Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden) novel Chapter 77

Chapter 77
Brooklyn

The next day, I go down to the kitchen in my riding clothes and wait.

And wait.

I have my breakfast with Hudson, waving him off as he goes to class, and then have about four more tiny cups of espresso as I wait some more.

I’m practically buzzing when Aden finally deigns to come into the room, which is, as usual, busy with activity.

My body responds to his presence, practically reaching toward him, but he doesn’t even look at me as he sweeps through the room, then heading to the back corner, where the older captains sit.

He joins them, and they consult for a while, making plans for whatever their next move is.

I grit my teeth, realizing that I’m going to have to wait a little longer.

Forty-five minutes later, Aden walks swiftly past me, headed for the door.

Pissed—I know he saw me sitting here, I know he’s doing this on purpose—I stand up and call after him.

“Aden!”

He stops in his tracks and then slowly turns to look at me, an eyebrow raised.

Otherwise, though, his body gives no indication of what he’s thinking or feeling.

“Can I get a ride, please?” I ask. “To the stables?”

Aden’s eyes flick over me.

“No time today,” he says as he pushes through the door. “Maybe tomorrow. If I’m feeling generous.”

I glare at the door as it swings shuts.

So this is my real punishment.

I head back upstairs and get changed, opting for a comfortable pair of leggings and a sweater.

Then, I flop onto my bed. I sigh, glancing over at my books, but not wanting to read them.

It’s moments like this when I really miss Jayde. She was always a bright spot in my day, making me laugh, dressing me up and playing with my hair like her own little human-sized Barbie.

Sitting up, I wonder about where she is now. I hope she’s okay, that she got somewhere safe.

It’s so strange, realizing someone you’d come to love is your biological family in the moment when you say goodbye to them.

Jayde was good to me perhaps because I am her cousin.

She taught me so many skills that I’ve found useful already in this mafia life, skills I’m not sure I truly appreciated until now.

I wonder, too, if she was also giving me hints about how to defy Aden. Considering that she was, apparently, here the whole time as a spy herself—

Perhaps she was preparing me to take her place.

I pale a little at the idea, still not knowing—not really—where my allegiances lie.

With Hudson, I know I’m loyal. But between Aden and my father, the true real powers at play here?

Whose side am I on? Perhaps neither.

But Jayde. She was the one who showed me, first, that there’s more to this house than meets the eye.

And that if I’m sneaky, I can find some really interesting—and potentially useful—stuff in the house’s most under-explored corners.