Page 87 of One Wild Ride

THIRTY-FOUR

Alexander

He was thin. Not at all what I thought Aria’s dad would look like. The man was short, reedy, and had a mass of wispy gray hair. He had the appearance of an evildoer—like some villain in a Shakespearean play.

“Aria, it’s wonderful to see you again. Please, both of you, come in.” He smiled with a look that made me ponder if he rarely grinned.

I walked into the suite and placed my hand on Aria’s back to guide her inside. She appeared too stunned to make the decision to move herself.

I gazed around the living area and noticed the sliding doors to the bedroom were closed. The room looked exactly like mine, only opposite. Aria, her dad, and I were the only ones in here.

“Is, uh, Mom here?” Aria asked.

“Yes, she went to get something from our room. This isn’t our room,” her father said as he walked over to the couch and took a seat.

“Whose room is this?” I asked looking around the space.

His lips curved in a similar way as Aria’s. Only when Aria did it, it made her seem sexy. When her dad did it, I wanted to throw up in my mouth.

“It’s the Dortons’. I believe you know them, Alex. Your mother has told me so much about you.” He stayed seated as he watched me react to that bit of information.

“I never told you who I was. How do you know me?” I said to Aria’s father, my jaw tensing.

“Of course I know you, Alex. I’ve been working with your mother for years. Since you were this high.” He outstretched his arm so his hand hovered several feet from the ground.

“Have we met?” I asked and my mind raced with thoughts of when my mother brought home various business men to meet with when I was young.

Aria’s father brought the hand that had been hovering to his chin, tapping his finger to it.

“Actually, we have. Once. This involves Aria. She was a teenager at the time. I think you were in elementary school. I brought my daughters to a home. Not your home, but a home of a client. Your mother came and brought you. It was at night.” He sighed at the memory.

“I was making a complicated deal with some men from Russia. It didn’t go well. I blame the translator as the men thought I was insulting them. Your mother was there because she had a deal with them, too. It was something different, but since they were in town that night, they wanted to meet with us then.”

He turned his head to look out the window. “Anyway, I needed to offer them something valuable. Something that would make up for any implied insult. Aria knows the rest of the story.”

“You monster! You sold us like cattle. Your own daughters. Made to marry criminals!” Aria sobbed as she lunged at him.

I managed to step between her and her father in time, holding her back.

Even though I had my back to her father, I could hear him stand.

“That’s right. My daughters. Do you have any idea how rich you and your sister would have been? You would have lived like princesses. What father doesn’t think their daughter is a princess? And it’s not like you were actually married to anyone. Those idiots had you sign the wrong paperwork.”

“I’m not married?” Aria asked, her eyes wide in confusion.

“No. And your sister’s dead, so the deal was a bust anyway.” Her father rolled his eyes.

Now it was my turn to tell that piece of garbage off.

I turned and stepped up to him. Towering over him, I pushed my finger into his weak chest. “You don’t even care that your child is dead? You treated your daughters like slaves. You think you’re slick because you’ve done business with the scum of the Earth?”

He tried to step back but fell onto the couch. “Your mom is one of the people I do business with.”

“Like I said, you do business with the scum of the Earth. And you’re a fool to have anything to do with her. She will chew you up and spit you out worse than anything you can imagine. Even worse than what you did to your own flesh and blood.”

Just as Aria’s father began to say something the sliding doors opened and out walked my mom, Mr. Dorton, and Alexa.

My eyes widened at the beautiful woman Alexa had become. I had seen a few pictures of her but nothing recent. The only thought I had was she would make a man very happy one day.

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