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the fuck Navarro is.” He didn’t even flinch, and Gian pulled his gun, pressing it to the bastard’s temple. “You have until the count of three to tell me before I put a bullet in your brain. One. Two. Th—”
“I don’t know!” the guard cried, his voice shaking as he lost control of his composure. It just showed me that these fuckers knew exactly who Gian was, how ruthless and unforgiving he could be, but they’d had no clue how dangerous my MC brothers or I could really be. “He came back like two hours ago, and all he said was he was taking the boss to pick up the girl!”
My heart stopped, my feet suddenly glued to the spot as I watched the two of them.
“What’s so fucking important about the girl?” Gian demanded.
“Boss has been promising her to his gun supplier. She was supposed to be his on her birthday or some shit. To cover his outstanding debt.” Sweat poured down the guard’s face. “When she ran, the supplier got pissed. Said he wanted what he was promised. Gave Boss until Monday to get her to him, or he threatened war. Navarro has been looking for her himself. When he got back, he took Boss and the supplier north.” He gulped audibly. “Th-that’s all I know, man. Honest.”
“Fuck!” Ben and Theo muttered in unison behind me, but I barely heard them over the blood rushing through my ears.
Without a word to any of them, I took off like a bullet toward the cruiser. Too desperate to get to my girl, I didn’t bother waiting for the others. I hopped into the driver’s seat and started it up. But Ben, Theo, and two of his men jumped in before I could get it in gear. All I could think about was getting back to Creswell Springs as fast as I could.
My treasure was in danger.
I had to get to her.
21
Delaney
Lexa’s home was a two-story three-bedroom house in the same neighborhood as her parents, or so she told me as we stopped at the grocery store for all the ingredients for tacos and churros. By the time we were making tacos in the kitchen, Nova, Ryan, and his cousin Ciana arrived.
I hadn’t seen Ciana at the reception, which I guess was understandable, considering everything that was going on. But then I took one look at her, and I wondered how I hadn’t noticed her. She was gorgeous. Dark red hair that flowed down her back like glossy silk. Brown eyes that sat in a face that had the kind of beauty Grecian goddesses would have been jealous of.
The clothes she wore had designer labels on them, and her makeup looked like it had been expertly applied. When I first saw her walking through the kitchen door, I’d had this picture in my head of every mean girl who ever existed. And then she smiled so brightly at me when Nova introduced us and welcomed me with a hug.
She didn’t know more than how to say “Hello” in ASL, but she talked slowly enough for me to understand her. Some people who had to speak slower when they addressed me made me feel like I was stupid, but Ciana didn’t give off that vibe.
While we ate tacos in the kitchen, she told me about her life back in New York. She lived with her parents, was the middle sibling of five, and was going to college to be a nurse. Ryan made a face when she mentioned that little detail, making her shoot her cousin a glare. I wondered why he didn’t like the thought of her being a nurse, but I didn’t want to upset anyone by asking in case it was a touchy subject for either of them.
At first, I was confused about their family connection. Ciana was Ryan’s cousin, but also Nova’s. Yet Ryan and Nova weren’t cousins. They weren’t related at all. Nova explained to me that her mom was related to Ciana’s dad, and Ryan’s dad was Ciana’s mom’s older brother.
Lexa taught me how to make churros, which I’d always loved, and we ate them with vanilla ice cream, drizzled in caramel and chocolate sauce. Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and before I realized it, over three hours had passed since Max had left me.
I missed him like crazy, but I had to admit I was having fun with his sisters and extended family.
I thought it was an all-girls’ sleepover, so when Ryan changed into a pair of sweats and dropped down onto the couch beside Nova, who was in her pajamas like the rest of us were to watch the movie I’d picked, it surprised me. I didn’t know if sleepovers were typically co-ed or not, so I didn’t bring it up as we settled in to watch Pirates of the Caribbean.
I’d watched the movie with my parents many times, and it was one of my favorites, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to see it in years. Lexa turned on the subtitles for me and passed out bowls of popcorn as the opening scene rolled.
The lights were off, with just the glow of the television to see by. My focus was completely on the screen, trying to take in the scene of Jack Sparrow fighting with William Turner while reading the captions at the bottom of the screen. I didn’t do this often, mostly because it was kind of exhausting. I missed a good portion of the movie because I was either reading what they were saying or watching the scene itself play out.
It was why I’d rather read a book than watch TV, but as far as I knew, reading wasn’t exactly a sleepover activity.
Nova was sitting beside me, and Ryan suddenly jerked her up and behind him as he jumped to his feet, pulling a handgun from what seemed like thin air because I hadn’t noticed him packing one earlier. Shocked at the sudden movement, I glanced around, trying to make sense of what was going on.
The lights clicked on, making it easier to see, and I immediately wanted them to be switched off again. The front door was hanging off its hinges, Uncle Tony and his second-in-command standing there with their own guns drawn, pointing them straight at Ryan, who was the only threat to them I could see. Ryan held the gun with confidence, as if it had been attached to his hand from birth. It didn’t shake, didn’t so much as waver as he sneered something at my uncle and Navarro.
Lexa and Tavia, who had been on the opposite side of the living room, stood together, their mouths moving too rapidly for me to make out what they were saying. Meanwhile, Ciana sat on the couch, still eating her popcorn and watching the reality scene play out with more interest than the one currently playing on the flat-screen.
I took it all in within a few seconds before swiveling my head back to Uncle Tony, too afraid to let him out of my line of sight for long.
“No one said Vitucci would be here!” I thought Uncle Tony said, his face drawing into tight lines as he kept his gaze on Ryan. “What the fuck? How did we not know this was their territory?”
Navarro didn’t answer. As long as I’d known him, I’d rarely seen him speak much. If I hadn’t witnessed it on a few occasions, I would have thought he didn’t even possess a tongue. His dark eyes were trained on Ryan like a laser, his gun pointed directly at Ryan’s heart.
“We just want my niece,” Uncle Tony said, his face covered in sweat as he took a hesitant step toward me. “Let me have her, and no one has to get hurt.”
