The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition

by Janine Infante Bosco

  Wolf was a maniac.

  I loved him.

  Jack walked over to Pop and I decided to follow him, my eyes zeroed in on the kid on the ground, no more than eighteen years old.

  “You’re going to be fine, boy,” Pop assured the kid wailing in pain, as he lifted his eyes to Jack.

  “Christ,” Jack muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

  “He won’t help you now son,” Pop said through gritted teeth. “Hope you know what you’re doing because these bastards aren’t playing games.”-

  “You okay?” Jack asked.

  “Going to take a lot more than a bunch of amateurs to take me down, but this kid here? He didn’t deserve to get stuck in the crosshairs of whatever it is you have going on with the Chinese. He didn’t sign up for that, and quite frankly neither did I,” he glanced over his shoulder at the building behind him. “Got a fine mess here to clean up.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Jack vowed.

  “Yeah, you will,” Pop announced as the paramedics pushed him aside to work on the kid. “Don’t feel like revisiting history son, did my time, buried enough innocent lives to last a lifetime.” He rose to his feet, brushing the dirt from his pants and stepped closer to Jack.

  “You need to get a handle on these bastards before they draw more blood,” he demanded.

  “I said, I’ll take care of it,” Jack seethed.

  “Pop, you should go to the hospital, get yourself checked out,” I suggested, noticing the blood on the old man’s neck. “Were you hit?”

  Pop turned around, lifting his hand to his neck, bringing it back to stare at the blood on his fingers before he turned to Jack.

  “Just a nick,” he declared, holding Jack’s stare for a moment before turning back to the paramedics. “I’m riding with him,” he told them as they lifted the kid onto the stretcher.

  I watched as they ran the stretcher to the back of the ambulance, one paramedic applying pressure to the wound as the other opened the ambulance doors. They lifted the stretcher into the back of the ambulance and Pop climbed up, taking a seat on the bench beside the kid. The paramedic closed the door before running around to the driver’s side. The sirens sounded, and lights flashed as they peeled away from the scene of the crime.

  That kid would be fine.

  But Pops was right.

  More blood would be shed.

  More innocent lives were at stake and would pay the price for what we did.

  I was the one behind the plan. Wu knew I had orchestrated this whole thing—there was no doubt he had let me go because the motherfucker had a bigger plan for me. I get it. I’d do the same fucking thing. I’d let the bastard suffer, make him wonder when I was coming, and then I’d make him watch helplessly as I took everything he cared about.

  I got it.

  It’s exactly what I would do.

  I put myself in the enemies’ shoes, calculating what my next move would be if I was him and Lauren’s face flashed before my eyes.

  “Riggs,” Jack said, pulling me away from my Kitten’s innocent face and I turned to him, blinking as I tried to mask the fear in my eyes.

  “Yeah,” I rasped.

  Jack stared at me thoughtfully and opened his mouth to speak but Blackie interrupted.

  “What are we going to do here?” he questioned, rolling a toothpick between his teeth and tipped his head back toward Brantley and his posse. “You know they’re going to be riding our asses now,” he added.

  “Fuck ‘em,” Jack hissed, blowing out a heavy sigh.

  “Gladly,” Blackie gritted, spitting the toothpick onto the ground. “We putting this club on lockdown?”

  “No, not yet,” Jack said, surprisingly. “For now, round up the prospects, put them on Reina, Lacey and Lauren,” he ordered, turning his eyes to mine. “That going to be a problem?”

  “No,” I said immediately. The fact that Kitten was lumped in the list of priorities along with Reina and Jack’s daughter, scared the fuck out of me. “Jack,” I started, losing the words on my tongue.

  “It’s a precaution, Riggs,” he answered, taking in the worried look in my eyes. “We need to bide our time and keep our heads. We can’t keep our heads if we’re worried about our women. You feel me?”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, nodding my head.

  “You trust me?” He asked.

  “Of course,” I declared.

  “Then trust me when I say we will get these motherfuckers,” he declared, as he cupped my shoulder. “We always win, even when it looks like it’s impossible. You know why? Because I’ve lost too much to let anyone else ever take a goddamn thing from me and mine,” he fixed his eyes on me and patted my cheek. “Get that look out of your eyes, Riggs,” he ordered. “Looks like you found your heart, kid. Now, you have to hang on to it.”

  I should’ve freaked out with the first part of that sentence but it was the last part that threw me for a loop.

  I knew Lauren had become my heart and if I’m being honest I’ve known for a while. I didn’t fight it very hard, a part of me wanted her to be the person I lived for, for her and Pea to be my purpose.

  A big part.

  But the small part of me knew having them in my life could hurt them. That was the part that was winning now, trumping everything else.

  How do you hang on to someone knowing it’s better if you let them go?

  What kind of man would that make me if I kept Lauren around just for my benefit? Sure, I could throw a prospect on her but that wouldn’t ease my conscience.

  Hang on for what? Purpose? A reason not to be reckless?

  Something happens to them, God, if something happens to them I’d really lose my heart. Then, and only then would I lose my purpose.

  I turned around, striding toward my bike, ignoring Jack and Blackie’s calls and grabbed my phone from my pocket, dialing Anthony’s number.

  “Yo,” he answered. “Where’d you guys go—”

  “Don’t tell anyone it’s me,” I interrupted. “I know you’ve got company and shit but think you can sneak out and meet me at the gym?” I asked, as I straddled my bike. He was silent for a moment. “It’s important, Bianci. I wouldn’t ask you otherwise—it’s about Lauren,” I confessed, my own voice sounding very unfamiliar to my ears.

  “Give me an hour,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I muttered before disconnecting the call.

  Bones ran up beside my bike, placing his foot on top of the wheel and gripped the handlebars.

  “Where are you running off too?”

  “Get out of my way,” I snapped.

  “Riggs, I know that fucking look in your eyes. Don’t do something stupid,” he ordered.

  And for the first time I wasn’t doing something stupid or reckless. I was doing something worth a damn.

  “I’ve got no issue running your ass over,” I shouted over the noise of my engine. Bones knew me well enough to know that when I had something in my head, no one could sway me another way. He grunted as he removed his hand and foot, standing to the side as I peeled away from the mayhem and headed straight to Hell.

  The Hell where Kitten wasn’t mine.

  I sat on my bike parked in front of Xonerated and waited for Anthony to arrive. I reached into my cut, desperate to take the edge off and pulled out a perfectly rolled joint. I searched the inside pocket of my cut for a lighter and my fingers gripped the lace of Lauren’s panties.

  My gift to you. A reminder that dreams come true.

  What a fucking nightmare.

  I left the panties in my pocket and pulled out the lighter, flicking a flame and lighting up the paper, taking a greedy hit as it burned. I took it from my lips, holding the smoke in, letting it ferment within before exhaling and staring down at the joint in my hand.

  Funny how it used to work, how it used to take the edge off and calm my restless ways.

  Not this time.

  It’s pretty fucking crazy how I went from living life without a care in the world to th
is shit.

  Soon enough my life would go back to the way it used to be.

  A life with no worries.

  No responsibilities.

  Free to do whatever the fuck I wanted, whenever the fuck I wanted.

  A life I thought I was meant to live.

  One I wanted.

  I chose my path.

  And here I am, wishing for a motherfucking detour.

  Wishing for another way.

  Another life.

  Regrets?

  I had them in spades.

  Dreams?

  I had those too.

  Nightmares?

  I’m pretty sure I’m living one right now.

  Anthony pulled up in front of the gym and I took another long hit of my joint as he stepped around the car and made his way to my side. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, clipping my joint before tucking it away in my pocket.

  “What’s up?” he questioned, crossing his arms against his chest as he scrutinized me.

  “Some shit went down today,” I began, blowing out the smoke I held hostage in my lungs.

  “Figured that much,” he cautioned, cocking his head to the side, trying to figure me out.

  Good luck, brother.

  Let me know what you find.

  “You sat at that table when everything was going down with Gold. You know it was me who offered up a way to get the drugs to save Blackie and Reina. What you don’t know, and I’m not even sure I should tell you, is who we took them from,” I paused, deciding it didn’t matter.

  Anthony was better off not knowing, one less casualty when the dust settled, and I needed Bianci breathing. I needed him to be there for Lauren and to be the man in my kid’s life. I had no doubt he’d be there for Pea. It was a good thing I spent all those months keeping him safe, keeping him out of the enemy’s line of fire.

  Time to pay it forward Bianci.

  “They know it was me who gave up their stash house. They know it was the Satan’s Knights who robbed them and it doesn’t matter that we’ve paid them back because we killed their men. They won’t quit until they’ve settled the score, until they’ve taken our blood.”

  “Jesus, Riggs,” Bianci hissed, taking a deep breath before he shrugged his shoulders.

  “So what do you want me to do? Jack wants my help?”

  “Jack doesn’t know I called you,” I said, lifting my hand to rub that ache away from my chest, the one that seemed to keep nagging me.

  “He’s putting prospects on Reina and Lacey until he figures what our next move is. He wanted one on Lauren too but…” I shook my head and paused, “…I’m not about to put her life in the hands of some little shit who doesn’t have a patch,” I said, looking away from him.

  I hadn’t expected this to be so hard.

  I hadn’t expected for it to hurt.

  “I need you to look after Lauren,” I whispered, lifting my head to meet his wary stare. “I need you to keep her and the baby safe.”

  “Riggs, I don’t like where this is going,” he started.

  “C’mon man, you fucking owe me and I’m collecting. You love your sister, hell, you even love that kid she hasn’t given birth to yet. No one will look out for her like you will. No one will protect her and make sure this shit doesn’t land on her.”

  “And you? Where does that leave you?”

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  “I want you to take Lauren back to your place, keep her close until everything dies down. She’s going to be upset, so make sure she doesn’t get herself worked up,” I pleaded. “It won’t be good for Pea if she’s sick,” I rasped. “Anything she or the baby needs, you come to me and I will make sure they have it.”

  “Got it all planned, huh?” he questioned. “You still didn’t answer me. Where does that leave you?”

  “It doesn’t matter, bro. I’ve got to do the right thing by them and being away from them, making it like they don’t mean shit to me, it’s the only way I can fight for them. They probably know about her already but if I end things now, if I prove to the world she’s nothing to me, no one will hurt her. She’ll be old news and they’ll be looking for another way to hurt me, another way to get to me,” I removed my hat and nervously ran my fingers through my hair.

  “You’re going to break her heart,” he said.

  “I’m going to save her life,” I countered. “She’ll bounce back from a broken heart, can’t bounce back from death,” I choked out.

  “I did what you’re doing, you know? I stayed away from Adrianna and Luca, told myself I’d only poison them with my lifestyle—”

  “Stop!” I interrupted. “Don’t try to give me hope because I’m not like you. I know you think we run in the same circles, but we don’t, brother. This shit isn’t the mob, it doesn’t go away because your boss goes up the river and spares your life. This is an oath, it’s a way of life. It’s my life and a choice I made long before I knew Lauren existed. Would I take it back? I can’t even ask myself that question because I’m a Satan’s Knight and I will ride to my death,” I argued. “But I won’t take Lauren on that ride or my kid. Now do I have your word?”

  He remained still for a moment as he absorbed my words and stared at me. It took everything in me not to turn my head and pretend like I didn’t just hand over my heart to this man.

  Anthony slowly nodded in agreement but it wasn’t enough.

  “Man, need your word, not just a shake of your head. This is my…” I paused, taking a deep breath before I continued. “… we’re talking about my kid. My flesh and blood. Gonna need the words for this one,” I said, my voice sounding more like a plea than an order.

  “I’ll take care of them. I’ll keep them safe,” he promised.

  I nodded before I bowed my head and swiped my hands along it.

  Goodbye Kitten.

  Goodbye Pea.

  Be safe.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I stormed into the clubhouse, headed straight for the bar and ignored everyone that was watching me. I pulled the strongest bottle of poison I could find from the shelf and grabbed a glass. Blackie stared at me with his signature beady eyes as I poured myself a shot and took a seat beside him.

  I threw the shot back, letting the amber liquid worm its way down my throat and into my belly. I had hoped that the burning sensation in my chest would dull the ache that wouldn’t leave me.

  “Tell me I did the right thing,” I demanded of Blackie, as I refilled my glass.

  “I don’t even know what you did,” he muttered, eyeing the bottle I was clutching.

  “It don’t matter, just tell me what I need to hear,” I said, downing another shot.

  “You did the right thing,” he appeased. “You looking to forget? That shit won’t do it,” he informed me as he passed me the bottle he had half emptied.

  Great, now I was swapping bottles with the club drunk. My life really had turned to shit.

  At this rate, by the end of the night I’ll have a fucking needle sticking out of my arm.

  That was fucked up.

  But I was in a fucked up mood.

  “I’m sorry,” I grunted, apologizing to him for my inner thoughts. Luckily, he paid me no mind, a combination of not giving a fuck and being sloshed.

  “You have a fight with your ol’ lady?”

  “I don’t have one of those,” I replied.

  “Right, the baby mama then,” he corrected himself, as he pulled a bud of pot from his pocket and broke up the herb on top of the bar.

  I ignored his question, not ready to admit out loud that I didn’t have a baby mama either. I had nothing.

  Gave it all away.

  Because of the fucking Red Dragons.

  If I was a holy roller, I’d swear on a stack of bibles I would kill every Red Dragon from here to California.

  I wasn’t a holy roller.

  I wasn’t even a sign of the cross type of guy.

  “What was that shit with the cops earlier?” I asked,
changing the subject as I watched him dump the ground up weed into a rolling paper.

  “Ah, me and officer Brantley go way back,” he slurred, as he rolled the joint perfectly, bringing the end of the paper to his lips to lick and seal it. “I don’t know who gave that piece of shit more of a hard-on me or Christine,” he added, passing me the tight joint as he lifted his eyes.

  Christine, his wife, the wife he barely mentioned, much less ever used her name. I raised an eyebrow and flicked my lighter and blazed up the joint.

  “Never heard you talk much about your wife,” I said, inhaling sharply. “So, this rat, the cop, he’s been itching to put you away for a while?” I thought about it for a second. “And Christine? He wanted to arrest her too?”

  Blackie laughed, a low rumble that sounded more scary than jolly.

  “Nah he didn’t want to arrest her,” he said before taking a toke. “Christine wasn’t some low-life junkie, Riggs,” he seethed.

  “I didn’t say she was,” I replied, as I poured us both a shot.

  “It’s what you think because it’s all anyone in this fucking place ever talks about. You’ve got this image of Christine, a woman you never met, lying face down in a bathtub with a fucking needle in her arm but that’s not the woman I married. Everyone in this club assumes I drink because I feel guilty she overdosed with the shit we were selling, but they’re wrong, so fucking wrong.”

  “So why do you do it?” I asked, watching as he downed the shot I placed in front of him and he passed me back the joint.

  “Sure, it’s got something to do with it. If I wasn’t dealing heroin she wouldn’t have been able to get her hands on it. But, Christine would’ve found some other way to end the nightmare she was living,” he revealed, staring down at his left hand, his fingers running along his ring finger.

  “I was a shitty husband,” he admitted. “I put this club before her. I put the drugs, the money, the goddamn patch before the sweet girl I fell in love with when I was fifteen years old. See, she knew me before the club, before the corruption and the mayhem and she had to watch me morph into a Knight. It was all good when I was just a prospect, still had time for my girl and the crazy shit we used to do.”

  He smiled faintly before glancing back at me.