Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 339(@200wpm)___ 271(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Her eyes flash, and for a moment, we’re back in high school—two queen bees duking it out for supremacy. But then she laughs, and the tension fades.
“This is some serious shit, Aria.” I nod, acknowledging her words since I can’t get the sound of gunfire out of my head.
“I’m aware,” I tell her honestly. “But how did you end up here?” McKenna comes from a good family. She has a younger sister, too. Wonder what happened to her?
Her smile widens. “Easy. I met Ace under some harrowing circumstances, and we fell in love. I moved in with him a couple of years ago. Hang out at the clubhouse every now and then.”
Her words shock me, honestly. Then again, McKenna has always had more freedom than me. My mom’s death resulted in Daddy locking me in the mansion with very little freedom or independence.
“Good for you,” I manage, and it hardly sounds bitchy at all.
McKenna grins. “Thanks.”
“I guess you probably know everything, then? Why I’m here?
She nods, and I’m grateful I don’t have to rehash everything, starting with being kidnapped by a Colombian cartel, because even today, I barely understand my life.
“You’ll be all right here, Aria. Just a fair warning, the people here are family, and I won’t tolerate you treating them like shit.”
“You’re one to talk,” I snort, remembering her equally bitchy ways back in school with a smile. “But message received. Loud and clear.”
“Good.” She motions to a woman who struts over with a half-smile and two shot glasses in one hand, a bottle of tequila in the other.
Another familiar face arrives at the table with an adorable redheaded little girl attached to her hip. “Kelsey?” She’s younger than me and McKenna, but I remember her well. She was always mature for her age, and I wonder if that cute little bug is her baby.
A beautiful laugh spills out of her, and she nods. “Yep, it’s me.”
I can’t tear my eyes away from the little girl with huge blue eyes. “Who is this?” I reach out a hand and smile when her chubby hand wraps around my finger. My heart clenches as I take in her pale porcelain skin and the freckles that dot her cheeks on either side of her nose.
“This is Carmine, but we call her Rocky.” Kelsey smiles at the cooing baby and taps her nose, drawing a sweet baby laugh from the girl.
“She is gorgeous, Kelsey.”
Coco barks from his tote, and I snap my fingers to stop him. “Sorry, Coco’s not used to being around so many people.”
“Yappy, just like her owner,” McKenna says, but there’s no heat to her words so I shrug them off with a grin.
“Uhm…Coco’s a he.”
“Oh, you could’ve fooled me with that pink bow.”
I snort-laugh. “When I got him, I thought he was a girl and got all these pink girly things for him. And then Dix pointed out he’s got a dick, so, now I know better, but he still looks cute in pink, so there’s that.”
I look at Kelsey with her daughter—also in pink—and smile. “Can I hold her?” I set Coco’s tote on the floor.
Kelsey hands her over easily, her gaze studious and watchful. I imagine she’s as surprised to see me as I am to see her and her sister.
Carmine giggles, reaching for my earrings, and I smile. “At least there’s one ray of sunshine in this place.”
Kelsey grins. “She’s a little heartbreaker, isn’t she?”
“Watch out, Aria,” McKenna teases. “Before you know it, you’ll be trading in your designer duds for biker boots and a baby carrier.”
I gasp in mock horror. “Perish the thought! I’d never give up my Louboutins.”
We laugh, and for a moment, I almost forget the chaos that’s landed me here. But as the laughter fades, reality sinks back in.
“So, what now?” I ask, trying to sound more confident than I feel.
“The guys aren’t thugs, you know,” Kelsey says.
I blink and look up. “What?”
She shakes her head, a smile teasing the corners of her lips. “Don’t get me wrong. They’re all a little rough around the edges, but that’s to be expected. They aren’t bad guys.”
Her gaze bounces around the room, but she’s like I remember, smiling and kind to everyone.
“Why expected?”
“Because not everyone grew up with silver spoons popping out of their asses,” McKenna shoots at me angrily.
Kelsey rolls her eyes. “It’s true. These guys haven’t lived lives like ours. There was no privilege or private schools. No country clubs or summers in Hawaii. They fight and scrape for everything they have, and sometimes that means skirting the law.”
I nod at Kelsey’s words, riveted by her spin on their collective backgrounds. “And that’s all right with you?”
She nods. “It’s not like our families always operate on the right side of the law. Yours either, I hear.”
I blush at the mention of my family’s less-than-lawful dealings. “You’ve heard,” I confirm. Kelsey nods, but there’s nothing but empathy and understanding on her face.