Page 89 of Beautifully Reckless

“I call you Angel, because no one has mattered in this life until you came into it. No one other than my Hope.”

His words are raw. Honest, and confusing as hell, even while they are as clear as day.

“But you’ve got family. Your sisters. Your mum. JD. Jols. The club...” I remind him, but he shakes his head, shifting his gaze back to his daughter’s headstone.

“I’ve been lost in the dark for so long, Abs. It wasn’t until I found you that I finally started living again.” He turns his gaze back to me. “I swear the moment I saw you in your bedroom, covered in blood… my cold dead heart started beating again. That’s the only way I can explain it.”

“Shit.” A sob lurches from my throat, even as a warm smile lights his face.

“Yeah. Shit.” He reaches out and wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumb. “I think Hope sent you to me, Angel. So I could finally breathe again.”

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. The words just won’t form.

A small grin tugs at his beard, and he gives my chin a gentle pinch.

“It’s okay, Angel. You don’t have to say anything.”

“I… I just don’t understand any of this. We only just met, and—”

“Sorry to interrupt.” JD’s voice cuts through the moment, and every part of me wants to scream at him, but given the way Ringo snaps to attention, I know JD wouldn’t interrupt unless it was important.

“What is it?” Ringo asks over his shoulder.

“The Marx estate has been raided. Cops are still looking for the… uh… same thing.”

I frown at JD’s words as Ringo stands.

“They raided Ewan Marx’s mansion?”

JD nods. “Yeah. Your phone’s blowing up. Griffin. Devon. Conrad. Even Barrett has tried to call.”

“Fuck.” Ringo drags a hand through his hair, and JD’s gaze flicks to me for a beat.

“Smitty rang too. Said they’ll see you tomorrow for the, uhhh… thing. Then said, and I quote,‘we need to seal this deal and fast before Ewan Marx fucks me up the arse.’”

I stare at them trying to piece things together, but it’s clear JD is deliberately holding back.

“Uhhh, who is Ewan Marx? And why is he fucking Smitty up the arse?”

JD snorts, amused at me swearing again, but Ringo just shakes his head.

“Nothing for you to worry about, Angel.”

My brows hitch, because even if JD hadn’t frowned at that, I already know, just from the way he danced around his words, that this sure as shit is something I need to worry about.

16

This is all one big clusterfuck!

“Look, my brothers didn’t tell you everything,” Liam Marx admits on the other end of the phone. “But you know I’ve got your back, man.”

“What the fuck didn’t they tell me?” I snap, my voice raw from spending the last three hours on the phone, trying to convince the oldest Marx brothers that I’ve got shit under control, when in reality, I fucking don’t.

“You should know,” Liam continues, “Officer Allen name-dropped you directly. Puffed his chest out like a big man in front of my dad. You know we’ve been trying to keep the Southern Sadists off Dad’s radar, but Allen threw you and your club right fucking in it. Claimed you were into kidnapping minors, which goes against our treaty.”

“You know that’s bullshit!” I roar, and Liam chuckles.

“Relax.Iknow it’s bullshit. Most of my brothers know it too. But you know how my dad is.”

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