Chapter 60.
Angel POV.
Sitting in the kitchen at the island in the home I now share with Ryder. I look at my laptop until my brows furrow. This can't be right. Dad asked me to check on the family's legitimate businesses and their inventory.
My family owns many businesses, from little stores, restaurants, nightclubs, casinos, and strip clubs. I'm currently checking the finances from the strip club known as Temptress. The first one was destroyed, so they rebuilt it. We were kept away from the business side of things, but since I'm the DeNucci heir, I have to check on these businesses, as some of them are in my mom's name. Unfortunately for me, the strip club is one of them.
But something isn't adding up. I reach for my phone and call my mom. This was her responsibility, but from the figures, it looks like someone is skimming.
"Hello, princess. Everything ok?" she asks and I can hear she is driving.
"Momma, when was the last time you went to Temptress?" I ask her as I hear my brother in the background.
"I haven't checked in since you came home, why what's going on?" is she serious right now? Jesus Christ!
"Momma, I need to go there. Something isn't right with these figures." I say to her and she is quiet for a moment.
"Explain." I sigh as I rub my forehead. Knowing damn well a migraine is brewing. I have been having them a lot lately. Ryder had me see a doctor, and they said my brain was still recovering from the surgery and I'm doing too much. I disagree, I've been fine, but the migraines wipe me out.
"I think someone is skimming, you know, while the cat is a way sort of scenario. I need to go there and observe what is going on. Have you hired any new staff in the last ..." I scroll back to the first discrepancy. "Thirteen months?" I ask her, at first it wasn't much but over time it has consistently gone up.
"No, I leave the hiring to Alex. How much are we talking?" she asks like it is nothing. Why isn't she more pissed off by this? If I was just told someone was stealing from my business, I would be causing bloody murder, but not my momma. She takes it in her stride. "Over five hundred grand, momma. I need to go there and see what is happening. This Alex, he doesn't know who I am, right?" I ask, because I'm not going undercover. I want to go in and see what is happening. Ok maybe it is undercover, but I am there to observe. "No, he doesn't. When are you going?" I look at the date on the laptop screen. Today is Saturday and the busiest night, so it looks like I will have to go tonight.
"Tonight. Look, keep it to yourself for now. Let me go in and have a look around. I will contact you when I have something. Oh, give a kiss to dad, and slap Nate and Nico on the back of their heads."
"Heeey, not cool, sis. What have I ever done to you?" I hear him in the background and my momma chuckles.
"Love you, princess, take it easy." We hang up and I see Ryder leaning against the doorframe, his thick arms crossed over his muscular chest as he watches me. My pussy clenches at the sight of him. I smile at him as he pushes off and walks towards me. He kisses my head and wraps me up in his arms from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder as he kisses my neck.
"Where do you think you are going?" he asks. His voice is husky and I look at him and point to the screen.
"You up for a night out?" I ask him, knowing we both need a night out, even if I am going for work. We can still have a good time.
"You needing to work?" I bite my bottom lip and nod my head. He kisses my neck again.
"Ok, where?" will he freak out?
"Temptress." I just tell him he looks at me and I wait for it to drop. He smirks at me as he turns the bar stool. He opens my knees and steps between them.
"You wanting to go to the strip club, princess?" he asks as his knuckles stroke softly down my cheek to my lips. I gasp. He is looking into my very fucking soul. I gulp slightly and nod my head.
"Yeah, for, for work." I say nervously,
and he kisses my lips in a
featherlight kiss. Temptress isn't just a strip club, it's a sex club. It has rooms upstairs for all kinds of sexual activity. It's hard to think my mom worked there undercover to bring my dad and his organisation down. No doubt saw men and women doing all kinds of things in those rooms. Here I am going to be seeing the same things.
"Sure, for work. What time?" he asks playfully wiggling his perfect eyebrows, his voice husky and I shudder at it. Maybe this is a bad idea. But then again, it could work. Being a customer, I would have a better advantage in seeing what is going on.
"The club opens at nine, so should
we say we get there for about eleven?" I ask, unsure of the times. Hell, I'm usually tucked up in bed by then. When did my life become so routine? Oh, that's right since have a child. Even when I had Eclipse, I was in bed early with Rebel unless I was needed to cover the odd shift.
"Sounds good. Who will have Rebel?" he asks and I think who I could ask when he takes his phone from his jean back pocket and types away and puts the phone to his ear, not taking his eyes from me.
"Hey, could you have Rebel until tomorrow night?" I blink and try to find out who it is he is speaking to. His mom and dad and on a run, Cora has her hands full with Dylan, Joshua, and Blaze. So that could only leave Scar. "Ok, we will be round in an hour. Oh, you will come here? Ok thanks for this aunty Scar. Love you too. See you soon." He hangs up and smiles at me.
"Best get ready. Scar will be here to get Rebel and then we have a three-hour drive." He says he kisses me as he steps back.
"Oh, and pack something sexy. We are going to a strip club, after all." He says, giving me a wink before he walks out. It is hot in here? I shake my head and get back to work.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.
I send a text to my momma telling her we will be there in about four hours and to have the house ready. We will be staying in the house that was left for her when my gramma died.
Her mother Loralie Mulholland. AKA Maria DeNucci. She texts back, saying the keys are in the hidden place and I smile, knowing I will step into the house that belongs to my family. The memories there will be something else.
I close the laptop and leave the
kitchen as I head upstairs to pack an
overnight bag and one for Rebel. She is currently playing with her daddy. Ryder is a great father and know he is an amazing man. Sure, we started off rocky, but where we are now is where we should have been from the beginning it's in the past and I don't live there anymore.
When Scar has collected Rebel and Boomer. Because you know where Rebel goes, he goes too. They are inseparable and it's cute. We are ready to leave.
"You ready?" Ryder asks, holding his own bag. I look around the room and nod my head as he walks in to take the bag from me. I follow him out and down the stairs and to the front door. I turn and walk back to the kitchen and grab the laptop. I'm going to need this. "Hey." I walk out and see Ripper and Ice both standing there. Oh, bloody hell.
"I take it you two are coming as well?" I ask, and they both smirk and wiggle their eyebrows. I look at Ryder and he just chuckles.
Since the club voted to get rid of the club girls, the clubhouse has been calmer and those without women go elsewhere to get their release. Ice and Ripper being two of those members. Now I know why they are coming along, not just for added security, but to get their dick's wet.
"You aren't bringing any skanks into the house. Am I clear?" I say and they both bite the inside of their cheeks and nod their heads. Jesus, when was the last time these two got laid? They look fucking twitchy.
I climb into the passenger seat as the two horny fuckers climb into the back. Ryder looks at me and winks as we drive the three-hour drive to the town where the Moretti's started from. This will be interesting.