Finding Beauty in the Darkness Read online

  While checking the books, I take note of the loans that aren’t up to date, so I can have Franky and Carlos, my loan enforcers, handle them this week. I don’t take lightly to people agreeing to pay a certain amount then not paying. It’s just not good business. While writing down the names, I notice one of the names is Mayor Watkins. He’s a huge gambler at the casino, so I note to let Nico know on Saturday while I’m there.

  There’s a knock on my door. “Come in,” I say, too lazy to get up and answer the door. The door opens slowly and Aria’s face peeks in.

  “Am I bothering you?” she asks nervously.

  “No, but did you manage to already get by Rome?”

  She cocks her head to the side. “No, but he argued for damn near ten minutes before I finally convinced him to just walk with me over here. You can’t make me stay in a room all day.”

  “I’ll let Rome and the other guys know that as long as you don’t try to run, you can go where you would like on the property as long as someone is with you. Even if you tried to run, we’re on hundreds of acres. Unless you have a car, you aren’t getting far anyway.”

  “Got it. Find a way to steal a car.” Aria smirks, and I shake my head.

  “How was your nap?”

  She has a seat in the chair across from me. “It was good. I feel like I’m finally almost myself again. I’m still sore, but I’m not in pain. And I haven’t had a panic attack all day.”

  “Good. Dr. Fox wants you to talk to someone. I’ve found a few people…”

  Aria shakes her head vehemently. “No, the pills are working. You can get them for me, right?”

  “I can, but you’ve been through a lot. You should talk to someone about it.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. My mom died, my stepfather went crazy and held me captive while abusing me. Now I’m being held here by you until you find another way to destroy Weston.”

  “Well, when you put it like that, it’s not traumatizing at all,” I say sarcastically. When the hell did I become a smartass?

  “I wasn’t a virgin when he took me. I’d had plenty of sex.” Images of Aria naked and sweaty pop into my head and I quickly change the subject.

  “You’re a victim.”

  “Yeah, so? That doesn’t mean I have to let what happened to me own me. He’s a crazy asshole. Yes, he raped me, but I’m not going to let him take more from me. I’m broke and have no idea where I stand with school. I need to move forward. I need to get a job and get school figured out. Maybe I can even take online classes while I’m here if you aren’t going to let me leave. I need to do something.”

  I love how strong this woman is. She has every right to place blame and cry and make excuses but instead she’s picking up the pieces and handling business.

  “All right. Money isn’t an issue while you’re here. Anything you need, I’ll provide. As far as school goes, I’m sure we can figure something out. I get you want to be strong and I commend you for that, but I’d feel better if you would at least talk to someone…just once. If you don’t feel it will help then you don’t have to see her again, and keep in mind she’s the one who will be prescribing your meds.”

  Aria huffs loudly, but I can see her giving in. “Fine, one time.”

  “Good girl. Now how about that movie? I’m sure we can get you some snacks from the kitchen and I might even be able to convince Maggie to make you a milk shake.”

  Aria smiles wide. “Only on one condition. You join me.”

  “I need to work.”

  “Take a break.”

  I know I’m going to regret giving into her. It’s like watching two trains coming toward each other on the same track and not being able to stop either of them. I know the wreck will end tragically of epic proportions, but I can’t help but watch. I want to look away, but I can’t. I know being around Aria more than necessary will only end catastrophically, but I can’t help but be drawn to her. The more I try to fight it, the more I want to be near her.

  “Fine,” I concede.

  “Yay!” Aria grins, her nose scrunching up in the adorable way it always does.

  Yep, I’m well and truly fucked.

  Chapter Twelve

  ARIA

  It’s been almost two weeks since Giovanni saved me from Weston, although saving me might be a somewhat lenient term since in return, he’s keeping me here at his mansion-slash-club under lock and key. I’ve quickly learned Giovanni has multiple sides to him. He can be cold and calculating when he needs to be, like when he confronted Weston or when he had to take a business call during our movie. Without so much as raising his voice, he made threats to whoever was on the other line, which weren’t even aimed at me but still sent chills right up my spine. Giovanni is not a man I’d want to cross.

  But then, when he hung up the phone, and we went back to watching our movie, Romeo and Juliet (Don’t act like you didn’t love the 1990s version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes), and it got to the part where the families dueled, I jokingly asked him if that’s how it works in the mob. He threw his head back in laughter and told me he could see his brothers as Mercutio and Tybalt. I had no idea he had brothers. It’s obvious, Giovanni is an extremely private person.

  When I grew tired and yawned several times, Giovanni grabbed a pillow and had me lay my head across his lap while he played with my hair. I fell asleep before the movie ended but woke up to him carrying me back to bed.

  I’ve spent the majority of my time so far, cooped up in my room reading, aside from the movie night with Giovanni in the theater room. He said I have free reign of the place but also said it’s best I don’t spend time in the common room since that’s where most of the members and escorts hang out. I plan to explore the outdoors soon, but I’ve been waiting for my ribs to heal all the way.

  It’s now Saturday, which means I’m going to see my best friend Amber today. I’ve spent the last nine months with my life on hold, so it’ll be nice to see my friend and hopefully feel some sense of normalcy again.

  “Good morning.” Giovanni rolls over onto his back, yawning and stretching. I watch as he runs his fingers through his messy hair. His shirt rises and shows a bit of his happy trail. After everything that’s happened to me, I shouldn’t even want to look at another man again, and trust me, I have no intention of having sex any time soon, but I’d be blind not to notice how sexy Giovanni is. I’m a female with hormones, and while it makes me sick to think about what happened to me, I know sex can be enjoyable. I know what happened to me wasn’t my fault. Plus, the therapist Giovanni made me see last week confirmed that.

  I’ve agreed to keep seeing her once a week to talk to her. Her name is Dr. Weisberg and she’s a really sweet woman in her fifties. She, just like Giovanni, said she thinks it’s amazing how strong I am, but also said sometimes rape victims feel numb at first, and once it really hits them what’s happened, they need a soft cushion to land on. She would like to be my cushion, and I agreed to let her.

  I look at the man lying next to me and think of all the different personality hats he wears: serious, cold, and calculating when he’s working, but then gentle, sweet, nurturing, and funny when it’s just us. Unfortunately, it seems his life revolves around the former more often than the latter.

  “Morning, Gio.”

  “Gio?” He smirks at me, his eyes still half-lidded from just waking up.

  “Yeah, I’ve decided to call you Gio. Giovanni sounds too stuffy and serious, and I’ve seen you catch popcorn and jellybeans in your mouth. I know your whole ‘I’m the boss’ is just a front for the softy you really are.”

  Gio rolls to his side with his hand propping his head up. “I’m a businessman. I’m supposed to be stuffy and serious.” He grabs my shirt and pulls me closer to him playfully. “And don’t use the food catching against me. You made me do it.”

  I ignore the feeling stirring in my belly at our sudden closeness. “Umm...yeah…after you made fun of me for crying during Romeo and Juliet. Plus, I like Gio bet
ter. You aren’t stuffy…serious, maybe, but only when someone doesn’t do as you say then you go all cold and mean. Like I said, it’s a front.” I shrug and get up to use the bathroom—needing some space.

  “It’s not a front. I’m a serious fucking guy, woman!” he calls out after me with laughter in his voice.

  “Uh huh! Whatever you say! Want to watch another episode of The Vampire Diaries?”

  “Don’t tease me! I’m still pissed you insisted we wait to start season two! I need to know if Jeremy turns into a vampire.”

  “You’ll have to wait until tonight! Now let me get ready. We need to leave soon.”

  Three nights ago, after staying up late and watching several romantic comedies despite Gio’s whining, I had enough of him sleeping on the couch. I offered to sleep in another room but he wasn’t having it, so I told him the only way I would sleep in his room was if he agreed to sleep in the bed with me. His jaw almost hit the floor.

  “Will you just come lie down and watch TV?” I pat the bed next to me. Gio’s bed is huge, like if there’s a size bigger than a California king, that’s the size of his bed.

  “I’m fine right here. I can see the television.”

  “Not without straining your neck! Look, the bed is huge. I’ll even draw an imaginary line across the middle.”

  “Nope.”

  “Fine.” I throw the sheets back and climb out of bed.

  “Where the hell are you going?”

  “I’m not taking over your bed anymore while you sleep on the couch. I’ll find somewhere else to sleep. This place is humongous. Surely, there’s a room that’s not occupied.”

  “All right. All right. Chill, woman. I’ll lie down in the bed. Just don’t try anything while I’m sleeping. I would hate to have to handcuff you back to the headboard.”

  I roll my eyes. “You wish.”

  Gio grunts. “What are we watching?”

  “Vampire Diaries. Have you ever seen it?”

  “Can’t say that I have,” he responds dryly.

  “Ohh! I’ll start it from the beginning. It’s an awesome show. It’s about this cheerleader, Elena. She falls in love with this guy, Stefan, but he’s a vampire.” Gio grumbles something about being too old to watch this shit, but I ignore him. Everyone knows The Vampire Diaries is the shit.

  After showering and blow drying my hair, I throw a robe on and head back out to the bedroom. Gio’s on his laptop, typing away with his cell phone attached to his ear and barking orders to whoever is on the other line.

  “Okay, Nico. I will see you in a little bit. I know… I know I’ve been MIA. I’ll explain over dinner tonight…okay…bye.” After he hangs up, he looks up realizing I’m standing there.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah. That was my brother, Nico. Why aren’t you dressed?”

  “Oh! I needed to grab the bags of clothes you had Johnny pick up. Thank you by the way. As much as I love wearing sweats all day, I’m dying to get back to dressing up to leave the house.”

  Gio scratches his stubble, looking a little uneasy. I don’t know what the big deal is. He’s seen me naked before, and I’m in a robe. “I’m going to use the guest bathroom to get ready. I’ll meet you downstairs in thirty minutes so we can leave.” He jumps out of the bed, practically running out of the door.

  “Okay, sounds good,” I say, but he’s already shut the door behind him.

  * * *

  We’re in the back of the car on our way to drop off Gio. Johnny is driving and Rome is in the front seat. Gio and I are sitting in the second row and Caesar is sitting in the third row. We pull up to a beautiful hotel and Gio turns to me and frowns. “Caesar and Johnny will be with you at the coffee shop. Please don’t do anything stupid. We don’t know where Weston is or if he’s hired anyone to follow you. Stay with my men at all times. Even if it’s to use the bathroom. After you’re done meeting your friend, Johnny will drive you back to the club.”

  I want to make a sarcastic comment, but Gio is wearing his serious-business-mode hat, so I just say, “Okay.”

  “Good. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  “Wait! Is that your hotel?”

  He turns to look at what I’m seeing. Standing about ten floors high, the hotel in front of us isn’t just a hotel. It’s like an Italian paradise in Vegas. While most hotels here are sleek and modern, this hotel gives off a more enchanting, worldly feel. With large white pillars across the front, beautiful green plants and trees surrounding the area, and a breathtaking fountain in the center, this hotel screams class and wealth while still making you feel at home. The balconies facing the street are made up of white wrought iron railings and have planters hanging from each one. The roof is a beautiful royal blue, reminding me of the pictures I’ve seen of many places in Italy.

  “Yes, one of them.”

  I stare at it for another few seconds. Giovanni and his family have taken the beautiful pieces of Italy and brought them to Vegas. “It’s beautiful, Gio.”

  His face stays in business mode but his eyes smile at me. “I’ll give you a tour one day. But right now, I have an important meeting to get to and you have a friend you haven’t seen in almost a year.”

  With that, he’s out the door, along with Rome. The ride to the coffee shop is quick and quiet. When we arrive, I spot Amber immediately and jump out of the car. Johnny calls my name, but I ignore him, too excited to see my friend. Amber sees me running, and just like in those movies where the guy and girl run toward each other in slow motion, we run at each other. Only when we meet and our arms go around each other, we topple to the ground laughing. We hug each other on the ground, both of us in tears but grinning.

  “I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” Amber says through her tears, holding me tight to her. I hold her back, just as strong. There’s a throat clearing and we look up to see Johnny and Caesar standing over us, both of their eyebrows raised.

  “Can we help you?” Amber’s attitude is the same as it was nine months ago. I attempt to stand but my body, still sore from the abuse, doesn’t work properly, and Caesar catches me. helping me onto my feet. Johnny puts his hand out to help Amber, but she ignores his gesture and stands on her own.

  “Amber, this is Johnny and Caesar.” Not knowing how to explain to Amber that they’re my bodyguards who work for the man technically holding me captive, I just leave it at that. We go inside, both guys behind us, and order coffees and pastries, then sit down at the table together. Johnny and Caesar stay back, but it’s obvious they’re guarding me.

  “Okay, Aria, spill.”

  “Gah! Okay, but it’s not pretty.” I sigh. “So, you know my mom died right after my birthday, but then a few weeks later, I was taken from my dorm.”

  “Like kidnapped?” Her hand flies to her mouth.

  “Yeah. I don’t know who took me, but I ended up in my basement. My step—Weston held me captive down there.”

  Amber’s chair slides toward me until she’s close enough to hold my hand. “I always knew something was wrong with that asshole. So what, he just let you out?”

  “No, he had no intention of letting me go. I think he planned to hold me until my twenty-second birthday. This guy, Giovanni, found me and saved me.”

  “Holy shit! Aria, this doesn’t make sense. When I went to your dorm to study for our finals, Antonio was there cleaning out your room. He told me you needed a break from it all to get through your mom’s death. He said you left and didn’t want to be found. I texted and called for days, but you wouldn’t answer. I told him I wanted to go to the cops, but he told me not to. He showed me messages between you two. They all said you were leaving and to not look for you.”

  Amber’s right. None of this makes any sense. “Maybe Weston used my phone and told Antonio all of this.”

  “Maybe. Have you spoken to Antonio since you got out?”

  “No, his phone is disconnected, and I don’t have a cell phone.” Speaking of which, I need to talk to Gio about get
ting one. “Can you try to look him up on Facebook?” He was never into social media while we were together but maybe something has changed.

  Amber takes her phone out and starts a search. Nothing comes up. Not wanting to waste our time focusing on Antonio, we spend the rest of our time gossiping about school, our friends, old boyfriends, Amber’s crazy, strict parents, and the latest fashion styles. Amber’s majoring in fashion design and marketing. I tell her I’m planning to go back to school as soon as I can and that I need to look for a job. When she asks about my living situation, I stick to details like the indoor pool, Jacuzzi, and beautiful gardens. I make it a point to leave out the parts about being held there against my will and that the place is filled with high class prostitutes-slash-escorts.

  I have no idea how long we sit and talk but when a hand lands on my shoulder and Amber goes all googly-eyed, I jump and turn around, only to find Gio standing next to me.

  “Holy shit!” My hand goes to my heart. “You scared me.”

  “Definitely not my intention, but I’m glad to see you’re at least alert.”

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting.”

  “It ended quite a while ago, so I had Johnny come get me. You’ve been here for almost eight hours.” I go to check the time and remember I have no watch or cell phone.

  “I’m so sorry. Gio, this is Amber, my best friend.” Gio nods once and gives her a reluctant half smile, if you can even call it that. Must he always be so serious?

  “My mother has requested my presence at dinner. Since we’re already in the city, it looks like you’ll be coming with me.” He frowns. Well. screw him. It’s not like I want to go break bread with people who are probably just as stuffy and serious as Gio is.

  “If you don’t want me to go to dinner, I can go back to the house.”

  “The house?” He quirks up a brow and I roll my eyes.

  “Yeah, the house where we live.” His eyes dart to Amber, then he chuckles, finally catching on. For such a smart businessman, he really is dense sometimes.