The Strongest Soldier Falls for Love

Luxe Saint-Mercier

Stretching, I groaned and turned over to see the handsome face lying next to me.

It was of a guy that I’d met a couple of weeks ago and finally allowed him to take me out on a date.

I was against it at first, because I’d promised myself that I was gon’ take a break from men for a while.

They were more trouble than they truly needed to be, but this one, somehow, had slipped through the cracks.

After an amazing date, I decided that I didn’t want the night to end and invited him back to my place.

He gave me some of the best sex that I’d had in a while.

We were both out like a light afterward.

I would’ve stayed in bed had I not needed to head into the office this morning.

There was a meeting scheduled with this new client about some diamonds they wanted me to acquire for them.

Punctuality was a must for me. Respect was something I desired, so I tried my best to give it.

The pads of my fingers stroked his cheek before I tossed the covers back and climbed out of bed.

Entering the bathroom, I turned on the shower and then brushed my teeth.

Stepping over into my walk-in shower, my dual showerheads sprayed my frame.

I washed up good before grabbing my robe and slipping it on.

When I walked back into my bedroom, Marcus was still sleeping peacefully in my bed. Once I was halfway done getting dressed, I’d wake him so that he could get out of here.

Men weren’t my strong suit, and I could fully admit that.

Every relationship that I’d ever been in, ended in heartbreak.

I remember when I killed my boyfriend a few years ago and almost got away with it, but Wicked ended up having to take the fall for it because he was a politician, and they weren’t letting the case rest without someone going down for it.

I already respected my little brother, but for him to do something like that gave me a newfound respect for him.

I tried talking him out of it, but he said since he was the leader of the family, it was his responsibility.

It didn’t matter that I was the oldest; he wasn’t about to let me go to prison.

That man sat in a cell for years because of me.

That was exactly why whenever that man said jump, I asked how high.

I dipped my finger in my Estee Lauder and smoothed my moisturizer across my face.

From my peripheral, I noticed movement. When I looked through the mirror, I detected Marcus wide awake and reaching underneath the pillow he was lying on.

His eyes stayed trained on me. In one swift motion, I grabbed my pistol attached beneath my vanity and aimed it in his direction.

Pow!

A single bullet entered his forehead between the eyes.

“Well, that was almost nice,” I said and slid my gun onto the vanity.

I tossed on a T-shirt and went over to the bed to see exactly what he was searching for.

His eyes stared back at me. I didn’t even bother to close them.

Reaching across him, I slid my hand underneath the pillow and pulled out the gun he had under there.

“Sneaky lil mufucka, huh?”

Smith & Wesson.

Tossing the gun onto the bed, I reached down onto the floor and searched his pockets to see exactly who this man was in my bed. If he was trying to kill me, his name damn sure wasn’t no damn Marcus. Soon as I opened his wallet, I was correct. Lance Carter.

Shutting his wallet, I searched to see if he had anything else in his pocket and found two phones. One iPhone . . . the other a burner.

Unknown: Make sure you handle it clean. We don’t need anything getting back to us.

Unknown: Is it done?

Unknown: Is it fucking done?

Unknown: You’re taking too long. I’m sending backup.

“Who the hell I done pissed off now?” I whispered and frowned.

In my line of work, it wasn’t hard for me to make enemies.

People were pissed with me all the time, and I was able to handle the situations and make the shit go away.

The more I looked through the phone, I could see that they were looking for this painting that I sold over three years ago.

They must’ve used all their resources to find me for them to take this long to come back for some payback.

When I made it to the office, I’d just call the client and see if they still had it. If that was what was gon’ get them off my back, because I didn’t really know who the people were that were after me in the first place.

Tossing the phone, I grabbed Lance by the legs and pulled him off the bed. His body made a thud sound once it hit the floor. I dragged him out of my bedroom, leaving a trail of crimson blood behind us.

“You’re heavier than I thought,” I said once I made it to the staircase.

Dropping his feet, I stepped behind him and pushed his ass right down the stairs. He rolled until he hit the tile floor of the entryway.

“In here fucking up my floors. I just mopped these yesterday. Just don’t have no respect.”

Shaking my head, I went down behind him. Grabbing him by the ankles, I pulled him toward the back door.

“If I wanted a workout this morning, I would’ve got up and did some cardio or Pilates. Shit.”

I made it out onto the back patio and stopped.

My heart palpitated and chest heaved. Dusting off my hands, I headed over to the shed and grabbed the shovel.

There was this nice open space next to my flowers where I could start a new part of the garden.

I’d been wanting to add some exotic plants anyway. Lance’s ass was gon’ make them thrive.

It took me about forty minutes to get the hole dug deep enough where I could place him inside. I wasn’t digging no six-foot hole. That shit was gon’ take almost all morning.

“That’ll do it,” I said as I looked down into the hole I’d just dug.

Tossing the shovel to the side, I rolled Lance’s body over into the hole and covered him with the dirt. By the time I was done playing outside, I had to go back into the house and take me another shower.

After my shower, I got dressed and fled out the door. I was thirty minutes behind making it to the office. As I climbed into my Lamborghini, I dialed Brielle’s phone.

“Yes, Ms. Saint-Mercier.” Brielle answered on the first ring because I had her trained like that.

“I’m on my way into the office. I need you to find this client’s number. I think their name is Donovan McCallister. Have that waiting for me by the time I arrive,” I told her as I sped out of the driveway.

“Yes, ma’am.”

I disconnected the call and turned my attention back to the road.

When I pulled up to the red light, I noticed a blacked-out Tahoe a couple cars behind me.

The tint on the windshield was illegal as hell.

I went on and turned, keeping my eyes on the truck.

It turned right along with me, holding a fair amount of distance between us.

Once I made a sharp left turn and saw they did the same, I knew this truck was indeed following me. Savion and his team used these sorts of trucks all the time. I wasn’t aware if a detail had been assigned to me or not, so before I did anything drastic, I was gon’ call and make sure.

Grabbing my phone from the cupholder, I dialed Solei’s number and waited as the phone rang through the Bluetooth.

“Good morniiiiinnnnnnnggggggg,” Solei sang when she answered the phone.

“Did Savion place a detail on me by any chance?”

Those brothers of mine always had some shit going on. One would never know when it came to them.

“Bae, you put security on Luxe?” I heard her ask him.

“What she talking about?” The sound of Savion’s voice came through the speakers. By then, gunshots rang out behind me.

My foot mashed down on the gas, and I sped the fuck out of there. “Somebody tryna kill me!”

“Where you at?” Savion wasted no time asking.

“Getting onto the interstate. I’m heading to the office.”

Muffling noises came through the phone followed by Solei’s voice again. “Luxe, what did you do?”

“I think it has something to do with work. I don’t know.”

My mouth slacked as I picked up speed. I sped straight past a state trooper. He didn’t even bother to cut on his lights because he knew he wasn’t gon’ be able to catch me.

“Lord,” was the only thing she offered me.

I checked my rearview, and the truck was nowhere in sight. My heartbeat slowed. Just because I didn’t see them didn’t mean they’d given up on their assassination attempt.

“I think I lost them,” I said as I neared my exit. By the time I got off, I saw black Tahoes parked with men already outside them. They had their weapons drawn, prepared for whatever was to come their way.

I zoomed past them and headed straight for my office. Normally, I’d park on the street just in case I needed to leave early, but today, I was gon’ have valet grab my car for me.

There was another truck parked at the building. I stopped in front of the doors and got out. “Park it,” I told them and scrambled inside.

“You do know he’s gon’ place people on you now,” Solei said as I neared the elevator.

“Tell him I can handle myself.”

“We both know that’s a lie, Luxe. If you could, you wouldn’t have called in the first place. I know this isn’t something that you’ll want, but maybe it won’t be for long. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get to the bottom of it quickly, and you won’t have to worry about them for long.”

“I’m not a child,” I told her and disconnected the call.