Page 182 of 4 Corinthians

“Because I didn’t want you to have to kill your brother,” I answered. “How did you know he was there?”

He reached behind my seat, picked up his bag, and took out his laptop. After he put it in his lap and booted it up, he handed it to me. “Press play,” he said. Hesitantly, I did, and I watched the video of everything leading up to my assault. “His fate was sealed the moment he gave me that video, and he knew it.”

I closed the laptop and gave it back to him. Uri tossed the laptop into the back seat, then put the car in drive and pulled off.

“I can't ask you to kill your brother,” I finally said.

“You didn’t ask me to,” he replied.

***

“Ay,” Uri tapped my leg, and I looked from the window to him. “Hungry?”

“No,” I answered, shaking my head. “I just want to go home and sleep.”

“Food first,” he said. It wasn’t a question or option, and I knew that. And honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to argue either. I sat back in my seat, turned to look back out the window, and rode. We pulled into a small hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant, and my stomach started growling. “Come on.”

I watched him as he got out of the car, rounded it, and came to open my door. It was something about the way he walked, carried himself, and watched his surroundings and me that screamed danger. And it was sexy; he was sexy, unintentionally, because I knew that Uri wasn’t trying to be something that he wasn’t. The confidence and even shyness that he only displayed with me showed that I was his safe space, and for a man like Uri, one that I knew had been through so much, that made my eyes water. He trusted me in ways he would never trust anyone else.

He opened the door, then put his hand out for me to take. Once I was standing next to him, he looked down at me and lifted his brow. “What’s wrong?” He gently held my chin to make sure I didn’t move my head. “Nah, Cori, don’t look away. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I laughed softly, then licked my lips. His pupils dilating was the only tell that my simple gesture affected him.

“Then why are you crying?” He let go of my chin to cup my face in his hands, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had already fallen. “Tell me what’s wrong so I can fix it.”

“You already did,” I told him. His brows creased in the middle, damn near touching, and I smiled. Despite my tears, I was happy. “You just being you, fixed it. You coming back, you standing beside me. You loving my son and me. Just it all.” I wrapped my hands around his wrist. “The tears aren’t from sadness. They're happy tears.”

“Folks really do that?” he asked with a chuckle, and I nodded. “You do that?”

“Not before you.”

“Alright then, happy tears.” He gently kissed me. Just like any other time he kissed me, my heart slammed against my chest. The excitement and joy I got from this simple gesture also showed me how much at peace I was with him. “I can rock with that.” He kissed my forehead. “As long as they are happy tears, then I ain’t worried about shit.” He let go of my face but didn’t back up. “You good now?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let’s grab some food then,” he said, then took my hand.

“I already know you want, Four,” the owner, Bright Bowlin, said as soon as we walked through the door. She looked from him to me then smiled as she leaned against the counter and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “So, the rumors are true, huh?”

“What rumors?” Uri asked. He stepped behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on the top of my head.

“The two quiet ones are together,” she answered with another smile.

“Yo cousin gossips like a girl,” Uri laughed.

“It wasn’t my cousin,” she replied. “It was my auntie and the rest of the gang.” She laughed. “And that includes Ms. Nadine.”

“It’s true,” I said before Uri could reply. I knew he wouldn’t deny our relationship, but I also knew that he wouldn’t say anything if I didn’t. He was letting me set the pace and tone, and there was no reason to deny what was obvious.

“Yo granny been saying it for years,” Bright said, shaking her head. She stood, quickly rubbed her hands together, then dropped them. “Give me a second to wash my hands, and then I’ll put together y’all boils.” She started walking away. “Go on and sit down. I know what y’all both want.”

Bright went to the back, and Four walked us to the wall and leaned against it. His back rested against the wall and mine against him.

“I need to tell you something,” he said. My eyes wandered over the menu even though I knew it by heart. I came here often; Judah loved seafood and always wanted a boil or crawfish.

“Is it going to piss me off?” I asked, and his arms tightened around my waist.

“Nah,” he chuckled lowly. “I just want to tell you my plan so it ain’t ever a question about what’s going to happen when it comes to us.”