Deadly Temptation (Book 3)

Deadly Temptation (19)

Carter Holt.

That pathetic excuse of a man was standing across the road smoking a joint.

Looking like shit. Keith thought to himself.

After all these years, he still made Keith's blood boil. All those years of his mother getting knocked around by this man... all those years of him getting knocked around as a kid. It was a surreal feeling to be older and stronger than the man that used to haunt his every thought.

When he was twelve years old, Keith would make sure he got home later in the night after Carter drank himself into oblivion just so that he wouldn't get any beatings— which were a frequent thing ever since Aileen married him. Keith would get a slap here for not doing as he was told, he would get a kick there for talking back to Carter and the best ones were when he would get punched in the face for just being around.

At the age of twelve years old.

Oh yeah, Carter was definitely getting what was coming to him.

Sean had offered to stay behind at the hotel so that Keith could do whatever he wanted with Carter which was a smart move.

Just as he was about to approach him, his phone rang and distracted him from the many ways he would make Carter suffer. He whipped out his phone to see Janessa calling again. Cursing, he decided to decline since he had been ignoring her calls for a while now. He didn't know what to say to her—especially after hearing what happened to Priscilla. He spoke to James and she was now doing fine so that was a huge relief on his conscience. As for Janessa... his guilt ran deeper and thicker ever since he agreed to marry Kimmy for real this time.

Once he got back to Los Angeles, it will be a quick ceremony if not at the courthouse and Sean had agreed as well. The quicker the better. Janessa would definitely hate him for life but it now ran deeper than just a wedding; he made a promise to man that acted as more of a father in the last couple hours than anyone in his entire life.

Speaking of a father, Carter threw the last bit of his joint he was smoking on the ground and turned to walk away. This was Keith's chance.

He followed behind him down the street until he saw him step into a small cafe and sit across from a woman. Carter stretched over the table and gave her a quick kiss before sitting back down while the woman grinned. She looked no older than thirty-five and dressed conservatively. She was the opposite of Aileen, his mother. Well, appearance-wise, anyway.

Who the hell is this woman?

He decided to step into the cafe as well and found a seat behind their table. He was facing the woman while Carter's back was turned to him.

"What took you so long?" She asked him.

"I got caught up."

Yeah, smoking pot. Keith thought to himself.

"I ordered your favorite. Since it's a special occasion." Her lips formed into a smile and Keith could see the glint from the wedding ring on her finger as she covered his hand on the table with hers.

What the actual fuck is going on?

Keith came with the intention to confront Carter and possibly give him a black eye... and a busted lip... and maybe some broken ribs —but that's besides the point. He came with a goal set in mind but now it's been thwarted. Carter had another family.

Some poor woman agreed to marry him—and it wasn't for the money either.

"Did you get the house?" Carter asked.

"Not yet, I still need a few hundred more for the down payment."

"I'll get it for you." He promised. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing."