Page 32 of The Arrangement

“You question my sexuality, Viviana?” She felt his lips form a grin against her skin as she shivered. “That’s not what you should be worried about. What you should be worried about is whether or not I can fuck you in the stockroom without someone overhearing you scream my name.”

“You wouldn’t da—”

The cell phone in his pocket stopped her from saying more. Anton released his hold around her waist before pulling out the phone and turning his back to her as he answered the call.

“Talk,” Anton demanded. “They lifted what? Oh, those greedy fucking idiots. Are they stupid? Those are loaded with GPS. Get them out of my warehouse before …”

Clearly the conversation wasn’t meant for her to hear, or at least she should pretend like she couldn’t. Viviana went back to scanning the items on the shelf. A kiss was placed to her cheek, bringing her attention to Anton who was back at her side. Covering the phone’s speaker with his hand, he shrugged apologetically.

“I’ll be right back. I have to take this somewhere private.”

“Sure,” she said, offering him a smile.

With one more kiss, Anton disappeared through the aisles of bath and body products. Viviana appraised the row of pillar candles as the store’s front door opened and closed once more.

Slipping down another aisle, she finally found products in the dozens for floral scents. Viviana always did have a thing for roses, so she picked up a bubble bath product with a rose petal design on the label and opened it up to smell. A flash of red hair in the corner of her eye made Viviana nearly drop the bottle.

With her head tucked down to stare at her phone, Cici Carducci stood five feet away from Viviana’s very spot. The youngest daughter of her Uncle Sonny, Cici hadn’t been especially close with Viviana or her older brother, but they had the same family. Not to mention the girl’s father was the same man who was probably planning at that very moment how he could put a bullet through Viviana’s brain and get away with it.

Viviana’s heart and lungs stopped working as she watched her first cousin type on her phone. They were too close to the safe house, she knew. It was maybe a fifteen-minute drive away. Why the girl was even in this part of Brooklyn, Viviana didn’t know, but it wouldn’t lead to anything good.

Cici could easily report back to Sonny about where she’d seen Viviana. The bratty little bitch that her cousin was known to be surely wouldn’t hide it from her father. God knew Sonny spoiled all of his daughters to the nines and back, but Cici had always seemed to be his favorite. How long would it take her uncle to find her after that?

Panic welled in Viviana’s gut like a poison.

Where the fuck was Anton?

As if her mind had suddenly shifted gears and started working again, Viviana stumbled backwards to go around into the other aisle and hide. Instead, she just ended up bumping into a shelf in her panic and knocking over a half a dozen bottles and soaps.

Shit.

Sure enough, Cici glanced up at the commotion and straight into Viviana’s eyes.

“Vine …” Cici took a step forward, her hand holding the cell phone falling limply to her side. There was something all too nasty in the smile she leveled on Viviana. “Daddy said you were back.”

Viviana forced herself not to blink as she said, “Hey, Cici.”

“Where’s your Russian? Doesn’t he know it’s not smart for you to be out on your own?”

That was all the conformation Viviana needed for her to know Cici would tell Sonny. She didn’t know how much her cousin really knew about what was going on, or even if Cici knew what her father had done to Viviana’s family, but the girl had a mean streak, either way. A little taste of power could do that to people, and Cici likely thought she had that in droves, considering her father’s status in the mob.

There had once been a time when Viviana was the Don’s daughter, and now she wasn’t.

Cici was.

And you’re the fiancée of a Bratva boss, Viviana thought. Act like it.

Exactly.

But she was still fucking terrified.

Lifting her chin to regard Cici as if she was unfazed, Viviana shrugged. “My fiancé is around. Where’s your father, Cici? Is he around?”

“I’m not the one who needs safeguarding, Vine,” Cici replied with a smirk.

She really was a goddamned bitch. It probably wasn’t the best idea for her to be poking the beast, but Viviana wasn’t about to let Cici see how much her very presence worried and bothered her. “Are you still fucking around with Sonny’s messenger boy?”

It would sure explain why or what Cici might know.