She’s back in four, followed by Lil. All traces of flour are gone. She’s changed into black skinny jeans, a black t-shirt, and tall black boots that are sexy as fuck. She’s carrying some kind of case, which is covered in stickers.
“I want details when you get back,” Lil says, linking their pinkies for a second.
“Liar,” Ari says as she and I follow Marco to the garage. It seems wrong and weird to leave without Lil.
We jump into Marco’s SUV, and for once, Ari doesn’t try to drive. She sits in the back seat and pulls her hair into a tight braid as Marco talks. “A deal went bad, and someone grabbed White’s daughter. I don’t know why the hell she was there in the first place, and I plan to find out and correct that fucking mistake later. Talking hasn’t done shit.” I understand Marco’swords, but not what they mean exactly. It’s another milkshake situation.
We pull up to a warehouse and take an elevator to the roof. Marco points a finger, and Ari nods before walking that way. I move to follow her, but Marco stops me with a hand on my chest and a shake of his head. My heart starts to pound because I don’t know what the hell is happening right now, and I don’t like that she’s now close to the edge alone since she almost fell off the fucking counter this morning.
Then Ariana drops to her stomach and opens the case. In seconds, she’s put together a sniper rifle and is looking through the sight.
“Holy fuck,” I whisper. That was fucking hot. I don’t take my eyes off her. She watches, breathing slow and steady. For what feels like forever but is probably more like three minutes, she waits, silent and unmoving. Then I hear the quiet but unmistakable sound that means she’s taken her shot.
Marco’s phone rings and I can clearly hear a voice cry out, “Thank you, DeVille!” as Ariana takes the gun apart and puts it back in the case.
She backs away from the edge, then stands and dusts the dirt off her clothes before walking back over to us. I’m in fucking awe. Marco is talking to this White guy, and I hear him say, ‘Clean it up,’ ‘Leave the girl at home next time, dipshit,’ and, ‘Compensation is expected.’ But I’m focused on Ariana, who looks at me anxiously. Shit, does she think this is too much for me? If her dad weren’t standing right here, I’d grab her and kiss the fuck out of her.
I almost do it anyway.
“You’re amazing. You know that, right?”
One side of her mouth raises in a smirk, and her eyes brighten.
Marco ends the call. Ariana turns toward him. “I fucking hope he agreed not to bring her ever again. She’s like twelve and lookedscared to death even before I had to put a bullet between some dickhead’s eyes right next to her.”
“He did. You should see the money in your account within the hour.”
“I don’t even care about that. He should use it to pay for her goddamned therapy.”
“He can afford to do that and pay you for taking care of the problem caused by his own stupidity. Good work, sweetheart. Let’s go home.”
“Let’s. I have cupcakes to frost.”
God, she’s fucking perfect.
Chapter 34
Now I'm hungry
Ariana
Monday, I wake up with major cramps. Right on schedule, thanks to the birth control I’m on to keep it that way. Thankfully, my periods don’t last long because they’re intense.
I load up on Midol, grab a chocolate bar from the stash we keep in the closet, and curl up on the couch with my heating pad and favorite blanket while Lil ventures to the kitchen to get me some coffee. She might drive me nuts sometimes, but she’s the best friend and sister a girl could ask for. The first thing she did this morning was give me the locket, even though it’s rightfully hers at the moment.
But Luca brings me my coffee, and the look of concern on his face does me in. He puts the cup on the table, then kneels on the floor in front of me and fixes my blanket to cover my shoulder better. “Can I help somehow? Get you anything?”
My lips curl up into a smile. He really can be sweet when he’s not being a grouch. “Not right now, though I’m sure I’ll want some carbs later.”
That eyebrow I love so much goes up. “When do you not want carbs?”
“Touché. They’re good all the time, Beefcake.”
He makes sure my phone is close by. “I’m helping your dad with some stuff, but text me when you need something. I want to help however I can.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. I grab his shirt in my hand to pull him down for a real kiss, and he leaves with a goofy grin on his face.
I’d been worried about him finding out my role in The DeVille Crew. It was only a matter of time, though. I begged Dad to let me train as a sniper for years before he actually let me. Now, I’m his first choice whenever a situation comes up. My personal account, which Dad hardly lets me use anyway, already has enough money in it that I could disappear somewhere and live off of it for the rest of my life if I wanted to.
Not that I want to. Sounds boring.
