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The visit to the hospital took several hours while we made sure EJ's mom could stay until the foundation in New York had made all the arrangements necessary to move her to the new clinic. In the twenty-minute ride to EJ’s house, she had fallen asleep in my arms. Seeing her mom like that had drained her. I knew the feeling all too well.
"Hey, we're here." I nudged her when we pulled into her driveway.
I climbed out of the car and offered her my hand. She took it, shaking her head as red crept up her pretty cheeks. "Some date, huh? I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize."
When we reached her front door, she turned to face me. Her hand squeezed mine as if she was afraid I would disappear. "We could finish our meal here."
I pressed my body against hers. The kiss we’d shared in the car still sizzled on my lips. And fuck me if I didn't want more of that, more of her. But I’d made a choice tonight. I glanced over my shoulder at Rex’s so-called driver. When he met my gaze, he grabbed our packaged dinner and brought it over.
"Give us a minute." I braced my hand next to EJ's face, not bothering to look at him.
"If I had a dime for every time one of you did something stupid to impress a pretty girl, I'd be filthy rich.” The old man mumbled on his way out.
"What did you do?" EJ cupped my neck.
"The right thing," I whispered.
Before I could stop myself, I caught her mouth. A little moan escaped her lips and sent a desire-induced shock through me. For two years, I’d been drifting from city to city, empty, aimless. In a few hours, EJ had made all of that go away. I didn't care that Rex was on his way here to take me to New York. That was bound to happen sooner or later. At least, I had gotten the chance to do some good.
I deepened the kiss, tasting all of her, until I ran out of breath and had to pull away. "I need to go."
"Okay." She panted a breath as her brows furrowed in confusion.
I wanted to say, "I'll see you later," but that would be a lie. Fuck my life. I strode to the Escalade.
"Drive fast. I want this farce over with."
Twelve minutes later, we pulled into the St. Regis roundabout. I climbed out and headed straight for the hotel bar. Not that a few drinks would wash EJ's taste from my mouth, but I had to try.
When I strode through the threshold, the bar was empty. I rolled my eyes and scanned every dark corner of the place. Sure enough, Rex Valentino sat on the opposite end, legs out in front of him, a whiskey in his hand.
I ambled over to him. "The king himself came for me. I must be moving up in the world." I made a wide gesture with my arms and dropped a curtsy. "My liege."
"Are you done?" He stood.
"What do you want?"
"I was told you were ready to come home." He cradled my neck, cocking his head to look me in the eye. "I wanted to see it for myself."
Rex was a couple of years older than me, same as my brother. We, more or less, grew up together. Even though our families never got along, we all belonged to the same century old secret society of mobsters. Rex's dad had died a few months ago, which meant Rex was now the king of everything. No matter what we called ourselves or for how long, we were all still no more than criminals.
"Just like that. I take off, and now you welcome me back into the fold with open arms?"
He shrugged. "You know how it is."
"Yeah, no one ever leaves."
"Your family needs you. We're under attack. Come home now."
I exhaled, somewhat disappointed that Rex simply wanted me in New York. No retaliation. No revenge. No punching. I had hoped for some sort of atonement. "Is it true? What they say? My sister is living with you now."
His dark gaze snapped up to mine, and he dropped the friendly act. "That was her choice."
"I seriously doubt it. She hates your guts. Always has. Always will." I unbuttoned my suit jacket and stuffed my hands in the pockets of my trousers, leaving myself wide open. "I'd like to remind you of the promise you made to our mother."
"I haven't forgotten. Your sister is safe with me. In time, she'll come to understand."
