Page 19 of Ink

“Ash is here. Meeting with Prez.”

Holding hands again, Annika and I hurried to meet my brothers in King’s office.

Ash was at the conference table on the left side of the room, reading on his tablet, his face a mask of deep contemplation.

“Ash,” I greeted. “This is Annika.”

His head popped up, and he wiped the frustration from his expression as he greeted my girl. “Hey. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.”

Annika’s face turned bright red, and she sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I had no idea that Matteo was going to drag you from your honeymoon! Your wife must hate me! I’m so sorry.”

Ash grinned. “If we’d stayed, instead of coming back to help, my wife would have kicked my ass. So how about we just call it even and see how I can help?”

I shot him a grateful look as I took a seat across from him and tugged Annika down onto my lap. “Know you just got here, but have you come up with something?”

“Maybe. I think I might know where the loophole is that allowed your uncle to pull that money after you turned eighteen. Only from the checking account, though. Your investments are safe. But I need to do a little research in my law library. I also have a friend looking through some files at the Justice Department because I have a nagging feeling, and I’ve learned not to discount my hunches.”

Annika pressed a hand over her heart. “Thank you.” She sniffed and swiped a finger under one eye. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

Ash nodded absently, his mind already back on the documents he was reading on his tablet. “I think?—”

His words were interrupted when Wizard and Ace marched into the room. “Got something,” Ace announced, his tone packed with frustration.

“Haven’t figured out all the details yet,” Wizard muttered. “But we’re close.”

“To what?” I asked impatiently.

“Looks like Uncle Alec is in debt.Big time. He owes someone a couple of hundred grand, at least.”

“You don’t know who?” asked King.

“The trail is pretty well covered up,” Ace replied. “Followed the money several times before I finally looked close enough in the right places to see a pattern. Then Wizard had to do some magic shit to literally follow the physical trail before I could come up with a theory. The best explanation I can come up with is bets placed by a bookie. Old school, though, the guy must use pen and paper because he’s a fucking ghost.”

“A bookie?” King tapped a finger on the top of his desk, his expression considering. “I might know someone who can help us find a local without a trace.”

As conversation and ideas continued to flow in the room, I turned my attention to Annika. She’d been very quiet, her body resting against me as if she didn’t have the energy to hold herself up.

“Hey,dolcezza,” I murmured as I rubbed soothing circles on her back. “Doing okay?”

She nodded and finally sat up, giving me a pretty smile. “Yes. I’m overwhelmed, honestly.”

“Overwhelmed?”

“I don’t know how to thank all of you for helping me when you have no reason to.”

I frowned and cupped her face between my hands. “There is nothing to say thank you for, baby. I take care of what’s mine.”

7

ANNIKA

Even though we’d only known each other for a day, hearing Matteo call me his sent a zing directly to my heart. And made my inner walls clench.

I’d never felt this kind of magnetic pull toward anyone before, so I wasn’t sure if I should act on it or not. Or if I was imagining that Matteo felt it too.

I was pretty sure that he wouldn’t say stuff like that if he wasn’t attracted to me, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was going to do anything about it.

Matteo brushed his thumb under my right eye. “You look tired.”

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