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I changed and ran through about six different ways to start this conversation.
“What’s up, Belle?” he greeted me as he walked into the kitchen.
“Sit.” I gestured to a stool at the island.
Marco arched his brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just sit.”
He sat next to me slowly. “Oookay.”
“What did Dez tell you about our situation?”
“Why?”
I glared at him.
He sucked his teeth. “You skimmed money from some of his shell companies. He found out and set this whole engagement thing in motion. That’s the gist of what I got. Never asked for any more information than that because it’s not my business… until it affects my job.”
“Right.” I exhaled. “There’s more.”
“More that Dez doesn’t know?”
I nodded. “I’ve been doing this for a while. Which is obvious because why the fuck would Dez of all people be my first mark?” I laughed nervously. “Anyway, I did the same thing to somebody else. Over a longer period of time.”
Marco frowned. “Gideon.”
“You know about him?”
“Lucky guess.”
That either meant Dez already had him looking into Gideon or Marco had been doing his own digging. I decided to let it go because I had bigger problems than figuring out where his information was coming from.
“I took the first hundred fifty because I wanted to. I stopped when—” I swallowed. “When I realized I had feelings for Cardez. I wasn’t going to take anymore, but Gideon approached me about the scam and wanted his money back—with interest. I panicked. It was stupid, but why the fuck would I empty my accounts when Cardez is sitting on more money than God? Then Gideon showed up at the engagement party and raised the number. I have four days left, Marco.”
“You haven’t told Dez this?”
“Obviously not. If he knew, you’d know. Doesn’t he tell you everything?”
“Not everything.” He shook his head. “You know not telling him is stupid as hell, right?”
“I know,” I groaned.
“You’re not the only thing Dez has been dealing with. This shit is light work in comparison. And whole time you been sitting on information that could’ve fixed everything weeks ago.”
“It’s my mess.”
“It might not be official yet, but you’re a Montague. Which means your problems are his problems now. That’s how this works, whether you like it or not.”
I made a face. “It’s gonna sound childish, but I don’t want him to hate me anymore than he does.”
Marco glanced at the marks on my neck. “Unless some other nigga gave you them hickeys, that man doesn’t hate you. Look, I get you’re scared, but you gotta understand that Cardez is that nigga. Gideon really has no business threatening you. Quite frankly, the shit is disrespectful.”
“What’s Cardez gonna do to him?”
“Why do you care?” Marco laughed. “Once it’s in Dez’s hands, it’s above you. You already know what you need to do. For what it’s worth, Cardez does care about you. A lot more than he’s willing to admit. That makes it easier, not harder. A man who didn’t give a damn wouldn’t be worth being honest with.”
I sat with that.
