Reckless Temptations (Tempted #4)(62)

“Good night, Kitten,” I said.

“Good night, Tiger,” she whispered.

And just like that, we were Kitten and Tiger again.

I don’t know why that made me smile.

Or why it made me feel better about things but it did. I walked away, running down the stairs and not because I was running away from Lauren but running to my bike, desperate for the open road to help me make sense of it all.

I stepped outside and turned to where I parked my bike and noticed it was missing.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

I glanced around the street when I felt someone walk up behind me.

I didn’t have time to turn around because whoever it was grabbed me, putting me in a headlock before they covered my head with a bag. My gun was lifted from my waistband and I went to elbow the motherfucker in the ribs but I was too slow, something crashed against my skull and everything went black.





Chapter Twenty-One





The persistent banging on the door woke me up. I untangled myself from the blanket I had thrown on me and rose from the couch. I grabbed my handy baseball bat I kept hidden beneath the couch.

You never know when you might need one.

I stumbled toward the door, closing one eye and peering into the peephole to see Bones staring back at me. Well, not really. I dropped the bat, leaning it against the wall so he didn’t think I was a maniac and proceeded to open the door.

“Hi,” I greeted, pulling my sweatshirt together and zipping it up. “What’s up?”

“Can I come in?” He questioned, looking passed my head and into the apartment.

“Of course,” I said, as I moved aside, giving him room to enter the apartment. I was about to tell him that Riggs wasn’t there when my cell phone rang. I walked into the kitchen and pulled the phone from the charger, noticing Anthony was calling me. I lifted my eyes to Bones.

“Excuse me one second,” I said before answering the call. “Hi,” I said.

Bones moved closer almost as if he was trying to listen in on my conversation.

“Where’s Riggs?” Anthony hissed into the phone.

“I don’t know. Why?” I asked, covering the receiver and looking back at Bones. “It’s my brother,” I said, feeling the need to explain.

“Because his bike is parked in front of my gym and whoever he pissed off dumped red paint all over my door and his fucking bike,” he growled.

“What? Hold on,” I dropped the phone to my side and peered at Bones. “Why are you here?”

“Just a friendly visit,” he replied, offering me a crooked smile as he took a step back. “Everything okay with your brother?”

“Riggs isn’t here,” I said, narrowing my eyes as I stared at Bones. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”

“Now I do,” he said, before tipping his chin toward the phone. “You just going to leave your brother hanging like that?”

“You going to tell me why Riggs’ bike is in front of my brother’s gym covered in red paint?” I retorted, putting one hand on my hip as I gaged his reaction.

He remained neutral, shrugging his shoulders, and he pushed his hands into his pockets and stared back at me.

“Probably just a bunch of kids fucking with him,” he suggested, biting the inside of his cheek. “So Riggs is at the gym?”

“No, he’s not,” I said, lifting the phone back to my ear as I recalled the teenagers I went after when I saw them circling Riggs’ bike. “Anthony?”

“Who is with you?”

“Bones is here,” I supplied.

“Put him on the phone,” he demanded.

I extended the phone to Bones who stared down at it like it was a foreign object.

“He doesn’t bite,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Like hell, he doesn’t,” he grumbled, taking the phone. “Bianci…no…yes…I have no idea…we’ll figure it out…no…okay, I’ll tell Jack,” he rambled on, before finally disconnecting the call and handing me back my phone.

“Is Riggs in some kind of trouble?” I asked.

“Nah, he’s fine,” he assured. “He sleep here last night?” He asked as his eyes scanned the place. I don’t know why, it’s not like he’d find a clue here. These bikers could never be detectives, that’s for sure.

“No. Okay, Bones, what’s up?”

He looked at me blankly.

“Are you serious? You can’t be serious. If something happened to Riggs I have a right to know,” I demanded, but even as I said the words I wondered if I really had any right. Fuck that, of course I did. I was Pea’s mom which gave me every goddamn right in the world.

“Where is he?”

“Lauren, calm down. I’m sure he’s fine,” he said calmly, placing his hands on my shoulders and smiled at me. “It’s nice having company,” he added.

I squinted.

“What’s that mean?”

“For a long time I’ve been the only one in Riggs’ corner,” he shrugged his shoulders. “Seems like I’m not alone anymore,” he continued. “I’ll take care of it, keep you posted.”

It was his turn to receive a phone call and when he answered it he turned his back away from me.