Storm by Aria Ray

Chapter Twenty-Four

Zoe

Everything that happened yesterday and all the things that were said between us almost felt too magical to be real. Had he really said he loved me? That he wanted me to be his woman? That he wanted to make a commitment?

I woke up the next morning in the motel bed next to Storm. He had his arm wrapped protectively around me, and this time, even though we were both naked under the sheets, I had a smile on my face. It didn’t feel like a mistake anymore.

I snuggled into him, letting his warmth radiate through my body. Now with Alison back to safety and knowing she was slowly going to make a recovery, I felt like I could finally give in to all my feelings for Storm.

He groaned in his sleep, and I stared at him, waiting for him to wake up. When he finally did a few moments later, he grabbed me and pulled me over.

We had hardly slept the previous night. He had owned me, body and mind, and now I knew there was no escaping the truth. I was in love with him.

I sat astride him, with my hands pressing down on his chest. The sheets had fallen away from my body, revealing the swell of my breasts and my hard rosy nipples. I had no underwear on, so he could feel how wet I was for him. I’d barely been awake for a few minutes, and I wanted him already. From how hard his cock was, he wanted the same thing.

We couldn’t stop smiling at each other. He watched me intently as I rolled my hips to a rhythm I imagined. Maybe someday, Storm and I would get to do normal-couple things like go to a club and dance and get drunk together. Right now, that world seemed so far away from where we were.

Even though his fingers moved over my body, tracing my shape and then grabbing my breasts, I knew he was thinking about other pressing matters, too. Like where was Daniel? How was Breaker going to take the news that his son was still missing? Who were the kidnappers?

But I wanted to help him forget, so I leaned forward and kissed him. His fingers wrapped around the nape of my neck gently as his tongue moved in to explore my mouth. He was so muscular and hard underneath me, desire quivered between my legs. I needed him to fuck me.

But his phone rang. I didn’t want to pull away, but he looked at me sharply.

“I have to get it,” he said.

I rolled off him, trying not to show my disappointment.

Storm was on the phone for just a few moments, and then he hung up. When he began getting dressed, my heart sank. Sex or no sex, I didn’t want to spend a single moment without him.

“I have to go. There’s been some developments.”

“What’s going on?” I asked. He was already heading for the door. I had hoped we would be able to spend the day together.

What was I thinking? We still have to get to the bottom of this.

“I’ll tell you when I’m back. I’m going to leave two guys here to guard you while I’m gone. So, stay out of trouble,” he said before he left.

Storm hadn’t told me where he was going, but I trusted him. Whatever he was doing was connected to finding the people responsible for kidnapping Alison and Daniel.

I visited my sister at the hospital. She was slowly starting to warm towards our mother, but I was still the one she was most excited to see. The medical staff had advised us not to press her on her experience. Whatever trauma she had been through had clearly affected her deeply. She would tell us when she was ready.

After a few hours, I returned to the motel. Storm was back. When I walked into the lobby area, which was basically the MC’s meeting room now, all the guys turned to me. Storm wore a lopsided grin which told everyone that he was happy to see me. It was the most he would do when displaying approval or joy in front of his men.

“What have you guys been up to?” I asked.

Storm spoke first, an indication for the rest of his men to be open and honest with me. He trusted me. We were a team now.

“We made contact with another MC, a local gang that we were not associated with, but they were willing to cooperate with us.”

“That sounds promising. Did they have any information?”

“All they could say was that the two motherfuckers we nabbed at the warehouse, the ones who kidnapped Alison, are not the actual masterminds behind all the other kidnappings. They didn’t have Daniel or the others at the warehouse because, in all likelihood, they have no idea where they are.”

I had hoped this was the end, that we had finally caught the men responsible. Pain, like a knife, stabbed me through my gut.

Storm stepped towards me and put his hands on my shoulders. It was a big step for him. He wasn’t afraid to display his feelings for me.

“We’re going to get to them eventually, whoever hired them,” he said.

I nodded because I believed him. If there was anybody I trusted in the world, it was Storm. So far, he hadn’t let me down.

My phone rang from my pocket. I pulled it out, expecting to see Grit calling with some update on Alison.

“It’s my dad,” I said. I was a little surprised and a little annoyed at the same time.

“You better answer that.”

I breathed in deeply and walked back outside. The last person I wanted to speak to right now was my dad. I did not want him coming to see Alison. He hadn’t been any help in this whole ordeal.

“Hello, Zoe.” He spoke in a calm and collected voice, which was unlike him. He usually sounded frustrated these days.

“Hello, Dad. How can I help you?”

“I’m just calling to tell you how relieved I am that Alison is safe. I decided not to accompany your mother because I knew you wouldn’t want me there.”

“You’re right, Dad, I don’t want you there. Alison needs time to recover. She doesn’t need your drama around her.”

“Okay, I’ll follow your advice. You are the one who found her, after all, and I’m very proud of you for that, honey.”

I felt a tug in my chest. I didn’t want to admit that I still cared what he thought of me.

“I did what I needed to do to get my sister home safe. I’m not a hero. If there’s anyone you should be thanking, it is the guy you were so rude to that night at Mom’s place. He’s the one who found Alison.”

Dad sighed but remained silent. That was my first indication that he may have had something else he needed to say to me. Something more important.

“What’s going on, Dad?”

More silence.

“Whatever it is, you should spill it now. I don’t have the time or patience—”

“The money was stolen,” he interrupted me.

“What money? What are you talking about?”

“The ransom money. It was in a duffel bag at my house after I went for the drop off and the people didn’t turn up.”

“The money was stolen out of your house?”

“Yes.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head in frustration.

“So, go to the cops, report it stolen. Do something about it if you want the money back. There’s nothing I can do to help you.”

“I’m telling you this because something is up. I just want to be completely honest with you, Zoe.”

I hated the sound of that, like he knew something that was going to make me very mad, or sad.

“I had a tracker in the duffel bag, so when the money was stolen, I was able to track its location.”

“Dad,” I was about to tell him that was a good idea. That this was the first thing he had done in a long time that actually made sense. However, he interrupted me again.

“The address it was tracked to is in Austin.”

“There are too many connections to Austin with this case,” I said.

“Zoe, honey, listen to me. I know whose house it is. It’s Jackie. She stole the money from me. Your half-sister did this.”

I clenched my jaws to keep from swearing aloud.

“Jackie stole the money?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“Yes, it’s obvious to me now.”

“Okay, Dad, I have to go. I can’t…I’m not going to…I’ll talk to you later.” I ended the call abruptly and stuffed the phone back in my pocket.

I needed to speak to Storm. It was the only way I could keep myself from exploding.