Page 95 of Thorns of Deceit
She groaned. “Geez, thanks. Nice to have your support. I have to go.”
“Why?” I teased. “Are you about to have wild, unprotected sex? Oh wait, you’ve already done plenty of that.”
Statements like this were sure to tempt fate and backfire. I’d end up blown up like a balloon. Yes, karma was a bitch. Or maybe my guilty conscience was fucking with me.
“Are you?” she shot back, her tone sharpening. “Let me guess, Aiden Callahan?” I stiffened, emotions swirling through my chest, and suddenly I wanted to cry. For my friends and this cruel, fucked-up world. For the man who’d changed me forever. And for nothing being simple anymore.
“Listen, I’m sorry??—”
“He’s keeping me locked up in his penthouse,” I blurted.
That got her.
“Huh? You’re what now?”
I let out a heavy sigh, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I ran into Aiden last night.” It was an innocent lie. I didn’t want to tell her he broke into my room and blackmailed me with a video showing us all as accomplices to Angelo Leone’s murder. If Athena told her Italian mobster baby daddy, shit would hitthe fan. White lies were okay to tell now and then. “And now… he’s keeping me prisoner. The only reason I know about the apartment is because he sent someone to get my stuff.”
“Do you want me to call the police?”
“And say what? This crazy Irish mobster kidnapped my friend, but there’s no evidence of it?” I barked a bitter laugh. That didn’t even cover the fact that I was legally his wife. “And even if they do find any, they’ll never get close to him.”
My stomach rumbled, and I dropped my head back with a silent groan. Now I was pissed offandhungry. Things had been going so well. I was dead to the world. I had my friends, my freedom, my career began to take off, and I was financially independent. Then I had to go and be stupid by hanging around the mobster families of my friends. I became sloppy and clearly considered myself invincible.
And now things got all complicated and dangerous. I was right back at the beginning where it all started.
“Jesus, now I’m kind of thinking I got the better deal,” Athena muttered.
“I think so too.” I sniffled, much to my horror. These emotions were getting out of hand, and I wasn’t accustomed to them. Usually, I was not the sensitive one in our group. “And, Athena?”
“Yeah?”
“You’ll be the most beautiful pregnant woman,” I said softly.
“Thank you. Is there anything I can do?”
I shook my head, then remembered she couldn’t see me. “No. I’ll have to get myself out of this mess.”
“Are you sure? Maybe I can get Manuel to fight Aiden.”
I chuckled, silently glad I hadn’t mentioned the video. That would havedefinitelystarted a war between them.
“We’d let the two of them kill each other. That’s not a bad plan.” It was fucking terrible because the thought of Aiden beingdead made my chest ache. “No, I’m fine,” I said quickly. “This thing with Aiden is long overdue. I can’t keep running from it.”
“Give him hell this time,” Athena encouraged, ever the supportive friend.
“Oh, I fucking will. The man will be begging me to leave when I’m done with him.”
The question was more like what wouldIdo once I was done with him, but I couldn’t worry myself with semantics. My friends had their own problems and things to worry about. I wouldn’t burden them with my stuff.
“That’s my girl,” she praised. We chatted for a bit more, then once we hung up, the silence returned.
I sat alone for hours, watching the sky shift from pale blue to deep cobalt as the first stars began to pierce through. By now, I had gone through every closet, every desk, cabinet, drawer, searching for something—anything—but came up empty-handed.
Then the front door clicked and I raced to it, heart racing.
Aiden stepped in, arms overflowing with designer shopping bags—Givenchy Baby, Kenzo Baby, Chloé Baby, Billieblush—and a giant plush teddy bear nearly the size of a small car.
