Chapter 18

~Rules of Engagement~

The longer our fathers were in the study, the more nervous I became. My stomach burned, and my breathing was shallow, but I kept dancing with Santo and watching the door to Aro's inner sanctum. When it finally opened, Uncle Marcus came out, panning the room with his dark gaze. He paused to admire Angela, who was dutifully dancing with Lou, and when his eye caught mine, he motioned me over.

"Uncle Marcus wants me." My voice was tight.

Santo rubbed soothing circles across my back. "Don't worry. We're in this together. Come on." He stopped dancing and held his hand out to me. I accepted the gesture of support, and we walked toward the study holding hands.

Uncle Marcus seemed pleased, nodding and smiling. He leaned close to me as we walked in, whispering, "This is a good match. You could end up with much worse. Trust me."

My steps faltered, and I looked into my uncle's face, searching for his meaning, but his expression was impassive.

"Bella?" Santo squeezed my hand tighter, urging me along.

And then we were in the room. The men stood around the fireplace, glasses in hand, talking quietly. They seemed confident and comfortable. My heart squeezed in my chest. I looked at each of them, saving Aro for last. His glittering eyes met mine, and he nodded. He was pleased, proud.

"Bella, Santo, a drink?" He didn't wait for an answer, nodding to Uncle Marcus who poured two brandies.

Uncle Marcus handed me the glass, shooting me a reassuring look, and I quickly swallowed some of the topaz liquid.

Aro leaned casually against the mantle. "You're probably wondering what this is all about. Tonight was a celebration dinner to cement the bonds of four families. Angela has already committed to marry Lou, and after watching the two of you tonight, we feel it's a good time to announce your engagement."

I choked on the sip I was taking, and the burn shot down my throat and up my nose at the same time.

Santo slipped his arm around my waist, his fingers rubbing lightly. "With all due respect, Aro, I haven't bought a ring or asked for Bella's hand yet."

Aro smiled indulgently at us, his amused gaze sweeping the room. Arthur Lanzo and Rocco D'Angelo offered similar expressions; only Uncle Marcus remained neutral. Perhaps he disagreed with the ambush, but he would never publicly contradict Aro.

"Son, I appreciate the sentiment, and you're welcome to choose a ring and have your own private celebration later on. Tonight is all about appearances and showing solidarity."

Arthur Lanzo stepped forward, pulling a black velvet box from his jacket. "Use this for now." He handed the box to Santo, smiling proudly. "This is a big deal, San, a very big deal. Bella, welcome to the family." He stepped forward, putting gentle hands on my upper arms, and kissed me on both cheeks.

I was numb. I felt my mouth stretch into a smile, and I chatted with everyone, but I had no recollection of what I was saying. It was as if I hovered outside myself. My only links to reality were Santo's reassuring touch and the phantom sting of Tony's mark on my side.

Aro wanted the announcement made right away. Angela and Lou were getting married in August, and my wedding was to be in September. That left us a few months to create a miracle.

When we came out of the study, my eyes met Angela's resigned gaze. I mouthed, "I'm sorry." She glanced at Santo and bit her lip.

Arthur Lanzo led Santo and me over to the band and whispered in the singer's ear. He nodded his understanding, and when the song was over, he handed the mike to Santo.

In typical Santo fashion, he was poised, confident, and debonair. "You're probably wondering why I interrupted your good time. I think Bella is too." He laughed, swinging our joined hands, then turned to face me. "From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were special. I love your sense of humor, your inner fire, the way you touch my heart. You're my own personal angel, and that's why"—Santo dropped to one knee, pulling out the ring box—"I want to know if you will do me the great honor of being mine forever. Will you marry me?"

I gazed down at him and saw Tony's handsome face. "Yes," I answered breathlessly. "Yes."

I knew "my own personal angel" referred to Angela, and I prayed she did too. As we faced the clapping, whistling crowd, I saw tears in her eyes. But she didn't run from the room like I knew she wanted to—instead, she stood by my side with a glass of champagne in her hand and toasted the newly engaged power couple.

oOo

The diamond ring sat heavy on my finger, a constant reminder that I was being torn between two different paths leading to two different men. If we couldn't figure out a plan before August, Angela would have to marry Lou, and I might have to marry Santo.

Angela was sitting in her favorite place on my window seat, looking out at the foggy morning.

"Ang, I'm so sorry." Tears stung my eyes.

She stirred, turning to look at me forlornly. "It's not your fault, and I'm not mad at you. I'm just upset with the whole situation." She rested her cheek against her knees.

"We'll find a way out of this," I said with more certainty than I felt, but the alternative was unacceptable.

Angela lifted her head and shot me a half-smile. "Just letting you know, if we don't find a way out of it, I'll be having an affair with your husband—and we'll cover for your extra-marital activities."

My stomach rolled. I knew she was trying to cheer me up, but all I felt was dread when I thought about continuing to live a lie and sneak around. I didn't want to upset her, so I forced a laugh.

Marietta knocked on the door and poked her head into my room. "Miss, your father says to get ready for engagement brunch. And congratulations to you!"

"Engagement brunch?" I rolled my eyes.

Angela and I dressed up and dutifully sat through brunch next to our "beaus." I discovered I was a great actress, pretending I was deliriously happy and in love with Santo. When he leaned in and whispered—"Let's make this look real"—I closed my eyes and imagined Tony when Santo kissed me.

Aro took me aside as we were leaving. "Isabella Marie, I'm so proud of you. You're going to have a wonderful life with Santo, and our families will be strengthened." In a rare gesture of affection, he put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close, placing a kiss on top of my head. "I know you don't fully understand this life, but you're learning fast and embracing the future."

"I'm trying."

"And I appreciate it more than you know. Let's go take some engagement pictures in the park."

"Okay."

There was no fighting against it, so I went along with the photo session. Ang and I even managed to have a little fun with it.

As we were gathering to leave the park, I caught the eye of the one person who wasn't buying my act; Renee stood beside a cherry tree, watching me carefully. I smiled and waved to her. Her answering smile never reached her eyes.

I jumped into Ang's Mustang, and we drove away at a respectable speed; she never peeled out in front of Uncle Marcus. I flopped back against the passenger seat and closed my eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Renee. I don't think she's buying into my engagement."

Angela shot me a pointed look. "You'll just have to convince her then. This has to work until we can figure a way out."

"Do you have any ideas?"

She let out a sardonic laugh. "Not a fucking clue. I figure with all of us working on it, we have to come up with something, right?"

"Absolutely. Where are we going?"

"I was thinking of going to The Loupe Lounge for cocktails. Why not enjoy watching the sunset from above the city? We deserve it."

I nodded. "Now you're talking."

When we arrived, the hostess smiled. "Welcome to The Loupe. Reservation number?"

"We don't have one."

Her friendly demeanor turned frosty. "I'm sorry. We don't take walk-ins."

Angela leaned on the podium, pitching her voice low. "Listen . . . Cherine. Have you heard of the Volturi and Moretti families?"

"Yes, of course."

Angela pointed to herself. "Moretti." Then she pointed to me. "Volturi."

Cherine froze, her blue eyes wide. She stuttered—"J-just a s-second here"—and made a show of consulting her reservation list. "Found it. So sorry for the mix-up. It'll just be a moment." She hurried away.

I side-eyed Angela. "You love doing that, don't you?"

"Well, yeah! Don't you? There have to be some perks to this life."

We were escorted to a sumptuous couch with a small glass table to hold our drinks. I sat back and let out a long sigh of relief. A very flirty waiter delivered our Cosmos, and we giggled over his antics the way we used to before life took such a serious turn.

I was on my second drink when my burner rang. My heart shifted into overdrive, and I eagerly answered Tony's call. "Hey, handsome."

"Where are you?"

"Can you believe I'm sitting on a couch at The Loupe in the Space Needle? Ang dragged me here for cocktails."

"Just you and Angela?" His voice was tense.

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"You tell me, princess."

A slice of fear flared in my chest. "What do you mean?"

"Have you seen today's headline on Morgan Langley's celebrity news?"

"No."

"Take a look, and call me back." Tony's voice was pure ice, and he hung up without giving me a chance to respond.

Angela paused mid-sip when she saw my face. "Chica, what's wrong?"

"We need to bring up Morgan Langley's website. Tony just told me to take a look, then hung up on me! I've never heard him sound that way—so cold."

Angela brought the report up on her phone and gasped. "Holy shit! You've got to be kidding me." She scrolled the page. "There's video too!"

"What the fuck is it?"

She handed me the phone.

The headline read "Volturi-Lanzo Engagement."

I clicked on the video, which opened with a voice-over by Morgan.

Last night, Santiago Lanzo, the son of Arthur "The Dove" Lanzo, proposed to the daughter of mafia kingpin Aro Volturi. Lanzo dropped on bended knee at an exclusive party held at the Volturi mansion. We were able to obtain a clip of the special moment.

Someone had leaked a video of the entire proposal, including my breathless "Yes." The video zoomed in on my expression at the very moment I was imagining it was Tony asking me to be his wife.

"Fuck me."

"You can say that again. Damn."

"Aro is going to string someone up for leaking a video from his party!"

"Is he?" Angela tilted her head, eyebrows raised.

"Of course! He doesn't allow . . ." The words stuck in my throat.

Angela put her arm around me and leaned her head against mine. "I'd bet my Mustang that Aro is behind the leak."

It made perfect sense. Aro wanted to send a message to the other families, especially the Masens, that his power was growing, and he was making new alliances. He was letting others know it wouldn't be prudent to cross the Volturis.

"I need to get out of here." I no longer wanted to watch the rapidly darkening sky, and the Cosmo had soured in my stomach.

"Okay." Angela raised a finger to alert the waiter. "Can I get the bill, please?"

"On the house, Ms. Moretti. Are you sure I can't get you anything else?"

"Thank you so much, but we have an emergency." Angela pressed a large tip into the waiter's hand.

His eyes widened slightly. "Thank you. Hope everything is okay."

Angela had a tight grip on my arm as we made our way to the elevator. It was a good thing, because I didn't see where we were going—all I could see was Tony's face, and all I could hear was the coldness in his voice.

Once we were in the Mustang, Angela delivered a stinging slap to my cheek.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"Chica, get a fucking grip on yourself! Snap out of it!" Angela glared at me. "This is no time to check out. You need to call Tony and straighten this shit out."

"Yeah . . . I do. Thank you."

"You want me to leave you alone for a while?"

"No, it's okay."

My stomach churned as I pulled out the burner and called Tony.

"Yeah," he snapped.

"I'm so sorry, Tony! I—"

"For what? The leak or the ecstatic look on your fucking face when your new fiancé put that ring on your finger?" His voice was a low growl, hard and cold.

This is what it was like to go up against the new head of the Masen family. I could imagine the flat, deadly look in his eyes. This was the man who would soon be giving the orders and going up against my father.

"Tony, I was imagining you. I wanted it to be you asking for my hand—it was the only way to get through it without giving everything away." My voice broke on a sob, and I was instantly angry with myself for crying. I gulped in a few breaths of air, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I love you. You're the only man I've ever loved."

After a silence that felt as if it would go on forever, there was a deep sigh on the other end of the line. "You are the one thing that could destroy me, princess."

"I don't want to destroy you!"

"That doesn't mean you won't. I'm sorry."

The line went dead.

"He hung up on me!" I slammed a fist on the dash.

I tried him back several times, but the calls went straight to voicemail. Tony thought I was going to destroy him? Was this it then? He finally realized it was too much?

"Give him some time. He loves you."

I swiped away a few tears. "Take me to Jasper's."

"Do you think that's the best idea right now?"

I folded my arms across my chest. "Take me."

Angela put the car in gear and pulled out. "Okay."

We didn't speak on the drive. I think Angela understood that I needed time to get my thoughts in order. This leak was devastating. Not only did it drive a wedge between Tony and me, but it was a gauntlet thrown at the feet of the other families. This might even cause Tony's father to step up his efforts to unite with the Denalis. My teeth ground together when I thought of Tanya Denali with Tony, and I understood why he felt so betrayed by my engagement to Santo even though it was contrived. I dug my nails into my palms and screamed out in frustration.

Once we parked in the garage at Skyline Square, the elevator ride to the penthouse felt endless, and I tapped my foot impatiently. When the doors opened, I raced inside, calling out for Tony.

Jasper strolled out of his office and nodded. "Good afternoon, Bella, Angela. I'm afraid Tony isn't here."

"Do you know where he is?" I asked frantically.

"No. Is something wrong?"

His look of concern triggered my tears, and I started blubbering. Angela grabbed my arm, interrupting my unintelligible word vomit.

"Bella's father pushed her into getting engaged to Santiago Lanzo last night, and it was leaked to Morgan Langley. She posted a report and video clip of the proposal, and Tony saw it before Bella had the chance to tell him."

"Aw, shit. I'm sorry, but I haven't heard from him all day." Jasper was sympathetic and offered to give Tony a call. He tried several times, but there was no answer. Maybe Tony figured he might be calling on my behalf.

Jasper offered to let us stay over, but we decided to go back to my house. Angela was supposed to meet up with Santo, but she told him I needed her. She sat up with me for half the night as I kept trying to reach Tony. I finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

oOo

Days went by, and I heard nothing from him. Jasper told me to give him time but wouldn't say anything more. I didn't have the nerve to call Emmett. The burner phone rang and rang, but he never picked up. I was desperate with no way to reach him.

I couldn't eat or sleep. I felt sick and miserable, but I had to pretend to be excited about my engagement to Santo. Renee pointed out the dark circles under my eyes. The way she looked at me, I knew she was suspicious. I used makeup to cover the evidence of many sleepless nights. Angela made me stay at Santo's for a few nights and coerced me into taking sleeping pills. It helped a little bit, but I was losing weight because I couldn't seem to hold any food down. Santo was concerned, but Angela just shook her head and asked him to give me space.

I was working the desk late Friday night when I felt a prickle up the back of my neck and knew Tony was nearby. My heart started beating double-time, but I thought it would stop in my chest when I heard Tanya Denali's voice.

"I had a great time. Do you want to come up for a nightcap?"

I didn't hear the murmured reply.

They came into view before I could leave the desk, and I was trapped there. Tanya's curvy figure was wrapped in a slinky silver dress with a slit that went all the way to her upper thigh. Tony wore a perfectly tailored three-piece suit, and his typically unruly hair was neatly slicked back. He walked close to Tanya, his hand resting on her lower back.

Impassive, cool green eyes met mine for a few beats then flicked away. He looked hot, and there were no signs of sleepless nights on his face.

"Good evening." Tanya paused in front of me. "Do I have any messages?" Tony stood at her side looking bored.

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak, thankful Tony didn't look at me. Tanya smiled spitefully, her eyes filled with undisguised triumph.

Tony and Tanya headed for the elevator, and I wanted to slap his hand away from her back. He murmured something I couldn't hear, and she laughed throatily.

Tanya's voice was a seductive purr. "My sister is staying with friends tonight, so we have the suite all to ourselves."

I didn't hear his answer, but I didn't need to. Tears welled up and spilled down my cheeks. I hurried into the office to grab a tissue, blotting away the salty tracks. I dragged deep breaths of air and tried to get my heart under control.

Against my better judgment, I texted Kate.

Hey, what are you doing tonight? I'm stuck working. ~B

NOTHING! I'm holed up with my parents so Tanya can seduce some mafia guy. * dramatic eye roll * I think my dad is hoping for a match.

When do you have a night off? Let's do something fun! ~Kate

My fingers shook so much it took several tries to type a legible reply.

I'll check and let you know ~B

Hours went by, and Tony didn't reappear. My heart ached in a way it never had before. Was he fully embracing his new role as head of the Masen family? Were the promises he made to me meaningless? I couldn't wait until my shift was over, and it was hard to keep it together for my few late-night customers.

Usually Caius picked me up when I worked the graveyard shift, but I texted Angela, and she immediately agreed to come and get me. As soon as the hotel was rapidly disappearing in her rear view mirror, I became a sniveling mess. I cried loud and hard with Angela's encouragement.

"Just let it out, honey." Angela put a hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. "You want to go to the gun range? Because I'll totally bring you."

I laughed, swiping at the constant stream of tears. "No, but I can't go home like this."

"I'm taking you to Santo's for the night. Aro won't mind."

"Does Santo know what's going on?"

"Nope. I just told him you needed me. It's for you to tell or not."

"Thank you, Ang. In case I haven't told you often enough, I fucking love you."

She smiled. "I fucking love you too." Then she grew serious. "Chica, there's something we need to discuss. The Denalis are staying in Aro's hotel, having meetings with him, but they are obviously courting the Masens. Seems like they are playing both ends against the middle. I think Aro needs to know."

"Yeah. Guess I'll report seeing Tony with Tanya tonight." Anger and hurt sizzled through me anew. "Do you know that fucker never came back down? He's been up there for hours and hours with that putana!"

"We can check the cameras, find out when he leaves."

"Can you do it? I-I don't want to see him with her, touching her."

"Of course, honey." Angela patted my hand. "You know I'll do anything for you."

"Be careful. I might take you up on that."

We looked at each other for a moment and started laughing.

"Whatever it takes," she muttered. I don't think she meant for me to hear those words, and maybe I should have questioned what she meant by it, but I didn't.

When we arrived at Santo's place, he took one look at me and opened his arms. I ran into them and cried against his chest. He whispered soothing words and stroked my hair. "It's going to be all right, Bella. I promise we'll make this okay."

I heard their promises and held onto them for dear life, but deep down, I wasn't sure things would ever be okay again.

~oOo~

Everything has blown up spectacularly. Let the fireworks begin. Looking forward to your thoughts, even if you want to string me up alongside Tanya! I'm hoping to have the next chapter out next week.

The next chapter of Animal is done and with beta/prereaders! Coming soon!

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Thanks and gratefulness as always to my awesome betas, SassySue (chayasara) and Wendy wmr1601. These ladies make my stuff much more presentable!

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PSA: Fanfic has made a ridiculous update that will turn email notifications OFF. This is the default setting. You will need to go to "settings" in your FF account and opt in to receive email notifications. Even if you do this, this setting will automatically default back to NO every six months, at which time you will need to change the setting again. Just one more way FF is making our lives difficult.