A Beautiful Forgiveness (the NYC Series Book 3) Read online

  Born and raised in Wyoming.

  She moved to New York City almost a year ago; actually, it was on her twenty-first birthday.

  She received a two-year degree in business but since moving to New York, she’d been employed as a waitress, dog-walker, secretary, and one day a week, she worked overnights at a private nursing home facility.

  Either she needed the money or got bored very easily.

  She also rescued animals and tried to find them homes before they were put to sleep, for good.

  Mom would have liked her. She worked with animals and the elderly. She had a good heart before she got my mom’s. That thought was somehow comforting, and with a final glance, I closed the file and got ready for bed.

  Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

  Chapter 3 – Lucas

  “Hell no!” Alexa said, jumping out of her chair. I was glad to see she was doing much better, both her and Ki were. “No offense,” she pointed at the four guys to my left, “but no. Lucas, you can’t leave us.”

  I looked at Ki who was still in her chair. She was processing the information while looking at the four new guys.

  “They’re good people,” I told her. “I wouldn’t leave you in the hands of just anybody.”

  “I hate that we even have to deal with having a,” she raised her hands and did quotation marks, “‘security team’ but it’s not the same. We’re used to you. We know you’re lurking out there in the shadows. You know everything about us. Where we go, what we like to do, and who our favorite takeout guy is. I just don’t get it.”

  “I’ve got a few other jobs that require my attention.”

  “So, we aren’t good enough anymore?” she shrieked.

  “Lex, stop.” Ki stood. She walked over to me and looked into my eyes with a worried expression on her face. Her eyes looked a little puffy, like maybe she had been crying recently. She finally asked, “Are you okay?”

  Are you okay? I wanted to reply but knew I couldn’t.

  God, I was going to miss her.

  “I’m good, the break helped.”

  “I’m not happy that you’re leaving us, but I understand.”

  “It’s time.”

  Her soft smile told me she really did understand and she leaned in and gave me a hug. “You’ll find what you’re looking for, Lucas, I know you will.”

  She went back to her desk and I was going to ask where Leo was but knew he was only working part-time.

  Alexa was still upset but she sat on her desk and said I could continue.

  I grinned at her, thanking her for her permission, and got introductions out of the way. I went over the basics: Ki and Alexa would still tug their right ear, and I confirmed once again, there were no bugs in their apartment. There were bugs, however, in their office, which I didn’t mention. They were there for protection.

  Shortly after the guys left, when I was saying goodbye to the girls, wishing them nothing but the best, the front door opened.

  “Hey, Emma,” Alexa said, and I watched her sister walk in holding hands with her boyfriend, Ben. “Hey.”

  Her belly was rather large for only being a few months along. She must have seen me looking because she informed me she was having twins. I stayed for a few minutes to catch up and then left. I promised I’d be in touch, as I would always be there for them, but that I wasn’t sure when I’d be back.

  ###

  “So, what have you found on the Richard guy?” I asked Mac, shutting the door to the van. It took off from the curb and I sat down next to him. Our driver, Will, drove us around the city while we worked. He was part of the team, but didn’t carry a gun and tried to stay out of our way. He was a retired truck driver, so he was very good at driving twelve-hour shifts. His cousin, Bill, had the night shift, who was also retired.

  “Finances checked out. He didn’t lie about anything.”

  “Off to a good start.” I flipped through some papers. “Enemies?”

  “None that I can find. He goes to church, has a wife and six kids.”

  “Damn . . . six kids?”

  “Yep, all grown, the youngest is eighteen, got into Georgetown.”

  I nodded and whistled low. “Smart people.”

  “So far so good.”

  We pulled up all the background information on them and started to research each kid. Three hours later, Will had pulled over and parked down the street from the best burger truck in town for lunch. He usually picked where we ate, unless we told him differently.

  “I’ll check in with Lance,” Mac said, climbing out the back of the van. Lance was tailing Richard, and Gunner was tailing the wife, Bettie.

  “I got Gunner, then.”

  Our phones were connected to our earpieces and I was already on channel four, so I put my finger to my ear and hit the small connect button.

  “Gunner.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Checking in.”

  “All good.”

  “Anything out of the ordinary?”

  “Nope. Kind of boring.”

  “We’ve had enough excitement.”

  “Dude, you’ve been gone for three weeks. Three weeks for us felt like a year. It was boring. I love them girls, but shit was boring as hell. Even the people they were following were boring as hell. Nothing happened. No guns. No kidnappings. Nothing.”

  I chuckled knowing Gunner was an adrenaline junkie and hated the boring jobs, but sometimes in life, you gotta slow down and take a break. We’d have to find something to take the edge off him, like him jumping out of an airplane or hunting. He had to feel that adrenaline rush or he’d keep complaining about how bored he was.

  “I’ll check in later.”

  “Out.” Those were always his last words.

  I met up with Mac and Will, and we sat on a bench in front of the park to eat lunch.

  Immediately, my eyes started to sweep the park. I was always watching people; it was like I couldn’t turn that part of my brain off. It was midday, so of course, there were moms grouped together with their kids having a picnic. The perfect blend of chaos: toddlers running around near the large blue quilt, one had what I hoped was pudding on his fingers, and two other children were popping bubbles with shrieks of laughter. Two of the moms looked completely frazzled, their hair escaping the messy buns on top of their heads. I smiled and forced myself to look away. I saw two people powerwalking, both on their cell phones, and an elderly couple, hands clasped as they strolled past.

  Mac stood, tossed his trash in the can, and pulled out a cigarette. “We both have the night off, mate. We gonna hit that bar over on twelfth street?”

  “You just want to get laid.” I tossed my trash in and asked Mac for a cigarette.

  “Fuck off.”

  “Mac,” I warned.

  “You can’t smoke.”

  I looked at him incredulously. “Says who?”

  “You’re in recovery.”

  I sighed. Here we fuckin’ go. Mac was going to act like my babysitter for the next few weeks until he felt like I could handle life on my own. That’s fine, I loved to prove people wrong; I couldn’t wait to show him that I had shit under control. Everyone knew about my past, just like I knew all about their pasts, their demons. You couldn’t do the job we did without knowing who the person was at your side.

  “Why don’t you both stop,” Will said, walking past us. “Stupid fucking cigarettes.”

  Will’s wife passed away from lung cancer ten years ago and despised it when Mac smoked. I walked off, forgetting the damn cigarette, and climbed back in the van, Mac right behind me. Will pulled away from the curb and we went back to work like nothing ever happened.

  At eight pm, Will parked the van in front of Bill’s place and they switched out, which meant Mac and I were off duty, and Lance and Gunner would take the night shift. We had bugs and video planted at the Williams’ house so they’d keep tabs on them while parked down the street from their house. They weren’t in danger, we just had to see if we could
catch them doing anything wrong. People liked to do things when they thought no one was watching.

  Gunner hated the night shift more than anything, but he and Lance would take turns sleeping, so the night would go by faster for them.

  “Come on, mate.”

  “I don’t feel like going.”

  “One drink?”

  “So, you’ll let me drink but you won’t let me smoke a fucking cigarette?”

  He pulled his pack out and handed one to me. “I was an ass. I’m always an ass.”

  “That you are.”

  “Come on, boss.” He slung an arm over my shoulder. “Let’s go crazy.”

  Mac could go crazy and has in the past, but I needed to keep my head clear and focused, so I’d only have one beer.

  Maybe two.

  “Isn’t this fun?” Mac said, slapping his hand on my back. “The ladies are pretty fabulous, don’t you think?”

  I had no interest to look or date. The only woman that had my attention in the past two years didn’t want me, so I was on a break.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re still hooked on Ki.”

  “Christ,” I said, pushing away from the bar. “I’m out.”

  “Mate?” he called out while I walked away. “Was it something I said?”

  I ignored him and walked home. With fewer people on the street to focus on, I could think clearly.

  So far Richard checked out, but we had to finish vetting the kids and then look into his close associates. My mind continued to skip around to different subjects as I made my way back home. I thought about Tallia, and how disappointing my life used to be. I couldn’t dwell on it though, that was how setbacks and relapses happened.

  I thought about Alexa’s reaction, and how different she seemed now from when I first met her—how happy and at peace she seemed. Tapper was good for her.

  As I neared my apartment, I allowed myself to think about Ki. I didn’t let her willingly enter my mind often because then I would have to face the facts. She would never be mine. It’s hard to come to that conclusion, to accept it. I spent six months getting to know her, six months falling in love with her.

  As I opened the main door to my apartment, a tiny voice—my mother’s—rang in my ears.

  She just wasn’t yours to have; she’s out there, Luc. Just open your eyes.

  Kicking my shoes off at the door, I locked the three deadbolts and set the alarm before I grabbed a beer from the fridge. I kicked my feet up on my broken coffee table and grabbed the folder of the people’s lives my mom had saved.

  I picked up London’s photo and stared at it while I drank my beer. Judging by the smile on her face, and all the information about her, I could tell she loved life. With all those jobs, she liked to stay busy—she wasn’t lazy. She had a soft golden tan, high cheekbones, and beautiful heart-shaped lips.

  She was still in the hospital, having suffered some setbacks after getting the heart and had to be monitored until it was working properly. My mother was a fighter and I knew her heart wouldn’t give up without a fight.

  I closed the file, laid my head back, and passed out.

  Chapter 4 – London

  Slowly sitting up, I let my feet dangle off the bed as I cursed to myself about my new life.

  A new life.

  A new heart.

  A new person.

  I would never be the same person I was three weeks ago.

  There was a knock at the door as I stood grabbing the IV cart and turned around. A man with blond hair and a strong jaw was carrying my breakfast tray into the room. He wore a red vest over a white T-shirt with jeans, the same red vest as the other staff members who delivered food.

  “Good morning,” he said as he set the tan tray down on the table next to my bed.

  He glanced at me and then quickly looked away.

  “I look like shit, huh?”

  “No, sorry.” He ran his hand through his hair, looking at the floor for guidance.

  “Thanks for the food.”

  “Need anything else?”

  My old life back.

  “I’m fine.”

  I had to pee so I went into the bathroom and shut the door. After taking care of business, I looked in the mirror while washing my hands and realized why he had looked away.

  I was pale, my summer glow just a memory. I lost so much weight that my cheeks had sunk in and the blue in my eyes had faded. I died three weeks ago. Flatlined for two minutes before they got me back, only to end up giving me a new heart. My father was the only parent I had and he refused to let me go. He called it fate. They explained the technical term for my condition and what happened, but their words were lost on me.

  I died and it should have stayed that way because my new life was not the one I wanted to live.

  When I walked back into my room, the man with the blond hair was still there, standing at my window, looking out at the parking garage.

  He spoke before I could. “When people say, ‘I’m fine,’ they don’t mean it.”

  “Who are you? My new shrink?” I asked sarcastically, and he slowly turned around with a confused look on his face.

  “Shrink?”

  “You’re giving me advice, advice I don’t want—nor asked for—so I thought maybe my current shrink sent you in, to get me to talk so you could report back to him about what I’ve said.”

  “No. I’m not a shrink.”

  “Good, then why are you still here?”

  “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged a shoulder.

  “Your answer sucks.” I finally made it to my bed and took a deep breath in and out before I said, “Please leave.”

  “If I had a different answer, could I stay?” I detected a small hint of hope in his words.

  “Don’t you have to get back to work?”

  “Um, no. You’re my last room.”

  I pulled my legs up on the bed and covered them with my blanket, before pulling my food over. I took the lid off the plate and frowned at the oatmeal staring back up at me. I put the lid back on and grabbed the milk.

  “What was it?”

  “You should know.”

  “Um no, I just deliver them.”

  “Oatmeal.” Opening my milk shouldn’t be such a difficult task, but it was. “Plain. Boring. Oatmeal.” He remained silent but took a step toward my bed and I shook my head at him. I didn’t need his help.

  “I don’t like it that much either.” He replied.

  “What did you have for breakfast?” I asked out of curiosity. His arms were toned, and his broad shoulders and lack of a gut told me he was in good shape.

  Better shape than I’ve ever been in my life.

  “Four eggs and a protein shake.”

  I huffed. “Sounds like something a bodybuilder would eat.”

  “Not a bodybuilder, but I do try and eat healthy meals.” He grinned, and it was so natural and beautiful that it almost made me smile. “Occasionally.”

  “I would love to eat an egg.”

  “You can’t?”

  “Not yet, too much cholesterol.” I thumped my chest and rolled my eyes. “I could have egg whites but that’s just gross. I have a list of things I can and can’t eat; I hate most of it.” So many damn rules with this new heart, I couldn’t remember them all. I had a laundry list of what I could and couldn’t do or eat, a ridiculous amount of medication keeping me alive, and all the while, a team of people pushing me, trying to make me realize that I was wasting my second chance. It wasn’t mine for the taking though, they don’t realize that.

  He didn’t reply, but he did sit in the chair, getting comfortable.

  I really didn’t care. For all I knew, he was working with my shrink and if that was the case, I shouldn’t be talking to him. It’d just be more information to pass along.

  I slowly ate the dried piece of wheat toast that I choked down with my milk, glanced at him one more time, and then I closed my eyes and wen
t back to sleep.

  ###

  Waking up to use the restroom, I glanced at the chair and saw the man was gone.

  Maybe he was never here to begin with.

  A ghost.

  Like me.

  There was a new tray of food on my table and I sat up and peeked at it. A small plastic container with a blue lid sat on the plate. I opened it, saw fresh fruit—all sliced up and perfectly placed inside the square container—and quickly grabbed my fork. Half of it was gone before my stomach was full and I had to stop. I used the restroom and laid back in bed and as soon as I closed my eyes, I was interrupted.

  “London.” I recognized his voice but ignored him. “I was just in here, I know you’re awake.”

  I bit back a sigh and turned my body away from him. “What do you want?”

  “To talk.”

  “You always want to talk.”

  “That’s my job.”

  A few weeks after I woke up, I took some pills. It was easy to do considering how many of them they were giving me. It was unreal, but I saved up a few days’ worth and then took them all, sent myself into cardiac arrest, but it wasn’t enough to end my life.

  Now I was stuck with a shrink.

  My father cried, my best friend won’t visit me, and for the first time in my life, I was alone. My father flew back to Wyoming to take care of the ranch and my best friend still won’t return my messages.

  “Are you going to stay in bed?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s fine, we can still have our session.” I waited for him to continue because I wasn’t going to initiate the conversation. “Have you eaten today?”

  “Fruit.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Milk, and half a piece of toast.”

  “Just today?”

  “All of that, just today,” I said pathetically, adjusting my arm so the IV would stop putting pressure on my arm. They’ve already moved it a few times because my arm kept bruising and swelling up.

  “That’s good considering it’s two pm.”

  “It’s only two?”

  He ignored me and went to his next question. “Have you been out of the room today?”