Page 80 of One Wild Ride

I turned to find Bradley holding a small white envelope. Taking the note, my finger traced the black ink on the back of the envelope spelling out my name. I tore it open and barely noticed Bradley turning his back, this time to give me privacy.

Dear Aria,

I know I promised to tell you everything my mother said but there are things I must do first before I can explain. I understand now why my mother locked me away for all those years and I never thought I would think this, but I don’t blame her.

I paused and flip the paper over.

“Alex wrote this, Bradley? Are you sure about that?”

I didn’t believe for one minute that Alex would ever understand anything that awful woman did to him.

“Yes. I stood next to him as he wrote it and saw him seal it in the envelope.” He turned slightly until he could look me in the eye.

“Why don’t I believe you?” I narrowed my eyes at him.

As Alex mentioned, Bradley was being paid by Alex’s mom. He could easily lie to me. It’s not like I would know Alex’s handwriting. The most I ever saw was his signature on a few legal documents when I looked at the rental contract months ago.

Bradley turned fully to me and stepped closer. There was sorrow in his eyes. The normally tall and menacing Bradley slumped his shoulders with what I thought might be pity or perhaps, exhaustion.

“Aria, I know I haven’t done much to earn your trust, but you have to believe me when I say I care about Alex. I grew up knowing about Alex and playing with him when we were young. When I became a teenager, my mother told me what had happened in his life. All the bad people that surrounded him. That’s why I wanted to work for him. To make sure he was safe.”

“But you never worked for him. You worked for his mother.”

He rubbed his hand across his forehead looking conflicted. “I did, yeah. I did.”

“Did?” I asked.

“I don’t have a job at the moment. Alex said I could stay here while he was away, but his mother fired me when she found out I was locked out of her son’s condo. And I was so relieved. Relieved and scared at the same time.”

I waved my hands to stop him. “Wait. Wait. I don’t understand. I thought you liked Mrs. Hawthorne?”

Bradley threw his head back, laughing heartily. I had always thought of him as a man out to get Alex. His usual steely glare and rigid posture made me want to be as far from him as possible. But as he loosened up with a smile, I suddenly noticed how attractive he was. I’m sure some woman would be thrilled to take him home with her. I wonder if Tiffany would be interested in him. She deserved a man who would fall at her feet and protect her and her son.

“Emma Hawthorne. I don’t think it’s humanly possible to like that woman. My mother did, a long time ago, but Mrs. Hawthorne has changed in the decades Alex’s father’s death. The only reason I let her employ me was so I could keep an eye on Alex. He needed someone, even if it was just me, to look out for him.”

“I’m sorry. I always thought you wanted to hurt Alex, too,” I said.

“Same here. When I first met you and your friends, I thought Mrs. Hawthorne planted you. I didn’t trust you at all. But when you both removed the bugging devices from the room, I knew you weren’t with Emma. You actually cared about Alex.”

I opened my arms wide as a gesture of peace for Bradley. He took my offer and gave me a hug. When I pulled back, I realized I hadn’t finished the letter.

Lifting the paper, I continued.

There are things about my family, about the world we live in, that are dangerous and I am finally starting to understand that. I have to be with my family for a while. It may be days or weeks but know that when I come back, there will be a woman I want you to meet. A woman, though I haven’t seen her since I was too young to remember, I love no matter how much time has passed.

She will be a part of this family when I return. When you meet her, I know you will understand even if you may not right now.

Love,

Alexander

The paper turned translucent where it was pelted from my tears. He loved her? Was this about Alexa? He hadn’t told me much about her, but by the way Alex talked about their past, he had only met her once and neither of them wanted to marry each other.

“Who is Alex talking about, Bradley?” I lifted the paper as it shook in my hands. “Who is this woman?”

His brow knitted as he took the letter. “I don’t know. I was just in the room when he wrote it. I didn’t see what he put in here.”

Bradley began to read it. His eyes widened. He knew. Whoever Alex wrote about, Bradley understood who he mentioned.

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