Page 9 of Ink

Her answer left me speechless. I knew that the bulk of my inheritance was in my brokerage account and the house—which I owned outright—but there was no reason for my uncle to have drawn down the balance on the trust’s checking account. And there was no reason for him to have pulled out that much money.

Matteo took the phone from my trembling fingers and demanded, “Print out statements for the past two years and have them waiting for Miss Lee. Someone will come in to pick them up for her today.”

He didn’t give the banker the chance to argue, jabbing his finger against the screen to end the call.

“We’re gonna get to the bottom of this,” he promised, grabbing his phone from the counter behind him.

I couldn’t hear what the other person said, but I assumed it was the guy he’d mentioned when he said, “Sorry to interrupt the festivities, but my girl needs a lawyer. You gotta come back on the earliest flight you can find.”

I was confused as to why he was calling me his girl but also impressed by the lengths his club brother would go to for him when he disconnected the call a moment later and said, “Ash will be here tomorrow at the latest. He and his new wife need to fly in from Vegas.”

“New wife?” I echoed, hoping he meant they got married sometime this year and were just enjoying a fun getaway together.

“Yeah, he got tired of dealing with his mother-in-law, so he and Nora eloped to Vegas without telling anyone.” He shook his head with a deep laugh. “I’m sure there’s gonna be hell to pay with her for that decision.”

My eyes widened. “And you’re making him come back early to face her?”

“Not making him do shit.” Tugging me to my feet, Matteo shrugged. “He could’ve told me to wait, but his nosy ass probably wants to get a look at you.”

“Me?” I asked, pointing at my chest.

“Who else would it be when I’ve never called anyone ‘my girl’ before you?”

“Yeah, I was kinda wondering about that part since we literally just met, but then you threw me with the fact that you called your friend during his elopement to tell him to come back and help me…and he’s doing it.” I blinked up at him, wondering how so many things could change in such a short amount of time. “I really don’t understand what’s happening right now.”

“That’s easy,dolcezza. I’m gonna take you to the compound to see another brother who can help figure out the banking shit while we wait for Ash to come back from Vegas.”

Although the situation with my uncle was awful, Rachel was going to have a field day over the fact that she’d been right about a sexy tattoo artist helping me—just through something a heck of a little bigger than the pain from being inked.

4

INK

Iwasn’t about to let Annika out of my sight until I’d made it clear to the world that she belonged to me. And I was itching to feel her couple of curves wrapped around me as we flew into the wind on my motorcycle. I’d never let a woman on my bike, not even family, so I was a little surprised that I hadn’t even hesitated when deciding how we’d get to the compound.

“Give me your keys,dolcezza,” I ordered, holding out one hand while the other kept a firm grip on hers. “Onyx or a prospect will bring your car to the clubhouse.”

Annika blinked up at me, then excitement brightened her eyes. “Are we going to take your motorcycle?”

“You like that idea?” I asked with a lazy smile. “Taking a ride with me?”

A deep blush colored Annika’s cheeks, but she nodded. “I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle.”

“You’ll only ever ride on one, baby,” I said in a low voice that made her shiver. I fucking loved when she did that. It was sexy as hell.

She bit her lip as she pulled her keys from her purse and handed them to me. Then she offered no resistance as I guided her up to the front and tossed them to Jay. “Cancel my appointments for the rest of the week. And get Annika’s car back to the compound.” I glared at him pointedly and growled, “One scratch, and you’ll be out on your ass, probie.”

He jerked his chin up and down quickly. “Done.”

My bike was parked in a gated lot behind the shop, so I took Annika to the back door and out into the sunshine. It was a perfect day to ride. If we hadn’t been in the middle of dealing with her uncle’s shit, I’d have put off going to the clubhouse and taken her out for a few hours. As soon as it was handled, I was gonna take her for a long ride. In more ways than one.

When we were standing beside my hog, I retrieved a helmet from one of the saddle bags and gently popped it onto Annika’s head.

“Cute as fuck,” I murmured with a smirk and a slight shake of my head. Then I shrugged off my cut and helped her into it as well. I looked her over and frowned. While she looked amazing in my clothes, I didn’t like that her arms and legs would be so exposed on the road. I’d have to be extra cautious until I could get her a set of leathers and her own helmet.

“Wait here,dolcezza,” I ordered. Jogging over to the gate, I dug my keys out of my pocket, then unlocked it and opened the big door. Then I returned for my bike, and we walked out of the small lot before I closed and locked the gate again. Returning to her side, I swung my leg over the seat and got settled before instructing her on how to climb behind me. Once I knew that she was good back there, I fired up the engine.

When we were ready to go, I glanced back at my girl. “Hold on tight,dolcezza.”

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