A Beautiful Heartbreak ( NYC Series #1) Read online

  “I’m not getting a tattoo.”

  Ki.

  It was her.

  Sweet.

  Soft.

  Voice.

  “Yes, we are,” the other girl said.

  I heard the chair roll back over, and the needle started up again. “Chicks, man.”

  “You almost done?”

  “Yeah. So, we gonna finish your legs next?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s some sick ass shit, man. Anything else you want to add or blend in, just let me know.”

  I wouldn’t be doing that.

  It was enough.

  It helped.

  The process.

  The pain.

  The meaning of my art.

  It helped.

  Visually, the scars were covered. The skin was raised, would be forever, but the scars were gone.

  The girls were talking, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “Thanks.”

  My shirt was on.

  She saw me.

  She smiled.

  Her braces were gone.

  She looked older.

  But good.

  Too good.

  “Prescot.” She took a step toward me but only had eyes for my arms.

  More doves.

  More branches.

  Eighty percent of my body was covered in them.

  She touched me.

  Her hands were soft.

  “Ki.”

  “It’s beautiful.” She ran her hand over my arm and my body relaxed.

  My thoughts slowed.

  My mind calmed.

  “Ki.”

  She looked up at me with soft green eyes.

  She was still addictive.

  Hypnotic.

  Fucking.

  Beautiful.

  “I’m sorry.” She dropped her arm and stepped back. “They’re just really beautiful.”

  You’re beautiful.

  “They are,” her friend said. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Bale.”

  “Alexa.”

  “How did you know my name?”

  “I’m your lawyer.”

  Ki opened her mouth to say something, but Ace interrupted, “Prez, man, you gotta pay up.”

  I pulled out my wallet and handed him five $100 bills.

  I tipped him well.

  “Thanks, man. You know the drill. Call if you have issues.”

  “I won’t.”

  He chuckled and started talking to the girls. Alexa did all the talking.

  Ki watched me.

  I was still here.

  “Ki.”

  She came to me.

  “Can we talk?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Alexa stayed with Ace.

  We were outside.

  “You look great, Ki. Beautiful.”

  “Thank you. Alexa made me dress up to celebrate getting my braces off.”

  “You were just as beautiful with the braces.”

  “Not really, but thanks.”

  She didn’t know.

  Just how beautiful she was.

  “The right man knows just how beautiful you are.”

  She blushed. So beautiful.

  “I’m divorced.”

  “The bitch finally signed the papers, then?”

  “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You did, and I was a complete ass about the situation.”

  “You were.”

  She was honest.

  “Molly’s my assistant.”

  “We’re catching up fast.”

  “I have a lot on my mind.”

  “So do I.’”

  “You still in trouble?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Again, she was honest.

  “My investigator’s very busy, but he is working on it.”

  “I believe you. Alexa has her detective friend following us around tonight just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, I’m not out after dark. Like I’m some sort of princess that will turn into an ogre at sunset.”

  I glanced around.

  Not many people.

  But enough.

  “He’s the bald guy over on the corner.”

  I glanced at him and then back to Ki.

  “You feel safe with him?”

  “Enough to celebrate.”

  The door opened.

  Alexa.

  My time was up.

  “We’re getting that tattoo, eventually.” She hooked arms with Ki. “You ready?”

  Ki looked up at me.

  Sweet.

  Innocent.

  “Can I call you?” she asked softly.

  “Yes.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Please.”

  A small smile. “Soon.”

  Chapter 17 – Ki

  “God,” Alexa said as we walked away from Prescot, “he’s gorgeous, Ki.”

  “I know.”

  “He’s talking to you again.”

  “Yes, he wants me to call.”

  “It’s a great step. So, about the tattoos. I put a deposit down for both of us and he’ll call us in a week or two with some ideas.” I’m nervous about getting something tattooed on my body, but I’d keep an open mind and see what he came up with. It’d be nice to have something we both could get that meant something about our friendship. “Now that my little surprise is over, let’s go dance.”

  “No, I’m going home to call him.”

  “Okay, fine. We’ll call it a night so you can talk to Mr. Hotty-pants.”

  “If you wanted to hang with Blake, I’d be fine.”

  She hesitated and twisted her fingers together. “I don’t know if I like you home alone.”

  “You can walk me home, have him check the apartment and make sure it’s safe. Besides, you’ll come home before the sun comes up, right?”

  “Yes, and he’ll bring me home to double check everything. He’s a gentleman like that.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  After they had checked the apartment, I locked up and changed into some sweats and a T-shirt for bed. I brushed my hair and admired it before brushing my perfect teeth, then headed to bed. The lights were off, and as soon as I crawled into bed, there was a knock on the front door.

  “Alexa,” I groaned getting back out of bed. I flipped the living room light on and undid the locks. The door swung open, and it wasn’t Alexa but three men. I quickly shut the door, but a hand kept me from closing it. “I’m calling the cops!”

  A muffled voice called from the other side of the door, “Ki. We aren’t here to hurt you.”

  I put my back to the door and pushed with all my strength. “How did you know my name?”

  “May we please come in?”

  My heart was racing as I tugged on my ear, but I doubted Lucas could see me inside of my apartment. If Lucas had cameras in here, I’d kick his ass. He did tell me that my life was about to change, and if it was I knew that meant three large men showing up at my door at midnight, I’d never let Alexa or the detective leave.

  I’m so stupid.

  I tugged my ear again and whispered his name while still trying to get the door to shut.

  “Ki, please let up before you break his hand.”

  “Tell me why you’re here?”

  “To talk.”

  “My office hours are Monday through Friday, from eight ‘til five.”

  “I like your wit, but this is off the record.”

  My wit?

  Who the hell are these people?

  I looked at the man’s large hand in the door and it was turning blue. He’s stronger than me, so why didn’t he just push on the door and move me out of his way?

  Why is my life so complicated right now?

  “What’s your name?”

  “I’ll tell you if you open the door so we can chat.”

  The man wiggled his fingers, and I felt bad and defeated, so I slowly moved from the door and op
ened it. If these men were here to take me or kill me, I just sealed my fate. I knew I could only hold them off for a little while, and hopefully, if there was trouble, Lucas would be able to see it and help me somehow.

  I took it as a good sign that when I did release my hold on the door, the men didn’t immediately rush inside my apartment. “Thank you, Ki. May we come in now?” said the man who’d been doing all the talking. He was standing in the middle of the other two men, who I now assumed were his bodyguards. They were both as large at Prescot. Shit, I was supposed to call him. I really wanted to talk to him.

  “Promise not to kill me?”

  “I want you alive, Ki.” The older looking man towered over me. Dressed in black slacks, shiny black shoes, and a matching black overcoat, he exuded power. His knuckles were flattened and scarred, and I could tell he was a rough man with dangerous connections.

  “To torture me?”

  He chuckled and stepped into my apartment with the two men following him.

  “I wanted to meet you,” he said walking to the dining room table. “Let’s have a seat, shall we?”

  He sat, and I shut the door. The two men stood at his side, and I slowly made my way to the table.

  Your life’s about to change.

  Damn that Lucas.

  “You’re pretty, Ki.”

  “Um, thanks.”

  He drummed his fingers on the table, and I waited. I waited to see what was going to come out of his mouth. I wish I had my cell phone. I was so stupid sometimes.

  “I’m just going to come out and say it.”

  “That’d be nice.”

  “I’m your father.”

  The air left my lungs as I whispered, “Excuse me?

  “My name is Donovan Erbach, and I’m your biological father.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Can I tell you a story?”

  “I guess.”

  “I did a lot of drugs in the summer of ‘89. One night, at an outdoor concert, I met a woman. A beautiful, young woman with long brown hair and brown eyes. We spent the entire night together. Doing drugs, having sex, getting to know each other. I knew I wanted to see her again, continue to get to know her, but when I woke the next morning, she was gone. I didn’t know her name, and I was so high that night that I didn’t remember much of anything else.”

  “What does that have to do with me?”

  “You were born in April of ‘90, right?”

  “Yes, how did you know?”

  “Because I’m your father.”

  “My father lives with my mother, far away from here.”

  “Have you talked to your mother this year?”

  “No.”

  “You aren’t close?”

  “No.”

  “Can I ask why?”

  “No.”

  “I found out I had a daughter six months ago,” he paused and the six months rang through my head. Lucas said he’d been following me for six months. “Regardless of how I found out, I wanted to meet you. Get to you know you.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you, so maybe you should go,” I said, pushing my chair back, ready to walk them out.

  “There’s more.”

  I huffed and crossed my arms on my chest. “Great.”

  “I’m sick, Ki. I have Lymphoma and need a bone marrow transplant.”

  “Let me get this straight. You’re telling me that some magical fairy told you that you have a daughter after twenty-seven years, and you just pop on by during the middle of the night to ask for her bone marrow? No warning, no other explanation, just that you want to live and I’m the only person who can save you?”

  He bent his head and his leg bounced up and down. Clearly, he didn’t anticipate me calling him out on his bullshit.

  “Something like that.” he muttered.

  “Fuck. You. You expect me to give two shits about some absentee father that I’m not even sure is mine? Why did you wait six months to meet me? Did you already get my DNA without my permission? You know I’m a match now, and here you are!? Do me a favor, go back to forgetting that I’m worth something to you; go back to not knowing that I exist, because . . .” I took a deep breath and glared at him, “because you didn’t do a damn thing to make me who I am today, except supposedly donate your sperm.” I stood, walked to the door, and opened it. “Get out.” I kept myself together because I wouldn’t fall apart in front of them. “Get out!” I yelled while he just sat there.

  One of the men tapped his shoulder and he stood.

  He stopped at my side before leaving. “Please, Ki, just think about it.”

  “Get out.”

  I slammed the door behind them, ran to my room, and grabbed my phone so I could call my mom.

  “Lucas!” I yelled into my living room. “If you can hear me, you better get your ass up here, right now!”

  I called my mom but the number was disconnected, so I called the grocery store where she worked. It was open twenty-four hours and I ended up leaving a message for her to call me back.

  Then I called my father’s cell, and there was no answer.

  I tapped my phone in my hand while I paced the living room waiting for Lucas.

  My mother did drugs?

  My father wasn’t really my father?

  He was an asshole, but he was my father.

  Right?

  The door opened, and I popped my head up to see Lucas closing it. He stayed by the door.

  “This is what you meant?”

  “Yes.”

  “You knew the entire six months you were following me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did he want you to follow me?”

  “It’s complicated.”

  “Fuck complicated, Lucas! That man thinks I’m his daughter, so he had you follow me to see what? To see if I’m a valuable donor? To know who I am and how I live my life? I don’t get it.”

  “I can only confirm what he’s told you, Ki. He’s your father. He’s sick. He’s a very powerful man.”

  “So, how’d you do it, Lucas? How did you possibly get a sample of my DNA to that scumbag? Huh?” I took a step toward him and he stepped back.

  He wouldn’t meet my eye, and I somehow knew he would never tell me. My heart sank, and I deflated, frustrated by his silence. Everything Lucas had told me felt tainted by what I now knew. I felt used. I felt like everything he told could have been some sick game.

  “Do you love me?”

  “What?”

  “Do you love me, Lucas? Did you mean it?”

  “Of course I do, Ki. I wouldn’t lie about that.”

  I gave him a look that showed my skepticism. I needed him to show his loyalty, and if he loved me, he would finally answer my questions. “Then tell me everything. Why now? Where did he come from? Why not go about this in a different way? Like maybe showing up during work hours. And why did he have two bodyguards? And why did he hire you to protect me, Lucas? What isn’t he telling me?”

  He shook his head.

  “Tell me, Lucas!”

  “Ki, I can’t.”

  I took a step back, understanding that everything Lucas told me was just a ploy to help his boss get closer to me. I couldn’t even stand the sight of him.

  Fuck Lucas Hills.

  “Then get the fuck out!”

  “Ki, please.”

  “Get the fuck out of my house!”

  Chapter 18 – Ki

  I was in the middle of my bed crying when I heard another knock on the door. Not wanting to deal with any more crap, I tried to ignore it so they’d go away but it was useless. I was halfway across the living room when I heard Prescot’s voice on the other side of the door.

  I rushed to the door and flung myself at him as soon as it opened.

  He carried me in and shut the door behind us.

  “Ki.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “You didn’t call.”

  “So, you thought you’d come over i
n the middle of the night?”

  This night would go down as the weirdest night of my life.

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “And my address?” I asked.

  “I’m your lawyer, Ki, and the downstairs door was open.”

  After tonight it was obvious, I needed a security system. I had to lock the bottom door and not just rely on the one at the top of the stairs.

  I heard him lock the door and I pointed to my room, and he carried me in and set me on my bed. I tucked my legs under me, and he sat next to me, just like Lucas had.

  “You still in trouble?”

  “I don’t know anything anymore.” I wiped at my face and tried to stop the tears. “I feel like my life is falling apart, like it’s not even mine.”

  “I get that.”

  “You could have called instead of coming over here but I’m glad you did.”

  He paused, looking off into the dark corners of my room. “I could have.”

  “You don’t talk much, do you?”

  “No.”

  “It’s okay; I don’t really want to talk right now.”

  Another small pause. “I understand.”

  “Do you like me, Prescot?”

  He turned his head, gave me his eyes, and softly said, “Yes.”

  I knew Lucas was listening, or maybe he turned them off since I yelled at him, but I didn’t care. I hope he listened to all of it.

  “Will you lay with me until Alexa comes home?”

  He cleared his throat, and I took that as a yes, so I moved under the covers and he laid down on the pillow next to mine. He was looking at the ceiling, and I was on my side staring at him. As much as I wanted to cuddle him, I stayed where I was. Even though we crossed that line, things have changed between us and I felt like we should start over again.

  I think.

  I don’t know.

  So much was happening; I was trying to keep myself together and on track, but I wanted to sleep for a week and forget about the things that have been happening.

  Forget it all, except for what I shared with Prescot.

  I didn’t want to lose anything I shared or talked about with Prescot.

  “Why can’t you sleep?” I asked after a few minutes.

  “Why were you crying?” he replied.

  We both stayed silent, not wanting to give that little bit about ourselves away, but we would never get anywhere if we didn’t start talking, so I decided to go first.

  “I got some bad news.”

  “Since I saw you at the tattoo shop?”