Page 7 of Wilde In His Arms

Fuck.He was thinking about Hawk just so he didn’t have to think about the shit-show he’d turned his own life into with Aria.

He loved her.

He wanted her back.

And he better figure out a way to do that before he lost her forever.

Chapter three

JavierLopezstoodjustoutside the private plane that would take him to Idaho to deliver his product.The kids better keep quiet.The last thing he needed was a bunch of sniveling brats giving him a headache.

Or alerting anyone that they weren’t a bunch of kids from a group home, traveling for a class trip as he’d told airport staff when they arrived.

He was just about to board the plane when he spotted the man rushing toward a waiting helicopter.He was a good distance away, but Javier would know that asshole anywhere.A shot of adrenaline and rage swept through Javier at just the sight of the man who’d betrayed him.

The fucking bastard had pretended to be his friend, his right-hand man, then stabbed him in the back.Javier had narrowly escaped getting arrested and locked up for the rest of his life.He’d had to go underground for some time and rebuild his business in the shadows after that fucking FBI agent got one over on him.

The bastard.

He wanted to take him down right now, but there were too many witnesses.

Javier had been searching for him since the day he discovered the asshole’s treachery.No one got away with double-crossing him.

Nick would pay.

But Javier couldn’t do anything now.Not with a plane full of kids he was auctioning off tomorrow.

Fuck.

The helicopter took off.Javier braced himself as the wash from the rotors blew over him.

One of the airport workers must have seen the fury on his face and rushed over.“Everything okay?”

Javier shook his head.“My friend Nick just boarded that helicopter.I just missed him.Any idea where he’s headed?”

The guy grinned.“Agent Gunn is in and out of here a couple times a month.

Which meant he had a reason to be here.Family maybe?

“He’s headed back home to Montana.They’ll be landing in Bozeman soon.”The helpful airport worker kept smiling.

Satisfaction soothed Javier’s fury down to a simmer.“Thank you.”Javier ducked into the small plane and nodded to his pilot, his mind filled with retribution.“Let’s go.”He had to drop the kids in Idaho with his people, then he needed to get to Montana to kill Nick Gunn.

Fucking undercover agent.

He was going to pay with his life for crossing Javier six years ago.

Chapter four

AriawalkedintoMelody’shospital room with a bouquet of pink and white alstroemeria lilies late in the afternoon.She hoped they cheered up her sister, who looked tired, sitting in the bed, Fox in a chair beside her, their hands clasped together.Lyric and Mason stood on the other side of the bed.Lyric had brought homemade double chocolate cookies.Melody’s favorite.Which meant that while Mason was out helping to find and rescue Melody, she’d been home stress-baking.

“You should have called me,” Aria scolded Lyric, then pinned Mason in her death glare.“Not cool.”

“Yeah, we already heard it from Mom, Dad, and Jax.”Lyric at least looked contrite.“We didn’t want to worry everyone when Fox had a fairly good idea who took Melody.”

Aria walked over to Fox and gave him a quick hug.“Thank you for getting her back.”

“I’m really fine,” Melody said as Aria set the flowers on the table beside the bed, then squeezed her sister’s arm.

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