The Arrangement Anthology 2(164)
“So, how are you going to get rid of me? Because the box thing didn’t work.” I smile and shiver at the same time. Sean notices and rubs my arms chasing the chill away.
“Well, I planned on arranging your marriage to someone I can’t stand to make sure we didn’t see too much of each other and to satisfy my mother, but the main reason I was doing it was to keep you safe.” Sean’s grip around my waist tightens. “Trystan's staff, his security team, is older than mine and less likely to have been tampered with by any of the Ferro’s. Unlike our security team that’s obviously been tampered with. That guy Bob, that mountain of a man that Trystan always has around, I know he can watch out for both of you in a way that I can’t. It seemed to me that his lifestyle would suit you better and that you would be better protected. As it is, I’m having to go back through all the employees that we’ve had to see which ones were tainted, and speculate who ruined them. My pilot for example, no one should have been able to corrupt him, but someone did. You’re safer with Trystan.”
This part frightens me. He’s serious when he says these things, when he thinks he can marry me off as if that would solve everything. “I’m not marrying Trystan. If there’s a wedding, there’s only one man I want to marry and he’s behind me, holding me tight. Besides the man gunning for me is dead. You have the papers they want, so the power vacuum is gone. You won and we can be together. I’m not totally naïve Sean, I know what this means, what you are going to do. I’ve made decisions that I thought I would never make, and I did things that I thought I would never do, and all in the name of survival. If this is what you need to do to survive, I’m with you, and by your side.”
I feel Sean move his jaw before he finally speaks. “You don’t know what you’re agreeing to, you don’t know what you’re offering. There are things that I can’t say within these walls, but would make your blood run cold. I’ve come back covered in blood, I’ve done things that I can’t confess, things that weigh heavily on my heart—things that have destroyed my soul. That’s not the life I want for you, but that is my life, this is my life, and there’s no way out.” Sean kisses the back of my neck before he pushes away.
He swings his feet over the side of the mattress and stands up before walking over to one of the massive windows. He stands there for a moment and then pulls back the drapes. Sean stares through the glass at the moonlight and the tall cypress trees that line the front drive. The reflecting pools in the gardens outside make his face glow softly.
As I watch him, I wonder what he’s done and why he thinks he can’t be redeemed. I roll on my side and prop my head up with my hand, looking at him, I ask, “What if we did it together? What if we took over Campone's investments together? I can keep you from falling off the cliff and you can do the same for me. It would protect your brothers, and shove your mother out of the middle. I don’t think we can take all of his endeavors,” I smile, confessing that I don’t know exactly what Campone was running, unless you consider bribery, drugs, prostitution and that sort of thing as properties in normal investments, “and make them into something good. I can’t stand Miss Black, but if I hadn't found that job, I would’ve been homeless. I had no other options. Sean, prostitution is legal in some states, and there’s a reason for it. It’s one of the oldest businesses in the world, right?” Did I just say that? Sean turns slowly, dropping the draperies. I wink at him.
Sean presses his lips together forming a tight seam. His blue eyes drop to the carpet as he walks over to the bed and sits down on the side. His gaze lowers to my hand, which he lifts, taking it in his own, and presses it to his lips. “If only it were that simple. This is blood money, Avery. The entire company runs on fear and is fueled by blood. There is no good in it, there’s only power. That’s why my mother wants it so badly. If she can own everything that Campone had, then she will be unstoppable. Wealth, power, dirty secrets. In short, she’ll own every wealthy family in New York. That legacy will be passed on to Jon, and I can’t let that happen. I failed them once, I am not doing it again. That’s why I need to get there first. I don’t want Peter, Jon—or hell—even Hallie, dragged back here. The only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is if I’m the point man.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and I’m saying you don’t have to do it alone.”
“This is a slippery slope, Avery. I can’t let you step onto it.”