Page 140

I watched them standing in the kitchen. She was chopping vegetables and he was leaning against the counter. He looked more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.

She looked up and saw me.

“Hey.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

I crossed the kitchen and kissed her, resting my hand against her waist. She stayed close for a second before looking over her shoulder.

“Mr. Banks…” he started.

“You can call me Justice. Mr. Banks makes me feel old,” I replied.

“Will we be staying here?” he asked.

“No, baby. Not right now. Just for a few days,” she responded before I could say anything.

“But as soon as I iron out some things, we’ll be living together. You’ll get your own room. For now we’ll take you shopping tomorrow and replace whatever it is you left at the house. You can start ordering shit online if you want,” I said.

“Cool. This house is huge. Did you use to have a horse?” he asked as he turned and eyed the barn out back.

“Long story,” I sighed.

“Baby, why don’t you go chill. And I’ll call you when dinner is ready,” she said to him.

When he left, she turned to me. “What’s wrong?”

“I handled Julian. He would’ve come for you and I couldn’t have that,” I said to her.

“What about my sister?”

“Even if she goes to the cops, there is nothing that traces their deaths to us. Trust me. I got cops. I know how to clean this up,” I said.

The cops we had relationships with would cover for this but not if I killed my daughter. I had to be smart about Storie.

Melody’s shoulders relaxed away from her ears. She was at peace. She had her son, and her ex-husband was no longer a threat. I should’ve been more at peace too. But Storie was still a problem.

“When you get a chance, I wanna read that book you’ve been working on,” I said, turning to grab a bottle of Banks Reserve.

“I’ll think about it.” She winked.

I loved where things were going with her. And I would do anything to keep her safe even if it meant sacrificing Storie.

44

Melody

It had been a couple of days since everything went down with Julian, and tomorrow night was the biggest night for the Banks Grand. Deacon Knox was fighting Raul Lopes, and apparently everybody involved needed to speak to Justice before they could do their damn jobs.

Justice’s phone vibrated against the nightstand just as I settled against him. He reached for the phone, but I caught his wrist.

“Who is it now?”

He looked at the screen. “Quest.”

“Does he know what time it is?”

“He know. He just don’t give a fuck.”