Coming Home For Christmas

Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse “Guilt, remorse, it's what separates us from the animals’ ~ Arthur Mitchell Lacey's POV It's crazy how one minute you can be this crazed, bloodthirsty animal out for revenge and the next minute you can feel guilty and remorseful Don't get me wrong, I don't regret what I did last night and given half a chance, I'd probably do it again if anyone came

“I don't know, my head's f*****g messed up” "Over what?" “Over everything" Ilet out a sigh as I looked at her “Two days ago, | was just a mother, a wife and an author whose only stresses and worries in life were finishing my new book or something going wrong at my wedding or my child's next meltdown being so bad that I wouldn't be able to help them and calm them down but now, I'm some prized meat being fought over by an overprotective Don who wants to

keep me safe and a crazy, degenerate who wants to do god knows what with me just so that he could hurt and taunt my cousin” “And last night?" She asks me and I shake my head “Last night shouldn't have happened... know I'm a member of the Antonelli family but I'm not a part of the mafia and I've never had any intention of being a part of it" "You wouldn't have thought last night, Lace...you were on fire in that room” “Iwas a psycho, Kat"

“And your actions were justified, the man almost killed your dad and he tried to take your son from you..you'd be a terrible daughter and mother if you didn't go at least a little mad" She says and I chuckle slightly “Well, there's mad and then there's crazy, psychotic b***h mad" “And you were the latter" Kat says while laughing “Seriously, I've been in the mafia my whole life and I've only

ever known one person who is at the level you were last night and that's Klayton" “It must be in the blood" I said as a joke but Katerina took me seriously “Yeah along with how protective you both are, you're both protective of each other and of your kids" “Meaning” “Meaning..you shouldn't feel guilty for what you did, whether you're in the mafia or not, any parent would've done what you did and it shows

how good-hearted and kind-hearted you are if you're feeling any remorse for what you did" Hmm, I guess so Maybe I'm just overthinking this and I'm being dramatic A Couple Of Hours Later.

Logan's PO I head into my bedroom after quite possibly the most stressful meeting I've ever had and I was greeted by one hell of a sexy yet confusing sight “Lacey”

"Hmm" “Why are you lying on our bed in nothing but a towel?" It's obvious she's just had a shower, I'm just confused as to why she's lying on our bed half-naked instead of getting dressed “Lhad a shower" "I can see that, babe, why haven't you changed?” “Because I was so exhausted after going to the gym and then having a shower, I just wanted five minutes of chill time"

Task her and she lifts her head up to look at the clock on our bedside table “Around twenty minutes” She says and I chuckle “And why is my wifey being so lazy?" “Because I can..your parents took all of our kids out for the day to see the sights and get something to eat” “And you took that as an excuse to lie on our bed with your ass

hanging out? you do realise anyone could've walked in here, babe"

Tsay and she turns around to look at me with an annoyed look "You know, most men would love it if they came back to their bedrooms and found their wives in nothing but a towel but no not my husband, my husband decides to ignore that and ask me more questions than Steve Harvey does on an episode of Family Feud" She growls in annoyance and I chuckle "What's wrong? come and tell daddy what's on your mind” Tsay as I sit down on the bed next to her and she grimaces in disgust

“Eww!l, you ain't my daddy" She says and I lie back on the bed laughing loving how easy itis to wind my wife up “And nothings on my mind, like I said, I went to the gym, I hada shower and now I'm just chilling in my towel, what's wrong with that?" “Nothing” Tsay whilst keeping my eyes firmly on my wife as she gets up and straddles my body “Then shut up and kiss me, you i***t"

after my family but a big part of me actually does regret doing it and I wish that I had just done what

Lacey leans in and cups my face as she gives me a kiss The kiss immediately sent all of the blood in my body south of the border and I'm pretty sure you can all guess what happened next For the next hour or two, Lacey and I had s*x in many different positions and against many of the different furniture and areas in our room including an impromptu f+#k session against the wall when Lacey got up hoping to go to have another shower and I couldn't resist taking her again and I'm glad I did

I've noticed a huge change in Lacey since last night and 1 know why that is, it's because she's no longer running on the adrenaline she was on last night and now her feelings are back to normal and her feelings about what she did are now all over the place My wife thinks that I haven't noticed the gear shift in her and her emotions but I have and that's why I was so keen to hurry up and come back to her so that I can help her relax and hopefully take her mind off the conflict she's currently feeling “Are you ok, my love?" I ask my wife who was sitting next to me in the hot tub with her head resting against the side

“I'm fine" “Are you sure? you've been acting a little weird today” “Weird?” She asks with a slight chuckle and an amused expression on her cute face “Define weird, Logan” “Quiet, lost in your thoughts, you've been so distracted and lost in yourself that you didn't even panic or put up a fight when your parents offered to take the kids out for the day”

"That's because this island is owned by my cousin who has got this place locked down like Fort Knox, not to mention, Klayton would never allow anyone to leave our home without a huge squad of guards following us so I know I've got nothing to be worried about because I know they're all safe” Lacey says while looking at me “Can L ask you a question, babe?" Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse Lask Lacey and her eyes narrow at me

"That's because this island is owned by my cousin who has got this place locked down like Fort Knox, not to mention, Klayton would never allow anyone to leave our home without a huge squad of guards following us so I know I've got nothing to be worried about because I know they're all safe” Lacey says while looking at me “Can L ask you a question, babe?" Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse Lask Lacey and her eyes narrow at me

"Sure, what's up?" Lift my hand up to Lacey's head and gently stroke her hairline with the tips of my fingers “Do you regret what you did last night?" Task her and at first, Lacey looked stoic and her eyes were narrowed down but then she looked back at me and shook her head no “I'll never regret what I did because I was defending my baby... know you and Klayton aren't happy with me or with what 1 did and to be perfectly honest with you, babe... don't care because it was something that I not only needed to do but I HAD to do"

“Tknow, love, I just wish that you had told me or spoken up when I told you to let me and Klayton handle it" “Why? so you could talk me out of it?" Lacey asked me and I had to try my hardest not to smirk or smile even though I could tell from the look on her face that she was amused in some way “Maybe I'say with a chuckle “But also so that I could be there to support you and be your tower of strength if I couldn't talk you out of it" Isay and Lacey looks at me with so much love and affection

"I love you so much, Logan” “Ilove you too, babe" “No, I... love everything about you, Logan, I love how protective you are, I love how you love me for me and don't try to change me, I love how supportive you are of me, I love how much you love me and my craziness Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse and Ilove how you're willing to stand by me no matter what" Lacey says and I smile as I lean in and kiss her lips

"And I'll always love you and everything about you Lacey Olivia Black and I'l support every crazy and dangerous decision you make even if I don't agree with most of them” Isay and we both laugh as Lacey cups my face and kisses my lips We relaxed in the hot tub for a good hour or so and I saw a big difference in my wife when we got out and got ready for the day She seems a lot more relaxed and at peace now which makes me feel so happy I mean, I may not have been the happiest man alive last night when I woke up to find my missus missing and then found her in the dungeons covered in blood looking like she'd just committed a mass murder but I understand now

why she did what she did and I'm glad that she's no longer feeling conflicted about it Anyway, after getting ready, Lacey and I headed downstairs hand in hand with huge smiles on our faces looking like the happiest couple alive which we most likely are but then are happy faces turned to confusion when we saw something was going on outside We headed outside to the front of the mansion where Klayton, Cassidy and their kids were all standing as they watched a black and gold helicopter land on the front gardens “What's going on, Klay?"

Logan asked of me and left it to him and my cousin because this isn't me All of this violence and torture bullshit isn't me and it never has been which is why I tried so hard to keep away from the mafia life and to keep my husband away from it, now my worst fear is coming true and I don't know if I can stop it This morning when we woke up, Logan and I had a chat and he told me that he wanted to speak with my cousin about him temporarily joining the mafia until all of this bullshit with Trevor and his gang of psychos is over and done with but that won't happen because you can't just pick and choose when you want to be a part of the mafia

“I wish I knew, baby girl" Klayton said with confusion and frustration laced in his voice The helicopter landed and as soon as the doors were opened, two familiar faces popped out of it looking like the rich, extravagant and Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse elegant beings they are and always have been “Oh my god, uncle Mario and auntie Maria are here"

Lacey gasped as one ot her hands shot to her chest “Ah, there's my children, I knew I could rely on you guys to give us all a warm welcome” Uncle Mario says with a cheeky smile on his face “Well, itd be rude not to welcome you guys, dad" “Indeed it would” Mario said as he reached for Maria's hand and kissed the back of it “No offence, dad but what are you guys doing here? [ thought you had some big business deal that you had to focus on which is why you couldn't make it to my little principessas wedding”

"Yes we did, sorry about that Lacey baby" Mario said to Lacey who smiled at him “Don't worry about it uncle” “Anyway, we were able to wrap up our work and just in time too because something huge happened in Cameron which has left poor Layla and the Logan family shaken which is why we're here" "What do you mean? what's happened?” Mario looks between Klayton and Lacey with a nervous expression on his face “Let's go inside so that we can talk in private, son"

"OK" We all headed inside and I could tell just from the look on my wifes face that she was thinking the same thing as me What's happened now?

Anyway, after breakfast, Logan went to see Klayton even though I knew it was a waste of time and I decided to go to the gym to hopefully work off some stress and clear my head Chapter 25 - Feeling Remorse. 4 Normally, a good workout will declutter my brain but no matter how hard I hit the punching bag or how many times I punch or kick at it, I can't relax or calm down and my head feels even worse than it did when I first came in here “Damn Rocky, didn't you get enough last night?”

Katerina's voice flitted to my ears and I groaned There's another thing that's making me feel guilty Ilook over at Katerina who is wearing a skintight pair of yoga pants and sports bra “You do know men frequent this gym, right?" “Yep She says happily and I look at her like ok

“Don't look at me like that, Lace, the perverted men in this mafia deserve to be teased with something they can only look at but can never touch” She says with a wink and I nod my head “Lace? since when we were on familiar terms like that?" “Since last night" “You mean when I lost my s**t with you when I should've been thanking you?"

"Yeah" She says with a chuckle “But you were validated in your rant" “Iwas?” "Yeah, you were... should've understood that you weren't in the right headspace to even think of thanking me for saving LJ. and I was an inconsiderate asshole for what I said”

She said and I shook my head “No, you weren't and I really am grateful for you saving my son's life..even though Carlos said the whole kidnapping thing was supposed to be fake, I still shudder to think what he or Trevor would've done to him if they were successful” I'said with a huff as I sat down on the floor “Well, I hate to defend my brother but he was always so good to Cassius, so I don't think he would've harmed Logan Junior” Kat said as she sat down next to me and I shook my head “No, LJ. has got autism and your brother strikes me as the

type to lose his patience with him, especially with a kid like Logan Junior who is very inquisitive and wouldn't stop questioning him until he's satisfied" "Cassius is the same way, although he knows his limits" “Lo doesn't and I can't tell you how many times I've almost pulled my hair out because of the number of questions he's asked me, well, I used to, I've learned how to gentle parent now" “Are you ok?" She asks me and I shrug my shoulders