Stolen Skye (Book One, The Skye Trilogy) (18 page)

Ari was the only person who turned to look at me, emotion flooding his bottomless green eyes.
As he gazed at me, I saw defeat in them as well, like he had given up a long, arduous fight. It was more than the loss of a boxing match. His whole demeanor toward me had changed. Ari had changed. He turned from me, moving closer to the stage. I looked down to gather my thoughts, clapping as loudly as everyone when the song was over.

Helena, Ari’s aunt, stepped to the microphone and was joined by Uncle Gheorghe and another couple I hadn’t met.
After some private discussion, Uncle Gheorghe spoke first with obvious pride. “Friends, tonight I am honored to announce that Mirela Ursari, beloved daughter of Niko and Drina, has agreed to wed my nephew, Ari Cameron. Please raise a glass as we end this evening, and pray for a blessed union for them.” The crowd applauded as Ari stepped beside Mirela, bending to kiss her hand as she smiled up at him. I recognized her as one of the young girls who had been by his side earlier in the evening. Stunned, I immediately looked to Finn and the rest of them to see if they had been aware this was going to happen. Their expressions showed that they were as surprised as I was. Finn looked to each of us and then glowered at the aunt.

“She’s been trying to marry him off for years.
He doesn’t want this.” He turned to each of us, trying to communicate the injustice of it. Aunt Helena was beaming with satisfaction. Ari looked in our direction briefly, giving a subdued smile, and then continued to thank his well-wishers. Mirela was surrounded by elated friends. Clearly, outside of the five of us, the whole room thought this to be an excellent match. She was a beautiful, petite girl, much younger than Ari, dressed in a chartreuse cocktail dress and very high satin heels. Her brown hair hung unadorned down her back. Her cherry pink lipstick stood out against her dark skin, making her look like she might be more at home on glamorous South Beach. She didn’t look like she belonged with Ari, but then again, I was the last person who could admit to knowing him at all. He continued to be a mystery to me.

Slowly, people began leaving in groups
, and the band packed up into the small tour bus. According to those who stopped to bid Ari and Mirela farewell, the party and the engagement were huge successes. A few men asked Raven for her phone number, which was tradition at the end of the evening, according to Brinks. He was not as amused when Bounce was asked for her number by one of the musicians. I was content to stand by Finn and take it all in. How would Ari’s engagement affect them? Obviously, Ari had chosen to do this while considering the job in Paris. He must not be getting married right away, I thought, or be that worried about Mirela’s opinion of his profession. I couldn’t remember a party that was more eventful.

Ari shook Finn’s hand as they had a silent conversation with their eyes.
Mirela smiled politely as the rest of us offered our best wishes. She turned from us when her parents called her over to another group of people. Ari thanked us for attending and let us know he would talk to us tomorrow. It wasn’t the best time to question his motives. We told him we’d be back in the morning to help with the clean-up and left without another word. After saying goodbye to the others on the front lawn, Finn escorted me to his SUV.

“So, you don’t think he loves her?”
I took Finn’s earlier comment to mean he was being pushed into this marriage.

“People in their culture marry, and marry early.
Ari’s mother was almost shunned when she had Ari out of wedlock. I’m sure Gheorghe and Helena have been bothered for years that he’s still single. Since he lost both his parents, they watch over him like a son, and they are quite traditional. It just looks like Ari gave in, leaving it in their hands. I think it’s ridiculous.” Finn drove us back to the hotel, clearly annoyed.

“What’s Luca’s story?”
His audacity continued to bother me. At least I had avoided seeing him again.

“He played dirty.
I’d love to get him in the ring alone. Then, he picks you. I’ve never liked him, but the women seem to.” He drifted off, almost like he was testing the water to see how warm my response might be.

“After what he did to Ari and planting that kiss, I could’ve punched him myself.
I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance,” I said.

Finn broke into a large smile.
“I’d like to see that, now that you mention it.”

“Do you think Ari will go through with the wedding?”
It was hard for me to wrap my head around. He had no signs of a man in love or even like. Could he really just be marrying someone because his aunt and uncle chose her?

“I don’t know.
I’m going to talk to him tomorrow. Now that it’s announced, Ari will have a more difficult time getting out of it. Sometimes I am very thankful to be an orphan. Family can be dangerous.” Shortly, we were at my hotel. “So, tomorrow is your last day. What would you like to do with it?” His playful smile was gone while he waited for my answer. His passion burned so brightly that his choice of pastime was clear.

“Please, first…
no running. Will you call Raven and tell her to stand down? She won’t listen to me. Call me later in the morning. We can make a plan.” Now that I was back on my feet, I began to feel extremely tired. Finn walked me to the door and kissed me on the cheek, lingering for just a second. On instinct, I began to bend in closer to him, turning my head. Perhaps I wasn’t as tired as I thought. He smiled ruefully and said goodnight, kissing the other cheek. He was certainly keeping his word to not push me romantically. As I walked to the elevator, I shook my head, wondering if I still really wanted him to.

The ringing of my new cell phone woke me around 9
AM. I had gotten up earlier, but chosen to go back to bed when 7 AM arrived with no Raven. I figured Finn was calling to see what I felt like doing for the day.

“Thank you for this morning, it was incredible to sleep in after last night.”
I spoke groggily into the phone, still under the covers.

“Evelyn, this is Ari.” He cleared his throat and waited for me to collect myself.

“Oh, good morning.
Sorry, I thought you were Finn.”

“Yes, well, I would like to meet with you privately this morning
. Is there a way I could send the car for you soon before the others arrive?” He spoke in the aloof manner I was all too familiar with, but there was some urgency as well.

“Sure, I can be ready in a half hour.”

“Thank you. I’ll have Derek wait for you out front.” Before leaving the hotel, I stopped by the front desk to let them know I would be departing in the morning. Upon my request, he printed an invoice for my room. Though I didn’t make a big deal out of it when I arrived, I certainly wasn’t going to let them pay for my whole stay. In glancing over the statement, I realized it couldn’t be correct. “There are no charges listed?” I looked to the desk agent for more clarification. He pulled my account back up on his screen.

“Yes, all charges are to Mr. Ari Cameron
, at his request.” He waited patiently for his next instruction.

“How much was the total for the suite?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Green. It instructs me not to divulge any other information on the account. My apologies.” I thanked him and walked out to greet Derek. The day was sunny again, but quite cold. Derek waited with the door open for me, nodding his good morning as I climbed in. We made our way silently to Ari’s house as I watched the teeming streets go by. Soon, we pulled up to the front of the house. The only evidence a party had occurred were the markings on the winter lawn from the tour bus. Ari stepped out to meet us, opening my door.

“Good morning.
Thank you for coming.” He stepped back from me and smiled up at the sun. He didn’t look like he had slept much. Dark circles had formed under his eyes. He was freshly showered with partially damp, tousled hair, but he still looked tired. He wore a white T-shirt under a camel-colored button down and broken-in jeans, giving him the most casual look I’d seen him sport since I arrived. He followed me into the house.

“Do you have a housekeeping staff you keep hidden somewhere?”
The place was immaculate, just as before.

“No, I have a service that comes in every few days.
They got here very early this morning, though I wish I had asked them to come later.” He chuckled lightly, guiding me into the library, one of the smaller rooms on the main floor. Colorful books lined the walls, looking like they were there by design rather than desire. There were paintings in this room, which I had noticed before, but one I hadn’t. To the side of one armchair was a small easel with a framed charcoal of a woman sitting on a stone ledge, turned toward the artist. She had long hair that curled up at the ends as if captured by the wind. Her long legs were crossed at the ankles and she wore a simple dress with ruffles at the end of cap sleeves. She wasn’t smiling, but her eyes had a softness to them that even charcoal could capture. She was lovely.

Ari came to a stop by my side.
“That’s my mother, Adela. A street artist asked her to pose for him when she was young. She was quite beautiful.” He looked upon the drawing for a moment and then motioned for me to sit in the chair beside it.

“I’m sure it was hard, losing her.”

“Yes. We know what’s it like, you and I — to watch a parent dying and not be able to do anything about it. You told me before about your father. How hard it was to believe that soon he wouldn’t be there with you. Then, one day he was gone, and you still couldn’t believe it.” If I had ever doubted any of these people really knew me, I didn’t anymore. Those were the words I had cried on thousands of nights since I’d lost him.

“It’s still hard to believe he’s gone.
I think to call him when something happens and remembering I can’t puts me right back in that hospital on his last day. It kills me all over again.” I felt the burning in my throat that hinted tears were on the way.

“The same for me.
My mother didn’t have anyone except me. Her parents had passed and she was ignored by most for getting pregnant out of wedlock. My uncle helped her as much as he could. When she got sick, I could only watch her get sicker. I was so young. The hospital wouldn’t treat her until she was ambulatory, and then it was too late. In many ways, I guess you don’t ever grow past that day, the day you lose someone.” We shared a quiet moment, staring at each other. He was right. There are things you don’t completely survive. He patted his hands on his knees and sat up with some difficulty, saying, “Bounce tells me you’re leaving?”

“Are you okay, I mean, your side?”
He couldn’t hide some of the pain he was in. 

He held up his hand as if he could stop me from worrying with it.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just tender.”

“You don’t need to see a doctor or anything?”

“No, just some bruises.
So, you leave tomorrow?” He waited for me to confirm it.

“Yes, I know you have a lot to make happen in the next couple weeks
, and I would like to spend Christmas at home. It’s been awhile.” I clasped my hands together and placed them in my lap, wondering where his inquiry was headed.

“I take it from speaking with the others and my uncle that you have formed some strong attachments here.”
He looked down at his injured hands as he paused for my answer.

“Yes, everyone has been kind to me.
Your uncle said he thought it was good we were reconnecting.”

“Evelyn, before, I believed if you had your life to live over again, you would have preferred to go home to Boston and finish school.
Now that you are aware of us, if being here is what you really want, I want you to know I support it.” He reminded me of the resigned Ari from last night. It was like he was surrendering, but I wasn’t even sure of the battle.

“Ari, let’s say for argument
’s sake, I believe that you were doing what you thought was right by me in keeping the fact that I lived a secret. How could you do that to the others, watch them mourn a friend?”

“I believed you would’ve wanted a fresh start.
They wouldn’t have been able to let you have it.”

“Why did you feel that way…
that I would have wanted to start over?”

“Evelyn, I’m not asking for you to agree with me.
I’m just telling you that I have accepted your presence here. However, I need to know where your head is at before I allow the others to discuss any sensitive details around you. They trust you implicitly, but I need some assurances from you before you leave us.” Adeptly avoiding my question, he threw the focus back on me.

I
sighed, “What can I say to assure you?”

“I’m asking you to keep our secrets.
Perhaps you don’t owe me anything, but the others are relying on your loyalty to them. I’m asking you if it’s truly there. If it isn’t, just say so, and we’ll keep you out of all of it. We can certainly be silent when it comes to any illegal activity when you visit. Finn may have more difficulty.”

“I can keep secrets.
Apparently, I did before.” I was annoyed by him suggesting I would choose not to, or lacked the ability to keep my mouth shut.

“Fine.
I’m not going to threaten you again, but you are smart enough to know it would be bad for all of us if you spoke with any authorities. You may never choose to engage in an actual crime again, but you were an accomplice to one in Scotland and present while we discussed several others.”