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Seeing Aria so defeated and deflated killed me inside. If no one else, she was the one that needed to have hope. I held my hand out for her and she took it, helping herself to her feet, and as I led her into the kitchen, I pulled out a chair for her at the table.
“Sit. You need some food,” I said.
She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be out there searching with the guys?”
I rummaged around in the fridge. “Once we eat, yes.”
“How can you think about your stomach at a time like this? I’m not even hungry.”
I pulled shit out of the fridge and slapped it onto the kitchen counter. “Can’t save someone on an empty stomach, I always say.”
“Idiot,” she murmured.
I ignored the quip and put sandwiches together. “You know she’s going to be okay, right?”
“I don’t know anything right now,” she said breathlessly.
“Well, she’s going to be. Your sister is strong. She’s always got her wits about her. She’s more capable than a lot of women out there, and the Devil’s Rage aren’t going to know what to do with that.”
“I get what you’re trying to do, and you can stop.”
I slid a plate of food in front of her. “You mean giving you hope so that you don’t drag the rest of us down your rabbit holes?”
“Angel,” Reaper said flatly. “Seriously?”
Aria’s angry gaze snapped up to mine. “I hated you back in high school, and I hate you now.”
I placed a bottle of water in front of her. “And that’s fine, you can hate me all you want. But the best way to help Nadia right now is to stuff down whatever you’re feeling so that you can be productive with us. We need all hands on deck, and that includes yours.”
She slumped into her seat. “It sucks when you guys are right.”
I chuckled as I sat across the table from her. “Now, eat. Get out whatever emotions you need to get out with me. Say whatever it is you need to say. But when we’re done eating? We get to work. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said as she reached for her water bottle. “I got it.”
And as we sat there eating in relative silence, I watched as mindless tears dripped down Aria’s cheeks.
“We’re going to find her,” I said.
Her eyes flickered up to mine. “I know we are.”
“We’re going to find her alive.”
And when she swallowed hard, I knew I had hit the nail on the head.
“I sure hope you’re right about that, Angel,” she said softly.
I had to be right. Because if anything happened to Nadia, I would kill them all.
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Read the First Chapter HERE!
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Savannah Rylan is a romance writer that spends most of her time writing and reading with her cat, Gris. When not writing about sexy bikers and the women that love them, you can find her on the beach with a drink in her hand or at the gym testing out some strange new position. Yoga, obviously. She lives in Southern California with her husband and Gris, the true love of her life.
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