Heartless Savage (Angels Halo MC Next Gen #7) - Terri Anne Browning Page 0,1

muttered. “You’re the one who makes Sofia cry when she comes over.”

“I made her cry once,” he defended himself. “And only because she was being a little brat.”

Mom sat back, watching them as she sipped her coffee, a smile teasing at her lips. Seeing her like that always made my heart happy, and I pushed away the lingering fear from my dreams. I finished breakfast then took my book to my room to read until I had to play with Ciana and her cousins from California.

2

Ryan

By midafternoon, there was a quick, hard tap on my door, and I lifted my head from my book to see Papa walk into the room. He was wearing a suit and his hair was all disheveled, making it hard for me to know if he was in a bad mood and had been running his fingers through it or if Mom had been kissing him. When I noticed the smear of lipstick on his jaw, I knew it was because of Mom and tried not to make a face.

“Take a break. figlio. Let’s have a late lunch.” I opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t hungry, but his eyes narrowed, telling me without words not to argue.

“Okay, Papa. I’ll wash my hands and meet you downstairs,” I assured him. He waited until I closed my book and started for my bathroom before retreating.

After closing my bedroom door behind me, I slowly made my way downstairs. As I did, I heard voices I didn’t recognize coming from the family room and tried not to let my muscles stiffen. I hated when they did that. It made my whole body sore for hours when they got all tense.

“How was your flight?” Zia Scarlett asked as I forced my feet to carry me closer.

“It was so much better than when we flew commercial the last time we came to New York,” one of the voices I didn’t recognize answered. I had to admit that her voice sounded nice. It was soft, kind of like Mom’s when she read to me at night. “With Nova’s immune system still compromised, it was a godsend not having to put her through all the germs of the airport and layovers. Thank you for sending the jet.”

“Absolutely.” Mom was quick to speak. “Anytime you decide you want to visit, even if it’s only for a day or two, don’t hesitate to tell us. We have two, so one of them will always be available.”

I stopped outside the family room entrance and slowly peeked inside, my heart beating so hard I felt like I might vomit. I didn’t like feeling like this. The fear of being around women I didn’t know. It was embarrassing. Everyone in my family knew I got like this, but at least no one made fun of me.

Mom and Zia Scarlett were sitting on one of the sofas, glasses of lemonade in their hands. Across from them, a pretty woman I didn’t know was sitting on one of the chairs. Her dark hair was pulled up into a ponytail. Her blue eyes were bright and reminded me of Zariah’s when she laughed.

But it was the little girl on her lap that had that sick feeling in my stomach disappearing, and I moved into the room without even thinking. She was super tiny, her green eyes seeming to shine from a face so beautiful I felt something in my chest squeeze. Her blond hair was pulled into two pigtails on either side of her head, the ends slightly curled and glossy, like pure sunshine. The pink shorts and matching shirt she wore had tiny hearts on them that her little fingers traced over absently.

“Ryan.” Mom’s voice was warm, trying to draw my gaze to her, but I had to fight myself to look away from the little angel who was staring straight at me. When I met Mom’s gaze, she had a huge grin on her face. “Come meet Felicity and her daughter, Nova.”

I glanced back at the woman and swallowed the knot of nervousness that had returned and tried to choke me, but I only skimmed over her for a second before my eyes were back on the little girl. “Hi,” I muttered quietly.

“Hello, Ryan,” the woman returned in a gentle tone. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart.”

The little girl squirmed, and her mom set her on her feet. As soon as she was free, she ran straight up to me. “Hi,” she greeted in the sweetest