“Nigga, what the hell are you doing?” I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. This was a royal fuck up. Even if she called herself feeling safe with me, Nairobi didn’t believe in soft landings. Deep down, she thought every good thing that came her way had an expiration date.
Saying those three words wasn’t part of the plan—hell, I didn’t have one—but I knew this could send her running again once this mess with her pops was over.
I exhaled hard, pushed off the sink, and headed back into the bedroom. She was already curled up on her side of the bed in one of my t-shirts. She didn’t look over at me or say anything when I came in. I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.
I got into bed beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn’t tense up like I expected her to, just moved closer like she needed physical contact as much as I did. Ikissed the back of her neck, but I wasn’t about to bring up what I’d said.
“So you gonna tell me how the meeting went?” I asked.
She sighed and rolled onto her back. “Sterling offered me to them as collateral. They want me to work for them in exchange for putting the money back into the accounts. It was never about the debt. It was about getting me.”
“Shit.”
“These people know everything, Bear. They had pictures of you, your sister, your nephew. Of Cash and ‘em too.”
“Yeah,” I said quietly, “They let me know they knew I was watching.”
She turned her head toward me. “I know.”
I frowned, propping myself up on my elbow. “What you mean, you know?”
“My contact mentioned something about you sniffing around. Figured that meant you were close by. How’d you find out about the meeting? They switched the location last minute.”
“I didn’t,” I admitted. “I went to Sanctum and posted up in the commuter lot across the street.” I paused, clearing my throat. “I had my nephew with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Youwhat?”
“Drea was stuck at work, and Gunnar’s daycare closed early. I had to pick him up. I brought him some McDonald’s, he was chillin’. We weren’t gonna stay but a minute, but they let off a warning shot.”
“How could you be so reckless?” She sat up and shoved me in the chest. “He’s six, Fontaine. That’s your sister’s baby!”
“I know how to take care of mine, Nai,” I shot back. “The truck’s bulletproof, I wouldn’t have had him with me if I thought there was a legit threat.”
“But there was! They shot at you.”
“If they wanted to kill me, they would’ve, whether Gunnar was in the car or not. I got the message and got the fuck out of there. He didn’t even hear it—too busy eating nuggets and watching cartoons on his tablet.”
She glared at me, breathing heavily. “You should’ve left it alone. I would’ve called you at some point. Or you’d pull your stalker shit and pop up like you always do. But don’t drag your family into this. You know better.”
I saw the guilt and fear swirling in her eyes.
“I know it looks bad?—”
“Itisbad,” she snapped, cutting me off. “This isn’t some local crew shit, Fontaine. They switched the location because they knew you’ve been tracking me. These people don’t fuck around—they’re methodical. And if they know who you are, they know what you can do, which means they’re already ahead of you.”
I nodded, rubbing my jaw. She was right. It was a stupid move. I was running off emotions, which was never a good look.
“I fucked up,” I said. “I’ll take that shit on the chin. But I needed to know you were good.”
She stared at me for a long minute. I could see the wheels turning in her head like she wanted to keep arguing but her eyes told a different story. The storm behind them had settled some.
“You’re a dumbass,” she muttered.
I huffed, sinking back into the pillows, and looped my arm around her again.
“Wasn’t about to have you walk in the building with no one looking out for you,” I murmured. “If I wasn’t dealing with Gunnar, I would’ve figured out about the location switch up.”
“You’re gonna do what you want, no matter what I say. But don’t ever bring your nephew into this again. I mean it,” shesaid, pinching me. “I’ll shoot you and you’ll have to explain to your sister how you’re the moron that put her son in danger.”
