“No! I want to go back home,” the other guy pleads.
He rushes me but a gunshot startles me just before the man falls, clutching his back as blood gushes out. Wyn lowers the gun and turns his attention back to the man on the ground.
“Oops, looks like your friend may not be able to walk anymore,” he taunts the other man.
The man punches Caerwyn and they struggle for the gun. Deep down I fear Caerwyn is toying with him. I frantically report the scene to the operator when the gun goes off again. I’m scared Caerwyn is shot when blood covers his suit, but the other guy falls back clutching his penis.
Caerwyn gets up and I flinch once he’s near.
“Don’t do that. I’d never hurt you.”
“How many people have you shot?” My voice quivers as I ask.
“Including them? Two.”
His confession rocks me. “You went against your character for me?”
He frowns at my question as if I don’t make any sense. “No. Protecting what’s mine is never out of character. They crossed a line, so I crossed one with them, Caterpillar.”
Normally, I’d protest the name. Now, he can call me whatever the hell he wants. My head falls on his chest as I cry through my fear and relief.
“I owe you my life,” I wail, holding him tighter not caring about the blood.
He shushes me and his strong arms engulf my body. “No, just your first born.”
“My what?” I stare up at him, surely, he was hit in the head
“Your first born, Caterpillar. A life for a life. I want to be a dad.”
Chapter Five
Caerwyn
I fought off and shot two men, yet the part that shakes me to the core is my confession. The fear mingled with pure rage I saw when I found those men manhandling Imala is enough for me to quit bullshitting. It’s back on between us so hard that
we’re already together and I dare her to dispute it.
Just as I thought, this is another crime not reported due to the LeClaire’s desire to take care of it in house - the mom’s decision. Dondi may be the head but Mellie runs shit around there. The rage she displayed when she found out about the attempted kidnapping of her baby had me wondering if I was too easy on the men. Also, there’s no better way to get in your future missus’ family's good graces than saving their daughter.
Imala begged them to not tell her sisters. She wants to tell them on her time when she feels like talking about it. I can respect that, and her parents decided to as well. As suspected, I’d left her at her parents. They were not letting their baby out of sight and I know she needed them as well.
I saunter into work a few days later because I have a meeting with Oran. I paste my smile on my face, since I cannot disclose what happened. I know my cousin well enough to know that not only would he lose his shit, but he’d also tell his wife. Then, the two of them would probably handcuff poor Imala to one of them at all times.
Oran yells for me to enter when I knock, and we go directly to business. We always bypass small talk at work.
“What’s the deal with that Dallas guy?” I inquire.
Oran fixes me with a gray stare as he thinks.
“Don’t know, don’t care as long as he does his job.”
“I usually don’t either, but his hostility seems directed towards us specifically. He was also at the funeral. Do you think he’s one of Elmer’s die-hard loyal employees looking for a reason to retaliate?”
“No. I think that’s just the setting on his face. He used to look at dear ole dad the same exact way. I’m leaning more towards Founder's envy.” He adjusts his red tie and moves to the file we’re covering.
"Even with Dondi’s assistance, I’m hitting a dead end with the money trail. He was very good at burying it. At this point, we’ll need the best forensic accountant money can buy and a hacker."
I nod thoughtfully. "That can be arranged." I tap my fingers on the desk for a moment. "How's Karessa?"