Page 91 of The Temptation

He clears his throat and gives her a brisk nod before turning to go. When he pauses at the kitchen doorway to glance back at his niece, it feels like all the air has been punched from my lungs.

I know exactly where his mind just went.

I’ve never left for a job with the weight of someone else’s worry sitting on my shoulders. And I’ve never been concerned about not coming back either, because I’ve accepted that it’s always going to be a possibility.

But now I’ve got Lucia. Someone who would feel it if I didn’t walk through the door again, and that changes everything.

My heart feels heavy as I follow Dominic out of the house. We walk back to his car in silence. I can only imagine the shit that is going through his head right now. What will happen to that little girl if he doesn’t come back?

I place my hand on his shoulder when we stop beside the driver’s side of his car. “Don’t underestimate Salvatori, he’s a psychopath.”

“Yeah, I heard what he did to our guys … carved them up like mincemeat.” I give him a solemn look because he’s right. The condition they were found in was brutal, even by our standards. “He’ll receive a far worse fate if I get my hands on him.”

I chuckle. “I don’t doubt it.”

There’s a brief pause before he says quietly, “I know I have no right asking this, but if something happens to me, can you make sure Lil’ Peach doesn’t go back to live with them?”

“Her parents?”

“Yeah. My sister’s a lost cause, and that fucker she’s shacked up with is even worse.”

“My mum’s an addict, so I can relate,” I find myself saying.

His eyebrows spring up at my admission. “Yeah?”

I nod. “Peach is lucky to have someone like you looking out for her.”

I’m going to leave it at that. I’ve already said way more than I’m comfortable with.

“I’m far from perfect, but she’s better off with me. I want her to have a good life. She deserves way more than what she was handed.”

“Do you have any other family that might take her?”

“Nah. My sister and I grew up in the system, so there’s no one else.”

“Mrs B?”

“She’s in her seventies.”

“Ah.” I shove my hands deep into my trouser pockets, the weight of it all settling heavily on my chest. “I’ll do right by her.”

It’s a promise I have no right making, but if I can save one kid from going through the hell I faced growing up, then maybe it’ll count for something.

Dominic left over half an hour ago, but instead of going back into the house, I’m sitting out here on the front veranda with my head buried in my hands.

I can’t seem to shake this uneasy feeling weighing down on my chest. And that little girl in there has unknowingly started a shitstorm in my head.

When I hear the heavy, muffledthump,thump,thumpof music echoing off the walls inside, I push myself up with a sigh and head in to see what those two are up to.

God only knows what kind of chaos I’m about to walk into.

It’s almost Peach’s bedtime, so Lucia should be winding her down, not hyping her the fuck up.

I follow the noise into the living room, where I find Lucia in full-on performance mode, lip-syncing along to the lyrics of the song blasting through the surround sound.

She’s got one hand dramatically pressed to her chest and the other waving through the air like she’s on stage. Peach is on the couch, clutching a little worn teddy bear like it’s the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

Her eyes are a little puffy, those long, dark lashes wet with moisture like she’s been crying, but to Lucia’s credit, that tiny smile tugging at her lips is unmissable.