Page 625 of The Tempted

The love.

It really happened and those three words were all I needed to hang on. I’d savor them, rely on them when the doubt surfaced and I would use them to bring me back to life.

“The poor bastard don’t even know it but that girl of his, or yours…whoever she belongs to…Lacey healed Blackie,” Riggs continued. “He’s falling apart, dropped off his program and turned his life to shit again because he doesn’t think he deserves her. He’s afraid like hell he will fuck it up and lose her or worse, he’s terrified he will cause her harm.”

“Blackie told you this?”

“No. I’ve got eyes man, and I got a woman I pushed away because I’m feeling all those things. It’s easy for me to spot what I’m going through in someone else.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. Blackie wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t get involved with my daughter. He’s my goddamn vice president, the man I chose to sit at my left, he’s my fuckingbrother,” he roared.

“Heart,” Riggs said.

“Ain’t got shit to do with what you’re talking about!”

“It’s got everything to do with what I’m talking about. You told me months ago Blackie’s heart beats for a woman he lost a long time ago and he’s just waiting for the day he is reunited with her. You and I both know that man has had plenty of opportunities to end the nightmare he’s living, but he doesn’t,” he shouted, advancing toward my dad. “He keeps on pushing through because he’s gotheart, something that keeps him here and not in Green-Wood cemetery. If he’s your brother, you’ll ease that man of the burden of his conscience. Now, if you’re going to kill me, do it now and make it fast and painless. Or you could let me slide because I’ve got a kid on the way and I’d like to get the chance to love my kid as much as you love yours.”

Riggs reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper before sliding it across the counter at my father. He didn’t lift his head as he placed his palm over the paper.

“The Corrupt Bastards run an online gambling site. The kid’s father owed them a hundred grand. That’s his account profile,” Riggs said before turning around.

I stepped into the kitchen, blocking him from leaving as I stared back at him.

“Thank you,” I whispered, wiping the tears that had fallen from my eyes.

“You’re not welcome,” he hissed, glancing over his shoulder at my dad. “Got your work cut out for you Little Miss Defiant, going to take a whole lot of glue to patch him up,” he grunted before stepping around me and leaving me alone in the kitchen with my father.

“Dad,” I whispered.

He kept his head lowered as he peered back up at me.

“Not now Lacey. Not now,” he warned.

I felt like I should apologize to him but I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for. For breaking his heart? If it wasn’t Blackie who I fell in love with would he still be this upset? Is it because I’m his daughter or because Blackie is his brother?

I saw him break, his knuckles whiten as he gripped the counter and I feared what was running through his head right now.

Silence.

Please.

“Dad, please look at me,” I pleaded.

He waited a beat before releasing his hold on the counter and crossed his arms against his chest as he finally looked at me.

“Make this right,” I demanded, quietly, taking a few more steps closer to him. “You have to help him get out because if you don’t I will. I’m not leaving him in there to rot after what he did for me and you shouldn’t want to either.”

“Don’t tell me how to handle my business Lacey,” he ground out. “Time for you to take a step back and concentrate on your own issues and leave Blackie to me,” he said, clenching his jaw as he spoke.

He unraveled his arms, continued to stare at me for a moment before he shook his head.

“Fucking, hell,” he muttered, brushing past me before leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I closed my eyes when I heard the front door slam.

Daddy’s little girl just broke her daddy’s, heart.

Actually, Riggs did.

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