“Reeshemah, who the fuck you in here talking to?”
The way she jumps makes me furious. I turn slowly as the heavy footfalls move toward us. Donny comes into view, and I snort. He’s a big guy, but that doesn’t faze me.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Rude much?”
“You’re in my house, bitch. I said, who the fuck are you?”
“I got your bitch.”
“Please don’t. His brother is a cop. He’ll make this worse for us.”
“I don’t give a fuck if his brother is the head of the FBI, CIA, and the Department of Justice. If he calls me out my name again, he’s going to need the world’s finest detective to find his ass.” He looks like he’s going to make a move. “Oh, honey, try me. I break dudes like you down for fun. And there’s a big motherfucker outside just waiting to put his hands on you. Make my fucking day.”
Just then, Jace appears. I point at him. “See.” I give a smug smile.
“Reeshemah, you’ve got five seconds to get these people out of my house.”
“Or what?” I say with my gun drawn, silencer already in place. “Sweetheart, you don’t need a thing from here. We’ll give you a fresh start. So are you going with option one or two?”
“Either way, he’s going to kill me,” she sobs.
I pull the trigger and holster my gun, then turn to face her. “Now, what was that?”
“Oh, my God,” she breathes as if taking a breath for the first time ever.
“I’ll get a cleaner,” Jace murmurs.
I tilt my head to the side. “So what will it be?”
“Option two.” She nods frantically.
“You’re twenty-three, Reeshemah. Your life is just getting started. I promise, it gets better from here.”
She runs to me and wraps me in a hug. I hold her tight and rock her as she shakes with tears. This one feels right. I don’t question if she needs us. I know she does.
CHAPTER 40
Beauty
Jace
My palms are sweaty as I sit dressed in a tux in the living room of this hotel suite. I’m waiting for Ny to finish getting ready. I’ve been planning this for years. My moment to take her on the perfect first date.
It couldn’t be any small gesture. Even after having the money to do this for her, I wanted to think and plan it out. This needed to be something planned just for her.
When she comes out of the bedroom in the sparkling black floor-length gown, I almost swallow my tongue as I stand and stare. She’s breathtaking.
The bob she used to wear has grown out. Her hair now reaches between her shoulder blades, but tonight she has it in big curls that rest over her right shoulder. The strapless gown hugs her body and places her breasts on display.
“You look gorgeous,” I say when she stops in front of me.
“Thank you.” She lifts her hands to smooth them down my lapels. “You look great yourself.”
I place my hands on her hips and lean in to kiss her. As I slide my tongue into her mouth, I move my palms to her ass. She moves her hands into my man bun. I know I’m going to have to fix it before we leave.
I don’t mind, I love when she runs her fingers through my hair. It’s why I haven’t cut it in years. I peck her lips twice before releasing her so I can give her the gift I have for her.
“Come here for a minute. I have something for you.”
I lead her over to the couch by the hand. I notice she has on the diamond necklace and earrings Gio gave her. They’re perfect for tonight.
She sits on the couch, and I take the seat next to her, reaching into my tux jacket for the jewelry box. Handing the box over, I watch her with bated breath.
“Oh wow, Jace. It’s gorgeous.” She holds her wrist out for me to fasten the diamond bracelet in place.
Removing it from the box, I place it on her wrist. As I bend my head over her wrist to lock it in place, she runs her other hand through my hair. Pulling a piece down to twirl around her finger. I look up once the bracelet is in place.
“Thank you.”
She leans in to kiss me. I place a hand on her waist and take over the kiss. I groan into her mouth. I have to force myself to pull away.
I look down at my watch. “We need to go. I don’t want to be late.”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Can I guess?”
I roll my eyes. “Or you can get up and let’s go. Our limo is waiting.”
“Ugh, you hang with Gio too much.”
We make our way to the door. I open the closet for our coats, but only find mine.
“Where’s your fur?”
“I wasn’t going to wear it.”