Invidious Betrayal (12 page)

Ian knew that she may never accept his apology and that made him feel like shit, but he deserved more than just a feeling of regret. He should answer for what happened.

Shifting in his seat, he realized the silence in the room felt forced. They both needed a distraction and Ian knew food was the answer. It was getting late and neither of them ate much at lunch. They could both use some dinner.

“Why do you keep looking at your watch?”

He looked over to see Aria’s beautiful brown eyes on him. He took a deep breath before speaking, to get a hold on how her attention made him feel. “Back at the café and bank I was timing how long it would take my uncle’s men to get to us. The tech he’s using to trace the call is pretty high-end because they got to us pretty quickly. For them to go directly to the bank though…it means my accounts are being watched as well.”

“Your uncle can trace calls without a court order? Who are you people?”

“My family is well-connected, in more ways than one.” Ian got to his feet, deciding not to elaborate. “A second ago, I just looked at my watch to get the time. We need to eat. Hungry?”

The cool breeze from the partially opened car window stroked Aria’s face as she rested her head against the passenger door to stare up into the Sunday morning sky. It was relaxing. She’d never thought of the wind as anything other than being breezy or cold. Truth was she’d never thought of any of the things she now thought of, but she’d heard that life-changing events often altered your perception.

The grey-blue sky seemed to welcome the yellow orange glow of the rising sun. The puffy white clouds were breathtakingly beautiful as they patiently waited for the day to begin, and it had never occurred to her before. The way the tree tops bent in the wind was just as lovely. Everything was different now; Aria saw everything in an altered light. Life seemed so much simpler before, but she hadn’t appreciated its simplicity.

Now...well now she wanted to appreciate every second of life, only she wasn’t sure she could get past the pain that threatened to overtake everything in her head. Even the simplest thoughts or actions were capable of triggering what those animals had done to her. And sleeping—she couldn’t shut her eyes without reliving every moment of torture. It was a mistake to even try to sleep when she was at the condo with Ian. It didn’t help that he had been asleep in the bedroom across from the one she was in.

She’d told herself that once she got back to her life, that if she left all reminders of that night behind, she could just forget and be herself again. That was why she’d gotten out of that unfamiliar bed at three a.m. and called her mother. Before that, she’d called information. Using the city from the menu they’d ordered from, she got the number to a local cab company and asked to be driven to the local shopping center. It’s funny what the eyes see even if you’re not paying attention.

“You all right, baby?”

“Mom…I’m fine.” Aria responded without looking in her mother’s direction. Every time her mother looked upon her face it prompted another round of questions. Questions Aria would only answer with lies.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t call as soon as you were able.”

Guess it didn’t matter if her mother saw the bruises or not. She was Mrs. Sheriff Cole, and would resume her line of questioning until satisfied. “I called as soon I as could. I was dog-tired and sore from almost being trampled to death. I lost my purse in the mayhem and to be honest, I didn’t want to hear Dad’s lecture about overcrowded venues and the greedy promoters that book them.” Aria grimaced at the sour taste of her lie. “At least not until my head stopped pounding.”

For the rest of the ride Aria pretended to sleep, waking right before her mother pulled their car onto their parking pad.

“Well, I suggest you get some rest because your father has been preparing his lecture. In fact, he’s probably at work right now working on it.”

Great
! Aria moved through the main floor of her house quickly, making a dash to her room before her mother could think of something else to ask her. She closed her door, fell onto her bed, and shut her eyes. She hoped she’d done the right thing by leaving Ian. After they’d eaten, he asked if she needed anything. Of course she’d said no.

He’d set her up in one of the bedrooms. He’d cleaned up their mess from dinner, then she heard him go to his room. Ian had fallen asleep almost immediately, and was practically dead to the world when she peeked through his opened bedroom door. He must have been exhausted.

It had taken Aria another hour to build up the confidence to leave without telling him after she’d thought up an excuse for her appearance to feed her parents. She’d figured it would take her mother about an hour to arrive in the area, so Aria had taken a few hundred dollars from Ian’s backpack then called a cab to meet her in the front of the complex.

Her story…it was simple. She and Gail, the bitch from hell, were in a small club listening to an up-and-coming band when a fight broke out. In the commotion she’d been hit, pushed to the ground, and trampled before some guy came to her rescue. In the confusion, she’d lost her purse. It was plausible and it explained the state she was in.

Aria rolled over in her bed and focused on the blades of her ceiling fan as they spun. She was home, a place she thought she’d never see again. Only, being here didn’t feel like she thought it would. There was no relief, no happiness, and no chasm to swallow her nightmares. Being home only solidified her fears. Would Sal find her here? Would her father find out what really happened? And thinking about her situation from a medical standpoint was even more frightening.

Then there was the little nagging thought in the back of her mind. Ian.

What were Sal and those men planning regarding him now and how was his uncle involved? Aria was pretty sure those guys hadn’t intended to hurt him, but did they still feel that way since Ian had taken her?

Regret washed over her then. Had she done the right thing by leaving him? Ian had been a part of the awful things that happened to her and even though he was unaware what was happening she still felt some anger toward him, but she didn’t want to see him get hurt, or even killed. From what little time she’d been around him, Aria got the sense that he was a good person, but she would never truly know. What she did know was that she couldn’t stop thinking about Ian Howl.

V
INCENT STEPPED OUT OF HIS
chauffeured car and headed for the tall building that dwarfed all the other buildings around it. It was his name on the huge, black granite stone that he strode past. It was a name that was synonymous with wealth, influence, technology, and government. His name would father a new era in science.

He walked through the large, glass doors which two of his security guards held open, and made his way to the elevators with Jasper, his right hand man, following close behind.

Jasper stepped around Vincent and glanced inside as he reached to push the elevator button for the lowest floor, then he allowed Vincent to enter. Jasper stepped inside but neither of them spoke. When the elevator reached the basement floor, the doors opened into a wide hall of white walls. He and Jasper walked straight ahead, each ignoring the long hallways to their left and right. They continued forward, passing the reception area that was modestly decorated until they reached a set of oversized black doors with metal handles. Vincent glanced at two of Jasper’s men who stood on either side of his office doors then to his secretary.

“Morning, Mr. Howl,” David said, handing the unopened mail to him. “Sir.” David nodded to Jasper. As usual, Jasper didn’t acknowledge his secretary.

Vincent knew that Jasper wasn’t a friendly man, but he never understood his disdain for David, or people in general for that matter.

“Good morning, David,” Vincent said. “I’ll have the usual, and bring some refreshments for Jasper and our guests. They’ll be with us until I notify you otherwise.”

“Understood, Mr. Howl,” David said, as he followed.

Vincent disregarded the security scanner, having disabled it on his ride over so Jasper’s man, Carlos, could wait for them inside. He pulled his office door open and stepped inside with Jasper close behind him. Salvatore, his head of security, already sat on the other side of his desk, waiting as he’d requested. Vincent unbuttoned his suit jacket, shrugged it off, and placed it into David’s waiting hand before he strode over to his desk and sat in his chair.

A good employee was priceless, and David was the best; always showing up when needed, even when Vincent thought he was otherwise occupied. David also anticipated Vincent’s needs, performing tasks before being asked, and he was a vault of information to which Vincent, being his employer, held the key. David was not a degenerate who couldn’t follow orders.

Vincent watched David leave and then he glanced over at Carlos, who stood behind Sal, prepared to act given the slightest hint. Carlos was on Vincent’s payroll and had been trained by Jasper like all his security staff. The team was efficient but Jasper tended to shoot first without asking questions or trying to obtain answers in any way. You can’t conduct business with corpses.

Sal had been useful, brought in because Vincent needed someone who knew how to do business with the people he couldn’t be seen with. Sal was someone who could coerce and bullshit, but had no issues about torturing or even killing to get the job done. Science wasn’t all test tubes and beakers. To be an innovator took a bit of convincing.

Jasper headed for the seating area, sat down, and pulled out his cell phone. The man had no interest in the talking, negotiating, or the business aspect of things. That was something Vincent had learned early on in their friendship. They were exact opposites, but they fit somehow.

Vincent turned to Sal. “Would you like to explain?” Vincent’s face was a blank mask as David entered with a tray of refreshments. Sal paled but didn’t answer right away. Instead he watched as David placed a tall glass and a syringe with a clear liquid in front of Vincent. David then offered a drink to Sal and Carlos who both declined.

Vincent patiently waited as Sal watched David move over to the coffee table where he sat the tray down within Jasper’s reach. On the tray was a glass of transparent red liquid, a tourniquet, an alcohol swab, a small packet of gauze, and a syringe similar to the one in front of Vincent. Like he had many times before, David wrapped the tourniquet around Jasper’s upper arm, stuck the needle into a raised vein, and proceeded to inject the contents.

“Well?” Vincent’s voice held a trace of impatience.

“Uh,” Sal said, but continued to stare at David and Jasper.

Without saying a word, David removed the tourniquet, then the needle. He recapped the needle like a professional, wiped away any blood, then walked away as Jasper rolled down his sleeve and began to drink the red fluid. Vincent wished all his employees could be as efficient and discreet as David, but they weren’t. When he entrusted his employees with a simple task, he expected it to be done and done the way he’d instructed.

“Are you finding it hard to concentrate, Sal?” Jasper asked, without looking at the man, “Because I can help with that.” Jasper’s voice was calm and controlled, but it was reinforced with steel.