Without Warning: A Billionaire Romance (Playboys of New York Book 5) by JA Low (the best novels to read .TXT) 📕

from you instead of leaning on you.” She moves off me and lays back against the sofa. I grab her legs and pull them over my lap, so we’re still connected. I then proceed to tell Ariana everything Madison told me. About her affair with my brother, being paid to marry me, that the paperwork for our prenup was never signed and the extremely suspect way in which that went down with her ex. That someone is blackmailing Madison and threatening her brother in jail.

There, everything is laid out in the open for Ariana. I haven’t held anything back. Honesty is always the way.

“Rhys…” Those chocolate eyes widen as the truth sinks in. This is the moment she will tell me to take a hike, that she doesn’t want to be involved in all this craziness. I would. It’s too much too soon. “Shit.” She sits up, and I can see the concern written on her face in the deep wrinkles on her forehead.

“This is why I kept it from you. Whoever is after me…” I take a deep breath, “… they are dangerous. I don’t want anything to happen to you, Ariana,” I explain.

She shakes her head. “Nope. You’re stuck with me now. We are in this together.” She throws her legs off the sofa.

“Ariana.”

She shakes her head again. “You can’t scare me that easily, Rhys.”

Hope blooms in my chest that there’s a chance she might stick by me through this. That I’m not completely unlovable.

“You can lean on me,” she reassures.

“But you’ve just started your own business, and—”

She shushes me. “That night I met you, as messed up as it was, there was a weird connection between us. You felt it, and so did I.” I don’t disagree with her. “And we just kept running into each other as if the universe keeps trying to push us together.”

I agree with this statement as well.

We have so many friends in common I don’t understand how we have never met.

“I don’t want to put pressure on you or anything,” Ariana quickly adds.

“Sweetheart...” lowering my voice, I reach out and pull her onto my lap again. “Everything you’re feeling, I’m feeling, too.” Reassuring her, my thumb caresses her cheek. “I was worried I might have been coming on too strong because of this connection I get around you.”

She chuckles. “Guess it’s good we’re on the same wavelength.” I lean in and kiss her ever so slowly until we are practically panting for round two. “I think you should ask my friends for help.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Why not?” she asks.

“Because I… I just can’t.” Which is a really pathetic excuse, I know, but I can’t think of something concrete right now.

“Not a good enough answer,” Ariana calls me out.

“I can’t put them in danger, Ariana.” Pushing a strand of hair from her face, I give her a small smile.

“The thing is… my friends have some badass connections.” She gives me a wink. “Did you ever hear about what happened with Chloe?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“She was kidnapped by her ex-best friend while Noah was halfway across the world.” My eyes bug out at her story. I would never have guessed. “It turned into a real shit show, but because of Noah and Anderson’s connections, they were able to find her before the police. And just in time, too. So, please, Rhys, trust me on this. They will get to the bottom of this, I promise.”

The fact that Ariana wants to help me blows my mind. I have no idea how I got so lucky in finding this woman, but once this is all over, I’m going to lock her down.

“You ready to face the million and one questions?” Ariana asks as we rise from the sofa.

“Yes,” I reply confidently while linking my fingers with hers, and we walk out of the boathouse together. As soon as we round the corner, we can hear the catcalls and whistles all the way down the yard.

“My friends are weird.” She grins.

I can handle them. As long as I have Ariana by my side, I can handle anything.

“I knew it.” Emma squeals as we reach the entertainment area.

Audrey gives me a huge smile acknowledging Ariana and me.

“We’re together,” Ariana announces, and everyone goes crazy again. “But… we need your help.”

The room falls silent as Ariana’s friends all look at each other.

“You told her?” Audrey whispers beside me, and I give her a curt nod.

“Is everything okay?” Lenna asks.

“With me, yeah, but with Rhys, it’s not. I told him you guys were trustworthy and might know how to help.”

Confusion reigns. I can tell by the blank stares and the grimacing.

“Of course, Ari,” Stella states.

“How can we help?” Noah adds.

So, I tell them exactly what I explained to Ariana earlier. Everyone listens intently, giving me their full attention throughout the story.

“Well, fuck me,” Emma adds, breaking the awkward silence. “You’ve got yourself in one massive pickle.” Emma gives me a reassuring smile.

“And you have no enemies?” Anderson asks.

“None that I know of. My brother hates me, but I can’t imagine he would try and take my company. He’s not smart enough for that.” These words make a couple of them chuckle.

“Stanford’s an idiot. But this is too much even for him,” Audrey backs me up.

“What about your dad?” Ariana asks.

I shake my head. I can’t believe my father would do this to me. He’s a bastard, sure. But this?

“He wasn’t happy when you bought his first project up in Montauk,” Audrey adds.

“That was you?” Logan questions.

“Yeah.”

“That was a coup, man, grabbing that space,” Logan praises.

I give him a nod of thanks before saying, “I don’t think Dad would be behind this. I’m his son…” Looking over at Audrey, she doesn’t seem as convinced, which has my mind turning.

“Do you have a private investigator?” Anderson asks.

I explain to Anderson about who I’m using and what they have found out so far. He nods, but I can see he’s mulling over something.

“To be blunt, you need someone better,” he