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Without asking, she plopped down in the chair across from the desk and repeated the story of how she got captured. “Once upon a time, I had a brother who got himself in trouble with this man named O’Shannon. After he ended up floating in the river, by the same O’Shannon dickbag I just mentioned, my sister Zaylah had to go identify the body. While she was gone, the dickbag sent goons to kidnap me and force my sister into doing bad things. And God love her, I gave her all kinds of hints of where I was but she’s obviously not as smart as Lincoln. I mean, how hard was it to guess a root beer factory? Even McBrainy here figured it out in like two seconds.”
“Root beer?” Brim questioned, looking very confused.
“McBrainy?” Lincoln asked, scowling at her.
“I thought you’d like that better than Beautiful Man.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re never happy. Where was I? Oh. So, I became a prisoner to Cross, who locked me in a room for like three months and I started contemplating writing a novel. Then suddenly, the future father of my children here arrived and I dangled out a window to escape, not realizing how high I actually was. Or maybe it wasn’t really that high and I’m shorter than I thought. In any case, here I am with no clothes except for what I’m wearing.”
A heavy silence descended. Brim stared at Vivi blankly. “Ah. That explains everything.” He shook his head, as if clearing it from the confusion she inspired. “On that note, perhaps you can get some clothing while I talk to Lincoln.”
“All right, but please don’t send Lincoln on a mission. Not only because he promised me amazing sex but also because where he goes, I go.”
“That’s not how—”
“I can help her with the clothes department,” said the woman on the couch. Her dark eyes were lit with a welcoming warmth. Vivi liked her immediately. “I’m Leia.”
“Vivi Wence,” she replied. “I suddenly get this feeling we’re gonna be BFFs.”
Leia rose from the sofa and stuck her phone in her back jeans pocket. She walked to Lincoln and held out her hand.
“Don’t be stingy with the money,” she said.
He sighed and pulled out his wallet, grabbing some bills and handing them over. Leia smiled her thanks before heading around the desk to kiss her husband on his lips. The intimate moment stretched out a heartbeat longer than what was comfortable, but it made Vivi happy to see a couple in love. There was no greater purpose in life than to find that one special person to share life with—at least for her—and she was positive Linc Rollison was just that man.
****
It took everything in Lincoln not to watch her as she left. Slowly, his fascination with her was turning into an obsession. If he looked at her, he was afraid Brim might notice, and he wasn’t sure what he would say. Her frenetic energy drew him in. She may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for him, he was fast falling into her gravity.
“What the fuck was that?” Brim demanded.
“What? The girl?”
“The girl, the trip to an enemy club, and the fact that neither you nor Thorn had enough sense to let me know what the hell was going on.”
“Truthfully, I’m not even sure.” He sat down heavily in the chair that Vivi had occupied. “Like I said, Thorn said I had to come with him because Damon Barese called in his marker.”
“For saving Chase.”
Lincoln nodded.
Brim picked up his cell and sent a text message before tossing the device back onto his desk. After a moment it beeped and he looked at it.
“Thorn is on his way.” Brim settled back in his chair to study him. “I know I was gone for a bit, and that my mental state bordered on … suicidal. But that was in the past. I’m still your president, and I damn well expect the common fucking courtesy of informing me when shit like this arises.”
Lincoln nodded. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry, Boss.”
“Now, who the fuck is that woman?”
“I think she’s Barese’s future sister-in-law.”
“Great,” Brim said, and his tone suggested it was anything but. “More fucking mafia.”
“We can deliver her to her sister and forget all about the mafia king.” He didn’t like that at all, but his first loyalty was to the club.
“It’s not him I was referring to. You’ve been put on retainer.”
Lincoln shook his head, as if that would help clear it of what he thought he’d just heard. “Excuse me?”
“Your reputation as an expert with finances seems to be growing. The head of the Romanelli family himself called to ask me for a favor.”
