I stand up. “I’ll call the pilot,” I tell him, reaching for my phone, and Mario’s eyes narrow on me.
“Make sure he doesn’t disappear again. I want full access to the helicopter. Have him stay in one of the cottages behind the mansion, same with the jet pilots. Have them move there too. I promised Stacey she could use it to take her honeymoon in Bora Bora.”
Stacey smirks at me, looking pretty pleased with herself.
I wince but readily agree. Our guys are trained professionals. They’ve been with the family for a long time and will be able totake care of themselves. Mario won’t risk losing access to those perks either, so they should be fairly safe from his wrath.
I head out of the dining room, eager to escape all the drama and tension. I’m the only one who is not stressed the fuck out, but then I know the truth, and I need to wait a little longer to share it with the others.
I hear the others trail out after me, but before any of them can question me, Dan picks up. I give him instructions to bring the helicopter to the estate and pick us up, but I don’t give him the location over the phone in case anyone is listening. I’m taking the others to the cabin. It’s about time they are reunited as a family and everything is placed on the table. We have two days to get everything organized before the stupid wedding, and we can’t afford to miss any important details.
He replies, telling me he’ll be here in about an hour. Now I just need to hold the others off until he gets here. I head in the direction of my room. If I can lock myself in it, hopefully I can avoid any difficult questions before we are someplace where we can’t be overheard.
“Tori,” Colton calls, but I put on a burst of speed and hurry upstairs. The sounds of someone running behind me has me picking up the pace, but I’m not fast enough, and just as I make the landing of my floor, a hand grabs my arms, and fingernails dig in as Vienna pulls me to a stop, getting in my face.
“What did you do?” she hisses, and I feel a small sliver of hurt. I mean, she’s not wrong, but she could give me the benefit of the doubt. I guess neither of us have given each other a reason to.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” I snarl, knowing we’re being monitored, but she’s obviously forgotten in her grief. “I didn’t do anything. I’ve been here the whole time, and Colton told Mario my phone is clean.”
She scoffs. “Please, I know about the…” She trails off as the boys reach us, and Colton gives her a quick shake of his head.
“Vienna, honey, your grief is making you irrational,” Xavier says carefully, and she glares at him with hatred.
“You’ve shown your true colors, haven’t you? One little taste of her pussy, and you forget about the rest of us,” she says viciously, waving her hands around dramatically.
Colton murmurs soothing words to her and gathers her in his arms, but she pushes him away.
“No, just no.” Her last word comes out on a sob, and she turns and runs to her room, pushing the door open and slamming it closed behind her.
“Fuck,” Colton mutters and runs his hand through his hair.
“She isn’t wrong. Neither of you seem to give a fuck about Addison. They could be doing who knows what to her,” Tristan says through gritted teeth, and I put a blank expression on my face, but obviously not quickly enough. His eyes narrow in suspicion as he looks between the rest of us. “Oh, I see how it is. Care to share with the class?” he murmurs quietly, anger in his tone.
“Not here,” Xavier snaps, shaking his head.
“I’ll tell you everything when we get where we’re going,” I promise quietly, hoping nobody picks it up. “But you need to continue to be devastated. Leave Vienna be for now. She’s understandably upset.”
Tristan shakes his head. “I’m not sure she will ever forgive any of you for this,” he says and follows her into her room.
“He’s wrong,” Colton assures me. “She will, and she will grovel at your feet in gratitude.”
I wince. “Well, I hope you all feel that way when I tell you everything. Be on the back lawn in an hour.”
Xavier tries to reach for my hand, but I snatch it away. “I can’t at the moment. Just go make sure she’s okay.” Before theycan reply, I slip into my room and turn the lock. Taking a deep breath, I smother the sob that wants to leave my mouth. I know I have a reputation, but for her to think I would do something like that to an innocent hurts. I was hoping she would at least give me the benefit of the doubt, but I guess she’s suffered too much trauma to see past it to what is right in front of her. I don’t blame her, but it still stings.
Looking around my room, I feel kind of lost. My eyes prickle with emotions, but I don’t have time for a pity party. Instead, I find the burner phone from last night and send Mickey a message, advising him of our impending arrival. I only hope that by the end of the day, we’re not still at odds with each other. I’m going to need everyone’s help to take down the Maricusos.
Chapter Eighteen
The weather is drizzly and miserable when the hour is up. I wait on the back patio as the helicopter settles onto the landing pad in the back. I put a jacket on over my sweater, but it doesn’t do much when the rotor blades send the drops circling with the downdraft.
The others are silent as we hurry across the wet lawn and climb into the helicopter. I take the front seat next to Dan, letting the others climb into the back. I show them the headsets to put on and explain the different channels. Dan will be on one, and I put us on a private one so we can talk without him listening—not that I don’t trust him, I just don’t want him knowing too much about my personal life like most employees, except for those in my inner circle.
“Where to, Tori?” Dan asks after everyone is strapped in and settled.
“The cabin,” I tell him, and he gives me a brief nod before turning his attention to flying.
“Where are we going?” Xavier asks through the headset.
