Page 27 of Ride or Die
"I could ask you the same thing, Calina," Papa responds. His eyes move behind me to Ryan. "I assume things will be better between you and my daughter this time?"
"Papa, I told you it was a mutual decision," I say softly. I hadn't gotten a chance to tell Ryan what I told people after he left, so I'm sure he'll ask me about it when we're alone later.
"Ah, Andrei! Did you have any trouble getting here," Bull asks as he walks toward us from out of the hallway. He was more than likely in his office.
"No, no troubles. Thank you for having me. Shall we go somewhere we can talk?" He shakes hands with Bull.
"We can go to my office," he tells him and turns to Ryan. "Buster, why don't you come join us?"
"Of course," he responds to Bull. He pulls me in front of him as Papa and Bull start for Bull's office. "Why don't you go to the kitchen with Minx while I go talk with them. We have some things to talk about when I'm done."
I nod at him and he kisses my forehead before walking away. I find my way to the kitchen, my mind spinning with thoughts of why Papa would be here. He's a powerful man, being the Pakhan but what business could he have with a local motorcycle club?
"Hey, girl." Minx's voice pulls me from my thoughts. "You alright?"
"Hey, yeah, I'm okay. My Papa is here to talk to yours. They pulled Buster into the meeting with them," I tell her, explaining why I'm in here.
"Why would your dad be here," Rivet asks.
"He's the Pakhan of the Orlov Bratva," I tell them. "He's a powerful man, but I have no idea why he would be here."
"Because of the cartel," Minx says. I give her a confused look.
"What about the cartel," Rivet questions.
"Raze didn't tell me much but did say they had gotten word the cartel was lurking around. Maybe our dads are going to work together to take care of the cartel," Minx explains.
"That makes sense," I respond. Then it hits me. "Do they think that's who shot at my bakery?"
"That I’m not sure about. Raze hasn't mentioned anything about your shop," she tells me. "Would you mind maybe making some cookies?"
"Not at all! That would actually be a great distraction," I laugh. "What kind of cookies?"
"What about red velvet cookies? We have everything for them," Rivet tells me.
"Perfect! Tell me where everything is and I'll get started." I smile at them. I'm excited to do some baking. It's only been a few days, but I miss it. It's always been a great stress reliever for me too. With Papa and Ryan somewhere talking without me around, it sort of stresses me out. Papa never got to know Ryan since he travels so much, and I was never sure what his thoughts were about him. Mama always told me not to worry about it though.
I've never made red velvet cookies before but knowing how delicious red velvet cake is, I can only imagine how good the cookies will be. I collect all the ingredients before I do anything else. It takes around twenty minutes to get the dough prepped. As I'm scooping it out onto a cookie sheet, the kitchen door opens. Curious, I turn around and Ryan is walking toward me.
"They roped you into baking, huh?" He laughs.
"It doesn't take much to get me to bake." I wink at him.
"What are they exactly?"
"They're red velvet cookies with white chocolate chips," I say.
"That sounds amazing. You about done?" He wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on my shoulder.
"They need to bake then I'll be done," I explain.
"Hey Minx," Ryan calls over to her. She turns around to face us. "Can you keep an eye on these while they bake so I can steal my girl?"
"Yeah, sure," she says with a smile. "Don't hide her away for too long."
She winks at us and goes back to what she was doing. I set a timer for ten minutes and stick the cookie sheet in the oven. Once I close it, Ryan is practically dragging me out of the kitchen and doesn't slow down until we reach his room.
"You about pulled my arm out of my socket." I laugh. He closes the door and pulls me into him. He holds me with one snaked around my back and tips my chin up with the other. He closes the distance, locking his lips with mine in a sweet kiss. I gasp at the unexpectedness of the kiss and he takes the opportunity to slide his tongue inside my mouth. It's over as quickly as it happened. He pulls his face away far enough to lean his forehead against mine.
