Private investigator, Aeros Bender, discovers a file on his desk of his long-lost crush, Dalilah, with a photo of her with head of the most dangerous mafia in America. A mafia Aeros has lost a battle to in the past. Dalilah's father has done it this...
If Aeros's heart ever hitched, it was the day he found a photo of her sticking out of a manila folder on his partner's desk. He furrowed his brows, running his fingertips along the edge of it before picking it up for closer inspection.
The woman's distinct smile gave her identity away, because he could forever pick it out of a crowd. Her smile so wide and confident that it showed off the slight gap between her two front teeth and scrunched freckled nose that reached her large cerulean eyes. His eyes dipped to her naturally plump lips that he remembered kissing as a child out of impulse. And every time he thought about it, he could still feel the sting on his right cheek where she had slapped him. But, the slap would never erase her vanilla taste he had memorized and the surge of completeness he escaped into when their lips connected. For anyone who was lucky enough to be in her presence when she smiled, he hoped would feel as graced by it as he always had.
Draping down her shoulders were her beach-waved, golden locks that ended mid torso and between her hands was a to-go cup of coffee. If he had to guess, it was a white mocha with peppermint.
His eyes scanned the rest of the photo for more of her to drink in, only to land his gaze on the middle-aged man beside her. A bad man. A man who she had no business involving herself with. A man who he knew did not deserve her precious smile. While she was looking into the distance, he was glaring at her like she was nothing more than a piece of meat. His dark eyes studied her profile, black hair was gelled back, and thick brows were set in a serious fashion.
"Going through my stuff again, Aeros? Just can't wait to get to work this morning, huh?"
He turned to greet Lucas, holding up the photo to show him what he found. "Why do you have a photo of Dalilah Davis in your office?" he huffed. "And why is Dominic Reynolds next to her?"
Lucas rounded him and plopped into his rolling chair. "I take it that you know her?"
"Yeah, I know her. Known her since the seventh grade. She's an old friend of my sister." Aeros continued to gaze at the candid photo of her and dreading the explanation as to why it was in Lucas's office.
"Oh, I see. Got a little thing for her, do you?"
Yes was on the tip of his tongue but decided to give a crooked smile instead while tossing the photo back on the mahogany desk that resided in the center of the office.
"Come on. Your eyes are brighter than a forest fire."
Aeros chuckled, letting his eyes scan her happy face once again. "Yeah. Okay, I might have had a little crush on her when I was younger. But, that was years ago. So, what's the story behind this photo? Why do we have it?"
"We've been hired by her father. Apparently, he got into some shit and wants to know if anyone's been following her."
Another skip of a heartbeat as his smile faded. "What kind of shit?"
Lucas held his gaze for a long moment, pressed his thin lips, and said, "This won't be a conflict of interest, will it?"
Aeros shook his head. "No. I doubt she'd recognize me."
"Good. Because we need the money. Father is offering a good chunk if we bring him these." He nodded toward the photos.
Aeros rested his back against the dark blue wall of Lucas's office and folded his arms over his chest. "With Dom in the picture, I assume people are following her?"
Lucas tapped his pointed nose with an index finger and winked a brown eye. He shuffled through the manila folder and fanned out dozens of pictures of Dalilah with Dominic and over three people who were always nearby. By the little sparkle in her eye, she was clearly taken—swept away by Dominic's charm and dumb dimples like most girls had before they found themselves stuck in a room with him. Bruised. Raped. And, most of the time, completely wiped off the grid.
Dalilah...
Of all the family members who had come to them in search of their daughters with the inkling Dominic was involved, none had been found by their private investigation services, the police, or the FBI, which meant they had no proof to lock the son of a bitch up.
Dalilah...
"You ready to take on Dom again?"
With the thought of his last encounter with the sociopath, a headache banged against his skull. Every inch of him still shook with the memory of his metal pipe slamming against his body repeatedly. If it weren't for Lucas, he would have had much worse than bruises, two cracked ribs, a concussion, and months of aches. Aeros sighed and ran his large hand through is dark bangs, scratching his scalp in the process. "Always ready to take another shot at that bastard."
"That's what I'm talking about." Lucas smiled wide, stacked the photos, then placed them back into the folder. He paused and opened it back up. "Oh, sorry. Did you want to borrow a picture for the night?"
Aeros narrowed his eyes and took the folder. "I'd rather me than you. So, I'll hang on to them."
"Sounds like you want to go break it to the father on your own while I play golf. That's so nice of you."
He rolled his eyes and stalked out of the office, folder in hand. He huffed, "Yeah, I got it."
That sinking feeling in his gut only deepened, knowing he'll get to the bottom of why Dalilah's life at risk one way or another.
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