Lace and Sin (Sinners Series Book 1) (20 page)

Chapter 23

Kayla

They say when something traumatic happens in your life,
you realise what you’ve taken for granted in the past.

Me? I know everything I’ve done wrong. I know that I shouldn’t
have been so reserved. I know I should have loved more, and enjoyed those
moments in life. Being more grateful to my Uncle for giving me the life I had,
teaching me the things I know, and being the saviour to the young and hurt girl
that turned up on his doorstep all those years ago.

Before Carter, my life was a washed out black and
white, no grey in between existence. No time spent enjoying little things like
a fish named Romeo, or cartoons as a child. No time spent telling the people I
cared for how much they mean to me. Alek and Uncle Johnny were the only ones I
had left up until Carter pushed his way in, a streak of bright red right
through the centre of my black and white.

I should have told him I loved him, told him he meant
just as much to me after several months as those that have been by my side
since the beginning.

There’s a slight tugging sensation at my side, and
then it’s gone before I can even begin to worry about it or wonder what it is.

I struggle to open my eyes, and when I finally manage
I see Carter lying uncomfortably on the spare seat next to the bed, my mind
registering that I’m in a hospital. God, how I hate hospitals. His long legs
are stretched out in front of him, as his muscly frame is slumped low in the
seat, allowing him to rest his head against the top of chair.

He looks gorgeous - his dark hair messy, the stubble I
love on him, and his perfect lips falling open slightly with each breath as he
sleeps restlessly.

Before I can speak or survey the room further, my eyes
feel heavy again as they shut involuntarily.

Chapter 24

Carter

Two days, two miserable days of my life that I’ve
spent pacing back and forth in the hospital hallways while they dug the bullet
out. Two days I spent reliving what happened when the officers asked me for
details. And two days since I’ve seen those pretty eyes of hers stare back at
me.

I gently carry her through the front door of my
apartment and head straight for the bedroom, Alek and Jimmy tailing behind me
like lost puppies.

They agreed to let us take her home, provided we had a
medical expert stop by regularly to check on her. I just wanted to get out of
the busy hospital and have her comfortable in my king size bed, hopefully with
me by her side taking care of her. She’s been on seriously strong medication
for the pain, so she’s been in and out of consciousness regularly now, mumbling
something here and there occasionally. Not sure if she’ll remember anything.

I slide her under the covers, and grab a glass of
water and the pills from her bag, placing them on the bedside table. The three
of us staring down at her like some weirdos, so I usher them out of the room to
let her sleep more.

We sit in my living room, barely watching what’s
playing on the TV as we all wait for the doctor to arrive for her first visit.
Finally there’s a knock on the door, and I practically jump out of my seat and
run to the door to let him in.

He’s an older man with greying hair, with a medical
bag held tightly in one hand. He does the quick hello to everyone in the living
room, and I point him towards my bedroom. Surprisingly, Kayla’s not in bed, and
before I can freak out she steps out of the bathroom as she’s tugging on one of
my t-shirts with a sheepish grin.

The doctor shakes his head, “You should be resting,
Mrs Monroe.”

Shit I forgot I told them she was married to me,
that’s the only reason they let me take her home, otherwise for all they know I
could have been a total stranger to her. She gives me a quick raised brow at
the doctor’s words, but then smiles as she slips under the covers – flinching
lightly as she pulls on her healing wound.

The doctor does his business, and has a quick chat
with her about how she’s feeling. He tells her to keep her fluids up and to
rest in bed for another few days until she’s stronger. I practically see her
roll her eyes at that.

I thank the doctor and take the bottle of fresh pain
killers from him as I walk him out the door, then practically run back to the
bedroom now that I know she’s awake.

She’s standing by the window, looking out onto the
city below. She doesn’t acknowledge my presence, but I know she heard me come
in since I practically burst through the door eagerly. I close the door behind
me and slowly walk towards her, eyeing her bare legs that are hardly covered by
my shirt.

I wrap my arms around her waist as gently as I can,
and kiss her shoulder one, twice, and then up her neck.

“How are you doing?” I ask stupidly, because she must
be in pain, and completely worn out after everything that’s happened.

“I’m okay…all things considered” she says and sighs.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asks as she turns in my arms, wincing
again as the movement pulls on her side.

“Stop moving so much, Kay” I say and try to walk her
over towards the bed, “Get back in bed.”

“No…I’m not a cripple” she says and wraps her arms
around herself, lowering her head a little as if ashamed.

I wrap one arm around her waist again, and gently pull
her chin up so she’s looking at me, “What’s wrong darlin?”

She hesitates, biting on her lip, before she finally
says, “I killed someone the other day…I never would have thought I’d do that.
Even when I thought of killing Mikhalov I knew I’d never have gone through with
it.”

“You did what you had to do Kay, I would have done the
exact same thing” I say, but she’s shaking her head at me gently.

“I get that, I really do Carter. It’s just that…should
I feel guilty because of it? I don’t know…maybe even remorseful?” she takes a
deep breath as her eyes search mine momentarily, “because I don’t, Carter. Does
that make me a bad person?”

“No, not at all” I say quickly, “If you didn’t, he
would’ve killed you instead, and I definitely prefer you alive than some hard
ass that no doubt hurt thousands of people for Mikhalov.”

She nods once.

“Did you find the papers?” she asks.

I quirk my brow in response confused, before I ask,
“What papers?”

“Shit, they’re probably still at Mikhalov’s. We have
to go get them before anyone else finds them” she says and tries to get out of
my grip.

“You’re not going anywhere, you’re supposed to be in
bed resting - doctors’ orders” I grin.

She breaks out of my hold and plants a hand on her
hip, ready to object anything I say.

“You so much as think of locking me in here, I swear
to god Carter. I’m fine, how many times do I have to say that? I learned to
take a hit, so you’re either coming with me, or you can sit around here moping
around with the other two.”

I open my mouth to speak, but can’t find the right
words to reason with her. In the end I find myself grinning at her strength and
determination.

Chapter 25

Kayla

The same set of trees I’d used to climb on to the
solid brick wall of Mikhalov’s manor is where we’re now standing.

“Are you insane?” Carter’s voice comes from beneath me
in a hushed tone, as I hike myself up onto the second branch.

I let my legs dangle from my sitting position and wait
for Carter to catch up to me. I look over the wall onto the other side where
the tennis court and swimming pool is, the darkness surrounding the stretch of
property.

“How do you plan on getting back over” he asks with a
grunt, as he heaves himself onto the branch I’m sitting on.

I grin mischievously, “We’ll drive out.”

The entire property has been taped off with police
tape, not that it’s stopping us get in obviously, and there’s a rent-a-cop
driving around back and forth through the streets that surround the manor.

I stand warily on the branch and grin down at Carter,
“This is where it gets tricky.”

“
Now
it gets
tricky?” he asks as he laughs at me. His eyes stay on me the whole time, as I
jump and grab hold of the branch above me, I swing back and forth momentarily,
until my legs are right above the wall. I let go and hear his sharp intake of
breath behind me as I land perfectly on top of the solid wall.

My side still aches mildly, but because of the
medication I’m on it’s kind of a numb feeling at the moment – thank Christ for
that. I clutch my side as I breath in and out, waiting for him to execute the
same manoeuvre. He lands a little more solidly and roughly than I did, but
still keeps his balance next to me.

“Okay, I lied. This is where it gets tricky because
it’s a little further down than I remember.”

“Just watch your side, I don’t want you ripping it
open Kay” he says as he gives my hand a quick squeeze.

“Watch and learn” I say as I fix my stance. My toes
pointed straight, as I extend my arms out and push myself off the wall with my
feet. I don’t do a flip this time but manage to land in a low crouch, one leg
bent, while the other is extended out straight to my side.

Before I can turn around, Carter jumps off the wall
and lands loudly in the bushes behind me. There’s a groan and then he’s
climbing out on all fours, twigs stuck in his hair. I can’t help but laugh at
him, as he crawls his way over to me and collapses on his back by my feet.

“You okay?” I ask with a smirk.

He nods once, so I squat down beside him and run my
fingers through his hair, pulling out the little leaves and twigs.

“Carter…I love you” I finally say, smile on my lips.

He grins wide and tugs me down by the back of my neck,
kissing me hard at first, but then leaving just a few soft kisses against my
lips.

“I love you too darlin, you infuriating, insane,
woman” he laughs and stands up, brushing himself off. We walk hand in hand
across the yard, not in the slightest worried, because the dogs are gone and
there are no guards anymore. Mikhalov was arrested and there’s no way in hell
he’s getting out anytime soon.

The property has been seized for the time being, and
is taped off for further investigation. Diamonds still glistening in their
glass cases, cars still sitting untouched in his garage, and the papers are no
doubt still intact in the vent where I passed out – hopefully.

“My life was kind of tame before I met you, Kay” he
says beside me in the darkness, squeezing my hand lightly again.

“Tame? I highly doubt that Carter…You stole cars for a
living” I chuckle.

“I
used
to
steal cars, past tense.”

“So we’re not taking a car for a spin on the way
home?”

He turns to me with a grin on his face at the sound of
disappointment in my voice. We reach the garage, and I motion with my hand for
Carter to do his thing.

“Not your first time if I remember correctly, so go
ahead, show us what you got.”

He pulls something out of his back pocket and slips it
into the lock, jiggling the handle a little and pulling the door open within a
matter of seconds. We’re only met with silence since there’s no alarms set at
the moment.

“Just so you know, I was a little distracted when I
did this at the realtors, your crutch was like right in my face” I say as I
wiggle my fingers in front of me.

He laughs hard, the booming sound echoing through the
garage as we take several steps in. Since we’re in no real hurry, and there’s
no danger of being caught, we take a moment to walk around and admire the cars.
I run my fingertips against the hood of a bright yellow Lamborghini, and keep
making my way down the line of parked cars until I pause, mouth wide open.

“Carter…I’ve found the car we’re taking” I yell to him
and see he’s fiddling with a lock on a little cupboard. He finally unlocks it
and opens the door, exposing about twenty sets of car keys hanging all lined up
in neat rows.

I grin wide and pluck the ZR1 keys from their place,
and Carter grins in response, “Good choice.”

“I didn’t even realise this was here last time I was
in here.”

We make our way into the house, not bothering with how
loud we are, until we’re finally standing under the vent – neither of us saying
anything as we look up at it.

“Can you hoist me up?” I ask Carter. For some reason
I’m nervous, not sure why since it’s good news I’m about to give him. Maybe I’m
worried that they’re not in fact here where I thought they were. I grab onto
the open vent and cringe when a sharp pain slices through my side, a groan
escaping my lips. So Carter automatically drops me back down and wraps his arms
around my waist.

“You okay?”

“Yeah” I try to nod, eyes squeezed shut tightly.

“I’ll go up there and get them” he says as he pulls
away and grabs a nearby chair. He places it under the vent and heaves himself
up. I wait silently, breath held for some stupid reason.

“Are they there?” I finally ask, and get no response,
“Carter?”

There’s a small movement, and he finally slides out of
the vent and drops to the ground softly. He leans against the closest wall and
slides down to the ground to sit. I walk over cautiously and sit beside him,
placing my hand on his bent knee in what is hopefully a comforting gesture.

He’s holding the papers in his firm grip, reading over
the document thoroughly.

“You found this here?”

“I killed someone over it too” I admit and his head
turns to me quickly, eyes staring into mine, so I keep talking.

“I planned on taking everything away from Abram, and I
don’t think it could have worked out better. Everything goes to you, Carter,
everything is yours. Everything I’ve been through is worth it to know it’s
going to someone like you.”

“I don’t want all this” he says and looks around him,
“I’ll give it away. Give it to someone who needs it more than I do.”

“That’s why I was glad it went to you…I knew you’d do
something good with it.”

“You seriously killed that guy over these documents,
Kay? It wouldn’t have been worth it if you died on me, Kayla. I’d rather
you
with me, than any of this” he
gestures with his hand, papers still gripped firmly between his fingers.

“I got my revenge and I got you, Carter, there
couldn’t be anything sweeter than that” I say as I slip my hand into his free
one, sliding my fingers between his, “you made me want other things in life,
you made me want the whole romance, hearts and flowers type stuff. But only
because it was coming from you.”

He grins wide and tugs me hand, so I slide my leg over
his and straddle him as his back presses against the wall. He kisses up my neck,
softly against my lips a few times before slipping his hand against the back of
my neck, and pulling me in for a harder, slightly rougher kiss.

“You’re the only one I’ve found worth doing all the
hearts and flowers for” he says as his forehead presses against mine, “now
let’s go and steal us a nice car, darlin” he says and smacks my ass.

We hop into the ZR1, my cheeks hurting from grinning
so hard. I grip the steering wheel so hard from nerves, excitement, adrenaline,
I don’t even know what. I just can’t believe I’m about to drive this beautiful
car.

I start the car up and turn to Carter, only to find him
watching me with an amused smirk on his face.

“You don’t understand, Carter…this car…it’s just…god
she’s beautiful.”

I put it into gear and press the button for the roller
door. We sit silently as we watch the door roll up, and then I slowly release the
clutch as I accelerate.

I haven’t turned the head lights on yet, as we slowly
roll down the driveway towards the iron gates. Once we reach them, Carter
quickly hops out of the car, fiddles with the gate panel, and they slowly open
wide. I move the car through the gates and onto the stretch of road outside the
manor, checking both ways first to make sure the rent-a-cop isn’t on his
journey around.

Carter closes the gates and hops back into the car,
and I flick the head lights on and accelerate. My laughter filling the tiny
space of the car as we speed down the empty street, and I find myself
overwhelmed with how amazing this feels.

The car feels powerful and fast as I change gears and
pick up speed. We turn out onto another street and head out towards the
highway, the back end sliding out slightly but I keep control. I turn to Carter
with a grin and ask, “Fast or slow?”

He gives me a smirk, before he answers the exact same
way I did when he asked me that, “Fast…always fast babe.”