Aria's POV
I am engulfed by a cloud of dust and smoke as the red sports car skids to a halt right in front of me. The sudden gush of wind lifts the edges of my black silk dress and blows the loose strands of hair into my face. Johnny jumps out and comes around the car, opening the door for me. He is slick as always.
“You look amazing as always Aria” he says, his eyes roaming my body as I get in the car.
“Meh, you look okay” I lie, shrugging my shoulders. He already thinks he looks good without anyone having to tell him.
The drive to La Tropicana club took about twenty minutes. We are going to meet Johnny’s friend Damon there for the opening of his new club. As we reach main street, we can see the people already waiting in line from two blocks away. The club has a beach theme with palm trees planted all along the sidewalk in front of the club.
Johnny hooks his arm into mine as we make our way to the entrance. I am about to go and join the line when Johnny pulls me towards the door.
“We don’t wait in line Princess” he says as we march past the other patrons waiting in line. I cringe at the insults that are hurled our way.
As we approach the entrance the bouncers in their flowery, Hawaiian shirts immediately open the doors for us to enter. Johnny greets each one of them by name as we pass.
I am stunned by the scene in front of me. There are dozens of waitresses running around in bikinis filling orders for people sitting in private booths. Along the back wall of the club are cages arranged around the DJ station. Each cage containing seductively dancing girls dressed in animal print lingerie. In the centre of the building is a large dancefloor already filled to the brim with people dancing and having fun.
A tall, dark-haired man walks over to Johnny and shakes his hand.
“Damon, I want to introduce you to Aria” Johnny says. They both turn to me.
“It is nice to meet you” I say holding my hand out to Damon.
Instead of shaking my hand Damon brings it up to his lips and kisses it softly. It takes me by surprise, I can feel the heat run up to my cheeks.
“The pleasure is all mine little Aria. Johnny you never told me how breathtakingly beautiful she is” Damon says, his lips lingering near my hand. It feels like my face is on fire.
Johnny rolls his eyes at Damon and shoves him towards a private booth. Damon is reluctant to let go of me.
“Come on Aria, move before this buffoon drools all over your hand” Johnny says, pushing me towards the chair furthest away from Damon. He smacks Damon playfully on the head as we walk past him.
“Can I get you guys anything to drink?” Damon asks, rubbing the back of his head.
“Oooo, I want shooters” I say excitedly. I am not eighteen yet, but who is counting.
The boys look at each other, before Damon shrugs his shoulders.
“I will bring you the shooter menu” Damon says.
While we wait for Damon to return, I look out over the dancefloor which is stacked with partners sensually kissing and grinding against each other to the rhythm of the music. People are wearing all kinds of glow- in -the -dark glasses and bracelets.
“There you go” Damon says as he places the menu in front of me. There are so many different shooters to choose from, each one with an interesting name to match. It takes me few moments to make my selection. I place my order at the bar, ignoring the raised eyebrow from the bartender.
“Going big tonight, little girl” the bartender remarks.
“I don’t get out much” I say shrugging my shoulders.
When he hands me the drinks, I arrange them into a rainbow. Satisfied with my shooter- art, I make my way back to the table with a colourfully loaded tray of drinks.
I place a shooter in front of each of the boys.
“I think we should start the night off with a Big Bang” I say, naming the first shooter.
“Cute” Johnny says as he throws back the orange-coloured drink.
Damon and I follow.
“Next, we are going Kamikaze” I say wiggling my brows. I hand them each a drink again.
“On the count of three” Damon says and we down the shots.
“And this dear Johnny is specially for you. It is called the Attitude Adjustment. You should try it.” I cannot keep from smiling as I hand the drink over to Johnny.
“Ha- ha, very funny” Johnny says sarcastically.
I give another one to Damon and down one myself.
“I think we need to take a break, before you drug us all with your tray of potions there” Johnny says pointing to the tray with the rest of the shooters.
“Okay then, who is going to take me for a spin on the dancefloor?” I ask looking between the two men.
Within seconds Damon is on his feet holding his hand out to me.
“Ask no more” he says with a wink.
I look over to Johnny who has his jaw clenched, staring daggers at Damon.
Damon pulls me to my feet, swirls me around and leads me straight to the dancefloor.
Once on the floor we start shaking our hips to the beat of the music. We join a large circle of people who all seem to know Damon. Damon is a great dancer. He teaches me his best hip- hop and breakdance moves, which I replicate with ease. I am having so much fun. The DJ releases water cannons, which aim straight for us. Within seconds we are soaked, our clothes and hair sticking to our bodies. The circle opens up and it is my turn to show off my moves. My dorky childish side takes over and I do every move from the moonwalk to the sprinkler to the robot and everything in between. The crowd loves it and everyone joins in. I have not had this much fun in ages. I can keep this up all night, but looking at the beads of perspiration on Damon’s forehead, I do not think he will last much longer.
“Am I wearing you out, old man?” I ask Damon with a grin.
“Aria, I am going to take a break, do you want to come back to the booth with me?” Damon shouts over the noise at me.
“No way, I will join you guys in a bit” I say, not ready to leave the floor just yet.
“Okay, just check in with us once in a while” Damon says as he leaves the dance floor.
I am enjoying my freedom. Swaying my hips and waving my arms in the air. I am having so much fun that I lose track of time. After what feels like hours, I decide to check in with the boys.
As I make my way off the dance floor, I start feeling hot and off- balance. Everything is spinning, when suddenly it feels as if the world is pulled out from under me and I start falling.
My arms are stuck to my sides, I close my eyes and ready myself to face- plant the floor. This is not so bad. Alcohol really does numb you, because I do not feel a thing. I slowly open my one eye, not brave enough to face the world with both yet. Well, surprisingly, I am not on the floor. Two strong hands around my waist are keeping me inches away from kissing the floor. They pull me upright. Oh my…
Aria's POV “Stai attentat ragazza!” the stranger shouts. “Excuse me?” I say confused, still standing there gaping like a fish out of water. My family was Italian, but to my shame, I do not know the language. I turn my head to get a better look at the man, and it is as if all the air gets knocked out of my lungs. I am sure my mouth is hanging open, there might even be drool at the corners. Never have I seen a man so attractive before, on a magazine cover yes, but never this close in real life. The man towering over me is the most perfect specimen. His pitch-black hair is cut into a quiff which only makes his piercing, Nordic blue eyes even more striking. My eyes slide across his chest, I notice the way his shirt is straining over the large muscles underneath. “Enjoying the view?” he asks with a thick Italian accent. I can immediately feel the heat spread across my entire face. “I, uhm, I” I want to say something clever, but in this moment, in front of this man. I have forgotten ho
Johnny's POV“You need to plan this carefully Johnny my boy. No one must suspect us” father says, puffing on his cigar.Father and I have been sitting in his office since the early hours of the morning, bumping heads about the plans for Aria’s upcoming birthday celebrations.“This is our opportunity to get Aria away from here and out of Giovanni’s grasp. We had a close call at the club last night. If Stefano decided to take her, there was nothing we could have done to get her back” he says.“He could easily have taken her without me even knowing. Why did he not? Is he that confident that we will be bringing her right to him?” I ask, pondering the thoughts that have been milling through my mind since the incident at the club.“They are arrogant enough to think that, but we should be prepared. They might also be planning something” he says, tapping his fingers on the table in front of him. “We should be prepared for anything. Whoever has Aria, also has the largest fortune in the country
Aria's POVI make my way down the stairs to the ballroom for my Cinderella moment. Uncle Marcello has decided that my eighteenth birthday should be the event of the year. We are having a black-tie Masquerade where the entire Giudici and every Don on the west coast is invited. This is a bitter- sweet moment for me. This event signals a new chapter in my life, but instead of being excited, the loss of my family weighs heavy on my heart. Somehow it feels like after tonight things are never going to be the same again.I take a deep breath inhaling the familiar rose scent drifting in from the garden. Johnny and Uncle Marcello are waiting to escort me down the stairs. They are both dressed in black tuxedo’s wearing white masks.“You look beautiful, my girl” Uncle Marcello says as he takes me into a big Bearhug. “Your parents would have been so proud of the woman you have become” he says squeezing me even harder.Behind him Johnny clears his throat.As soon as Uncle Marcello lets go of me, J
Aria's POV “Beautiful, isn’t it?” I turn towards the voice. Don Julio is casually strolling towards me with his hands in his pockets, looking out at the view in front of us. “It sure is” I say smiling awkwardly. He stands there looking straight ahead, the silver strands in his hair, shining in the moonlight. “A storm is brewing” he says, still staring out into the open. “Excuse me” I say. Don Julio points straight ahead. I squint my eyes to see further into the dark, I do not see anything out there. I am about to ask him what he means when I see it. A quick flash of lighting in the distance. There is indeed a storm brewing. I have been distracted standing out here on the balcony contemplating whether I should go down to the garden or not. From where we are standing on the balcony, you can see the garden and the entire city, all the way to the coast. I have been surveying the garden from my vantage point, looking for a familiar face. It is nearly midnight. I have been reading th
Aria's POV I have been in and out of consciousness, but I can tell that we have been driving for a long time now. The storm has made landfall. The rain is pounding down on the car, covering us in a blanket of grey, I cannot see anything of the outside world. Once again, I have no idea where I am or where I am going. I am all alone in the back of a limo, a small blanket draped over me. “Excuse me!” I shout, frantic to hear someone’s voice. Storms have always frightened me. “Hello!” I try again. No response. “Who is there?” I ask. Still no answer. I curl onto my side, pulling the blanket over my head, putting a barrier between me and the storm. It does not take long for the drugs to take their effect again, plunging me into darkness. A loud boom of thunder roars outside the window, snapping me out of my dreamless sleep. The storm is still roaring fiercely outside. Sitting up I do not recognise the room I am in. The room is dark, there is a very faint glow coming in through a slit
Aria's POV I find my way back easily through this maze of a house. The room is just down the hall from the one I was placed in. I take one last breath before slowly pushing the door open. It opens only a crack, I pause, holding my breath once again. There are strange sounds coming from inside the room. Pushing the door open a little wider, I see him, Stefano Moretti. He is standing against a desk with his back towards me. The room is large with extravagant furnishings and décor. Something is off, I just cannot put my finger on it. Ignoring my instincts, I take one more step into the room, ready to get answers from him. That is when I hear it. A low moan coming from underneath the desk against which he is leaning. What did I walk in on? I want to backtrack but the floors creak loudly, leaving me frozen on the spot, my eyes stay glued to Stefano’s back. As if sensing my presence, he picks up a naked blonde from underneath the desk and flips her onto the desk. She is lying on her back,
Aria's POV I am the last to arrive in the dining room, Louisa gives me a scathing look before she disappears to the kitchen. The buzz of conversation ceases as soon as I walk in. Don Giovanni is seated at the head of the table. He looks like the king presiding over his loyal subjects. He sits in his chair, hands resting on the table, tapping the golden signet ring on his small finger rhythmically on the wooden surface. My heart matches the rhythm of the slow tick, tick, tick on the table. The silence is deafening. All eyes are on me. Stefano is seated to the right from the Don, the blonde from earlier next to him. To his left is a young girl. The young girl jumps up from her chair and runs to embrace me. “Hi, you must be Aria. I am Lilliana.” She says, looking for recognition from me. When I remain indifferent, she continues. “I am Stefano’s sister, Silly” she says and grabs me by the arm. “You can sit next to me” I follow Lilliana to the open chairs across from Stefano and the bl
Stefano's POV The thought of having both Aria and Amber here together both terrifies and excites me. That sweet little lamb with the big eyes has been on my mind since that night in the club. There is so much I want to say to her and do to her. This interrogation is going to be a welcome distraction. “Let me take care of this” I say walking to the centre of the room where Marcello’s henchman was placed. My father stands back, raising one brow to me. “Very well, get us the answers we need” he says, leaning against the wall. This is going to be so much fun. If memory serves me correctly, I think his name is Joe. I casually stroll over to the centre of the room, while on the table behind me an assortment of tools and devices are being prepared. I take my time, first lighting a cigarette. Joe just stares out into the open space in front of him acting brave, but I can see the fear in his eyes. The eyes never lie. “Hi, Joe. Is it okay if I call you Joe? Somehow, I remember that bein