Page 47 of Awakened by Sin

“Thank you so much. You don’t know how much I needed this!”

“You’re welcome. Take care of yourself,” she said before she ducked into the car and started the engine.

“That was nice of you, honey,” Mom said, taking her hand.

“It’s the least I could do. What am I going to do with all my money?”

Her mother shuddered. “I don’t even want to know how much money Vinny left you.”

“He left me a bundle,” Carmen said with a shrug, “and I have investments of my own.”

“Are you sure you’re my child?” she asked, shaking her head.

“Of course, I am! How dare you?” Carmen asked in mock outrage and couldn’t resist singing, “I wanna be a billionaire so fucking baaaaad.”

“Carmen Marie!”

She laughed and tried to accelerate, but the old Toyota wasn’t cooperating. “Mom, we have to get you a new car.”

“No, we don’t. I don’t need to get everywhere in a hurry like you.”

“Still, this isn’t safe. What if your car breaks down somewhere? You know what you’d look cute in? A Lamborghini!”

Mom laughed. She grilled her mother all the way to the casino about what car she would like and what color. Pulling answers out of her modest and conservative mother was like trying to grill a guilty person about a crime. Her mother didn’t want anything and didn’t believe she should have more than what she had. Carmen didn’t believe in that shit. Her mother raised her, which meant she should have the best.

Carmen pulled up to the front entrance of Pyre Casino and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Thanks for inviting me to class. That was great.”

“You liked my friends?”

“They’re awesome.”

“What did you think of Marv?”

Carmen grinned. “He’s an old rascal.”

Her mother looked affronted. “Don’t say old, Carmen.”

“Fine. He’s mature and funny.”

“That’s better. What are you going to do today?”

“I’m gonna head to Lyla’s, and then I have dinner plans with Alice here later. Don’t wait up for me.”

She handed the valet her ticket and looked around for a familiar face even though the chances of running into Marcus were slim to none. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she had been hoping to run into him last night during their bar hopping. While she was still curious about his background and motives, she found herself more intent on discovering if he tasted as good as she remembered or if her adrenaline high made him taste better than any man she’d sampled since Vinny. She was almost disappointed when her car pulled up.

On the way to Lyla’s house, she called Shonda, who didn’t mention the club shooting at all and instead regaled her with tales of their exploits and extracted a promise that they would go out again soon. She agreed and asked if Shonda would put up a flyer in the salon for the animal adoption event as she pulled up to the Pyre fortress. When Carmen stopped in front of the house, she was met by Blade who guarded the front steps, arms crossed, expression grim.

“Hey, Daddy!” she called and was delighted by the sudden silence in the front drive as all conversation ground to a halt.

A muscle clenched in his cheek. “Don’t call me that.”

She baited the beast by going on tiptoe and giving him a loud smack on the cheek. “You know you like it,” she whispered before she moseyed inside.

Blade was too serious by half. Her father had been more bark than bite, and she suspected Blade was as well. She paused for a moment, listening for voices before she headed upstairs to Nora’s nursery. She burst into the nursery and came to a dead stop. Gavin and Lyla were caught in a lip-lock that was seconds away from being rated R. Seeing Nora’s parents getting it on within feet of their daughter made her feel a little better about hooking up with Marcus. Apparently, the nursery gave off some kind of sex pheromone that got people in the mood.

Gavin lifted his head and glared at her over Lyla’s shoulder. “What do you want?”

Lyla shoved him away and turned. “Oh my God! I love your hair!”

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