“Oh, well, tell me how you really feel?” I asked only partially joking, because yeah, her words felt harsh.
“Now you know I don’t sugarcoat shit.” And that was the truth, Brenda said exactly what she meant every time. “And I’m not about to start just because you came up in here acting grown but making a childish mistake. The very first thing your fatherand I instilled in you and Cade, is how much we love you. No matter what happened, no matter what you did or didn’t do in this life, we would always love you. I carried both of you for what felt like eight hundred years, hell, nobody’s gonna love you the way I do. And your daddy worried over you both every second of those eight hundred years, so he feels the same. No matter who you are married to Dakota Janiece, you will always be my baby girl first.”
Those tears streamed down my cheeks so fast I couldn’t have stopped them if I tried. And when Mama’s eyes filled too, even more flowed down my face.
“If this man is who you love and want to spend your life with, then I support you. And if anybody in this family doesn’t agree, fuck ‘em!”
“Mama!” I laughed and cried.
“I mean, except for your daddy and brother. ‘Cause I know they are in that study giving that sexy man the business about you. As they should. We don’t play about you around here and he needs to know that.” Moving one of her hands she reached for a napkin and wiped my tears. “Now, with that said, you better not evah, keep something this big from me again. I know you’re married now so every one of your secrets won’t make it to my ears, but if it’s something that affects your life in this capacity, I better know about it. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am,” was all I could manage before nodding. “I understand.”
“Good. Coming in here messin’ up my Sunday dinner with all this tension.” She fussed as she pulled me into her arms. “Just plain ol’ foolishness. Now, get all those tears outta the way. We’ve got a formal wedding to plan.”
I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. If my mother wanted to plan a wedding, which I knew she’d always wanted to do for me, then Iwas going to let her. Crossing Brenda Baynor-Donovan again in this lifetime wasn’t on my bingo card.
CHAPTER 15
FURY
Bringing the expensive crystal glass to my lips, I took a slow gulp of the whiskey Cade poured for each of us moments after we walked into the study. This room, like the parts of the house I’d seen since pulling into the circular driveway, was pure luxury. There was no doubt that big money was spent on every detail of the tasteful décor, even here, in a room I suspected was more often occupied by Charles and the other Donovan men.
Dark cherrywood, rich chocolate brown leather, floor to ceiling built-ins stuffed with books and a full bar with top shelf liquor welcomed me inside. While the two men—the undeniable head of this household and the golden boy son—who ushered me in here were still deciding on how this conversation would go.
Of course, Cade and I had said our piece a couple of days ago, but I knew from the moment Dakota and I entered the dining room that he was still harboring some animosity toward me. Dakota hadn’t seen him since those pictures surfaced online and Cade reacted by pulling a gun on me. When I showed up at her job Friday afternoon, she’d been on the brink of tears. All the worry she’d carried this past year about how her family wouldreact to our marriage had come to a head. I’d asked her one simple question, “What do you need?”
I hadn’t expected her response to be that she only needed to be with me. Not that I had planned to leave her because that shit was out of the question. Taking care of Dakota, giving her any and everything she required to live her very best life was my top priority. I’d always given everything I had to whatever goal I committed to. Being Dakota’s husband was no different. But hearing her say that I was all she needed, when the people she cared about most were disappointed in her, had filled my heart. Did I want her to hurt because of her family’s reactions? Hell no. Did I want her to lose her family because of our union? That was also a no. I knew the importance of family, knew how they had the ability to be a loving ally or painful burden. I also knew that there was no way I would ever allow anyone to hurt Dakota. Not a stranger on the street or a person who shared her blood.
“Tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet in your head right now,” Charles said after the three of us stood in different areas of the room in silence.
Charles leaned against his massive desk; his intense gaze focused on me. While Cade remained behind the bar. I had walked straight to the window taking in the view of the perfectly manicured lawn and pristine blue sky. The Donovan estate was big and impeccably maintained. When I moved here from Destine, I purchased a four-bedroom, five-bathroom house with a six-car garage and pool in a gated community. Seeing this place, watching her family sitting around that massive white-oak dining room table like Black royalty had me wondering if this was the type of house Dakota wanted.
Moments ago, when Cade offered me a drink, I turned away from the window to accept it. Now, I stood with the gorgeous view at my back, while I met my father-in-law’s stare.
“This is your house, Charles. You can do whatever you want.” I resisted the urge to shrug off his threat. He knew I wasn’t afraid of him or anybody else for that matter. I always gave respect, until I was disrespected. “But we both know that’s not the path you want to take.”
His brow furrowed and his fingers tightened around the glass he held. Never breaking eye contact, he brought the glass to his lips and took a long gulp. I finished my drink as well, then moved to set the empty glass onto the bar top.
“You know you should’ve told us,” Cade added while his father eyed me like he really did want to jump my way.
I get it. If I had a daughter, I’d want to strangle the bastard who thought he could just waltz into her life and do what the fuck he pleased where she was concerned without giving me so much as a nod, too. And for that, I could admit I was wrong. In a business that relied on mutual respect, I knew that not coming to either of these men about Dakota was wrong. I also knew what my wife wanted and that would always override any other rules or considerations.
“Dakota and I are adults. What we do is our business.”
“Oh, I know what your business is,” Charles interjected.
Tossing him a half-grin, I pushed my hands into the front pocket of my slacks. “Yeah, you do. And I know what business you and Cade are in. The other business, the one that you don’t want the women in your family to fret about. Or the world to know.”
“Man, fuck that bullshit. You know the Alliance is not the same as what you do,” Cade said. “In fact, even our roles within the Alliance are drastically different.”
I shook my head. “Nah, not different in purpose, just logistics. You want to keep the peace just like me.” And just like the others who were a part of the clandestine group: the senator, the marine, the AUSA, the CIA and DEA agents, and the madam.We were all working to make sure the interactions between the criminal underworld and the law-abiding citizens didn’t overlap in a way that would precipitate a war on the streets. We shared information, negotiated and intervened when shit was close to popping off. So no, Cade wasn’t about to pretend that me being one of the top leaders of the east coast underworld was any better than him being an FBI agent that had racked up a number of dead bodies outside of his badge. Charles wasn’t squeaky clean either. His multi-million-dollar ad agency had been the cover for some very lucrative international business deals that skated right on the edge of being illegal considering who was on the other end of those deals. While the world thought this branch of the Donovans were squeaky clean, I knew differently.
“I want to protect my family first and foremost,” Cade shot back.
“I always protect what’s mine,” was my even comeback. “And now, with that ring on her finger, Dakota is mine.” I looked from one man to the other to make sure they each felt the vehemence in my words. “I’m not going to suggest either of you stand down in your role as her protectors. She’s been yours for thirty-six years. But now,” I said, slapping a hand to my chest, “she’s mine.”
The amount of much power and testosterone in this room was almost suffocating. None of us were backing down, each of us had our own feelings about this situation. And we all knew that at this moment there was really only one person who mattered.
