Eternal Temptations (The Tempted Series Book 6) (34 page)

“What? Did I miss something?”

“If I was Charlie, I know exactly who I’d go after,” Blackie continues gravely.

“Me?” Riggs screeches. “What the fuck do I have to do with any of this? No offense guys but this shit you’re talking about went down before my balls even dropped!” He shouts incredulously.

“You married the mob, boy,” Pipe mutters. “Black’s right, this is all you, brother.”

Riggs’ shoulders slump as he shakes his head in disbelief. It doesn’t take him long to snap, something wild born in his eyes as he glares at me.

“Tell me what to do,” he growls.

“Relax, brother,” I try to calm him down, but he slams his fist against the table and rises to his full height, knocking over the chair he was sitting in.

Don’t fucking tell me to relax,” he shouts, pointing a finger to Blackie. “You lost your wife over this shit and I’m sorry, man, real fucking sorry but I almost lost my Kitten and my kid too. I lost fucking Bones. My people did their fucking time for this club. I won’t let anyone else I love hurt over the fucking patch on my cut.”

He swallows hard, his jaw ticking with anger as he glares at me.

“Tell me what to do, Jack,” he insists. “Tell me how I keep them safe from this hell we all chose.”

Leaning forward, I plant my elbows on top of the table and rub my hands along the scruff covering my face.

“Tell me!” He shouts. “Or so fucking help me, Jesus, I will just start fucking shooting them motherfuckers until their threats don’t exist, until their blood pours out and their bodies turn cold. Tell me!”

“Time to make nice with the oil diggers, Richie Rich,” I mutter, pulling my hands away from my face. “You pack up Lauren and the kid and get the fuck out of here until I or any one of the men at this table tell you it is safe for them to come back here.”

“Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.” I nod.

“And the rest of them?” He questions. “Bianci’s family, what about them?”

Pulling off his hat, he throws it onto the table and points to the door.

“You put me on that man out there, told me to protect him and his family,” he argues.

“I will handle it,” I say, giving him my word, turning my attention to the nomads across the table. “One of you go grab Ronan, send him to the Bastards and see what he comes up with. The rest of you, eyes open—wide fucking open,” I grunt before looking back at Riggs. “Call the folks, Riggs, and whatever you need to do to get your family out of here you let us know and we’ll make it happen. But before you do that, go get your brother-in-law so we can fill him in.” I slam down the gavel.

The chairs scrap against the floor as everyone, except Blackie, solemnly move to file out of the room.

“Bianci,” Riggs calls from the doorway. “Get your ass in here.”

Bottle in hand, Bianci strolls in and takes a seat across the table from me.

“You rang?” He questions, narrowing his eyes as Riggs sits to his left and swipes the bottle out of his hand, guzzling bourbon as if it would erase everything we told him.

Bianci keeps his concentration on Riggs as I proceed to tell him what we suspect will happen with the Corrupt Bastards, and to my surprise he doesn’t even flinch at my words.

He grabs the bottle from Riggs and taps his hand on the table, demanding his brother-in-law’s attention.

“You do as he tells you, take Lauren and Eric to your parents’ house and you wait it out. You stick to her and that boy like glue and don’t let anyone fucking near them,” he says, not as a threat but as his brother-in-law, as his family.

“You hear me?” He questions.

“I hear you,” Riggs assures, taking another swig from the bottle.

I watch as Anthony nods his head, accepting Riggs’ vow to keep his sister and nephew safe before he turns his cold blue eyes to me.

Fucking Ice, no, glaciers, stare back at me like this is my fucking fault.

“Appreciate the heads up but I ain’t the one who should be sitting at this table with you and we both know that.”

I hold his gaze as I pull a toothpick out of my cut and shove it between my teeth.

He’s right but I’m not ready to break bread with Rocco Spinelli.

“Victor knew this would happen, he prepared for it by putting Rocco in charge of his organization. Now, you need to respect that and get on board before you have a blood bath on your hands, one you can avoid,” he informs, leaning back in his chair as he shrugs his shoulders. “Since, I’m so good at being the go-between, I’ll take you to the boss.”

Leaning into Riggs, he pulls the bottle from his hand and takes a hefty gulp of the poison, cringing as it burns his throat. He tips the bottle toward me and swallows.

“But motherfucker you’re driving because I’m wrecked,” he declares, throwing back his head as he takes another shot.

Blackie turns to me.

“This how we gonna play this?” He whispers harshly. “I know I said I was all for you giving this guy a chance, but now, at this particular moment, I’m not sure I want to entrust this to him,” he admits.

“Rocco may have learned how to be a boss from Victor but he’s going to learn how to lead from me,” I declare, pushing back my chair and standing up. “Let’s go, Bianci,” I order, pointing to Blackie. “You take Reina and Lacey home,” I say then turn to Riggs. “Make the call, pretty boy,” I tell him one last time before following Bianci out of the chapel.

Reina’s worried glance is the first thing I see when I step into the common room, followed by my daughter’s fearful eyes that are pinned to the man behind me.

I grab Reina’s hand, pull her against me and snake my arms around her waist.

“I’ve got to head out. Blackie is going to take you and Lacey home and when I’m done I’ll come home,” I tell her, pushing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Don’t look at me like that, Sunshine…everything’s all good,” I lie.

“Parrish, I know that look and
you
…it’s not fine.”

“It will be, I promise.”

Reluctantly she stares back at me as I bend my head to kiss her but her mouth doesn’t respond and I lean back to better assess her, watching as she chews on her lower lip nervously.

Oh, hell.

“Maybe we should postpone the wedding,” she suggests, biting back the frown that’s fighting her mouth.

Without hesitation, I take her face in my hands, bending my knees to be eye level with her, I shake my head.

“Listen here, Sunshine, ain’t nothing stopping me from marrying you,” I vow, determination laced heavily with every word. “Not a thing,” I repeat.

“As long as you’re sure,” she says softly, closing her hands around my wrists before touching her lips to mine.

“Never been sure of anything in my life but I’m sure as hell marrying you.”

And I was.

Come hell or high water.

I was marrying Reina DeCarlo.

Nobody, no war, nothing would stop me from making her property of Parrish.

Except death.

And I’m not dying anytime soon, there’s a lot of life left inside this body, a lot of good buried under the bad and I want the chance to give the good to the people who deserve it. Reina, Lacey and that baby I’m going to love, that baby is my second chance.

I kiss Reina again, putting a sliver of that good into it, hoping it’s enough to ease her fears. I give Lacey a hug, promise her both men in her life will stay safe and finally, I lock eyes with Blackie.

We got this, brother.

Riggs, Anthony and I drive over the Verrazano Bridge to the Todt Hill section of Staten Island. Bianci instructs me to turn onto Circle Drive and the gated mansion comes into view. Conveniently the front gate is open leading to a winding cobblestone driveway and a massive entryway. I park my truck haphazardly next to the Maserati, leave the engine running but throw it into park before I jump out of the truck.

I slam the brass knocker against the door and ring the bell three times. I count because it’s taking forever for Riggs to drag a drunk Bianci out of the truck. The door opens as Riggs gets Bianci to stand upright and I am greeted by Rocco.

“What can I do for you Parrish?” He questions, tugging on the knot of his tie. I study him for a moment, take in the draining look in his eyes, the dark circles beneath them and five o’clock shadow outlining his features.

“Rough night, boss?” I taunt.

“What do you think?” He clips, glancing over his shoulder at Bianci. He’s got his eyes pinned to Rocco as he snarls.

“Better be up for the challenge, cuz,” he sneers.

“Yeah? What challenge might that be?”

“The one I’m here to deliver to you,” I say, interrupting their pissing contest. “Vic put you in charge for a reason Spinelli, more importantly he sent you to my doorstep for one purpose and now that purpose is clear. Vic knew the consequences, fuck, he expected them that’s why he made Bianci bring you to my club, it’s why he asked me to stand with you and not against you. Vic wanted me to deliver my new ally a message and so, here I am. This city,
my
city, is about to become a fucking war zone now that the G-Man is off the streets. You want a place in my streets, do as I say. Your only job now is to protect Vic’s family, not his organization. Nothing else exists except for his wife, your aunt, and your cousins. Forget making scores, climbing the ranks and ordering hits. I’m telling you that shit don’t matter. Your sole purpose, your number one priority is making sure everyone in Vic’s circle keeps breathing.”

He opens his mouth to speak but I lean into him, get in his face and shake my head.

“Nuh uh, boss. You don’t get a say. You do as you're told until I tell you otherwise. You want to be the boss then you need to learn what comes first in this world. You need to learn that without heart you ain’t worth shit. Your family is your heart and you keep them safe, Spinelli, you keep them fucking breathing or I’ll rip you from the streets and send you back to Miami,” I seethe. “Welcome to
my
city, Spinelli. If you’re a good boy, I’ll share it with you.”

I don’t give him a chance to argue, I don’t give him a chance to even respond. I want his actions not his words. Turning around, I grab Bianci’s elbow and shove him toward the truck.

“Your wife is going to kick my ass,” I mutter.

“Probably,” he agrees.

Not probably, Adrianna definitely will have my balls in a knot, that’s why Riggs was bringing his brother-in-law to the front door and I was staying in the truck.

Fuck that.

This blows.

I’ll say it again, standing here, staring at a fucking stone imagining my best friend is standing in front of me and not in a box six feet under. This fucking blows. I picture him leaning against the stone, his leather cut fitted to his upper body. Rolling a toothpick between his teeth, he crosses his arms against his chest and grills me with his eyes. I vividly see him in my mind shake his head, biting back a smug grin, everything about his demeanor says he is itching to tell me I’ve gotten myself into another fine mess. But the words never leave his mouth, just like they never did while he was here with me and not living within my head.

No matter how bizarre the situation he never laughed in my face, never so much as judged me. Instead, Bones worked through my shit with me. He talked to me, listened and asked questions. He didn’t give me the answers; he gave me his advice, put himself in my shoes and told me what he would do if he was in my situation.

“I fucking hate this,” I admit, pulling the baseball cap from my head to drag my fingers through my hair. “I hate that you’re not here. I need you to make sense of what the fuck is going on. I need you to help me figure out if I’m doing the right thing…
for them.
Because, I gotta tell you, brother, it doesn’t feel right. It don’t feel right fleeing town with Kitten and Eric. I’m supposed to trust the club to handle this shit but it should be me. I should be the one slaughtering anyone threatening my family. Fuck,” I growl, clenching my fist and punching the palm of my other hand. “I don’t even know how the fuck we’re involved in this shit. Why my family? Why are they the fucking bullseye? It made sense with Sun Wu, I fucked up but I don’t even know this gangbanger. They say it’s because hurting Lauren hurts the club and the Pastores, mainly Bianci. I suppose it makes sense.” I pause, shaking my head. “It’s amazing I used to laugh in the face of fear until that day, the day you went away, the day Eric was born and I almost lost both of them too. I can’t fucking lose them. I can’t go through that again, wondering if they’re going to make it or not, stand by helplessly as some mythical god decides if I’m worthy of having them in my life. No fucking way, man. I’m scared as fuck because you’re not here to jump in front of a bullet this time. This time it’s all on me to keep them safe. I know I need to own that shit. I know wherever the fuck you are you’re calling me a pussy right now and maybe I am. I’m fucking scared. What if I’m not quick enough? What if I unintentionally fuck something up, make a mistake and cost them their lives and me my heart.”

I bow my head, staring at the ink on my fingers.

“Do me a solid?” Raising my head, I stare at the headstone and clear my throat. “I will do everything in my power to keep Lauren and Eric safe, gonna make you real proud, brother.” I pause, swallowing down the lump in my throat. “But, if you could look out for them too, man, well, I’d appreciate it.”