Desire

CHAPTER TWENTY- FOUR

CARTER

7 a.m. I hear someone playing with the front door. I got the glass I was holding and walked to the door. It couldn't be Jack. Why would he come so early? The door slammed open and he was there Jack walked into the house effortlessly holding his suitcase in his hand. "Hello brother," he greets. He drops his suitcase to the floor and stares at me waiting for my greeting. God. It's been years. He looks so much older. Grey hair popping from his signature curls.

"Hello, Jack." The whole house goes silent. Jack has never been the conversation type. "You're going to say in our guest room It's the last room at the end," I say something to fill the silence. The silence says too much neither of us wants to talk about it. Hopefully, he just finds Adelaide and leaves.

He chuckles and wipes his mouth. "Still don't trust me little brother right? Does your daughter even know that she has an uncle?"

"No, I told her you were dead," He smirks. He's going to cause trouble isn't her? I haven't told Ella yet. I thought I had more time or he would do this whenever he was.  I hear footsteps coming down the steps. Ella comes down whipping her face. She immediately looks at Jack and then at me. I know she can see the similarity in our faces. She looks confused and a little angry.

"Hello, Ella Marie Carter. I'm your uncle," Jack speaks. Her eyes go to mine and I confirm it with a nod. Her eyes turn into firing anger. She has every right to be angry. I lied to her. She turned her back to me and ran back upstairs.

I shot daggers at Jack but he just smiled. God, I hate him. "your only here to save Adelaide. If you mess with my life I'll make you pay," I threatened.

"OOOO Old Carter is coming out. Atta boy. I missed this side of you," he teased. Ignored him and didn't want to be the type of person who threatened people. That's why I left that life but it's the only way to come out of this without my whole world falling apart. Right now I have to comfort my daughter before she never speaks to me again. The conversation I never thought I would be having. I thought I could keep this from her and never tell her the truth but here we are. I have to spill the beans and have the hardest conversation I ever had.

I walked up the stairs and down a couple of steps to Ella's room. Her door was slightly open. I could see her kneeling on the floor with her head in her pillow, crying. I hate that I'm putting this through this. She doesn't deserve this. I knock on the door and her head pops up. "Leave me alone Dad."

"We need to talk Ella, Please let me in."

She walks to the door and opens it. Her face is filled with tears and she sniffling. "To tell me why you didn't tell me that I have other family? You let me believe they were fucking dead and for what? So you can do this loner single dad thing? So you can have a story to tell girls."

'No." I stepped into the room and sat down on the bed. She stood in front of me with her arms crossed. I deserved it. "I didn't tell you because my family is a part of the Italian mafia."

Ella's eyes went wide. She immediately sat down next to me listening to everything I had to say. "I got you out of that life so you wouldn't have to grow up with people who are ruthless cold cold-blooded killers. I didn't want you to become like us. We were trained to be killers. In my family, it was an eye for an eye. Kill or be killed,"

'And what fun that would have been!" A voice said. I looked up and found Jack leaning against the door frame. "You would have been the best of the best. No one would ever mess with you and they definitely wouldn't have taken your precious Adelaide."

A little part of me knows that is the truth. If he had known he probably wouldn't have taken Adelaide but, I don't live to be feared by others. I don't get off on it like Jack and the rest of my family do. 'Just bring Adelaide back whatever it takes so my life can get back to normal," she says towards the both of us. I can tell she understands why I left.  Ella is a sweet girl as soon as they found out on nice Ella was. They would have broken her spirit and made her into an angry mindless killer.

'Normal is way overrated," Jack says with a roll of his eyes. " I like to live on the edge. Makes life more exciting." He turns to me. "Don't worry little brother as soon as I find Adelaide and my debt is paid. I'll leave you to your boring normal life,"

I don't believe a word he's saying. There's no way that after this everything can go back to the way it was. I nod. If I argue with him he'll do it just to spite me. "Anyways little niece do you want to hang out with me and get to know your old uncle?" He asked. I don't think it's a good idea.

She looks at me and I can tell she wants to go. I know he'll never allow anything to happen to her. He always protects my family but,  it doesn't keep the pit in my stomach from forming. I nod. She jumps up and meets Jack at the door. Bad decision after bad decision. He turns back to me and says, "I promise when we get back we'll talk about how to get your precious Adelaide back,"  

Then, he winks and leaves. Shit.