Abrupt

by Kathy Coopmans

  I turn around, my eyes landing on my father—the man who taught me to stand on my two feet.

  “I know this man. I know the other one too. Zackery pretended to be our accountant. He doesn’t know a thing about Luca’s whereabouts. Have Uncle Gabe kill him quickly. This one, he was my driver. He knows everything, Father.” I raise my hand and slap Yves across his face so hard his eyes water. “He was playing follow the leader with Zackery until Joseph came along with a proposition he couldn’t refuse. I don’t know what it is, but once it’s beaten out of him, I don’t care how you kill him. I want him to suffer until he bleeds to death.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Lane

  There was only one other time besides the day I learned Luca was my son that my life came to an abrupt halt. Where everything about the way I viewed things changed. It was the day I found out Lexi was mine.

  At first, I wasn’t sure if she was mine. I denied it. I was a selfish bastard, after all. A Mitchell who always got what he wanted, and it wasn’t a kid. When the paternity test came back with its nearly one-hundred percent accuracy that I was her dad, I knew I wanted my daughter even though I was afraid.

  From the day she was born, my little girl was the greatest unexpected gift. This piece of me, I didn’t have a clue how to take care of, let alone hold, soothe, and feed. I’d never changed a diaper. I went to bed and woke when I pleased. But the first time I held her, this little bundle of pink staring up at me with blurry eyes was the moment my life would change forever.

  For the better.

  The first few months of learning the ropes taught me to have patience. My baby was a crier. Face turning red from holding her breath, screaming at the top of her lungs when she wanted someone to hold her. When she wanted her food, her diaper changed, she wanted it now, and no one could lull her the way I could.

  I used to think of Lexi as this delicate flower waiting to bloom. She hasn’t opened to her full potential, and when she does, this miracle is going to change me again as well as change herself.

  They’ll be no more sneaking into her room. No, she’ll likely be the one sneaking out of the house to meet up with some little punk thinking thoughts that’ll get certain parts on his body chopped off.

  I won’t always be around to protect Lexi from some asshole, thinking he can hurt her. That thought slays me as nothing else could.

  But I’ve done everything I can to make sure she’s safe now.

  I’ve been lucky she hasn’t seen the criminal side of anyone she loves these past six or so weeks. I’ve made sure she’s stayed clear of it all. I want her full of excitement and to strive for those possibilities in life. I never wish for danger to surround her. You’d think any parent would even if the child in question wasn’t biologically theirs.

  No child should have to live with danger surrounding them. From what I understand, thanks to Sienna remembering whose blood she has in her veins, that’s exactly where Joseph is heading.

  To place my son in more danger.

  Because of it, I needed Lexi to soothe me every night since, even if she’s asleep. To give me a little calm before the storm, and there’s one brewing. It’s been building violently.

  Ready to destruct and destroy.

  With all the information Aidan and Gabe gathered about Joseph, and with how chaotic our lives have been, I came in here tonight to not only calm me but to quietly tell my girl that I’m sorry I’ve neglected her these past few weeks. I’m sorry I haven’t been around much at all. I don’t think she’d know the difference with how much time she’s been spending with Ellie and Braxton during the day. Then with Sienna and Victoria at night. It’s me who needed to reassure myself I’m a damn good father to this little girl who taught me the meaning of unconditional love.

  The kind of love that only a parent would sacrifice their life, happiness, and lives of others. That’s what Sienna did for ten years. That’s what she’s been doing this week by not letting her phone out of her sight. If possible, she’s clutching onto that thing harder than before, taking baths instead of showers, stuffing it inside her bra while watching movies, and cooking dinner. Small things she doesn’t think Seth or Victoria will notice. They have and reported it to me. Worse, she’s been going to work even with my change of heart of asking her not to.

  She’s waiting on that damn phone call from Joseph or Luca. I still don’t think they’ll call, but I want that phone. If by chance she’s right and he calls, or they do, they’re going to talk to me. Tonight, I’m playing dirty. Whatever it takes to get my hands on that phone.

  I trust her with everything except sneaking out if he calls.

  I’ve done everything I can to have an eye on her at all times when I’m not around. I’ve set up more security from here to the restaurant, to Logan’s.

  Lorenzo, Roan, and several other mafia leaders have made calls, worked with their corrupted government allies by getting men close to the border to stop Joseph from crossing into Mexico as Yves told us he’d planned. Hell, they even have them at the Canadian border. People are everywhere.

  Not a stone unturned. Still, I know desperation when I smell it, and it’s pouring out of Sienna. That scares the ever-loving hell out of me. Of course, I had to check to make sure she’s been here every night before I get my Lexi fix. And it pisses me off more at Joseph, at her, at the whole goddamn world.

  Joseph is near. We all know it.

  I can feel the warning he’s close rippling in the air. Tonight it’s working its way through me like poison.

  As if several of my senses are on high alert. I can taste Joseph’s starvation to get his hands on my woman. I can smell his obsession to obliterate her. I can hear how he wants to imprison her by threatening to kill Luca if it chains her to him for life. He isn’t going to leave the country without Sienna. I know that for a goddamn fact.

  It’s been prickling at my skin since I stared into Zackery and Yves’s eyes. It was like standing in front of four deep black holes you knew were dangerous to peek into. However, as soon as they saw Sienna, a bolt of white-hot lightning broke through the blackness. Giving me the perfect view of the men they were.

  I saw pure unsympathetic evil. I wanted to rid them of their misery myself, but they weren’t the blood I want on my hands.

  I want Joseph’s, and by God, I’m going to have it before he drains Sienna’s out of her again.

  My woman is back. The other half of my soul—my tough warrior queen, who I need to sink inside of and be the sneaky asshole I am to make her forget about her phone. I haven’t been inside her all week. I’ve walked, driven, ran through the streets of this city and surrounding ones with Rocco, looking for the van Yves told us Joseph is driving. He not only has my son; he has several girls, making it all the more important we find him.

  Trying to find a white cargo van is like searching for a needle in a haystack. It’s unsettling to the brink I’m physically and mentally exhausted.

  “I love you, sweet girl. You own a part of my heart, and soon you’re going to meet a boy who shares it with you,” I whisper, knowing full well this little jumping bean will open her big loving heart to Luca. She’ll probably drive him crazy with Ariel talk and command he be her best friend in the way she does everyone else.

  As I watch the rise and fall of her chest, no place else makes me remember that I’ll do everything to make sure my kids have the kind of bond I have with my brothers.

  Lexi stirs, her eyes opening wide. She rubs them, nose scrunching in confusion before shooting upright holding onto her doll. She’s about to whip up one of her windstorms while half asleep.

  I break out in a grin, her little girl sweetness wrapping around me.

  “Hey, princess, I didn’t mean to wake you. I missed you so much. I had to come in here before going to bed.”

  She blinks, a little disoriented from probably wondering why she’s awake when the only light in her room is coming from her Little Mermaid nightlight.

  “Daddy, I tried my hardes
t to wait up for you. We watched Beauty and the Beast. Sienna made sweet tea. I loved it, and Victoria didn’t. She said she’s a Yankee and they don’t put sugar in their tea. I asked her what Yankee meant, and she said it’s a word used for people who live in the states by New York. I don’t even know where New York is, but I told her she’s crazy if she doesn’t put sugar in her tea. Uncle Seth drank his without making one of those funny faces. You know the one where he makes his lips look like a fish, and his nose gets all wrinkly. He even gave me a hug, a kiss, and a secret. They aren’t as good as yours. I love you so, so much. You don’t have to miss me, not when I’m with Sienna, Victoria, and Uncle Seth. And guess what. Victoria is working at The Grill House now.”

  At that moment, where most kids are between awake and asleep, my child starts yacking her mouth. It won’t surprise me a bit if she doesn’t talk in her sleep. I wouldn’t want her any other way.

  “Is that right? I’m glad you had fun with Sienna. You like her, huh?” I knew Victoria started working for Sienna. They make a great team.

  Lexi’s arms squeeze tight around my neck, her body melting into mine as every muscle in my body loses the tension I’ve been holding for days.

  “I love her. Someday she’s going to be my mommy. I know it…” Her voice trails off at the end. My girl falling right back to sleep against my lurching chest, pounding like a madman at her words.

  “She will, princess. Someday she definitely will.”

  Sienna and I aren’t there yet. Along the way, I’ll give her everything in life she deserves. Keep those promises I made years ago about loving her with all I am. I haven’t come out and said the words yet. She hasn’t brought it up either. Not that I don’t feel it or want to. The timing, plus us not seeing much of each other, hasn’t felt right.

  I kiss the top of Lexi’s head, adjust her back under the covers, placing her doll next to her, and pause at her doorway to glimpse one more time at the rise and fall of her chest before closing it partway.

  It feels like hours by the time I make it to my bedroom to find my other girl standing in the middle of the room. Hair piled on top of her head, phone at her chest, breathing in hope and heartache.

  It fists my gut seeing her this way.

  “What if I’m wrong and Joseph never calls? What if he slides right past us and gets deep into the Mexican Cartel? We’ll never get Luca out of there.” She huffs out a loathing breath.

  No, we won’t. There’s no negotiating with the cartel. I learned that from Gabe after Seth bitched and moaned about me going out to look for Joseph.

  I have my reasons. Mostly, it’s the father in me along with missing years of Luca’s life that need to make sure Joseph knows that no matter what kind of pollution he’s put in my kid’s mind, I’ll make damn sure I’m the one who erases it all by loving that boy as much as I do Lexi.

  “Our story doesn’t end here, Sienna. We’re beginning, damn it. Don’t fall backward. Don’t doubt your father’s ability to catch Joseph before he gets close enough to the border to cross it. Show me that woman who stood in front of those men. Show me the mom who spared her happiness to keep our son safe. Let me see her.”

  Her eyes shy away for the longest time, then touch back on mine.

  She’s frightened out of her mind. Yet here she stands to expose so much of herself by the expressions glaring off her stunning face, drawing me like a moth to a flame.

  And, damn, do I want to feel the burn.

  Love. Want. Hope. Need. Scars. They radiate.

  I could do without those scars that she doesn’t let anyone but Victoria and me see. I could do without the distrust I have chipping away at me that Sienna will go to Joseph and disappear if it meant being with our son.

  Still, I’ve waited for this day. A damn lifetime it seems for Sienna not to show a scrap of guilt or fear. Even though the waiting for Joseph to call is driving her crazy, every morning I wake, I’ve seen it slip out of her a little more.

  She reaches me in a second flat, instinctively I grip her face in my hands, my fingers delving in her hair until I find the clip she uses to pile it on top of her head. Dropping it to the floor, I yank her head back, mouth stopping a breath away from hers.

  God, her smell and the warmth of her body consumes me as I pull her into me. Captivate and trap me. Haunt and calm me at the same damn time.

  “Every time I’ve ever looked at you, I see my life. I see this woman with a brave heart. I see someone who has fought her way through life and kept her beautiful soul intact. I am addicted to you.”

  I take her mouth. Slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be.

  Waves of greed twist in my stomach when she bites my bottom lip, taking over the kiss. My infatuation with this woman is nothing but a craving that will never leave my system. When she whimpers into my mouth, the animal in me takes over, and I devour her mouth.

  Palming her ass, I rock her against my hard cock as I back us toward the bed, positioning her the way I want her. My eyes bore into hers as every detail of our future flashes in my mind. Without breaking our connection, I take her phone out of her hand and blindly place it on the nightstand beside my bed.

  She doesn’t protest, which is a damn good thing. If she did, we’d be arguing instead of fucking. It’s a bastard move, and I don’t feel an ounce of regret or guilt for doing it.

  We’ll fight after, I’m sure, but that’s fine by me. It’s a fight she’s not going to win. I’m going to keep her here with me, safe and by God, we will be bringing Luca home. I won’t stop until we do.

  “Your heart and mind are the most beautiful things about you, Sienna. This body, this temple I’m going to worship, is the body of a goddess. And your face…” I shake my head. “Can’t wait to wake up every morning to it for the rest of my life.”

  The very first time I saw Sienna Ricci runs through my mind. “That’s Lorenzo’s daughter? She’s hot.” Logan dropped the remote to the video game, jumped up to greet her while I sat there staring at a profile made out of a molded perfection.

  With my head cocked to the side, all I could see was a thick braid of red, and it jolted me. I felt this energy float through the room. To a young kid, it was a weird feeling that I wanted to happen again and again.

  Swear to Christ, when I got my first glimpse of her face when she looked down at me, I thought an angel was standing in the doorway. She was more than pretty. She was beautiful. Someday she was going to become mine.

  For minutes, I stand towering above her, loving how her smile increases when she roams my face, my chest. About drops me to my knees when she swipes her tongue seductively across her plump bottom lip when her eyes land on my crotch. Her dark lashes flutter, and once she bites the corner of her mouth, I lose my ever-loving mind.

  I’m desperate to get inside of her.

  Sienna’s breath hitches as I whip my shirt over my head, and my hand dives to the button on my jeans.

  “Clothes off. Spread those legs and lie back, Sienna, because the instant you come in my mouth, that’s all it’s going to take for me to sink inside of you. We never talked about protection. Are you on birth control?” I tug my jeans off, not once taking my darkened gaze from hers as she drags her shorts and panties down her legs, grabs the hem of her tank top, and slowly pulls it over her head, baring those lush tits.

  “Yes.” Good to know. Although coming inside her and having it take root would be alright with me.

  Hooded eyes drift down my chest, across my tattoo, and go wide when she sees my cock.

  I drop to my knees. I’ll gladly do this too for the rest of my life.

  “Fuck, baby,” I mumble, dipping down, mouth close to her wet pussy. I grip her hips and pull her into my face. Her feet jump to my shoulders with the first swipe of my tongue. I eat her like the temptation she was years ago, a man who couldn’t wait to get to the core because he knew once he did, he’d commit the most pleasurable sin to man.

  To fuck and devour.

  My tongue
explores her clit, hardening the little bundle of nerves until she moans. I curve my finger inside of her, a feverish finger fuck that adds to each long lick across her swollen clit.

  I fuck her pussy like a man gone wild, and I watch her through the barely open lids of my eyes as she grips the sheets, her ass lifting in the air, and when she comes all over my mouth, it’s all I can take.

  With hands that itch to roam every inch of her skin, I gently place her feet on the edge of the bed, lean in and palm her breasts with manic movements, tugging both nipples until she arches her back, and tips her head to the side. My mouth waters to touch the spot where her pulse hammers. I trace it with my tongue to where her panting breaths steal mine when my lips seize her mouth in a kiss.

  I could feast on her mouth for days. Weeks, even.

  Pushing up, I position her legs back over my shoulders, line up my throbbing head to her wet slit, and thrust inside her. Her answering whimper when I sink to the hilt is as sweet as her body. Grabbing her ass for leverage, I lift slightly and slam into her, going as deep as I can get. She releases a sigh that is both relief and anguish. Those emotions are swarming through me, too, as I drive in and out of her.

  I’ll never have enough of the woman.

  “Lane, don’t stop. I’m almost there.” Her walls clench around me, muscles in her ass tightening in the palms of my hands while her breasts bounce in time to my thrusts and Jesus Christ, it takes all my restraint not to let loose and come.

  Sweat drips down my temples as I pick up my pace, pounding into her. Every thrust rough. “Come, for me, Sienna,” I whisper.

  Our eyes lock when she comes undone, a roar ripping out of me as I empty inside of her, tightening the binds that had always connected us.

  “Hold me, please?” she asks after we catch our breath, and I slip out of her. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close.