. It won't kill much unless the shot is perfect, but it'll buy me time to escape in a pinch. I'm not here to destroy, just to maim, and my plan is simple. I have to make sure Carlos's plot is exposed to everyone, not to harm him, but to disarm him. His father must know how he's working with the enemy to overthrow Tito now, before the elder Ramiro dies and gives his life to the wrong son. Tito is the rightful leader, and I was mistaken when I thought Carlos could do it.

If Carlos takes the helm, there will be no respect for my family at all. He'll pick them off one by one, destroy the business, and bury the Peralta name so deeply no one will remember it ten years from now. Tito and I have an arrangement that we can at least push for ten years, longer if I'm carrying a son. I might be willing to make concessions to ensure things go smoothly for my family, at least until my father and mother pass.

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