Saving Blu (Kings Reapers MC #4) - Nicola Jane Page 0,44

dad had dropped some men because he wasn’t fronting the firm like before. He thought he was safe even though Vinn had advised against it.”

“So why would someone want to hurt him when Vinn’s doing most of the deals these days?”

I shrug. We’ve all asked the same question and we all come back to the same answer, this has Ricardo and Cobra written all over it. Maybe they wanted to weaken Vinn’s defences. I can’t tell Gia that so I lie. “He would have made enemies over the years. Some people never forget.”

We stop by a wall overlooking the dark, murky water below. Gia rests her head against her arms on the wall. “Thank you for showing me. I had to see it.”

“Why? It doesn’t help anything to see that shit,” I mutter.

“Because he was my Dad and I needed to know. I’m so fucking tired of being treated like a china doll. I am not going to break. I had to see those pictures and know exactly what they did to him, so that when we find them, I can look them in the eye right before they die and feel satisfied that they’re going to Hell.” She spits the words full of venom.

“Vinn’ll never let you look them in the eye, Gia. You won’t get within a mile of the bastards that did that to Enzo, not on their day of reckoning.”

She glares at me. “I’m stepping up. I won’t sit back and let Vinn shut me out anymore.”

“He doesn’t do that to upset you, darlin’. He wants to shelter you from the shit he deals with,” I explain.

“What’s going on with Ricardo?” she asks and I know that Vinn’ll never agree to me telling her any of that, so I shrug. I hate lying to her, but she’s not gonna let it go. “Sorry for cuffing you to the bed,” she mutters, smirking.

“I’ll get you back,” I say, grinning. “When you least expect it.”

“Why did that woman call you Azure?” she asks, staring out across the river. “It’s Italian.”

“Because that’s my name,” I say. She continues to stare out over the river. “I grew up in Italy. Left when I was in my late teens.”

“Why?” she asks.

“My mum died.”

Gia glances at me. “How?”

“I have a place, just over there,” I say, nodding further down the river. “An apartment that I just started renting for when I need space. We can talk properly there.”

Chapter Fourteen

GIA

Blu’s apartment is nice. It overlooks the river and I’m immediately drawn to the large French doors so I can look out. It’s been a long night and being back in the warmth makes me feel tired all of a sudden. Blu disappears, and when he reappears, he holds out a shirt for me. “Get out of that wet dress,” he mutters. I take it and he leaves the room again.

I slip off the dress and my sodden bra and slip on Blu’s large shirt. It smells of him and I press it to my nose, inhaling deeply. When I’m with him, I feel safe and relaxed. I sit on his couch and tuck my feet under me then lay my head to the side and close my eyes. I’ll rest until he returns. That’s the last thought I have before I drift off into a deep sleep.

I feel myself being lifted and I rest my head against Blu’s shoulder. He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead and then I’m laid down. My eyes flutter open and Blu is smiling down at me. “Go back to sleep,” he whispers, pulling a blanket over me. I snuggle into the bouncy pillows and close my eyes again.

When I wake, my arm is above my head. I try to move it and something cold rubs my skin. I open one eye and look above me to see a set of metal handcuffs holding my wrist to the headboard of the bed. I pull it and it clunks against the metal. That son of a—

“I tried to get furry ones. I hate the thought of the metal marking your skin,” comes Blu’s deep voice.

“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice is croaky from the lack of sleep.

“I have to keep you safe. Orders, I’m afraid,” he explains. He looks smug watching me from the corner of the room. He moves closer.

“Orders from who?” I ask.

“Your brother,” he says.

“Since when do you listen to Vinn?” I snap. “You once held a gun to each other,” I add.

“Breakfast?”