Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 65682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
I laugh outright at her honesty. “Okay, fine. Get dressed.”
“I am dressed,” she insists, her tone full of outrage.
I shake my head and prepare myself because I know she’s not going to like what I have to say next.
“For sunbathing, sure. But you’ll be uncomfortable riding on my bike in that tiny scrap of fabric.”
As anticipated, Aria sucks in a deep breath that’s half growl and shakes her head like a kid refusing to eat her vegetables.
“I am not getting on that death trap with you. Or with Lucky,” she adds as if she knows what I’m about to say.
“Yeah, you are.” I cross my arms and wait for her next argument because it’s her favorite fucking pastime.
Aria jumps up off the lounger, still shaking her head. “No! I am not going anywhere with you on that thing. You want me to go somewhere, get a car like a normal person!”
I grin. “No can do. Bikers don’t ride in cars.”
She lets out a strangled sound and shakes her head furiously. “Think again.”
“I don’t have time for your shit, Aria. Get dressed and be ready to go in the next five minutes.” She stands there, staring at me like she doesn’t speak English. “Your father is back in town, and we need to talk.”
She takes off her dark glasses as if seeing me better will help her understand what I said. “He’s back?” she asks, incredulous.
I nod. “Spent the night at his condo.” He wasn’t alone, but that’s his business, not his daughter’s.
“Well,” she says. She rolls her eyes, but I can see that she’s hurt he hasn’t reached out. I can’t say I blame her after everything she’s been through.
“You don’t need me. I’ll call Daddy and let him know how you guys helped, and he’ll give you a shit ton of cash. That’s all you care about anyway. Right?”
“This isn’t about money, at least not how you think, Princess.” She scoffs, but I ignore her. “We need to talk to your father. And with LTC still in town, there’s no fucking way I’m leaving you here alone.”
“Then Lucky can stay here with me. Better yet, tell Daddy to come home.” She crosses her arms like a bratty kid and completes the look by stomping her feet. “In fact,” she says, reaching for the pink phone beside the pink drink in a champagne glass. “I’ll call him now.”
“Aria,” I growl, but it’s too late.
“Daddy, hi. There are some people here you need to talk with. Can you come home now?”
I roll my eyes at the gleam in her eyes and pull out my phone to let Ace knows there’s been a change of plans. He doesn’t like it, but I let him know that Geoffrey Morgan is on his way to the mansion. And he needs to get his ass here. Now.
Ten minutes later, Ace and Geoffrey arrive at the same time. Morgan glares at Ace as they both enter. Aria stands between me and Lucky, more annoyed with her father for not coming home than with us for even existing.
“Aria,” Morgan says, stepping toward his daughter. “What the hell is going on?”
Instead of answering his question, she asks, “Where were you last night?”
“Aria,” he huffs as his gaze darts at the three unknown bikers.
I look to Ace, and he nods, leaving it up to me to intervene in this dysfunctional family moment.
“Aria was kidnapped.” Those words have the intended effect, and they both shut the fuck up. “I came around here looking for you, and some cartel thugs showed up, beat the shit out of me, and left me tied up downstairs while they took her with them.”
Geoffrey looks at me like I’m a dirty fucking liar. “How do I know you weren’t involved?”
“He wasn’t, Daddy,” Aria says, glaring at me. “Dix came by the business looking for you, but you weren’t there. Go figure,” she mumbles under her breath. “And some guys were hanging around, so he made sure I got home safely. That’s when those Hispanic guys burst in and everything else he said.”
Her eyes slam shut, and I realize, probably for the first time, just how affected she is by the kidnapping.
Morgan does what I expect a man who loves his daughter will do. He wraps her in his arms. “Are you all right, honey? Did they hurt you?”
Ace and I look at each other, but Lucky scoffs and shakes his head as if he knows more.
“A few slaps by the mean one. Mostly they kept my head covered with a hood and my arms tied to a chair. Then one night, they moved me, and I was pretty sure they were going to kill me because you didn’t pay their ransom.”
“I would have paid,” he insists angrily.
“You didn’t have to,” I tell him. “We were trying to get Arturo’s attention, and we did. In exchange, we got Aria back. For you. As an act of goodwill.”