Page 37 of Sugar Coated

The way he was talking, I’d never heard him sound so vulnerable before. It made me lean into him, made me touch his chest. “I see you.”

The sigh that came from him after that was legendary, and though I suspected he was going to kiss me, in the end he didn’t. Kieran took a large step back, placing more distance between us, and he told me, “No, you don’t. But you will.”

And then he gave me his back and walked out, leaving me to wonder just what the hell he meant by that.

I wasn’t used to the serious Kieran. I guessed almost dying put things into perspective for you; you were bound to change after an experience like that. Still, I couldn’t help but miss the old Kieran, the one who always had a sarcastic comment, the guy who thought he was the wittiest of them all. Where was he, and what did I have to do to bring him back?

Did he want me to say I had feelings for him? Did he want me to lay my emotions bare? It was easy with Fang, because Fang wore his heart and his unusual kinks on his sleeve. He didn’thide who he was, never played pretend. I couldn’t say the same thing about Kieran.

Whatever. I wasn’t going to let Kieran screw up my good mood right now. I got new fingers, I had a bite mark from Fang on my inner thigh, and I’d found out that Fang was as good with his dick as he was with his mouth. There was no dampening my good mood tonight.

I changed and was in the middle of a workout session—okay, I was just walking on the treadmill, nothing too extreme—when my dad finally came home. He poked his head into the room before he strolled over to me. He still wore a suit; my guess was he literally just got here.

Didn’t know why he’d come straight to me after a dinner with Tessa.

The treadmill was a bit loud, so I slowed it down and ultimately stopped it so I could hear whatever it was my dad wanted to say.

“Next Friday,” he started, “you’re not planning on sneaking out again, are you?”

“I don’t think so, why?”

“Tessa wants to host a charity dinner to raise funds for gunshot victims in the city who don’t have health insurance, in honor of Kieran.”

I held back a frown. Kieran had insurance, so this must’ve been some way to try to make her and my dad look good in the public eye. Show off that Kieran didn’t die, that I was still alive, and raise money for people who were less fortunate than us.

“We’d like both you and Kieran to be present,” my dad went on.

Leaning on the treadmill, I asked, “Is it smart to do something like this so soon? We don’t even know who was behind the shooting. What if they try again?” I wouldn’t say I was scared or anything; it was more like I just didn’t want to dealwith it. I just got Kieran back, and he wasn’t really himself yet. What if something happened and I lost him for good?

Or, you know, I died instead? That seemed to be the goal of whoever it was.

Although, if that was true, why had I been kidnapped again instead of just shot and left for dead?

“There will be a heavy police presence—”

“There was a police presence at the press conference, and that didn’t stop that guy from shooting Kieran.”

My dad’s voice lowered, “There will also be undercover officers inside the event. I’m sure if I contact Sylvester, he’ll offer up more men, too. If anyone tries anything, there will be countless bodies to take them down.”

Kind of sounded like my dad wanted me to be bait. Since the guy in police custody wasn’t talking, why not try to egg on the mysterious mastermind into making another move?

Or it could all be a show, and my dad’s behind it all. I still didn’t know what to think.

“Mike will be there, too?” I asked.

“Of course. I want him beside you the entire time.”

“Can I invite someone?” The look my dad gave me after that made me add, “Not Kelly.” Kelly would love to come, I was sure, but this wasn’t an event I wanted her to come to. “Fang.”

My dad’s brows furrowed. “Fang?”

That’s when I showed him my left hand, and he realized I had been made whole again thanks to some sculpted metal. “My. That is… quite the contraption.” He watched me demonstrate how the fingers curled. “If you’d like him to come, sure. I’ll put his name down. I’m looking forward to meeting the man that can create something like this. He must be quite the artist.”

Quite the artist. Not exactly how I would describe him, but I’d save that for a surprise. Fang’s smile would probably give my dad a heart attack.

“Make sure you show Tessa those,” my dad said as he walked away.

Yeah, I’d get right on that.

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