“I need to head into the office,” I told him. “Bonnie is still on a warpath. I’d like it if you came with me, but I know you won’t.” Especially when he was watching his favorite movie series.
He snorted. “You know me well.” He fingered the collar of my shirt, and I shivered when his fingertip glanced over my collarbone. “I’m not worried about Bonnie. I’ve been dealing with her my entire life, remember? Go to work. I’ll order us something for dinner later this evening.”
Sighing, I nodded then kissed him one more time before heading upstairs. I just hoped Bonnie stayed the fuck away from the house while I was gone. Hudson was right; he had been dealing with his mother his entire life, but I didn’t want him to have to deal with her any longer. She was my problem now, but I knew that didn’t matter to Bonnie.
For as long as I’d known her, she’d thought everything that went wrong in her life was because of Hudson. And this was no fucking different.
Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower. I just needed to go to work long enough to handle this meeting, then I’d come straight home so I could be here in case she showed up. Leaving Hudson by himself left a sour feeling in my gut, but I couldn’t just abandon my duties. He and I both knew that.
When I got out of the shower, I grabbed my phone off the bed then typed out a quick text to Corvus. He hadn’t been back since he’d escorted Bonnie out Sunday, wanting to give us alone time, but alone time was over. I didn’t want Hudson here by himself while Bonnie was so fucking unstable.
Kreed:
Hey. I have to go into work. Think you can come chill with Hudson for a while?
Corvus:
Dude, he’s grown lol
Kreed:
I know, but Bonnie got served her papers, and she’s on a warpath.
Corvus:
Fuck. Yeah. Give me about an hour, and I’ll be on my way. If I can get away from this sooner, I’ll be there ever faster.
I didn’t know what Corvus was doing, and I didn’t care. The kid had always run by his own book.
Feeling a little better about leaving Hudson by himself, I tossed my phone back on the bed and hurried to get dressed. If Corvus said he’d be here, he’d show up. And knowing that made it a little easier to breathe.
Chapter Sixteen
Hudson
* * *
The front door banged open, and every muscle in my body tensed. They bunched so damn tightly, they hurt. Only one person dared to come into the house as if they didn’t have a lick of fucking sense, and that was Bonnie. Kreed hadn’t been gone even a whole hour before she decided to show her face. I knew she’d been blowing up his phone to the point he had to put it on silent. So, I knew it wouldn’t take her long to show up, which was why I’d decided to stay home, even if I actually would rather have gone to work with Kreed and be up his ass all day.
She didn’t get to have access to him any longer. He was mine, and I was fucking selfish when it came to my man.
Rolling my shoulders and preparing myself for her bullshit, I stood and turned to face her as she walked into the living room… with another man. My jaw locked so tightly, my teeth ground together, making pain shoot through my jaw. So much fucking trauma welled up inside of me that I immediately began to drown in the memories. Because nothing good came of Bonnie bringing home a man. They either liked boys…
Or they liked using their fists on said boys.
“The fuck is he doing here?” I snapped at her, crossing my arms defensively over my chest.
“To make you fucking leave,” she hissed at me. “You can either go willingly, or he’ll forcefully remove you. I don’t know what the fuck you’ve done to Kreed, but he’s not this kind of man. He’s straight, and he likes to be alone. Our marriage was perfect before you,” she jabbed her finger in my direction, “started whatever bullshit you’re on.”
The man took a threatening step toward me. My fingers curled into fists beneath my armpits, every old habit rising up in me. I needed to call the police, but my phone was on the charger near the TV—too far away for me to grab. This motherfucker would be on me before I’d even gotten halfway there. My only option was to defend myself to the best of my abilities.
But one thing about the men Bonnie liked… they didn’t fight fair. She chased rich men for their money, and she fucked every piece of trash she could find because they fucked her like the whore she truly was.
“You can fucking leave,” I ground out. “You’re already in the midst of a divorce. You’ve been served papers and have your court date. It’s over, Mom.”
“It’s not fucking over until I say it’s over!” she screeched, sounding truly panicked. She threw her arm out in my direction while looking at the greasy man she’d allowed into Kreed’s home. “Get him out!”
The man came around the couch, and I dropped my arms. He was twice my size, and I knew I wouldn’t win this. I was quick, but his hits would damn near cripple me. These men were from the streets, and just as my mom was using Kreed for his money, they dealt with Bonnie’s psychotic ass so they could get a cut of the funds, too.
