My cartel cell pings with an incoming message on Friday morning, instantly slaughtering my good mood. Cristian and I watched a movie again last night, and we spent hours chatting with both of us pretending the searing-hot chemistry sparking between us didn’t exist. I went to bed with a big smile on my face. Should have known it wouldn’t take long for reality to come calling.
Pain scrapes my throat dry as I look at the photo of Mom’s bruised body. My punishment on Sunday clearly wasn’t enough. Pablo took it out on Mom too. The video he sent me Monday night showed him savagely beating her while a few of his men cheered from the sidelines. It’s haunted me all week.
The phone vibrates with an incoming video call, and I check my bedroom door is locked before racing into my bathroom to answer it.
“The clock is ticking, my little American Barbie,” he croons as he forces Mom to her knees in front of the camera. She’s naked, but it’s nothing new. I’ve almost forgotten what it looks like to see her clothed. “I thought you might need an added incentive.” His dark grin sends chills creeping up my spine. “Watch.”
Pushing Mom on all fours, he parts her ass cheeks and shoves his hideous cock inside. Mom cries out, lifting her head and staring forlornly at the camera. The usual glazed look is vacant, and it’s the first time I’ve seen Mom lucid in months. It’s clear someone else is in the room, recording the assault. Tears roll down her pale cheeks, and her face contorts in pain as Pablo thrusts and grunts behind her.
Pain eviscerates me, and I wrap my free arm around my middle, struggling to hold back my tears. Mom’s eyes focus on the screen as the animal continues to hurt her. “I love you,” I mouth, hoping it registers.
“Save yourself,” she mouths back. “It’s too late for me.”
I shake my head repeatedly. I know what she’s saying, but she can’t ask that of me.
I hear Cristian calling me from outside my bedroom, and panic seizes me. “I need to go,” I whisper. “Cristian is looking for me.”
Pablo’s lust-drenched face fills the screen as he continues thrusting. “Three weeks, Sloane,” he pants. “You have three weeks to deliver, or it’s lights out for Mommy Dearest.” The last image I have is his hand circling Mom’s neck from behind before the screen dies.
“Sloane? Are you awake?” Cristian asks, and I don’t even have time to compose myself.
I walk on autopilot toward the bedroom door and unlock it.
“Shit, sorry.” He averts his eyes, but not before snatching a quick look at my flimsy tank top and sleep shorts. “I wanted to let you know I made an appointment for you this morning. John Angelo will drive you.”
“An appointment?” I ask in a flat tone.
“Yeah.” His eyes scrutinize my face. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lie. “Just another bad night’s sleep.”
“The melatonin isn’t helping?”
“A little,” I lie again.
He doesn’t look convinced, but I’m wrung dry. I don’t have any more juice to fake it. Inside, I’m a mess, and it’s a miracle I’m standing.
He clears his throat. “I booked some treatments at a spa for you, but I can cancel if you’re not feeling up to it.”
“What?”
“I thought you might like a little pampering before the wedding tomorrow. Gia and Elisa will be joining you there.”
“What about Elio?”
“My mother is watching him until you’re finished. I’m driving him over to my parents’ place before work.” His brow furrows. “Are you sure there’s nothing troubling you?”
“I’m sure.” I force a half smile. “A spa outing sounds perfect. Thanks, Cristian.” Though curling up in a ball, screaming and crying, is what I feel like doing, I’m better off trying to distract myself because I’m very close to losing my shit and blowing my cover.
He examines my face again. “You’re welcome.” He walks off but stops and spins around halfway down the hall. I haven’t budged. “If you need me for anything today, call my cell. No time is a bad time, okay?”
He is such a good guy, and I wish I could tell him, but I just can’t risk it. Tears prick the backs of my eyes, but I manage to hold them at bay. I nod, swallowing the messy ball of emotion clogging my throat. I slouch against the doorway long after he’s gone, despondent and in so much pain it feels like I’m suffocating.
“We have champagne!” Elisa says when I arrive at the luxury hotel spa to discover her and her best friend waiting in the reception area for me. She gets up from the plush velvet couch and thrusts a flute at me. “Who cares what time it is, right? It’s never too early or too late for champagne.” She waggles her brows as she sits back down, and I take the empty tub chair across from her. Elisa’s infectious, bubbly personality is the first thing to lift my dejected mood today, and I’m grateful for it.
“That’s a mantra I can get behind,” I say, tipping half the glass into my mouth.
Gia laughs. “I knew we were going to be the best of friends.” She looks around the swanky salon. “This is super sweet of Cristian, isn’t it?”
I quirk a brow. “It wasn’t your idea?” On the way here, I assumed the girls must have organized it and asked Cristian if I could come.
“Nope.” Elisa grins. “Cristian called to ask if there was a spa in the city we could recommend.”
“Then he offered to book us in too, and he organized it all,” Gia adds. “If I wasn’t already completely in love with my husband, I might be tempted to make a move on Mr. DiPietro.”
Elisa cracks up laughing. “Don’t mind her. She’s full of it. Gia had ample opportunity to make a move on Cristian and didn’t go there because they were only ever meant to be friends.”
Before I can ask what she means, a staff member appears to take us to the changing area.
Ten minutes later, we are drinking our champagne in the Jacuzzi and picking up our conversation. “What did you mean back there, Elisa?” I ask before swinging my gaze to Gia. “Were you interested in Cristian at one time?”
Gia narrows her eyes at her bestie. “Elisa shouldn’t have said anything. I was merely trying to encourage you to make a move on him.”
“Been there, bought the T-shirt, and have egg all over it now,” I deadpan before swigging the last of my champagne.
Elisa almost chokes on a mouthful of bubbly.
“Tell us everything,” Gia commands, giving me her full attention.
So, I do, explaining what happened the night at their place when I went after Cristian into the woods.
“Cristian is an honorable man, and Elio means the world to him,” Elisa says. “I’m not surprised it went down like that.”
“It’s pure Cristian,” Gia agrees. “Don’t take it personally. I know he likes you. It’s way too obvious to hide.”
“It doesn’t seem to matter.” I stretch my arms back against the edge of the Jacuzzi. “He wants to keep things uncomplicated and stick to professional boundaries, and I only respect him more for it.”
“But you like him,” Elisa probes.
“More than I should.” I don’t see the point in hiding the truth. Where I can be honest, I want to be.
“There’s no such thing.” Gia finishes her champagne, putting her glass down on the ledge. “You can’t force yourself to like someone less or not like them at all. Chemistry exists for a reason, and I can relate. Joshua and I were in a similar situation, and we both tried to fight it but couldn’t. I’m betting it will be the same with Cristian.”
“I pined for Caleb for years,” Elisa admits. “He only saw me as a friend until I started dating, and that forced him to take his head out of his ass.”
Gia’s eyes twinkle. “I know you said it wasn’t serious with the guy you’re seeing, but maybe you should tell Cristian the guy wants to become exclusive. Make him jealous, and it might spur him into action.”
“Or maybe you should take Giulio up on his dinner offer,” Elisa says.
“Oh, yes!” Gia’s eyes are positively gleaming with excitement now. “That will definitely light a fire under Cristian. He’ll go crazy.”
“I don’t want to lead Giulio on or cause any trouble in their friendship.”
Elisa giggles. “Knowing Giulio, he’d agree to it just to wind Cristian up. The guys are always playing pranks on one another.”
“You should do it. We can talk to him and help set it up, if you like?” Gia offers.
“I’ll think about it.” I’m still not convinced it will work. “But back to you and Cristian,” I say, eyeballing Gia. “What happened?”
“Do you really want to know?” She leans back, arching a brow. “The guys like to remind Joshua from time to time, to mess with his head, and it always pisses him off.”
“You can’t not tell me now.”
“Sorry.” Elisa chews on the corner of her lip. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“If it’s in the past, it doesn’t matter. I’m more curious than anything.”
“If you insist.” Gia shrugs. “I lost my virginity to Cristian.”
She just puts it out there like that. “Oh, okay, wow.”
“And then some.” Her lips twitch.
“He made it good for you?” I ask, even as jealousy rears its ugly head.
“He did.”
“Did you two date then?”
She shakes her head. “It was a one-time thing, and it never went further. Neither of us was interested in more.”
“I see.”
Gia sighs. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m glad I know. I wouldn’t like being the only one in the dark.”
“I’m sure Cristian will tell you himself at some point,” Elisa says. “He’s not the kind of man who plays games.”
Three beauticians arrive then to escort us to the treatment rooms for our facials, followed by massages. I doze on the table during both treatments for a little while, and I’m more relaxed than I have been in months when I head out to the communal area for my manicure and pedicure. I’m seated between the two best friends, and we chat away as the salon staff attends to us.
I decline more champagne in favor of herbal tea, which I enjoy with some complimentary fruit.
The conversation is casual until the subject switches to Isotta’s impending wedding. “I wish you were both going,” I admit. “It’d be nice to see some friendly faces.”
“She would never invite me,” Gia says, admiring her fingernails. “We have a mutual hate-hate relationship.”
“Maybe she has a dislike for blondes,” I say. “Because she never even gave me a chance.”
Gia snorts. “That’s her all over. She would’ve taken one look at you and been insanely jealous. I’m convinced she wants Cristian, though he tells me I’m ridiculous.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true,” I agree, sipping the last of my tea. “She’s very territorial with Elio and Cristian. She accused me of being a gold digger.”
“She did not!” Elisa’s shocked gasp turns a few heads.
“I don’t know why you’re so shocked, Lise. That is pure Isa,” Gia says. “She considers every female her competition, and the claws always come out.”
“Cristian says she’ll be fine with me at the wedding, but I’m not so sure. If it were my wedding, I wouldn’t want her at it.”
“She won’t cross Cristian,” Gia says. “He’s an important man in our social circles,” she cryptically adds.
Anytime I feel guilt building at all the things I’m concealing, I remind myself these ladies are keeping secrets from me, too, and I don’t feel so bad. I wish all the cards could be put on the table because I’d love to claim these girls as my friends for real. But wishes usually don’t come true, especially in my case.
“Speaking of the wedding, how dressy will it be?” I ask, thinking of the paltry clothing in my closet. “I don’t have a huge selection of wedding-appropriate dresses, and I’m wondering if I need to go shopping.” I don’t have much money, as most of my weekly salary is going into a fake bank account the cartel controls. However, I’m sure I can get a dress if I tell Pablo, but I’d rather not divulge my plans in advance. The less that asshole knows, the better.
Elisa and Gia share a smile. “You don’t need to worry about that,” Elisa says.
I frown. “I don’t?”
“Cristian has it covered,” Gia replies in another cryptic display.
“And you don’t need to worry about hair or makeup either,” Elisa adds. “We’ve organized a girl to come to the penthouse tomorrow as our treat.”
“Why would you do that?” I blurt.
“You’re our friend, and it’s what friends do,” Elisa says.
“It’s too much,” I protest, blown away by their thoughtfulness and generosity.
“Cristian insisted on paying for today,” Elisa adds. “So, the least we could do was ensure you look like a million dollars tomorrow. I always feel amazing when I get my hair and makeup professionally done.”
“Isa will throw a hissy fit when you rock up on Cristian’s arm looking like a fucking supermodel,” Gia says with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“You’re so wicked sometimes, Gigi.” Elisa fights a grin.
“That stuck-up cow has it coming,” Gia replies. “And don’t you dare say you’ll feel guilty if you upstage her,” she adds, noticing my mouth opening to say that very thing. “She’s not a nice person, Sloane. Just remember the way she treated you, and it’s not your fault you’re beautiful and she’s a jealous bitch.”
A laugh bursts from my mouth. “I so wish you guys were coming tomorrow.”
“Trust me, you’ll do fine,” Gia says, pinning me with an assuring smile.
