Chapter 5 RECOVERING FROM THE SHOCK

Ariella's POV

Smoke burns my throat when I come to and as I drag myself across the floor face down, coughing while the taste of dust and sand fill my mouth.

The explosion is still ringing in my ears, and I'm still trembling.

I can't think, I can't breathe, my head pounds, and every inch of my skin feels so raw and bruised.

Just then I see a shadow stand above me with its hand reaching out and so I flinch, expecting another blow.

"Ariella!" A deep, urgent sounding but very unfamiliar voice calls out to me, causing me to turn around and unconsciously sit on my ass.

I blink through the unexpected wave of dizziness I just felt from my sudden movement and see a man crouching beside me and looking at the wreckage around us.

He's a mountain of muscle in a tailored suit with an earpiece on his ear so I should recognise him if I've seen him before, but I don't.

"Who-?" I rasp, not able to finish my entire sentence properly.

"Bryce," he says quickly, answering my half question. "Head of your security detail. We need to move now Ma'am."

I let him haul me to my feet while my knees shakes from fear and glasses crunch right under my heels as he half-carries me through the smoke and destroyed environment.

Sirens wail in the distance, meaning that help is on the way, but that fact does nothing to calm me down at all.

"What happened?" I ask in a hoarse voice.

"Bomb," Bryce mutters.

"Planted near the boardroom entrance. It could've been remote detonated or could've been on a timer. We're still checking."

I don't hear the rest of his sentence, all my brain understood was the word, 'bomb'.

"A bomb. Someone tried to kill me?"

Bryce nods at me. "Or one of them."

His words send a shiver down my spine and I glance back to see smoke swirling in the distance.

In front of me, I see figures move through the broken concrete lying around and when I blink twice to see clearly, I realise that they're security teams, paramedics... and them, my husbands.

Rafael is barking orders into his phone; Damon is standing nearby and Carter is stalking toward him, every inch of his body showing that he's very angry.

"Where were you?" Carter shouts, grabbing Damon's arm.

"You're supposed to be head of security when she's here! How the hell did this happen?"

Damon however yanks his arm free from Carter's arm, glaring at him.

"Don't you fucking accuse me. Maybe you're the one who set this up, Carter. You've always been a trigger- happy bastard."

Annoyed at the insult Carter lunges, with his fists balled to land on Damon's face, but Rafael steps in between them, shoving them apart.

"Enough!" he snarls.

"This isn't the time for your petty pissing contest. We almost lost her today."

The moment he talks about me, their eyes snap to me immediately, and for a second, the entire world seems to narrow to their gazes: Damon's anger, Carter's dangerous charm and Rafael's thoughtful gaze.

I swallow, and my voice trembles as I speak. "One of you did this."

Carter's jaw ticks. "Do you think I'd kill you, princess? After everything we've-" He breaks off, not completing his sentence, leaving me totally unsure of what he was about to say.

"You're not safe, Ariella," Damon says then, curling his lips into a smile that didn't reach his eyes at all.

"You're not safe with them or with anyone."

Suddenly Bryce steps in front of me, blocking me from their view with his broad shoulders.

"That's enough," he snaps. "Mrs Sinclair-Director needs to get checked out. The rest of you- get your shit together."

I let Bryce guide me toward the waiting paramedics, but every step I take with my feet feels like I've been betrayed.

These men, these seven husbands of mine are supposed to be my partners and my protectors but all I see is a pack of wolves.

How could they try to kill me?

Absentmindedly, I sit on the back of an ambulance as a paramedic fusses over my cuts and bruises and I barely hear his voice over the many thoughts in my head.

One of them tried to kill me, or maybe it's all of them.

Bryce stands beside me with his arms folded and even though I'm not looking at him, his standing position tells me that his scanning the crowd with eyes and observing.

"I've got eyes on all exits," he tells me quietly, patting my right shoulder to comfort me.

"No one will leave without my say- so."

"Thank you," I whisper, feeling grateful for his efforts but my voice feels so scratchy and foreign in my own throat.

He glances down at me then and gives me a serious look. "They're dangerous men, Mrs Sinclair-Director. Don't forget that."

I shiver, and that's because I know that he's right about that.

Just then Luca approaches me, with his designer suit still neat and ironed looking despite the chaos.

He smiles, but it doesn't exactly reach his eyes as he says, "Darling, you gave us all quite a scare."

I stare at him, and coldly tell him. "Don't pretend that you care."

He tilts his head, not looking offended by my words but rather 'almost' amused.

"Oh, I care. But caring and trusting are two different things."

Curling my hands into fists, I look away from him "Get out of my sight, Luca."

And he does just that, going over to join the other six.

"Miss Sinclair?" A soft voice calls, not allowing me the chance I need to just 'recover' from this bomb shock.

Then I look up and see a petite woman with red hair and a clipboard, with her eyes wide with worry.

"I'm... I'm Ivy- your new assistant. Mr. Sinclair- your father- hired me just before he..." She trails off, her cheeks flushing and I force a smile at her.

"Thank you, Ivy."

"I..." She starts and pauses, then tries again when I lift my eyebrows.

"If there's anything-"

"Just find out who tried to kill me," I snap.

Her eyes widen, and she nods, scurrying away while still holding her clipboard tightly in her hands.

The rest of the day is a blur of meetings, police statements, and suspicious glances.

And when we get home, The Seven all react differently to the events of today.

Damon and Carter avoid each other; Rafael keeps to himself, brooding over the hell knows what it is, since he won't share even share what he's thinking; and the others---- Luca, Elias, Jace and Tristan watch me with both curiosity and... I don't know if it's calculation in their gazes.

However I know that I can't trust any of them.

That night, in my quiet bedroom, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and end up seeing that I look like a woman who's fighting a war in hell, that too on every front line.

... And when I say that, I mean that I look terrible; my hair is totally tangled, my eyes are sunken in and my mascara is smudged and running down my cheeks.

I feel like screaming as I think of the stolen money, the faked records and the bomb that just nearly killed me.

I also think of Carter's rough hands, Damon's cold stare, Rafael's haunted eyes and the others' curious looks at me.

Then I think of the way they all want a piece of me, and I instantly make a decision.

I will seduce ALL of them.

I will expose every secret, betrayal and every lie.

Carter and Tristan said this business marriage we're in is a game---- well then I will play their game, and I will win.

Just then a knock at the door startles me, interrupting my ongoing plot in my mind and I turn in my seat only to be surprised to see Bryce by the now open door.

"Bryce," I say, furrowing my brows at him.

"You're not supposed to be here."

He gives me a bow--- sort of--- and says, "I took permission from your husbands to spend the night here Mrs Sinclair-Director--- just in case anything happens."

"Oh..." I reply, not knowing what else to say, and then Bryce walks to me, holding up something in his hand and saying;

"I found this slipped under your door."

He then hands me a small black envelope that's thick and expensive, and I turn the sides carefully to avoid getting a paper cut as I break the seal open.

When I'm done, I pull out what's inside the envelope with my fingers and it turns out to be just one sheet of paper which says:

I know you think you can control them and you think you can survive this, but you're wrong.

Leave now or die.

My breath catches and I look up at Bryce, tilting the letter up for him to read it.

"Someone wants me dead."