Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 774(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 516(@300wpm)
“Mommy can admit to you that she’s excited,” I murmured to Laurel. “Between the crew, Sienna, Marty, Nathan, and the Sons of Saint. River and I haven’t gotten a chance to spend real time alone.”
“Da.”
“Yes, you’re right. We’re not alone today either. But the three of us is just as great as the two—”
Pain exploded in the back of my head. I crumpled—darkness rushing in before I hit the ground.
Chapter Fifteen
Sunny
I climbed out of the shower, snagged a towel off the rack, and slung it around my waist. Wiping the fog off the mirror confirmed I looked as pissed as the smoldering pit in my chest.
Instead of sharing that shower with my girl, she was off with the opportunistic shithead who jumped on my fake death to con my people into a deal that gave him more power. Makai and Athena didn’t know the significance of the Cromwell bracelet or what Sir Richard Gatlin would do to have it and complete his collection. River bested me—again. I was “dead” and out of the game, and I still managed to lose it.
Listening to Mackenzie’s story about Lyla Dawson and her unrelenting hatred, I couldn’t help draw lines to my rivalry with River. We had to work the same business, but we couldn’t be in the same room without trying to destroy each other.
Speaking of Dawson...
I padded to my closet, dialing Ryker.
“What?”
“It’s a pleasure to speak to you too, dear and oldest friend. How is your morning going? Anything I can do to make it a happier one.”
“Fuck off.”
I chuckled. Ryker had yet to forgive me for letting him think I was dead. Actually, he’d swore he’d never forgive me for thinking him a traitor, and I’d better stay alert because he was picking his moment to kick my ass.
Eleven years of friendship. Some brothers you make outside the womb.
“What do you got on Damien Frost, Lyla Dawson, and Courtney Hicks?”
Ryker got serious. “Frost is in New York. His official title with Caddell House New York is marketing director. From what I’ve seen, his actual job is spending his wife’s money hiding his affairs,” he said. “Lyla Dawson works as a junior designer in the original Caddell House. Courtney used to work there too, but she left two months ago. I’m working on tracking her down now.”
“Find her.”
“I will.” He didn’t doubt it, neither did I. “Who are these people? What are we going to do to them?”
“Angel will decide their punishment,” I said, removing my Brioni suit off the rack. I didn’t see myself wearing Caddell for a long while. “If it’s not good enough, I have something planned for each of them. They’ll go down... and they’ll know why.”
Beep. Beep.
“Hold on, Ryker. I’ve got another call.”
Thatcher flashed on my screen. I switched over to him. “Thatcher.”
“Listen to me!” burst out of the speaker. “I’m not leaving—”
“Enough,” Thatcher barked. “Sole, we have a problem down here. Normally we’d throw him out, but considering who he is, I’m asking you what to do with him.”
“Is that River? What the fuck does he want?”
“He’s demanding to know where Miss Blaine is. Says they were supposed to go out together, but she never arrived—”
“She was taken! Sole, he took her— Get the fuck off me!”
My jacket hit the wet tile. “Taken? Thatcher, she was going down to meet him. She walked past me out the door saying they were getting brunch and she’d be back in a few hours. You’re telling me she didn’t make it downstairs?”
“Sole, I’m sure—”
“Let him in. I’ll be down there in two minutes.”
I hurriedly dried and dressed. I stepped out of the elevator with Sienna right behind me. Give River some credit, he made an effort to smarten himself for his date with my girls. The jackets, on coats, on sweaters thing was given up for one gray sweater, clean jeans, and shoes that still had some tread. He shoved a guard aside rushing me.
“Sunny, it was one of your guys. You have to find his ass and bring her back.”
“That’s preposterous,” Thatcher said. “Not a single one of my men would lay a hand on her. She must’ve changed her mind about meeting you and went somewhere else. All of this ruckus while Miss Blaine sits in a café, drinking tea.”
“She’s not drinking tea, you pompous fuck!”
My jaw clenched. Shouting, cursing, and carrying on wasn’t River. The guy preferred to stand there smirking at everybody, internally laughing at all the fools.
“What is it you think one of my guys did?”
He took a breath. I think it was the first since he started. “We were supposed to meet out front at ten. I was almost to the door when a black SUV sped out of the alley, coming this close to hitting me. I saw inside. It was for a second, but a woman was lying down in the back seat.”