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)
“It’s rough, and I’m not even sure it’s relevant to anything we need, but—”
I frown. It’s not like Gia to beat around the bush, hell, the woman doesn’t do it when we want her to. I ball my hands into fists and dig my heels into the fancy rug to steel myself. “Gia.”
She nods and lets out a resigned sigh. “Aria’s mother was an informant, and Geoffrey got a little too close to her. She was killed when Aria was two years old by someone trying to get to Geoffrey.”
No.
“What?” Aria’s voice shrieks behind us, and I turn around to see total devastation written all over her face. Tears well in her eyes, and they fall before I can even form a sympathetic word.
I’m at her side instantly, wrapping her in my arms while her body shakes with heartbreaking sobs. I ignore the questioning glances from Gia and Wild Man.
“She was an informant,” Aria cries. “That means she was a criminal, right?”
She’s becoming hysterical, and I rub her back in slow, soothing circles while Gia and Wild Man watch. They have questions, I know they do, but right now, the focus is on Aria.
“We don’t know that, Aria. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
She lets out a small, bitter laugh. “It’s hard not to think that, Lucky. What am I supposed to think? Usually, people are informants as a way to work off some kind of criminal debt with the cops. Right?” She looks around the room, her brown eyes pleading. “Right?”
“That’s the case a lot of times,” I tell her because I refuse to lie to her. She’s got a hard road ahead of her, especially if Geoffrey doesn’t come back for her, and she has to learn to stand on her own. “But sometimes good people find themselves mixed up in other people’s shit, and they need help.”
She pulls back with disbelief in her eyes. “Not even you believe that, Lucky.”
I laugh. “You’re damn right I do. You know how many people from my old neighborhood reached out to the police to get an abusive boyfriend locked up or a no-good grandchild? You can’t get rid of the shit from your life, so you help the cops to get rid of ’em. It happens all the time.” I don’t want to pile my shit on top of her, but she needs to know the truth.
“Shit, Lucky. What will it be next?”
I smile and shrug. “Who knows? This is real life, Aria. It could be any damn thing.”
She’s like a frail little bird all balled up in my arms, her face pressing against my chest like she’s afraid to face the real world. Her body is trembling in a mixture of fear or shock, maybe both.
“Frannie!” I shout for the housekeeper because I have a feeling she is exactly what Aria needs right now. “Frannie’s going to take care of you, Aria. She’s what you need right now.”
Aria shakes her head against my chest, her fingers clutching my t-shirt. “I’m fine right here.”
I want to smile, but with the curious gazes coming at me from Wild Man and Gia, I have to keep my expression blank. “I’ll come for you as soon as we finish here. You want answers, don’t you?”
She nods against my chest and holds me tighter.
Frannie arrives and quickly takes in the scene, scanning all the players in the room before she settles on Aria. “What did you do?” she asks, the question directed at me.
“She’s found out some tough information which she will share with you if and when she’s ready. All right?”
Frannie’s eyes go wide as she nods. “Yeah, all right.”
I nod. “She’s in shock, so a hot shower or a stiff drink? Hell, I don’t know. Just don’t leave her alone until I come up, yeah?”
She nods and wraps her arms around Aria. “Come on, Aria, let’s get you settled upstairs.” She casts one last look at me, which is full of gratitude I don’t deserve.
This information has devastated Aria, and I hate that I’m the reason she learned about it the way she did.
“Thanks, Frannie,” I say weakly.
As soon as the sound of Aria’s tears fades, I turn back to my people.
“I found something else, lover boy.” Gia’s lips twitch as she looks up once again and turns the laptop around.
“What is it?” Wild Man lifts the laptop and squints at the screen.
“Surveillance photos of a man at the private airstrip, the one where Valentina’s brother took her. He looks familiar.” She taps her blue and purple fingernails on the desk. “I swear I’ve seen him before.”
I stare at the screen over Wild Man’s shoulder, but I don’t know the guy. “Can’t say I’ve seen him before.”
“Me either,” Wild Man admits. “Maybe you partied with him before you and Preacher got together?”
She laughs absently, swiping through her tablet with intense focus. “I never partied with old guys, even though they always had the good drugs.” She keeps swiping and stops. “There he is! That’s him, except in this image, he has a face tattoo, clearly fake.”