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Ace ends the call, and I shove my phone in my back pocket before I search for Aria. I’m not sure if she left early to hide from me and that hellacious ass-fucking last night or if she’s still coping with the new information about Geoffrey.
I walk over to the oversized library that doubles as Geoffrey Morgan’s office, and that’s where I find Aria, hunched over a laptop with tears streaking down her cheeks. “Aria?”
She’s too deep into what she’s working on to hear me, never mind acknowledge me.
“What the actual fuck?” She bangs on the keyboard with her fists, crying and on the verge of a mini breakdown.
“Need some help?”
She freezes and looks up at me. “Maybe. Are you some kind of whiz at figuring out passwords?”
I shrug and push off the doorway. “No, but I do know one or two people who are. “I step slowly inside until only the big ass desk stands between us. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get into Daddy’s laptop, but my birthday isn’t the password. Go fucking figure.” She smacks the keyboard again and pushes back with a grunt.
“If you try too many times, you might lock it,” I tell her and remove the laptop from the desk. “Are you looking for something specific?”
“Yes,” she pouts. “No. Hell, I don’t fucking know.” She lets out a frustrated sigh as her gaze wanders to the laptop that now sits on the chair behind me. “Do you think the feds orchestrated the arrest so they could talk to Daddy in private?”
I could lie to her, but that’s not my style. “That’s exactly what I think. In fact, I think he’s been brushing them off for a while, which forced them to go above and beyond to get him back.”
Aria perks up at my words. “You think he turned on the feds?”
“I didn’t say that. But maybe he wasn’t ready to share what he found.” But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t find anything. If anything, it means that he must be close to whatever his reason was for being undercover.
Since the Reckless Souls MC hasn’t been around as long as he’s been undercover, it’s safe to say we aren’t Morgan’s target. But Rojas and LTC might be, which means we need to move fast to exact our revenge.
Aria moans loudly and slumps back in the desk chair. “What if he never comes back here, Lucky? What do I do then?”
Damn, this girl could be bitchy in one breath and completely vulnerable in the next, and I’m powerless against that vulnerability. She’s like a lost little girl and looking to me for answers.
“Then you find a way to move forward without him. You’re not just a pretty face and a bitchy spirit, Aria.”
“Thanks,” she replies with a hint of sarcasm. “I think.”
“You don’t need him, and you never have. It’s a trick that parents have perfected over the years, making you think you need them more than you do. Valentina, the cartel queen, did everything she was told to do—even married some dude she didn’t even like—because she didn’t think she could live without her father. Then she fell in love with Dix.”
“You’re a romantic,” she says.
“Me? Nah, babe, I’m a realist. Don’t get it twisted. I’m just sayin’ Morgan might need you more than you need him. Hell, you could take over his business if you wanted.”
Her eyes go wide. “Daddy would freak.”
“Maybe, but if he doesn’t come back, what’s it matter?”
I hate seeing Aria so damn defeated. “He set you up for success, ya know? Money, a good education, and a bunch of rich contacts. Use that fuckin privilege to get ahead without him, Princess.”
She glares at me. “Ha, ha. Not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” I grin, and she rolls her eyes but smiles back.
“Without him, I’m on my own, Lucky. He never prepared me for this.” Tears start to fall again, and Aria’s shoulders slump. I move closer, wanting to comfort her.
She looks up, her brown eyes shining with tears. “You really think I can do it?”
“I know you can,” I say, conviction in my voice. “And if you ever doubt yourself, remember you got friends who believe in you. Like Frannie. And me.”
Aria’s smile grows, filled with gratitude and a spark of determination. She blows out a long breath.
