Lethal Temptations (Tempted #5)(55)

After she texted me the address where to pick her up, I excused myself from dinner, told the guys I needed to handle something and without leaving room for questions I took off. I debated for about ten seconds what I would do with Lacey once I had her…it wasn’t like I could bring her to the clubhouse and after Christine died I gave up my apartment and moved my shit into my room at the Dog Pound.

I guess back then I didn’t bank on claiming daddy’s little girl.

So, with no other option, the decision was made I’d take her back to Staten Island and pray to God, it was the right move.

On the Verrazano Bridge she rested her head on my shoulder and I took one hand off the handlebars to touch her hand pressed against my shoulder.

“You okay?” I shouted into the dark night, against the wind and the sound of traffic, unsure if she even heard me.

She squeezed my hand, didn’t even attempt to holler an answer until we were at the toll booth, then she leaned into my ear.

“I’m so much better than okay,” she said.

I paid the toll and rode the expressway, getting off at the Todt Hill exit. As I veered off I questioned my plan and why I didn’t just take her to a hotel. But I knew why...she deserved better than that. She deserved the best I could give and taking her here, opening this part of myself, this was the best I could come up with.

Five minutes later I turned onto a dead end and pulled into the driveway of the last house on the block before killing the engine. I dropped the kickstand and braced myself as I stared up at the house.

“Blackie?”

I turned my head, reaching down to take her hands in mine.

“Hmm?”

“Where are we?”

I glanced back at the house, taking in the appearance of it and how the weeds and bushes grew so out of control, nearly covering up the windows on the first floor.

“Home,” I said hoarsely, clearing my throat before snapping out of the trance I was succumbing to. “Come on,” I urged, giving her knee a squeeze.

She climbed off the bike and remained at my side as I watched her take off the helmet and uncover her hair that was a mess, trying to tame the unruly strands.

I looked at her and was granted the strength I never could find before. I dismounted my bike, took her hand and tucked her against my side as we continued the length of the walkway.

“Careful,” I warned, tipping my chin toward the third step leading to the front door that was warped.

I could feel her eyes on me as I reached into my leather jacket and pulled out the keys, spinning the ring around my finger as I roughly threaded my fingers through my hair and cupped the back of my neck.

“I know you said this was home, but home should be a place you want to go to not somewhere you dread,” she whispered.

I looked at her.

“I want to be here. I want to be here with you,” I assured her. “I never expected to want to come back here or ever bring someone here…until you.”

My eyes lingered on her face.

How could something so perfect be here with me?

How could she be the one who breaths life back into me?

I turned around, fitted the key into the lock and pushed open the stiff door. I watched her step inside and I felt a lump work its way into my throat. I bought this house at a time in my life when Lacey didn’t exist in my world…sure, she was part of my life but she wasn’t my everything.

Not then.

There were reasons I bought this house, and a woman I pictured greeting me at the door and it wasn’t Lacey but looking at her now, as she tried to turn on the lights, it became clear that life worked in mysterious ways. You can plan your whole f*cking life but it just takes one thing to change the course you’re on…and sometimes you think it’s the end but the end of something is the beginning of something else.

There was only one person who belonged here.

One person that could make me want to come home.

And that person was staring back at me with confusion written all over her pretty little face.

“You weren’t even on my radar,” I admitted huskily as I closed the distance between us and brushed her hand away from the light switch. I took her hand and walked her towards the back of the house, to the large empty room with floor to ceiling windows. The moonlight shone through along with the lights of the bridge that was off in the distance.

“Wow,” she whispered, letting go of my hand to walk towards the windows. “What a beautiful view.”

“You ain’t kidding,” I said as I leaned against the wall and watched her stare at the scenery.

Prettiest view a man like me ever got to see.

When did I become a lucky bastard?

She slowly turned around, the moonlight illuminating her face. I call her my angel and in that moment that’s exactly what she looked like.

The angel sent to rescue me.

Mine.

There was that word again.

“Blackie, tell me,” she started. “Is this your house? Why are we here?”

“Yeah, it is,” I exhaled. “I thought a man’s worth was measured in his possessions. Greed. It was all I knew and I kept reaching higher, making moves left and right, climbing the ladder and increasing my bankroll. I had no conscience, none at all. I would do a score, get paid, and instantly look for a bigger score, one with a higher payout and equally high consequences. I lost myself to the greed, and I began to lose Christine too. She didn’t care about the money, the fancy things I’d come home with, all she wanted was the man she married in her life. I didn’t see it then.”