Claiming Carter (17 page)

“His dad is a casino owner in Chicago. They make a lot of money, Lily,” Lexy said. “I don’t see how this proves anything. It’s all far-fetched. Why are you reaching? Unless, of course, you
want
him to be a mob boss.”

I took a sip of my drink and frowned at Lexy in confusion. “Why would I want him to be a mob boss?”

“Because it’s dangerous,” Lexy said with a devilish grin spread across her face.

“And you’re under the impression that I
want
to be in danger?”

“Oh, I
know
you want to be in danger.” Lexy held onto her devious smile.

“Have you had too many Cosmos?” I joked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh, sure it does. You see, I know just how boring your life has been, especially when it comes to men. No excitement, no thrill, no surprises. Nothing that gets your adrenalin pumping. Nothing that makes you hot. But, if Kelvin is a mob boss, all of a sudden he just transformed into the sexy, dangerous bad boy that you’ve been wanting and needing in your life.”

It took me a moment to process everything that Lexy had just said, and maybe it was because I knew it was true—at least for the most part. Sure, my life was mundane, and it was true that deep down inside I knew I wanted some excitement. But was this the kind of excitement I was looking for? Was this the kind of excitement that
any
girl was looking for? If Kelvin was indeed a mob boss, that would mean that he was a very rich and powerful man. It also would mean that he was a very dangerous man. Every woman wants their man to be rich and powerful. But what if he’s dangerous, too?

“I’ve never thought of it that way, actually,” I said to Lexy, who had just ordered her fourth Cosmo. “A little bit of bad boy is fine, but I don’t want to date a dangerous mob boss. If he really is in the mob, doesn’t that mean that I should stay away from him?”

“Come on, Lily. You and I both know that there is no way in hell that Kelvin is a mob boss. Yes, he’s attractive, and yes, he dresses exceptionally well, and yes, maybe I’m a little jealous of you because you get to have heart-pounding, lustful, sweaty sex with him. But there is no chance of him being a mob boss. You know it’s true. It’s 2013, Lil. I don’t even think the mafia still exists.”

I let out a loud sigh. “You’re probably right. Maybe I shouldn’t be letting this stuff get to me. It’s coming from Timothy Bulger, for heaven’s sake.”

“And that, my dear Lily, is the kicker. The fact that Tim is the one who told you this heap of rat shit is the number one reason you shouldn’t be giving it any attention. He’s a desperate asshole who would say anything to get you back. While I am glad to see that he has finally realized just how good of a catch you are, and just how much of a dirty pirate hooker Angela Bronson is, he had his chance and he ruined it. Don’t let him ruin your chances with Kelvin next.”

Just as it began to settle in that I should listen to Lexy, her cell phone chimed.

“Wow,” she said. “It’s a text from Michael. He’s says he’s sorry and he wishes I would come home.”

“Aww, that is so sweet. Don’t be too hard on the guy, Lex. You know Mike is a good man.”

“Yeah, I know. I hate to cut this short, and I know you have a lot going through your head right now, but I really should get back to my little crazy husband.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I replied. “Go home, sweetie. Your family needs you. I’ll be fine.”

Lexy and I finished off our last Cosmos and headed for the parking lot together. I let her take the first cab that arrived. When my cab came rolling up, I was glad to see that I didn’t have the same driver as before.

The ride home was quiet. All I could think about was Kelvin. It was true that I didn’t know much about him, but we were just beginning. If we were going to pursue a relationship together, we were going to have plenty of time to get to know each other, so there was no need to rush into anything. There was plenty that Kelvin didn’t know about me, too. So, who was I to judge him?

By the time I made it home, I had come to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to get caught up in Tim’s games. It was obvious that he wanted me back, and it was unfortunate that he would go to such extremes to get what he wanted. But, nonetheless, I was happy with where I was in my life, and Kelvin offered me an opportunity to have some mystery as well.

The cab pulled into my driveway and I was quick enough with my purse this time to avoid a dirty look from the driver. When I reached my front door and tried to put my key in the lock, I was shocked to see that the door was already partially open. Had I left the door open by accident when I left?

I scrunched my forehead in confusion as I pushed my way into the house, only to find that everything inside had been ransacked. My couch was flipped over. My lamps were broken and thrown on the floor. Pictures I had on the walls had been snatched off and seemingly stomped on. And my cat was nowhere to be found.

As the tears began to force themselves to the surface, my cell phone rang. My confusion only grew stronger when I saw that it was Kelvin.

“Hello? Lilliana?” Kelvin said. He seemed to sense my emotion after I didn’t answer him. “Lilliana, what’s wrong?”

It took me a moment to be able to form the words as the emotion I was feeling was preventing me from speaking clearly, and my words kept getting stuck in my throat. So, I took a deep breath to settle myself.

“If you could come over to my house right now, Kelvin, I would really appreciate it,” I said as I continued struggling to hold back my tears.

“Okay, sure,” Kelvin replied. “But is everything okay?”

“No, Kelvin, it’s not okay,” I said as the tears finally began to spill over. “Someone broke into my house.”

I could hear the blare of the Ducati engine clearly as Kelvin came speeding down the road. I’d told him that my house had been broken into only a few minutes ago and he was already here—before the police.

I sat on my couch, holding onto Meghan—who I’d found scared for her life in my bathtub—as Kelvin came barging into the front door that I’d left open for him. As he rushed in, my eyes immediately noticed his high-priced red suit that looked like it must have cost him a fortune. His black-and-red shoes were perfectly shined and didn’t have a scratch on them. It never ceased to amaze me that Kelvin’s clothes always looked like they had never been worn before. It was like he only wore clothes and shoes if they were brand new, and he threw away anything that had already been worn. Even in my emotional state, I couldn’t stop staring at him. I was totally distracted by his opulent style and his perfectly caramel skin tone, as I watched him pull off his motorcycle helmet.

“Son of a bitch,” Kelvin exclaimed as he got his first look at my trashed living room, simultaneously breaking my trance. “Who did this, Lilliana?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea who it could have been. It’s not like I have really nice things in here. I’m a fucking teacher. I don’t make tons of money and flood my house with expensive shit. I don’t deserve this.”

“I know. Nobody deserves this, whether they have expensive things or not,” Kelvin sneered. It was then that I realized how bad my venting must have sounded to him.

“I’m sorry,” I backtracked. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You’re right, nobody deserves this. I just can’t believe somebody broke into my house. What if I would have been here? Or, did they think I was here, and that’s why they broke in in the first place? What if somebody was trying to hurt me?” It was the first time that the thought had occurred to me, and now that it had, I was terrified that it might be true.

“Did you check to see if anyone was still in the house?”

“Yeah, I checked. That’s how I found Meghan. She was in the bathtub, scared out of her mind.”

“I’m so sorry, Lilliana,” Kelvin sympathized as he pulled me up from my couch and gave me a hug. I laid my head on his muscular chest and inhaled deeply, falling into his masculine, sexy aroma. As he held me, the comfort of his arms seemed to ease the pain I was feeling. In the moments that are the most frustrating, it’s the loving arms of someone that you care about that offers you the most comfort. It was true that I’d just met Kelvin, but it was also obvious that after the few days we’d known each other—and the amazing night we’d spent together—that Kelvin and I were certainly beginning to grow real feelings for each other. How fast he’d shown up to my house to make sure I was okay and offer me comfort proved that he cared about me, and the comfort his burly arms gave me in my time of stress and worry proved that I cared about him. Kelvin could have blown me off. He could have given me the best sex of my life and then never called me again. It could have been a one night stand, but it wasn’t. It was obvious that he wanted more than just sex from me. He wanted
me
, and I knew it because he was here now.

Our romantic embrace was interrupted by the sounds of police sirens. The red and blue lights quickly filled the street and danced off of the garages and windows of my neighbors, who responded by staring out of their windows to try to see what all the fuss was about.

The first officer to walk in was a tall, chubby white guy with a bushy brown mustache.

“Lily Hayes?” the officer said as he approached me, pointing at me with the end of his flashlight.

“Yes, I’m Lily Hayes.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Officer Jacobs from the Chicago PD,” the husky officer stated. “And this is my partner, Officer Jenkins.” Just as the first cop made the introduction, the second officer stepped over the threshold. This one was shorter but obviously in much better shape, and much older—at least mid-forties. His blonde hair was loose and obviously messy on purpose, and I could basically see the ego rising off of him as he strutted in.

“Good evening, Ms. Hayes,” the pretty blonde said. “I would say that it’s nice to meet you, but I guess it would be better if it wasn’t under these circumstances.”

“Sure,” I replied.

“Okay, Ms. Hayes, let’s go ahead and get started,” Officer Jacobs continued. “First things first, is there anything missing from the premises?”

“Not that I have noticed. It almost looks like they just came in and trashed the place.”

“Interesting. Usually when we have break-ins like this, where nothing is stolen, it usually means one of two things: either it was just a vandalism—probably some young punks having their version of fun—or the break-in was personal, meaning someone broke in to look for something. Giving the circumstances and the evidence at hand so far, it’s pretty hard to tell at this point.”

“It feels like vandalism to me,” Officer Jenkins chimed in from the kitchen. “Only some of the drawers have been pulled out and dumped onto the floor. If someone was looking for something in particular, they would have gone through all of your drawers. The ones that haven’t been dumped onto the floor, haven’t been touched at all. If I had to guess, I’d say vandalism.”

“But you don’t know that for sure?” I said.

“Well, nothing is for certain, but we can only work with the evidence,” Officer Jacobs replied. “We’re going to do a sweep around the house and take some photos, and then we’ll be on our way. Just sit tight.”

The two police officers took a few minutes to walk around the house and look over everything, jotting down notes as they went. I knew that the chances of them finding anything of importance were slim to none, which only served to make me feel more uncomfortable being in the house.

When the officers returned, Kelvin and I were sitting together on the couch. I stood up as the officers approached us.

“Well, that just about does it, Ms. Hayes,” Officer Jacobs said. “If you find anything that the vandals may have left behind, or any kind of evidence at all, you be sure to give us a call.”

“I will, but are you sure that there isn’t anything else you guys can do? I mean, I just don’t feel comfortable staying in the house after it has been broken into.”

The pretty officer reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small card with his name typed across it.

“Here’s my card. If you feel unsafe and you need someone to come assure you that everything is okay, you just call me. I’d be glad to come out and see you.”

I heard Kelvin exhale loudly from his spot on the couch behind me.

“You might as well keep your card,
officer
,” Kelvin snapped. “I’ll be here to give her all the reassurance she needs.” Kelvin’s voice had a harsh tone in it that I hadn’t heard before.

“I’m sorry, and who might you be?” Officer Jacobs asked, as if seeing Kelvin for the first time.

“Kelvin Carter Jr.” Officer Jenkins answered. Obviously he knew exactly who Kelvin was.

“You know this guy?” Jacobs asked.

“I’ve known the family for a while,” Jenkins answered, then he turned his attention back to Kelvin. “Staying out of trouble, Kelvin?”

“Sure,” Kelvin responded bitterly. The expression on his face was menacing

“Good. Keep it that way.” Jenkins then turned to Jacobs. “Let’s go, partner.”

The situation had suddenly turned into something awkward and I found myself confused.

Just as the officers were about to step outside, Jenkins turned around and spoke to Kelvin. “Say hi to daddy for me.”