Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92232 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I inhale deeply. Her scent is still faintly in the air. However, that’s not what catches my attention. There are other scents that stand out.
“You smell that?” Bradan asks.
“Yeah, I do,” Ardan says.
“I do too,” I grind out.
“One is human, but he’s existing on magic. He’s actually rotting inside. What the fuck?” Reilly says.
“The other is one of us. Not a demigod, but a full-blood king,” Bradan adds.
“No, there are four full-bloods and the human,” I correct.
“What could they want with Ray?” he asks.
“Mabruk says they’re using our mates to pull us out.”
“Big fucking mistake. You feel me?” Bradan seethes.
“Oh, I feel you, brother. I feel you.”
“What do you want to do?” Reilly asks.
“Get some of our best trackers on this. I want to find them before they can get to us or what’s ours.”
“I’m on it,” Reilly says.
“When they’re found, remember, they owe me a pound of flesh. You feel me?”
“I feel you, brother. You will be the first to know when they are found.”
“Good,” I bite out.
Candido
I sweep everything off my desk. Then stand with my chest heaving. This can’t be fucking happening right now.
“Where the fuck is she? Someone tell me that you at least know when she took off.” I seethe, glaring at my men.
Marco steps forward. “We haven’t located her yet, boss. The cameras show her sneaking off the property around seven last night.”
“How the fuck did she sneak off the property? Everyone knows she’s not supposed to leave the grounds without my permission and a bodyguard.”
“I’m sorry, boss. I wasn’t here last night. I was handling that meeting across town and making my rounds. I’ll find her. I have all our guys on it.”
“You’re all useless. Forget about it. I’ll have the brothers look into it for me.”
“Do you need me to do anything else?”
“No. All of yous get out of my face,” I snarl, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth.
Once my office is empty, I take out my phone to call my brother. He’s the only one outside of my father who knows what I did thirty years ago to secure our bond with the brothers. I can use them to find Ray, but I’m not sure it’s the wisest thing to do.
I was told to keep them away from Ray and the others. At least until I married Ray off and produced a son—technically son-in-law—to carry us to the next generation. I wouldn’t even believe any of this shit to be possible if not for watching my father and grandfather thrive from their connection to those bikers and their magic.
“Hello,” Pauly says as he answers my call.
“We need to talk,” I bite out.
“What’s going on?”
“Ray is missing.”
“Her engagement party is tonight.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
I roll my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. My parents might have used all the brains on me. Pauly sure didn’t get much.
“What are you going to do? Will you call it off?”
“No, I was thinking of asking the brothers to find her,” I sigh.
“That’s not a good idea. Come on, Candido, think. If they find her, they’ll have questions.”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
“Where are the other two?”
“Fuck if I know. We just need one male, right? How’s the plan working out with your girl?”
“You know these magical types. His parents want to meet her. Something about not marrying humans who can’t handle their offspring. He’ll take her if she passes their test. Plan B is still in motion,” Pauly says.
“We’re so close. Dad said it has to happen this year. I’m going to strangle that girl.”
“Maybe it’s time to find your other daughters. We raised the two they said would be the most powerful, but we don’t want or need their magic—if they have any in the first place. Lee Ann hasn’t done anything special since the day you handed her over.”
I rub my temples. He’s right, but I was told the two strongest would replace the balance. They would give me grandsons and the Ricci family would be able to hold on to the bond we have with the brothers.
I bare my teeth in frustration as I move to the bar in my office. I need a drink. First, my brother and I struggled to have children with our wives. Then, my father found a woman willing to help us.
I was the only one able to get anyone pregnant. However, she gave me four girls. Not one son.
We need a fucking male heir. That’s how we hold on to the brothers. No male, no bond.
We’ve made too much money and have held too much power in New York and New Jersey to just see that all slip through our fingers. I toss my drink back and savor the burn as it slides down my throat.
Slamming the glass down, I crack my neck and roll my shoulders. Where the fuck is she? She doesn’t have friends.