Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(59)

A male one.

And not her brother either.

I set the brown bag of groceries on the floor and reached behind me for my gun, prepared to blow the head off the guy inside getting cozy with my Kitten.

I opened the door and stepped inside with my gun cocked and aimed that shit toward the man standing next to Lauren with his back toward me.

“Riggs!” She said, eyes wide as she stared at me.

“Kitten,” I ground out, taking a step closer. “Want to introduce me to your friend?”

“Want to put the gun down?” She countered.

The guy slowly turned around.

“Whoa! What the hell man?”

“Who are you?” I growled.

“Put the gun down, damn it!” Lauren shouted, stepping around the guy and grabbing my forearm.

I glanced down at her.

“One more time, Kitten,” I warned. “Who is your friend?” I asked, holding my gun steady on the guy.

“I’m just here to buy the car listed on Craigslist,” he said, holding his hands in the air.

“What?” I asked, dropping my gun and turning to Lauren. “What’s he talking about?”

She rolled her eyes, ignoring me as she walked toward the guy standing in the middle of the living room shitting his pants. “I’m sorry about that, he’s just been released from the asylum,” she began. “We’re still working on a treatment plan for his irrational behavior,” she began, batting her eyelashes at the douche. “I hope you won’t let my ill brother interfere with your decision to buy the car.”

“Your brother?” I asked incredulously.

“I think it’s time for his medication,” she added, dangling the keys in front of him.

He peered at me skeptically as I tucked my gun into the back of my pants and crossed my arms against my chest. He handed Lauren an envelope, and I watched as she peeked inside before handing him over the keys.

“Congratulations you’re the proud owner of a used car,” she winked.

One of my favorite things about my Kitten was the way she handled herself. She owned that guy with her smile and her sharp tongue.

She didn’t need a prince to rescue her, she was her own hero, and that was the sexiest thing about her.

That and well, maybe, her ass. She had a killer ass.

He looked at Lauren, taking the keys she offered.

“Are you sure you’re safe with him?”

Lauren didn’t even look at me as she answered him.

“I’ll be fine, once he’s medicated he’s a pussycat,” she reassured him, as she led him toward the door. “Thanks for coming by and enjoy the car,” she said.

“Thanks,” the guy said, glancing over his shoulder at me again.

I moved to reach for the gun again but he scampered out the door before I could. Lauren glanced down at the bag of groceries I had left in the hallway, bending down to grab them before walking into the apartment and kicking the door closed.

She walked into the kitchen and dropped the bag onto the counter before walking passed me toward the couch.

Kitten was pissed.

I bring out the best in her.

“Why’d you sell your car?” I asked.

She continued to ignore me as she flopped down onto the couch and grabbed her phone. I took a deep breath and accepted my fate as I sat down beside her.

“I know you’re mad…” I began.

She threw the phone onto the couch and twisted around, pulling her glasses off her face and her big blue eyes narrowed at me.

“Mad?” She shook her head. “No, I’m not mad,” she said.

“You’re not?” I asked confused.

“I’m disappointed in you, Riggs,” she informed. “Which is much worse than being mad at you. I get angry and then I get over it but once I’m disappointed in someone, I give up on them,” she explained, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’m sorry I let you down, Kitten,” I tried, reaching for her hand. I wanted to pull her onto my lap and erase the look in her eyes, the look that reflected all the ways my actions failed her.

“It doesn’t matter, Riggs,” she said, sighing heavily. “I’ll get used to your disappointment, probably even come to expect it, but I won’t let you disappoint Pea. I won’t sit back and watch you make promise after promise to our baby, only to break each one. I won’t throw you under the bus but I won’t make excuses for you either, and then there will come a point where I won’t tolerate it anymore,” she declared.

It wasn’t a threat, it was a promise, a promise that she would not let anyone inflict pain on our kid, least of all Pea’s dad. While I was failing miserably at impending fatherhood, Kitten was becoming one badass mother.

“I didn’t mean to miss the appointment, Lauren. After the funeral I was going to head straight to the doctor’s office but Pipe got the call that Blackie woke up from the coma,” I explained. “We almost lost him, fuck, I’m the one who found him half dead. I needed to see him alive and well, needed to erase that image of him dying from my mind,” I continued. “I lost track of time.”

Her eyes softened, and she cocked her head to the side. “Is he okay?”

I nodded. “Got a long road ahead of him, but he’s a fucking bull. Blackie will pull through,” I said, leaving out that he wouldn’t actually pull through if Jack found out whatever the fuck was up with him and Lacey.