Page 7 of Kingpin's Secret Baby

The past and the future layer over each other, making my vision fuzzy and my thoughts into clouds, returning me to that fateful moment in the library. If we had kissed then, if we had done more, would I have made a different choice?

Piers leans into me now, his breath brushing over my cheeks. His fingers trace my chin, and despite the feather soft touch, I jump. When his thumb touches my bottom lip, I let them part. His other hand cups the back of my neck, so warm that it turns my spine to liquid.

Lips brush my temple, sending prickles across my hairline as he murmurs, “Maybe we were something else too.”

I suck in a breath and let my eyes roll closed. His mouth moves over my forehead, his fingertips running down my neck. Can he feel how hard and fast my heart is beating? I swallow and his lips curve in a smile against my brow.

This is better than any of my dreams ever were. It’s even better than my most lucid withdrawal hallucinations. Still, when was the last time I could trust my own mind? I saw a different version of Piers in the airport just this morning after all, seconds before the shootout.

What makes me sure that this moment is any more concrete?

“Are you real?” I whisper, not daring to open my eyes. “Or am I still coming down?”

If I open my eyes, will Piers be gone? I’m afraid to find out now.

There’s a horrible silence, and I flinch and open my eyes, expecting to actually be alone in my room. But Piers is still there, still so close, his green eyes a little wide.

“What?” he asks, sounding startled. I feel the puff of air on my lips, but it still seems surreal.

I can’t think of what to respond with, and when I stay silent, he leans back, taking his warmth with him. I almost lean after him, but he’s already walking toward the door. It closes too loudly behind him, and leaves me in silence.

Chapter 4

Piers

Leaving Fantasia’s room doesn’t help me breathe any easier. The stairs feel like they’re moving under my feet, and I’m threatening to burst right out of my skin.

Incredible. I didn’t even kiss Fantasia on the mouth, and my body is acting like I just had three hours of hard sex with her.

Fuck, I shouldn’t be visualizing that right now, because I almost miss a step and tumble to my death.

There’s a voice in the back of my head that’s trying to tell me all of this was a big mistake- and I’m having a harder and harder time ignoring it. I came here to reconcile my relationship with Fantasia, to tell her that she’s forgiven if we can just… start again. I’d wanted to bring her home, sooner rather than later, once all of our misunderstandings had been cleared up.

But she refuses to be in my presence, and even when she allows me closer she isn’t even sure I’m real.

I’ve been punished for my own hubris more than once in my life, but the stakes were usually much lower than this. When I was five I tried to hold and pet a feral cat, only for it to scratch at my face so brutally I almost lost an eye. When I was seven I tried to make myself and the other kids in the orphanage breakfast without adult supervision, and nearly burned the building down. When I was fifteen I tried to get away with shoplifting an entire Thanksgiving turkey, only for a cop to catch me and pop me in the mouth when I backtalked him.

I like to think that so long as my will is strong enough, I’m untouchable. Even when my actions bounce back on me, as long as I can laugh in the face of the pain, I consider myself a winner.

But I can’t laugh at Fantasia, not after she’s asked me if I even exist.

Barnes and Armstrong seem to have left off unpacking for now, or perhaps they’re already finished, because I find them downstairs in the kitchen. I don’t have the patience for small talk right now, even though I excel at small talk.

“What did Achilles say?” I ask, bracing myself.

Barnes and Armstrong both look at me with raised eyebrows, and I stare back at them.

“Have you contacted him?” I press. “About the men at the airport?”

“Oh… no,” Barnes says. “We were collecting our thoughts about the whole thing first.”

They were right there and saw what happened firsthand, unlike me who only caught glimpses of the men and snatches of their words. “So? What happened back there?”

Armstrong meets my eyes a little too fixedly, as if daring me to look away. I don’t care for it. “We saw two men coming through the crowd, and to both of us it looked like they were in a hurry, and going straight for Fantasia. We intercepted them, and they were immediately hostile. One of them shoved at Barnes. I showed them my gun, and they immediately pulled on us.”

Barnes nods his bushy head. “I fired two shots. They were warnings and hit the tile right at their feet, but it might have been better if I took out one of their knees. They’d pulled first, but I think they did it for show, because as soon as I fired they backed off. At that point the damage was done though.”

Yes it was. I’m still waiting for a knock at the door from the police, and wondering what the hell I’ll do when it comes.

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