All Chapters of A TALL HORNY STRANGER : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

12UNRULY ARIA“Well, I didn’t shoot anyanything.”The officer’s jaw tightened.“We’ll sort that out at the station.”Another officer approached me gently.“Miss, we’ll need a statement from you as well.”My stomach twisted.If my father was leading this case—“Is Detective Aria Cruz here?” I blurted before I could stop myself.The officer looked surprised.“You mean Chief Cruz?”My heart dropped.Chief.They’d promoted him.“He’s on his way,” the officer confirmed.Nico’s gaze slid to me slowly.You didn’t tell me that, his eyes seemed to say.I hadn’t known.The weight of it all pressed down on me at once.My father.Nico.Guns.Secrets.Sirens.“You should wait downstairs,” the officer told me gently.As they began escorting Nico toward the door, he paused beside me.Just for a second.Just long enough.His hand brushed mine briefly, hidden from the officers’ view.His voice dropped so low only I could hear it.“This changes nothing.”My chest tightened.“It changes everything,” I

14SUV MANARIAAnyone could feel the hard tension between them.Years of distrust compressed into one moment. And we were already in that moment. My father crouched slightly so they were eye level.“If you think this stunt buys you goodwill—”“It wasn’t for you,” Nico cut in smoothly.The words were calm.Measured.But they landed.Hard.My father followed his gaze.To me.Silence fell between the three of us.Sirens still wailed faintly in the background.Smoke drifted into the night sky.And in that charged, fragile moment—I understood something terrifying.This wasn’t just a case.This wasn’t just a reckless fling.This was a collision.Between the two most powerful men in my life.And I was standing directly in the impact zone.A detective hurried over, whispering urgently in my father’s ear.His expression shifted.Sharp.Focused.“What?” I asked.He looked at Nico.Then at me.“The man in the SUV,” he said slowly. “He’s refusing to speak.”“So?” Nico replied calmly.My father

16BLOODLINEARIAThe word felt like something has exploded somewhere. And everywhere just went like the fourth of July. “You have a brother?” I breathed.“Yes.”“Where is he?”“Missing.”My father’s eyes narrowed. “Since when?”“Three weeks.”“And you didn’t report it?”Nico’s jaw tightened.“Because he’s not lost.”The air turned colder.“Then what is he?” I asked.Nico looked at me — something complicated in his expression now.“He’s choosing sides.”A chill ran through me.“And if he’s not on yours?” I whispered.Nico’s voice dropped to something almost dangerous.“Then this was only the beginning.”Outside, another siren wailed in the distance.And suddenly, the mansion didn’t feel like a house.It felt like a battlefield.And I was no longer just caught in the crossfire.I was part of the strategy.***“Then this was only the beginning.”The words settled over the wreckage of the night like ash.My father stared at Nico as though he’d just confirmed every suspicion he’d ever ha

18BROTHERS AT WAR ARIA“Miss me?”The man at the top of the staircase smiled like this was a family dinner and not the aftermath of gunfire and wrecked patrol cars.Luca Velden.He looked so much like Nico it was unsettling — same height, same sharp jawline, same dark intensity in his eyes.But where Nico’s gaze burned steady and controlled, Luca’s flickered with something wild.Unpredictable.My father reacted first.“Drop the weapon!” he barked, drawing his gun in one smooth motion.Officers below followed instantly, aiming upward.Luca didn’t flinch.He lifted his free hand slightly, almost mockingly.“Relax, Chief,” he drawled. “If I wanted anyone dead in this room, we wouldn’t be talking.”Nico stepped forward instinctively, putting himself slightly in front of me.“Don’t,” Luca said softly.The word wasn’t loud.But it carried weight.“Don’t what?” Nico replied evenly.“Pretend you’re still in control.”Silence thickened around us.“You’ve always liked entrances,” Nico continu

TALK OF WARARIA“What do you want from me?” I demanded, trying to sound braver than I felt.He tilted his head, studying me. “I want you to understand. To see why he’s soft. Why he hesitates. Why you… matter.”I shook my head. “I’m not part of your game.”“You already are,” Luca said. “Whether you like it or not.”Behind him, I could hear faint chaos from the foyer — officers shouting, glass breaking, smoke alarms blaring. But here, in this stairwell, it was silent. Almost intimate.“You think stepping in front of a car proves anything?” he continued, voice low. “It proves attachment. It proves weakness. And it proves he isn’t ready for war.”My chest tightened. “War? What are you talking about?”He finally moved his hand away from my mouth and let me take a step back, though he remained close. His gaze never left mine.“Your presence tonight changed the equation,” he said. “You accelerated something that shouldn’t have been accelerated.”“You mean… what happened in the foyer?” I ask