I moved out of Lynx's arms and sat on my bed.
"Lynx, say what you need to say. Beating around the bush is gonna make me ask you to leave."
"Aye, chill out. I told you, Crown and 'em got a lot of shit happening. I'm just making sure no one's trying slick shit."
I softened my tone to keep from letting what I knew slip out.
"The everyday nigga couldn't get my business number, Lynx," I mumbled. "I'm good, okay. I need you to trust that."
"I do."
"Good. I'm going to use the bathroom. When I come out, we can watch a movie or something. Cool?"
"Yeah, that's straight."
I gave him a quick kiss, then walked to the bathroom, grabbing my business phone on the way. I closed the door behind me and sat on the toilet, scrolling to the last number that had called.
Me
I'm in.
Unknown
What convinced you?
Me
A gut feeling. I assume you know my rate.
Unknown
I do. This stays between us.
Me
Fine.
After sending the last message, I deleted the thread and powered off my phone. Twice, Lynx hinted at things with the Gravehart men being chaotic when nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Wolfe just got married and would welcome a child soon, and Crown was chasing behind River. The only real drama was the hit in Ember Hills.
Either Lynx was exaggerating to get his way with me, or he knew something was coming. Something that would shake things up for Wolfe, Crown, and Honor. The part of me that yearned for love wanted to believe it was the former but, my gut was screaming it was the latter.
Choyce Mancinelli
Sleep seemedto constantly run from me since that night at the dock. Still, I chased it as a way to ignore what I should've been focused on. Lucian wasn't a man who tolerated disrespect, yet he allowed Honor not only to disrespect him but also to deny his wishes. Honor wanted out, which meant killing Talon was likely to fall on my to-do list.
I couldn't do it. The love I had for that man had long ago vanished, but my daughter didn't feel the same. Talon was a crappy husband, but an amazing father, and Cherish deserved to grow up with one.
I tossed and turned, troubled by Lucian's last words before he walked away from Honor and me. His sentiments weren't directed toward me, but I knew the consequence of Honor declining an order would hit me just as hard as it hit him. Whether he liked it or not, the two of us were a team. Whatever affected him and his affected me and mine.
"Ugh!" I gritted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed.
I slipped my feet into my slippers, threw on one of Talon's t-shirts, and moseyed into Cherish's room. I walked in quietly to avoid waking her. Out of the blue, the usual peace being around her brought on vanished, and the energy shifted. I lookedtoward her bed to make sure she was there. Sound asleep, Cherish looked like she didn't have a care in the world. Yet, the feeling that something was terribly wrong lingered.
The rocking chair I once rocked Cherish to sleep in creaked. My gaze shifted from my daughter to the corner where the chair's slow creak sounded more like a warning than comfort.
"Lucian." His name left my mouth before my eyes fully registered that he was sitting in my daughter's room.
"We need to talk, Choyce. I hope now is a good time."
