Page 164 of 4 Corinthians

He tilted his head to the side and slowly blinked. “Why would I leave you?” he asked. “I’ve loved you since I was a kid. Before I even knew what love was.”

“Because that was just another example of Robert destroying something in me.” I slowly pulled my hand from his. “I need you to be honest, can you see yourself loving my son and me in the future knowing who his father is?”

“I’m his father,” Uri declared. “Can’t nobody else on this earth claim Judah as their seed but me.” He shook his head.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because I’m giving you an out right now. No questions asked, no hatred given.” I shook my head. “It’ll be hard for me to be around you probably forever, but I would understand you walking away.”

Uri stood, walked around the table, and got down on one knee. “Listen to me and listen closely. I am not walking away, now or ever. You and Judah are my family. Fuck Robert; he won't matter soon. Shit, if you want to be honest, he doesn’t matter now. He’s a dead man walking.”

“You sure?” I asked, and he smirked.

“As fuck,” he replied. “Now can you handle that?”

“Yes,” I answered with a nod.

“Good,” he replied, then kissed me.

The moment our lips touched, I felt the same spark as I always did. Uri’s touch, no matter how gentle, felt empowering and freeing. I wrapped my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss and moaned when I felt his tongue brush against mine. When we pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine. The people around us clapped and cheered.

“I think they think you proposed,” I said softly, then laughed.

“You think?” he asked, and I nodded. “You want to get married?”

“Yeah,” I answered. There was no doubt in my mind that I would marry Uri.

“Alright,” he said, then kissed me again.

***

“Why did you cut your hair?” Uri asked as we walked through the park. The sun was setting, but we weren’t rushing to get back to the house yet. Judah was with Psalms, more than likely eating everything and running her ragged.

“The attack,” I answered. He put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close to his side. We were walking off our food and enjoying each other's company. “I remembered the feel of Robert’s hands in my hair, the way he pulled it to make me look at him when he first got there.” A chill ran through me. “He sent Tyrell and Isaac to my shop when it opened.”

“I didn’t recognize him at first. Not until Trey got me the names on the list.”

“How often do y’all talk?” I asked. Uri never talked about his brother.

“Weekly,” he answered with a nod. “Nine doesn’t know that, though.”

“Why?”

He blew out a deep breath, then guided me to a bench. After we sat, he ran his hand over his face and then dropped his head. “A few years ago, Six was kidnapped by Robert. It took us too long to find her.”

“Uri…” I ran my hand along his back. “Baby, that wasn’t your fault.”

“He’s my father,” he said, shaking his head. “I should’ve killed him a long time ago.”

“You carry the same guilt that Bradon does,” I told him. “Y’all keep thinking that it was one of your jobs to stop him. It wasn’t. He knew what he was doing was wrong and decided to do it anyway.”

“How can you be so forgiving to a man who did what he did to you?” he looked over at me with the same sad expression he used to wear as a kid.

“Baby, I don’t forgive him for shit,” I said, shaking my head. “I hate him and everything that he is, but I don’t blame you or your uncle for his actions. That’s completely on him.”

“Six said the same thing,” he said, nodding. “We found her…” he looked away and licked his lips. “And she was bad off. Been beaten, starved, was fucked up.”

“How did y’all find her?”

“Trey,” he answered. “He agreed to go back and work his way up the ranks to get close to Robert and Logan. He and Eight did some shit, nothing to be proud about. Robert had her snatched, and to prove their loyalty, he made them beat her.”