“I thought it was for the best… to let you go. I shouldn’t have wanted you. It was fucked up. I should have killed you.”
“Killing isn’t always the answer, Keir,” I say softly. “Have you thought, just maybe, that she is right for you, as she continuously points out? You both come from the same world…” I sigh. “I, on the other hand, was dragged into it. She knows it and wouldn’t care if you came home with blood all over your hands. I would,” I tell him honestly.
I lay my hand gently on his arm. “I would hate to hate you, not now, after everything. I want to be friends. We share a daughter. And soon you will have a son.” I beam up at him.
Keir shakes his head and walks off, not giving me anything back in return.
“I’ve never seen him so…” I turn to Lucas, who is leaning against the wall not far from where Keir and I were just standing, “… lost.” Lucas smiles. He has all the dark features that Keir and his family have, but there’s something different about him. Even more dangerous than Keir, and that’s saying something. Yet, I don’t feel threatened when I’m around him, but I can tell others do.
“Are you jealous of who he is?” I ask him, wanting to know. They all seem fine that Keir is boss, but I’ve come to wonder if that’s really true. Just because he was the first born, I know Joey could do what he does, couldn’t he?
“I like that you get straight to the point, unafraid to ask unwanted questions.” His eyes roam me as he pushes off the wall. “Once, yes. I even thought of killing him.” My eyes widen slightly at his honesty, and he smirks. “You see, the difference between us is, Keir thinks through everything he does. He is calculated, cold, and ruthless. Where I am…” he waves his hand in the air, “… more conniving, backstabbing, and downright deceitful. Our men would never follow me. Out of fear, maybe. But him?” He nods to where Keir just left. “They don’t just follow him because they are scared of him. They do it because he’s smart,” he says and looks to where Wren is standing up in the crib down the hall, smacking it with her toy. “I heard a rumor he was even considering giving it all to her, even though she is a girl.”
“Huh?” I say, taken aback.
“His grandfather did that… had a girl first. Did Keir ever tell you about her?” I shake my head at his words. “Keir’s father killed his sister because girls aren’t meant to lead. They are meant to cook, fuck, and breed, nothing more. Remember now, Keir was raised by him.”
He steps into the room where Wren is playing and studies her. I stay close by because even though I don’t mind Lucas, it doesn’t mean I trust him.
“He didn’t do it for her.” He nods to Wren, then turns to me. “He did it for you. Take that how you wish, but don’t forget that Keir does nothing without thinking every angle through first, and considering he’s having a son and still wants to give it all to Wren, that’s something. If it was me, I would have killed you when you were pregnant. Less hassle.” He chuckles and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with my daughter. I go to her and pick her up, then change her into swimmers with a hat and gather her bag.
Keir can choose his son to take over.
I don’t want that responsibility for Wren.
But when she’s older, I guess she can choose what she wants.
Keir, myself, no one will force anything on her the way it’s been forced on him.
Chapter Seventeen
Keir
I’ve watched her play in the water all afternoon, her smile and laugh contagious.
“Just go down there,” Joey says, sitting next to me.
“No.”
“Do it.” He nudges me. “I’m sure Wren would love it.”
I don’t go in the water, I come here for peace and tranquility and because the sound somehow soothes my soul. The city helps me think, the ocean helps me relax.
“And we all know if you don’t fuck her soon, you’re going to turn into our father.” I drag my teeth over my bottom lip before I stand. Pulling my shirt over my head, I walk down to where Sailor is making a sandcastle while Wren looks on from a beach towel.
“Hi,” Sailor says and lifts Wren, placing her in my lap. She moves over just a bit and then lies back, covering her eyes. I take a moment to study her. Her body has marks that weren’t there before, but they do nothing to diminish her appeal. If anything, they make her even more attractive. Her tits are larger, and the one-piece bathing suit that she has on pushes them up, putting them on display.
“I can feel your stare, Keir.” She pulls her arm off her eyes and gives me a look. “It’s burning a hole right through me.”
“I—”
“Boss.” We both turn to see Roberto staring at us.
“What is it?” I ask, annoyed at the interruption. His eyes flick to Wren, then to Sailor, before he answers me.
“Paige is missing.”
“No, she left yesterday and is probably cooling off somewhere.”
Roberto rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but her cell and things are at her apartment.”
That’s odd. She doesn’t go anywhere without her shit.
“Who would want to take her? They would for sure ask for a refund.” Sailor laughs and I smile because she isn’t wrong.
“You have some nerve.”
We both startle at Roberto’s reaction.
“I’m sorry, I hope she’s okay,” Sailor says to him, sounding genuine. I’m not sure she’s telling the truth, though.
“Put someone on her house. If she isn’t back by tomorrow, we will look into it. But, Roberto…” he goes to walk off but pauses then looks back, “… you ever speak to Sailor like that again, I’ll chop off your left hand.”
He nods and leaves.
“Don’t do that,” Sailor says.
“Do what?”
“Threaten to hurt someone for speaking to me in a manner that you don’t agree with.”
Lucas comes down and plops himself right next to Sailor, leans in, and brushes his shoulder with hers. “I think it’s time you got wet.”
“No. I hate having sand in places it shouldn’t be,” Sailor says, brushing the sand from her legs.
“That’s the best part.” And before I can say anything, Lucas leans down, picks her up, throws her over his shoulder, and runs toward the water with her laughing. The last time I threw her over my shoulder she screamed, and not with delight. Maybe I need to rectify that.
“Who knew Lucas could be human,” Joey says, sitting down next to me.
“Take her.”
“Again?” He huffs as I pass him Wren.
“She’s your niece.”
“Shut up!” he says as he places her on his lap.
Lucas smirks at me as I stand and walk toward the water. I swim to where they are splashing around and then Lucas turns, leaving me alone with Sailor.
“When was the last time you went swimming?” I ask her, remembering how much she loves it.
“The last time I was here,” she comments, looking distant now that we’re alone again. “Why am I here, Keir?”