The Punisher: Blood Feud (Book 1)

-Bound-

-SARAH-

After dinner, Lacey and Erykah offer to help clean up the kitchen. Erykah didn't waste any time as Frank and David went down to the basement.

"You. Are. Full. Of. Shit." She enunciated to Lacey.

"What are you talking about?" Lacey asks glibly.

"Oh come on, if we hadn't interrupted you, what would have happened?" She hissed.

"...I don't know," Lacey admits. "I don't know what that was about..."

"Look," Erykah sighs. "I don't expect you to hop in bed with the guy. I just want to point out the obvious."

"I agree," I contribute as I load the dishwasher. "You could cut the tension with a knife."

"He wasn't too thrilled about you going to talk to Billy," Erykah notes.

"I never thought I'd see that side of him," I smirked.

Lacey didn't reply, but I saw her cheeks flush. She clears her throat and she just makes herself busy. After we're done I open another bottle of wine and we head into the living room.

"How did you handle it?" Lacey asks me softly. "I know you had the kids and...Frank eventually, but...I didn't handle it well at all. If it wasn't for Erykah, I'm not sure if I'd still be here..."

The pain in her voice broke my heart. She's had to deal with this alone. She didn't even have closure.

"It wasn't easy," I admit. "There were days when I wasn't sure how I'd get through it. I could give you some stupid speech, but it wouldn't be genuine. You had Erykah, yes, but you were alone for most of it. Weren't you?"

"It was bad," she murmured. "After I learned about the baby, I had a breakdown...it had gotten worse. My family isn't around, and Dean's parents passed away after he disappeared."

"That explains it," Erykah pipes up.

"What?" Lacey asks, sounding far away, locked in her memories.

"You have that loss in common with him," Erykah clarifies. "That's a different bond. Stronger somehow. That's why it's so, umm."

"Intense," I supply, pouring more wine. "Intimate."

"If he finds out that Dean is alive, he won't be for much longer," Lacey brought up.

"He said that?" I gasped.

"After he overheard me confess about the baby, he got so angry...as if he wanted to paint the city red to avenge me or something," Lacey reminisced.

"Is that what I walked in on?" Erykah smirks. "Because uhhh I'm gonna bring up the obvious: he is the hottest murderer I have ever met. And you want him!"

Lacey choked a bit on the wine she was sipping.

"Am I wrong? I don't think I am!" She proceeds. "Sarah?"

"After the kids left, you two were in your little world," I remarked after sipping my drink. "David had to remind you that we were here...how long has it been for you?"

"...I haven't wanted to since Dean," Lacey confessed. "I became a shut-in and a drunk after...and when I recovered, I just never bothered. I buried myself in work."

"I don't think anyone has been able to reach you until now," I supplied. "I've tried dating when I thought David was gone. It's brutal. And so godamn superficial. I don't even blame you."

"I don't see Frank as the dating type," Lacey observes. "And I wouldn't expect him to be. I'm not even sure if I am."

"Oh, I am under no delusions," Erykah insisted. "I don't see a cookie-cutter sort of thing from either one of you. But there's something, and I think it's worth exploring. I want you to be happy..."