Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(27)

“Then don’t be,” he said simply. “So, you had a plan, plans change. Shit happens, Lauren, that’s why there are things called detours. So take your detour and I promise you, you’ll get where you’re going eventually,” he urged.

“I’ve made such a mess of things, Riggs. I’ve been lying to my mother and Anthony for months. On top of breaking my mother’s heart—”

“Your mother’s got thick skin, she’ll get over it and if she doesn’t…then it’s her problem. I learned a long time ago you can’t live your life pleasing others,” he interjected. “You will have to tell them sooner or later, no reason to prolong it and drive yourself crazy. Babe, you’ll be fine. Trust me, it all works out in the end.

“You sound so sure,” I scoffed.

“I stopped traveling the path I thought I was supposed to be on and took a detour. It led me straight to the right road, the one I was destined for. Best decision I ever made, and I have no regrets. I’m sure I should have some, maybe even a little remorse too, but I don’t,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Not for my old life and not for the people I left behind. I choose who I let into my life, and those people accept me for the man I am. They are who I worry about, who I am loyal to and they are who I don’t want to disappoint.”

“Your club,” I said, reading between the lines.

He nodded.

“Take the detour, Kitten,” he coaxed.

He made it sound so simple. He made me wish I could. I just needed a little more time to figure it out. To plan what I would say. As much as I wanted to be a free spirit like Riggs, I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to live life with no direction.

He dropped my hand and signaled the waitress for the check.

“I’ve got to get back to the city. I have a job I need to do, but we’ll talk more, and if you need help throwing caution to the wind, I’m your guy,” he said, seeing the apprehension in my eyes. He winked at me, enticing me to take him up on his offer.

Throwing caution to the wind with Riggs was probably a bad idea…a really bad idea but oh, so tempting.





Chapter Nine





Sun Wu was no joke, there was a reason he was named after a warrior. What? You think I would agree to a job without doing my homework? I had his blood type and his family tree memorized before I walked through the door. Nope, not just a pretty face, your boy Riggs has brains too.

He and the Red Dragons were big time players in the MC world. They weren’t a threat to the Knights because we ran in different circles. Most of their operations were overseas, using the New York Harbor to move their weapons and their drugs back home to their pals in Beijing.

Wu wanted me to wire every inch of an apartment he kept over on Mott Street. He was vague about the details of the operation but he was adamant that every square inch of the property was secure. I ran wires through the walls, planted bugs on smoke alarms, and glass eyes in high hats. The place was suited up from the fire hydrant on the curb outside to the microwave in the kitchen.

Thanks to me, Wu had eyes everywhere.

And thanks to him I had a sweet envelope to deliver at Church.

I also had entertainment because there was no way in hell I wasn’t tapping those wires. Sometimes binge watching on Netflix just doesn’t hack it and I need an extra something, something. You know what I mean?

I was packing up my tools, shoving them back into my bag when I heard the roar of engines outside. Sun Wu and his boys started talking in Chinese making me wish I had paid more attention when my mother got me those fancy Mandarin lessons. Instead, I tried getting it on with my Asian Mrs. Robinson.

Wu pulled up the surveillance footage on his iPad and grinned at me.

“A day ago I’d be holding my gun out the window checking to see who was knocking on my door,” he turned the screen around so I could see the Dragons dismounting from their bikes, clear as day might I add.

“You do excellent work, Riggs. I will be sure to tell Jack I appreciate him subbing out your services to the Red Dragons. If there is a way we can serve you in the future, I hope you won’t hesitate to ask,” he said, as he fingered the patch on his cut.

“I’m not the shy type, brother. If you got something I need, bet your ass I’m taking it,” I said, zipping up my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

I decided against asking him if he had an old lady that made fried rice. Homemade fried rice was the shit. I had an Asian nanny once, she made killer fried rice and her spare ribs were off the charts. Real authentic, none of that stuff you find at every Chinese takeout place.

If I ever take an old lady I might make sure she’s Asian.

The door opened, and the Dragons walked in, signaling it was my cue to go.

“It’s been real guys,” I said, patting my cut to where the envelope was safely tucked away. “Pleasure doing business with you,” I said to “Jackie Chan” and the Ninja Warriors. Glancing around at the empty apartment one last time, I wondered what Sun Wu had in store for this place.





I pulled into the compound, killed the engine of my bike and found Bones sitting on top of a picnic table smoking a joint. I tipped my chin toward him before I took a seat on the table next to him.

“Pass that shit,” I said, watching as he blew out a stream of smoke.