Reckless Temptations (The Tempted Series Book 4) (12 page)

“So what changed?” He asked, surprising me with the sincerity I found in his voice.

“You ever see a baby born with his lungs outside of his chest?” I asked, lifting my eyes to his. “A little person, so helpless, relying on you and a team of doctors to help him make the twenty-four-hour mark. You don’t even have a chance to process that you and your colleagues are playing God with this precious little baby’s life. All hands are on deck and everyone has a job to do even the new intern. Granted, I was just assisting the registered nurses, but I was there, I was a part of that baby’s team. I watched as his dad cried outside the room, wishing there was something he could do, something he could change, hating that we were the people who could help his son and not him.”

I shook my head, closing my eyes, as the memories assaulted me. It was a game changer for me, the pivotal moment in my life, realizing I wasn’t cut out for the life I thought I wanted. I wanted to believe in medicine. I wanted to heal. But I couldn’t watch people die. And a doctor isn’t God, doctors can’t save everyone, sometimes people just die.

“My shift was over and by that time the baby was critical but stable. His mother still had yet to hold him and his father struggled to make the right decisions. The next morning I returned to work, and the baby had passed away,” I whimpered. “I cried for days, didn’t go to school, and I called in sick to the hospital. I couldn’t do it, Riggs, I couldn’t become a nurse because I’m too weak. I’d get too close to my patients, and I’d lose it every time I lost one. It’s inevitable, people die. We all can’t live forever but that baby didn’t even live one day.”

“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “I’m sorry you lost a patient, Kitten. I’m sorry those folks lost their baby,” he soothed, as he reached across the table and took my hand in his.

“Me too,” I whispered. “I can’t do it Riggs, I can’t be a nurse,” I confessed.

“Then don’t be,” he said simply. “So, you had a plan, plans change. Shit happens, Lauren, that’s why there are things called detours. So take your detour and I promise you, you’ll get where you’re going eventually,” he urged.

“I’ve made such a mess of things, Riggs. I’ve been lying to my mother and Anthony for months. On top of breaking my mother’s heart—”

“Your mother’s got thick skin, she’ll get over it and if she doesn’t…then it’s her problem. I learned a long time ago you can’t live your life pleasing others,” he interjected. “You will have to tell them sooner or later, no reason to prolong it and drive yourself crazy. Babe, you’ll be fine. Trust me, it all works out in the end.

“You sound so sure,” I scoffed.

“I stopped traveling the path I thought I was supposed to be on and took a detour. It led me straight to the right road, the one I was destined for. Best decision I ever made, and I have no regrets. I’m sure I should have some, maybe even a little remorse too, but I don’t,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Not for my old life and not for the people I left behind. I choose who I let into my life, and those people accept me for the man I am. They are who I worry about, who I am loyal to and they are who I don’t want to disappoint.”

“Your club,” I said, reading between the lines.

He nodded.

“Take the detour, Kitten,” he coaxed.

He made it sound so simple. He made me wish I could. I just needed a little more time to figure it out. To plan what I would say. As much as I wanted to be a free spirit like Riggs, I didn’t know how. I didn’t know how to live life with no direction.

He dropped my hand and signaled the waitress for the check.

“I’ve got to get back to the city. I have a job I need to do, but we’ll talk more, and if you need help throwing caution to the wind, I’m your guy,” he said, seeing the apprehension in my eyes. He winked at me, enticing me to take him up on his offer.

Throwing caution to the wind with Riggs was probably a bad idea…a really bad idea but oh, so tempting.

Sun Wu was no joke, there was a reason he was named after a warrior. What? You think I would agree to a job without doing my homework? I had his blood type and his family tree memorized before I walked through the door. Nope, not just a pretty face, your boy Riggs has brains too.

He and the Red Dragons were big time players in the MC world. They weren’t a threat to the Knights because we ran in different circles. Most of their operations were overseas, using the New York Harbor to move their weapons and their drugs back home to their pals in Beijing.

Wu wanted me to wire every inch of an apartment he kept over on Mott Street. He was vague about the details of the operation but he was adamant that every square inch of the property was secure. I ran wires through the walls, planted bugs on smoke alarms, and glass eyes in high hats. The place was suited up from the fire hydrant on the curb outside to the microwave in the kitchen.

Thanks to me, Wu had eyes everywhere.

And thanks to him I had a sweet envelope to deliver at Church.

I also had entertainment because there was no way in hell I wasn’t tapping those wires. Sometimes binge watching on Netflix just doesn’t hack it and I need an extra something, something. You know what I mean?

I was packing up my tools, shoving them back into my bag when I heard the roar of engines outside. Sun Wu and his boys started talking in Chinese making me wish I had paid more attention when my mother got me those fancy Mandarin lessons. Instead, I tried getting it on with my Asian Mrs. Robinson.

Wu pulled up the surveillance footage on his iPad and grinned at me.

“A day ago I’d be holding my gun out the window checking to see who was knocking on my door,” he turned the screen around so I could see the Dragons dismounting from their bikes, clear as day might I add.

“You do excellent work, Riggs. I will be sure to tell Jack I appreciate him subbing out your services to the Red Dragons. If there is a way we can serve you in the future, I hope you won’t hesitate to ask,” he said, as he fingered the patch on his cut.

“I’m not the shy type, brother. If you got something I need, bet your ass I’m taking it,” I said, zipping up my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

I decided against asking him if he had an old lady that made fried rice. Homemade fried rice was the shit. I had an Asian nanny once, she made killer fried rice and her spare ribs were off the charts. Real authentic, none of that stuff you find at every Chinese takeout place.

If I ever take an old lady I might make sure she’s Asian.

The door opened, and the Dragons walked in, signaling it was my cue to go.

“It’s been real guys,” I said, patting my cut to where the envelope was safely tucked away. “Pleasure doing business with you,” I said to “Jackie Chan” and the Ninja Warriors. Glancing around at the empty apartment one last time, I wondered what Sun Wu had in store for this place.

I pulled into the compound, killed the engine of my bike and found Bones sitting on top of a picnic table smoking a joint. I tipped my chin toward him before I took a seat on the table next to him.

“Pass that shit,” I said, watching as he blew out a stream of smoke.

“How’d it go with Wu?” He asked, passing the joint.

I took the first pull, welcoming the burn of the herb and shrugged my shoulders.

“In and out, easy job.” I thought about it—Wu, the Red Dragons and how over the top their operation looked. “The Dragons don’t play, huh?”

Bones had been part of the Satan’s Knights for a couple of years now, making him more knowledgeable when it came to rival clubs and how they worked. He had a better understanding of the history between the Knights and the Dragons too. He didn’t need me to tell him that Sun Wu was a lethal bastard, he already knew that.

“No they don’t,” he affirmed. “It’s good for the club that we make nice with him. You doing that job for him shows good faith. We don’t want that guy or his club as an enemy,” He said, taking the joint from me.

“I hear you,” I said, staring at the bikes that lined the Dog Pound, noticing how everyone’s bikes were parked, but the guys were nowhere in sight. “What are you doing out here? Where is everyone?”

He looked at me for a moment, silently, before he offered me the joint again.

“They’re all inside,” he replied finally.

“I’m good,” I said, declining the joint and watching on as he took one last puff.

“I was waiting for you,” he said, blowing out the smoke. He coughed slightly, and I reached over and slapped him on the back.

“Aww you missed me, brother?” I joked.

Bones and I went way back, a brotherhood before either of us ever knew of the Satan’s Knights. His mother, Lorraine, was my family’s housekeeper, the sweetest lady you’d ever have the pleasure of knowing. When we were kids, Lorraine would bring Bones with her on the weekends and we’d play together. We remained close through the years, and while my parents tried to shelter me, Bones was the one who enlightened me. He introduced me to sports, women and pot. And when I broke away from my family, he and his mom welcomed me with open arms.

Lorraine passed away two years ago around the same time Bones became a patched member of the Satan’s Knights. He’s led me on this detour, bringing me into the fold and introducing me to the club. He’s the one who gave me my road name, and it’s because of Bones, I’ve found my place within the MC.

I owe him a lot but he’s never asked for anything other than my friendship. He’s my brother, first and foremost. Always. Until we die.

“Riggs, you know I always got you, right?” He questioned me, both verbally and with his eyes.

“I know and that shit works both ways,” I said, staring back at him, wondering where this was coming from.

He nodded thoughtfully as my phone chimed, signaling I had a text message.

“Everything okay?” I asked, as I reached into my pocket for my phone, glancing down at the screen to see Lauren’s name. I swiped my thumb across the screen and opened the message.

Kitten: Hi…so, I’ve been thinking and I think I’m ready for that detour.

I smiled slightly, about to reply when I realized I was in the middle of a conversation with my friend and he looked all sorts of weird. I lifted my eyes back to Bones.

“Jack wants to see you. They voted on whether to patch you in,” he said, solemnly.

Shit.

“You don’t look too fucking happy. They voted against me?” I asked angrily. That was fucking bullshit. I’ve done everything asked of me and then some, I proved my loyalty and I fucking deserved my patch.

Bones jumped off the table and patted my shoulder.

“Come on, let Jack explain everything,” he ordered.

Fuck that. Jack Parrish could kiss my ass. I shoved my phone into my pocket and hopped off the table. I’d go meet with my so-called brothers, but I wasn’t about to listen to some bullshit excuse why they had voted against me.

“Calm down,” Bones warned, quickening his pace to catch up with me as I charged into the Dog Pound.

“I am calm,” I seethed. I very calmly was going to fucking flip their precious, fucking table upside down.

I charged into the Chapel, Bones on my tail, and peeled off my cut that labeled me a prospect, the fucking joke of the Satan’s Knights.

“Riggs, don’t—” Bones started.

“I’m done,” I interrupted throwing my cut onto the table. “You got something you want to say?” I asked the man seated at the head of the table.

Jack raised an eyebrow, diverting his eyes back and forth between me and Bones. Then I heard Bones laugh behind me.

“What the fuck is so funny?” I asked, through gritted teeth as I glanced over my shoulder toward my friend.

They all started laughing.

Every single fucking one of them.

“What is so fucking funny?” I hissed, eyes on the Bulldog as he rose from his seat.

“The brothers and I thought it was time to vote on whether we patch you in,” he explained, as I rolled my eyes. Was he really about to sugar coat this shit for me?

“It was unanimous,” he added.

Blackie rose from his chair, walking toward the back of the room as Jack stood in front of me.

“Congratulations, you’re officially one of the Satan’s Knights,” Jack declared, taking the leather vest Blackie offered him.