Page 24 of Sugar Coated

Kieran grinned, and just like that, the seriousness of his question faded. “Of course.” He lifted a hand, the one not currently gripping mine, and brought it to my cheek, and as his fingers trailed down to my jawline, he said, “Until then, I will be waiting with bated breath.”

I wished this moment between us could last forever. Hell, I wished we were alone in the house—or at the very least, that my bedroom door was closed, so we could have some privacy.

I wanted to kiss him.

But, sadly, the moment had to end, and Kieran chose to end it by letting go of my hand and getting to his feet. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d really like to lay down in my own bed for the first time in… however long I was away. Math is not computing rightnow in this ol’ brain.” With one last smile in my direction, he walked out of my room.

And I let him go, because what else could I have done? Kissing him was off the table.

For now.

Chapter Five – Laina

Later that night, my dad came into my room after knocking once, and you know what? I wasn’t even upset about the talk we were going to have. The mere fact that Kieran was home filled me with so much relief, I couldn’t quantify it with words.

He must’ve taken off his suit jacket, because he only wore his dress pants and a long-sleeved, button-down shirt tucked into the waistband of said pants. His brown hair was combed back neatly, not a hair out of place. He radiated mayor energy, even in his own home.

My dad walked toward my bed, where I was sitting, absentmindedly flipping through channels on the TV, trying to find something mind-numbing to watch. I stopped searching the moment he gingerly sat down near me.

“Tessa told me you snuck out last night,” my dad started, “and that you didn’t come home until lunchtime.” The way he said it, like a statement of fact, kind of pissed me off since that meant he automatically believed Tessa.

It was true, but it still pissed me off.

“I already know what you’re going to say,” I muttered.

“You do? Great. Then I don’t have to tell you how stupid it was.” The look my dad gave me right then told me he wasn’t ready to drop it just yet. “Actually, no, I’m going to say it all, anyways. It was stupid of you to sneak out of this house.”

“I had Mike with me.” A lie, one I wasn’t proud of, but it came out before I could stop it.

“True. I suppose you could have been stupider, but that’s not saying much. I know Kieran is home now, but we can’t forget someone was trying to target you. You, not Kieran. If someone really wants to get to you, one bodyguard won’t stop them.Where was so important to go last night that you couldn’t tell Tessa or me?”

Hmm. Maybe I should tell the truth, or part of it, and see how he’d react. If I noticed any hints of guilt on his face as he listened to me, I’d only prove right the suspicions that had begun to grow during my first kidnapping.

“I went to a party with Kelly,” I told him with a shrug.

“A party? With Kelly?” My dad shook his head once. “I should’ve known she was a part of this. Any bad idea you’ve ever had in your life, Kelly was always at the core of it, the one egging you on.”

“I wanted to get out of the house. Have some fun. I can’t stay locked up in this house forever, Dad, I just can’t. Whether or not someone wants to hurt me, I can’t let it stop me from living my life.”

A part of me thought my dad would argue with me, but instead he took some time to think it over. After a minute, he finally said, “You’re right. Being cooped up in this house can’t be good for you, after… your ordeal. You should live your life—but you need to be careful. If you want to go out again, you should tell me, Laina, don’t try to hide it. I’m your dad. It’s my job to worry about you. I only want what’s best for you.”

And then my dad added something so emotionally raw, I was stunned into silence: “I just got you back. I can’t lose you again.” His voice wavered a bit, and my gut instinct was that he meant it.

But if he meant it, that meant my theory was wrong, and it wasn’t my dad doing any of this—and if it wasn’t my dad, who the hell was it?

“We can’t forget someone tried to kill you—and that your kidnapper is still out there, somewhere. The man the police have in custody isn’t talking at all. Given his priors and his contacts in the criminal world, the police don’t think he worked alone. Theythink someone hired him to gun you down, but until he talks, it’s only a working theory.”

I swallowed hard, remembering that fateful day, when I thought Kieran was going to die on me. His blood on my hands… I could easily say now that was the worst day in my entire life.

“And what if he never talks?” I asked.

“Loyalty runs deep in a city like this. I learned that a long time ago. Once someone is loyal to you, they’ll die for you before they turn, or they’ll face the consequences of changing sides. I’m in a unique position, as mayor, where I can have my hands in everything, everywhere. Even if it means going through some… not so above the board channels, I’m going to find out who’s responsible.”

Not so above the board channels. Did he mean asking Sylvester Luciano to help him? I couldn’t even tell him it was a bad idea, since I’d gotten Lola’s help on more than one occasion.

My dad reached for me, setting a hand on my lower leg. “I love you. You know that, right? I’d do anything for you.”

“Would you walk away from the mayor’s seat?” The question was out of me before I even realized I’d spoken it, and once it was out there, there was no taking it back.

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