CHAPTER ELEVEN
LUCIANO
Stalking into Sylvi’s mansion, instantly the sensation of being caged washed over me. My fingers flexed against my jeans, burning from the urge to wrap around Aya’s neck. Against my ribs my heart thundered hard, and I ground my teeth together as my brother whirled around to face me. His expression was dark; I honestly wasn’t in the mood to deal with his shit when I had other things to worry about.
“What the fuck is wrong with you, Luciano? Sei stato cazzo tutta la settimana e non puoi incolpare tutto su Georgio.” Glaring daggers, my eyes narrowed into slits and my cheek twitched in aggravation. Sylvi took no heed, and I curled my hands into fists as he advanced threateningly. “I told you that girl was no good, but she’s still around and it’s messing with you, Brother. Literally everyone is talking about you and your little slave gi-”
My control snapped in that moment; I was so fucking tired of Aya being referred to as a slave. Shoving Sylvi backwards with the flat of my fists, I cut off his little rant with my forearm against his throat. Sucking in heaving breaths, my lip curled up into a snarl. My brother’s face contorted in a mix of pain and irritation, and I watched the fire blaze from his eyes before parting my clenched teeth.
“Don’t fucking start that slave shit, Sylvi, because I’ll ruin your fucking face. And before you open your big fucking mouth, let me answer your dumb ass question. Yeah- I don’t blame it all on Georgio. And no- I don’t give two fucking shits about what people say. So just shut your fucking eyes and ignore it, because if you so much as look- Sei cazzo morto.” Glaring Sylvi down, I pressed him harder into the wooden door frame. His breath became harsh gasps, and a flash of uncertainty struck his orbs. Jerking his head in a nod as he turned a bright, lobster red, my brother choked when I finally let him free.
“What the actual fuck, Luciano… What’s so important about her that you threaten me like that?” Anger bled in Sylvi’s voice even as a harsher pain shot through his wide eyes. Taking a large step back, I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment.
“I can answer that.” My lungs deflated in a gale, and I tilted my head to find Tyler leaning off the second floor railing. His shoulders were relaxed, and for the first time in a while he wasn’t wearing a suit. Instead his muscular, lean arms were free to show off inked sleeves, and his wife beater had been chopped in half. Beckoning us with a wave of his hand, Tyler pushed himself off the rail as Sylvi silently took the stairs.
My mind reeled; I threatened to kill Sylvi more times than I could ever count. I just never meant it so much before. Shaking my head hard, I expelled a grunt as I followed him up to the second story.
Aya really is messing with me.
“I dug up on Aya like you told me, Luciano- and let me tell you she’s extremely hard to find. Her mother shielded her entirely from the spotlight, even went so far as to give her a different last name at birth. This is literally the only article I could find about her.” Leaning over Tyler’s shoulder, my body was stiff as he brought up an online breaking news segment. It was a short piece, outlining Aya’s parents’ deaths and her disappearance after the funeral. Grimacing, I pushed myself up before Sylvi spoke up from beside me.
“What else? There’s got to be more than just this.”
“Oh- there is. To be precise, it’s about $9.8 million more than this.” My eyes narrowed, back straightening as Tyler typed away absently to bring up different windows. “From what I found, her parents’ descent into drugs was slow and arduous. It started when she was 10, but this account I found was made when she was 7. The initial dump was over $4 million, and over time there were smaller dumps and deposits. All of them coincide with these extremely huge, successful movies and high profile clients. These projects were squeezed into stupidly tight deadlines-”
“Something made them worry about the girl’s future.” Pursing my lips together, I rocked back on my heels to watch Sylvi openly. He cupped his chin, his jaw ticking sharply as his fingers pounded against the desk with loud thunks. That was his thinking face, and I pictured the gears working inside his skull.
“That’s exactly what I first thought, so I searched for anything that connected Aya’s parents to any shady shit. I didn’t find jack, just a lot of mild stuff. Teenage shit- famous shit- DUIs and the like. After Aya’s mother’s sexual assault case, everything just stops until eight years later when they open the account. There was nothing out of the ordinary with either of their finances. I don’t know. It took me a long ass time just to unseal the parents’ OD investigation and court shit. I still need to finish combing through that, and then I’ll go after the mom first. She seems the most interesting.”
“Before you do any of that, tell me about the girl. What did she do before her parents’ killed themselves?” Sylvi seemed to read my mind, but his voice was distracted as he tried to work through what Tyler was telling him. Snatching a few sheaths of paper, the nerd adjusted his glasses with one hand as he flicked through the pile with the other.
Curiosity burned a hole through my brain; Aya’s money didn’t interest me nearly as much as it interested Sylvi. I could always just have her tell me.
“According to school records she was an alright student- not the best but not the worst. She got a psychiatric evaluation in high school, and took time off to get testing done. Apparently people thought she was psychotic or idiopathic or both. When all of that came back negative she finished up her junior and senior year quietly. This was during the time her parents’ were still in and out of rehab, but when she graduated they stopped. I’m guessing she moved to one of the four properties her father’s law firm managed, because I can’t find her again until her police report the night of her parents’ deaths.”
The thick hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up, and behind my eyelids Aya’s face flashed. Instantly my mind rejected the notion that someone had her evaluated out of the kindness of his heart. High school was nasty; it only took one person to permanently fuck someone else up for life.
“That makes no sense. None of this explains why Trevor snatched her. He obviously didn’t know about the money. She’s not amazingly smart computer-in-a-lump-of-flesh kind of way… and he didn’t even have anything of import in that regard anyway. The guy couldn’t power up a computer, let alone encrypt something. So, what are your ideas, Tyler?”
In his chair Tyler shrugged, leaning back to rest his head on his arm. His jeans rustled as he crossed his legs, and I rolled my eyes. He’d seen it all and then some; nothing phased him into mild shortness of breath anymore.
“Well, we really have no choice but to wait and try to get some more information from Aya. It’d be nice if we could find the safe she told you about, Luciano. That, or the cross dresser- whatever.” Grinding my molars together, I only offered a grunt as Sylvi’s gaze bored holes into my head. I didn’t have the patience for this shit.
Turning on my heel, I strode from the room with heavy stomps and headed for the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I let my mind wander to this morning for the first time. Aya wasn’t some desperate cunt trying to fuck for security.
No- and I don’t need to fuck her to keep her. My inner voice snickered darkly at that, and I licked my teeth as I reached the top of the steps. Phantom touches whispered across my skin, and I shook myself out as a growl built in my throat.
The sound of water pelting tile washed over me as soon as I pushed open Aya’s door. With no thought my legs carried me forward, my arm flinging back to slam the barrier shut. Tyler might be able to see in here, with his damn cameras, but he couldn’t hear anything. The air became thin the closer I came, and goosebumps rose up on my arms as a chill nipped at my lungs.
“Aya…” Her name slipped from between my lips quietly as foreboding twisted my gut. Stepping through the threshold, my legs stiffened at the cold air that swirled around me. Frost coated the large mirror, and my fingers slid along cold precipitation that had collected on the counter top.
My brain processed everything in slow motion as I turned to the shower stall. A thick glass pane shielded against my gaze, and my brows came together as my heart thudded against the bars that held it back. Water slapping tile became a drone in my ears, and I reached out to pull back the barrier with tense fingers.
Aya was sprawled on the floor, her pale skin turning blue from the freezing cold liquid that shot down on her from above. She twitched and shivered violently, groaning and whimpering through her sharp, rasping breaths. For a long moment I could only stare, but a pain ripped through my chest to force me into action.
“Fuck- fuck- Aya… wake up. Sveglia, stupida donna fottuta…” Grabbing a fistful of Aya’s long, auburn hair, I pulled her out of the shower stall with a yank. Heat filled my chest, gorging my muscles until they ached even as my brain struggled to come up with something to do.
“Stupid fucking- shit- Aya- Aya-” Slapping her cheeks hard, my palms tingled from the contact before an infuriated snarl was forced from my throat. “Wake the fuck up! Aya, non cazzo fare questo.”
Heat. That single word my frantic mind conjured made me still. Of fucking course she needed heat- she was hypothermic.
Picking up Aya’s light weight, I left the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind me. Her skin was so cold it burned mine, and I set her on her bed before ripping off my shirt. Stripping down to my boxers, I climbed up behind her to tug her as gently as I could manage. The ice that was her flesh left scorch marks on my abs, her freezing, wet hair clinging to my sides and forearms like the kiss of a barbed whip.
“Non puoi morire a meno che non ti uccido, Aya.”