AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“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.”
I frown. “Who the fuck sports a fake face tattoo?”
“Someone who’s trying really hard to make us think he’s a gangster,” Gia answers. “Ugh, what the fuck is that smell?”
I glance down at the spot under the desk, and I spot Coco. “Coco shit in the office. Again.”
I swear, sometimes that fucking dog is so quiet I forget he even exists. I call for the head housekeeper as if I’m in charge.
But Beatrice comes quickly to clean up and take Coco away. I give thanks for small mercies that she doesn’t give me any shit, so to speak. As soon as she’s gone, we get back to business.
“He doesn’t look familiar to me, Gia. Are you sure?” Wild Man hands me the laptop and goes to the safe hanging open, rifling through the folders we’ve left there.
