“No biohazards in my room. Sheets were even washed the last time I slept in them.”
“You know, I have my boot back; I can walk,” I said as he carried me all the way out to the car.
“You can. But just give me this,” he said, arms tightening around me. “Almost lost you. Feels good to be holding on.”
“I’m not complaining,” I said as we got in the backseat together again.
“What do you think your old man is doing with Lance?” he asked when we were almost halfway back to the clubhouse.
“My father can and will kill if he needs to, but he doesn’t usually want to. And I think a part of him feels guilty for how Lance turned out. Since he had no idea what was going on right under his nose.”
“He… filled me in,” Caymen said. “Once he saw the sketch I had Jade draw up, he explained everything that went downback then. But it doesn’t make sense that he feels guilty about anything except what happened to you.”
“If I’m guessing where his head is at, he thinks that if he’d known about the small things, he could have corrected it. And then Lance would have grown into a different man.”
“What do you think? Could he be turned around?”
“There were a few moments where I saw humanity and regret tease through the years of anger, resentment, and jealousy. I think if anyone can turn him around, it’s my father.”
“Yeah, but how would you feel about that?”
“I mean, I don’t know if I’d be willing to have Thanksgiving dinner with Lance or anything, but I think if there’s any chance to help a man on the fence of being truly bad become better, then it’s worth the effort. Lance had a hard life and was a messed-up kid. Then he cradled all that to his chest into adulthood. I don’t necessarily think that means he is doomed to be a terrible human being.”
“You’re more generous than I am.”
“I’ve had a lot of years to move past everything that happened back then. Though, I’m unsettled that he’s been watching me for so long and I haven’t been aware.”
“If it helps, your old man has been watching him too. Just wasn’t watching closely around the time Lance came down to Miami.”
“Any idea where he was before?”
“All over. Seems like he has a career in extraction work.”
“Well, that makes sense how he pulled off that boat kidnapping so easily. How did he find us there?”
“Tracker in your purse.”
“My purse? How did…”
But then it hit me.
Just a few weeks before, I’d been in a rush to get my ice cream in the apartment and I’d forgotten my bag in the car. Itwas hours until I realized. Plenty of time for Lance to sneak in, hide a tag, and get back out again.
“I need better security,” I grumbled.
“I know somebody who could help with that.”
“The guy with the B name…” I said, trying to dig through the memories of our previous conversations.
“Booker. Booker runs a private security team. He could think of vulnerabilities you never considered before.”
“Okay. Mental note made. For later. No more brain thinking things now. Only rest, sleep, food, and you,” I settled on, too aware of the guys in the front seat listening.
“You got me,” he whispered, lips near my ear. “How often and any way you want.”
Despite everything, my body warmed at the idea of being with him again.
But as soon as we walked into the clubhouse and I smelled Eddie’s cooking, I decided that had to move down on the priority list.
