CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ARIES

The doctor enters the room and extends her hand to shake mine, "I'm Doctor Nicole Blanchard, I'll be overseeing Sierra's care while she's here."

She walks over to the couch, "Shall we sit and chat?"

I sit in the middle and she sits on one side of me, while Dalia takes a spot on the other side of me.

"She has some bruising on her face, as well as a laceration on her jaw. The stitches will need to stay in for the next few weeks. Overall, she's in better condition than I would've expected. They took better care of her than is usually the case for trafficking victims. My biggest concern is the pregnancy."

"Is there something wrong with the baby then?"

Yeah, maybe I'm a terrible person for wishing that the pregnancy wouldn't progress, but she's fourteen. I can't possibly imagine her becoming a mother. And co-parenting with an Aiello. I nearly snort at myself, because, yeah, it's hard to co-parent when you're dead, and that fucker is definitely going to be that.

She shakes her head, "No. The fetus is perfectly healthy. How long ago was she taken?"

"Seven months ago."

"Abortion isn't an option, at least not legally. She's twenty-four weeks and three days pregnant. The law is twenty-four weeks, unless the woman's life would be in danger by continuing the pregnancy, or if the fetus isn't viable. Neither of those situations are the case."

I shrug, "Do it illegally then. I don't fucking care."

She shakes her head, "No. I do perform the occasional abortion, but I follow the law whether I agree with it or not. I understand how difficult this situation is, but you'll have to find another doctor to do that, and I'd be very careful with going that route. There are other options but of course any decisions regarding this pregnancy should be Sierra's choice."

I shake my head in disagreement, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm even disagreeing with. I'm not a total fucking asshole, in most cases I think it should be the woman's choice. She's a fucking kid though, not a woman. How can she possibly have the maturity to make the right decision for herself? Bringing an Aiello into the world is never the right decision, especially since I plan on killing every fucking one in existence. Would I kill a baby? Fuck. I don't know. It's an Aiello, which means it'll grow up to do shit like what's been done to my sister.

The doctor stands and nods at me, "Sierra will have therapy every day until she's released, and then she'll go home with outside referrals. She's probably going to need counseling for a long time, but she'll get there. You can go see her when you're ready, but please keep your visit short for today."

"Thank you," I mumble, and Dalia takes my hand as the doctor heads back upstairs.

"Will you do me a favor when you leave tonight?"

I arch an eyebrow, "When we leave, I'll give you whatever you want."

"Aries," she scolds me, and it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Wrapping my hand around the side of her neck, I stare into her beautiful eyes, "I need to go see my sister, but first let me make myself abundantly clear, Dalia. I am sorry I hurt you. I'm an idiot but I'll never let you go. I'll never stop trying. I have made mistake after mistake with you. I'm a selfish asshole, baby. I can't sit here and watch you walk out of my life."

I rub my thumb over her bottom lip as she gasps, "Aries."

"I've never been in love. I don't know what it's supposed to feel like, but if it's supposed to feel like you can't possibly live another day without a person, then I guess that's what this is."

Leaning forward, I press my lips to hers, and at first she's completely into it and slides her tongue into my mouth, but then she places both of her small hands on my chest and pushes me away, "Aries. No. I can't."

I groan because it's frustrating as hell to finally figure out what you want, but now you can't have it. There will be no giving up, I'll never stop trying.

"Will you come with me to see her? In case she gets upset?"

She nods, "Yeah, I'll go see her with you."

I'm pretty sure I can handle my sister on her own, although I know it'll be hard to see her in her current condition, but I don't want to let Dalia out of my sight. I'm afraid if I do she might disappear.

DALIA

We walk upstairs to her room, I knock on the door and she yells come in, Aries walks inside first and I follow him. If I thought she lit up at the mention of his name, seeing him is on an entirely different level.

He stands with his hands in his pockets, no doubt trying to avoid touching her, but it backfires instantly.

"You're angry with me," she says while hanging her head down, appearing absolutely defeated. Heartbroken, even.

"What?" he asks, sounding utterly confused.

She wipes the tears falling onto her cheeks, "Since I was a little girl, whenever you walked into the room, you'd hug me. Always. But now you don't. I'm sorry I got pregnant, Aries. I'm sorry for being so bad all the time."

I walk to the door to let myself out, because I shouldn't be here for this conversation, I'm an intruder on this private moment.

"Dalia, stay," he barks at me.

Normally, I'd tell him I'm not a fucking dog, and to not speak to me like that. If anybody deserves a pass on my smart mouth, it's Aries, right now.

Turning back into the room, I take a seat near the foot of the bed, as he approaches her, "May I sit?"

"Yes," she whispers.

Still, he keeps his hands on his lap, "I wanted to come in here and hug you, and never let go, but I was warned that some girls that have gone through this don't want to be touched. I was trying to be respectful."

She jumps up and throws her arms around him, and cries on his shoulder, slowly like he's unsure if it's the right thing, he places his arms around her back and holds her, "You're not bad, Sierra. You're wonderful. None of this is your fault."

Aries, the big bad mafia man, so sensitive and sweet with this girl, is possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. He's tender, and loving. The way he looks at her with so much love and adoration, along with his mountain of regret, is powerful.

With a startle she moves away from him, "The baby is moving," she says her cheeks pinking from embarrassment, as her elbow hits my phone and knocks to the hard tiled floor. Aries bends down and picks it up, "What's this?"

She smiles slightly, "It's Dalia's phone. She was playing the new Taylor Swift album for me."

"Oh I love that one," he says jokingly, "You know me. Total Swiftie."

Sierra grabs his hand excitedly, "Since you're such a Swiftie now, you should take me to a concert."

He snorts, "Or I could buy you a car, the cost is nearly the same."

The disappointment on her face shows as her mood apparently sours, and he notices instantly, "I'll tell you what, sis, if you do everything they want you to do here to get well, I'll take you to a Taylor Swift concert. I don't care how much it costs."

I can't stifle the giggle that escapes from me, "I'd love to see the big tough mafia man at a Taylor Swift concert."

He glances over his shoulder with a smirk on his face, "Good, because you'll be coming too."

"But I'm fine. I'm already well," Sierra argues like any teenager would. I'm pretty sure that's their specialty.

He shakes his head at her, "There is no way you're fine after what you've been through, what you're continuing to go through. So that's the deal. Take it or leave it."

Sierra grumbles, "You're going to make me do it anyway, so I guess I'll take it, so I at least get what I want out of it."

He stands to his full height, "I'm going to go because I was told to keep today's visit short, but I'll be back tomorrow, if that's okay?"

After a quick hug and a kiss on the top of her head, he turns to me, "Ready?"

I roll my eyes but I don't want to have this conversation in front of his sister, so I nod and stand up as I address Sierra, "Remember to write your feelings in your journal I gave you. It's easy to pretend you're okay when there's people around to distract you, but sometimes when you're alone, that's when everything hits. Don't bury those feelings. You have to deal with them in order to move forward."

We both walk out together and head downstairs, "Do you have a car here?"

I shake my head, "No. My driver dropped me off, but I'll text him to pick me up."

Aries runs his hand up my arm, and I try to ignore the tingles it causes on my skin. Of course he notices and chuckles, "You'll come home with me."

"Nothing has changed," I argue.

The smile that develops on his face is unfair. The way he looks at me like I'm everything he wants, and the sexy dimples in his cheeks that he knows do things to me I don't want them to. It's all unfair.

"Stop looking at me like that."

He leans down and bites my neck, "Like what, Wife?"

"Like you want to eat me."

His chest is pressed against mine as he chuckles, causing the delicious vibration to be felt through my body, "Dirty girl. Is that all you can think about? That must have been the favor you asked for. I'm only too happy to oblige. I'll tongue fuck you until you remember how good we are together. A bit of a warning though, once I start I'm not stopping until my face is fucking drenched with your come."

"Aries," I whimper and he chuckles again, "We are leaving before I drop to my knees right here and devour you, regardless of who walks into the room."