Hide and Seek: Married to My Master Part 2

21. Alessandro

I threw myself into work for the next few weeks. And when I wasn't working, I was completing my probation-mandated community service. And when I wasn't completing community service or working, I was trying to track down Melody, who was strangely elusive.

Even when she worked for me, I found her forgettable; like she'd been hiding in plain sight. It was annoying at first, but now I was almost grateful for her being so hard to find. I needed any and every distraction to keep me from thinking about Aria and Daniel. Every day that went by without Aria in my bed was driving me closer to madness.

Lara could easily tell that I was miserable, but she assured me that her plan would come into play any day now, and everything would work out. I only had one day left on my international travel ban, and she encouraged me to go back to Iceland and try to talk to Aria again.

The only caveat was that I still couldn't drag her away from that asshole roommate of hers; I still had to be nice and let her lead. She had to come willingly. That was the tricky part.

My security team informed me that Aria and Daniel were now sharing a car with Rurik, her lease on her old apartment had recently been terminated, she'd been fired from her job at the grocery store, and her old number was no longer in service. They'd managed to find Rurik's number, however, so they were working on hacking into his phone to find Aria's new number. He seemed to be trying his damndest to keep Aria and Daniel away from me.

The next day, I spoke to my probation officer to let him know I'd completed my community service hours ahead of schedule, and he confirmed that I was, in fact, able to travel freely now. So I told him I was heading back to Iceland.

Lara had opted to stay behind this time, telling me that the plan was days away from going into effect, and she needed to stay back to ensure things went smoothly. She was confident that I'd be coming home with Aria and Daniel this time. I wanted to believe her, but my depressed brain didn't even dare to get my hopes up yet.

A week later, I was flying in my private jet to Iceland again. When I got off the plane, I saw that I had a missed call from Lara, as well as two texts and a voicemail message.

The first text simply said, "It's done. :)" The second text was a link.

I really wished I knew what "It's done" meant, but apparently it was good news. I pressed play on the voicemail.

"Hi, Mr. DeSantos. I hope your flight was smooth, and you've landed safely. I wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, Aria's parents were involved in a tragic hit-and-run accident. I just saw it on the news and sent you a link to an article about it... Fortunately, they are expected to make a good recovery, but they're currently in the ICU, and it will be a long road. Call me when you get this."

The concern in Lara's voice sounded genuine, but I knew instantly that this had been her plan:
To lure Aria out by targeting her loved ones.

I smiled slowly. Lara was right; this would work. I just needed to get ahold of Aria so I could inform her of the very, very sad, concerning news. I wondered what angle I should play here. She knew I couldn't stand her father, and under normal circumstances, hearing he'd been in a serious car accident would have been only mildly interesting at most.

So I couldn't oversell it. I had to just act like I was concerned for her. I practiced what I'd say to her and how I'd say it as I drove from the airport to Rurik's downtown apartment.

I pulled up to the curb by Rurik's apartment building and quickly made my way to the elevators. There were three young women also waiting to ride up. One of them did a double take when she saw me and nudged the other two, who immediately blushed. They started whispering in Iceland, occasionally giggling quietly.

I had no idea what they were saying, so I merely smiled politely. I was used to the whispers and giggling by now, and I definitely would have fucked all three of them 4 years ago. But that Alessandro was gone; I was headed towards the only person I ever planned on being inside of again. I sighed happily, finally feeling like things were going my way.

But when the elevator stopped at the top floor, I realized we were all going to the same place. The girls looked at each other with confused expressions and then looked up at me. The oldest looking one asked me something unintelligible in Icelandic. I smiled awkwardly and said, "Sorry, I have no idea what you said."

She blushed and smiled before replying, "Do you know Rurik, too? Or are you a friend of Malia?" I squinted my eyes and tilted my head before asking, "How do you know Rurik and Malia? He has more than one beautiful girlfriend?"

They all giggled and blushed even harder, and the youngest looking one said, "No no. Malia is his only girlfriend. Or soon to be wife, I believe! We're his sisters." My amused smile quickly faded.

Soon to be wife. Yeah fucking right.

I silently followed them to the apartment door, and I stood behind them while they knocked. Rurik answered the door...holding Daniel up on his shoulders. My face darkened.

And so did Rurik's.

His sisters paid us no mind as they fawned over Daniel. He really was a gorgeous child, with his bronze complexion, dimpled cheeks, and bright green eyes. He was a perfect combination of me and his mother. I couldn't help but feel proud as Rurik's sisters gushed over how adorable he was.

Rurik reached up to take Daniel off his shoulders and handed him to one of his sisters. "Johanna, would you mind taking Daniel inside? Aria is getting dressed, but she'll be out shortly. I just need to speak to...this gentleman here." All three of his sisters turned around and smiled flirtatiously at me. I smiled back politely, making Rurik growl protectively.

"Hurry inside now, girls. See if Daniel wants to play with his blocks or read a book with him until Aria comes out." He gently pushed them inside the apartment and shut the door behind him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why are you here?" He said plainly.

I crossed my arms over my own chest and said as sincerely as possible, "I just need to talk to Aria. Something bad happened back home. It's serious.
Please just ask her to come out for a few minutes. She needs to hear this."

Rurik rolled his eyes and scoffed, so I took my phone out and played Lara's voicemail.

Rurik's glare turned from angry to unsure, so I figured I just needed to push a little harder. "Listen, I'll be at the Canopy Hotel nearby. I can take you, Aria, and Daniel back to California right now, if that's what she wants. Free of charge. No strings attached. Aria was very close to her parents when we were married, and I know she'll want to see them... Please just let her know." I didn't want him to come, obviously, but I'd do whatever it took to get her back on my stomping grounds. She'd be much easier to control in California, where I could fight for custody.

Rurik nodded stiffly and then turned around to open the door. I could see Aria nearby when the door was fully opened, so I put my foot between the door and the frame before it fully closed and yelled, "Aria, your parents were in a terrible accident! I'll send you the article if you don't believe me. You need to come b—"

Rurik shoved me backwards and slammed the door in my face. I balled up my fists, and was about to attempt to kick the door in when it flew open.

Aria was struggling against Rurik, who was pretty effortlessly holding her back, keeping her away from the door. Her face was streaked with tears. "What happened??" She wailed. "Are they ok? Rurik let me go! I have to see if it's true! I have to go see th—"

He slammed the door shut again, and this time, I heard the click of the lock.