Unlucky You

Chapter 11

ELEVEN

Grand.

“You should leave.”

I crossed the room, snatched open a drawer, and removed a pair of sweat bottoms which I put on.

“You should answer my gotdamn question.”

I quickly crowded her space and snatched the papers from her hand, tossing them on the bed. “Making you cum doesn’t provide an open invitation to my personal shit.” I pointed to the papers.

“Maybe not but I think I have the right to know who just made me cum.”

“Whether or not I’m a felon didn’t prevent me from holding up my end of the deal. We fucked, you can leave. And maybe now you’ll stay the hell away like I warned.”

She blinked several times before her eyes narrowed. “I don’t care that you’ve been to prison, Grand Sinclair .” The use of my entire government name caused my body to still momentarily but I pulled it together, turned, snatched up her boots and shoved them into her chest. She barely caught them before I stepped back and pointed to the door.

“You caring doesn’t change the fact that I’m not discussing my past with you.”

This was a bad idea. The way she was currently looking at me and the way my dick craved another round of exploring her pussy was conflicting like a muthafucker. I had no idea what Saniya thought about me before, nor did I care, but I could clearly see what she believed of me now written all over her face. Women loved the thrill of fucking with a man that pushed boundaries but rarely did they want to embrace the reality of what crossing them looked like.

“Manslaughter. Five years. You killed someone?”

My expression stoned over while I studied her face. Her expression was impassive. I was a killer. She let me fuck her and now the consequences of her actions were slamming into her like a huge fucking reality check. I didn’t say a word but I didn’t have to. She read my release documents.

“Was it in the ring? Is that why you fight illegally? You’re good, better than good…”

I almost laughed at her trying to justify me taking a life. It was time to shatter that fairytale so she would get the fuck out of my apartment.

“Would me killing a man in the ring make it more digestible for you? Killing is still killing, right?”

Her brows pinched. “Intention changes the perspective. You’re not a killer.”

“You read the papers. I took a man’s life. I don’t give a damn about fighting professionally. Fighting illegally is a way to make money. Don’t try to rationalize what you think you know about me to lessen the reality that you opened your legs for a killer. Please don’t get that shit fucked up, that’s what I am.”

I was being harsh but apparently that was what she needed in order to let this go, or so I thought…

“Tell me what happened.” She rolled her shoulders back like what I said didn’t affect her. It did. I saw the gut punch of my words flickering in her eyes.

“Go home, Saniya. We both got what we wanted.”

Without waiting for her response, I walked back into the bathroom, slammed the door, and placed my hands on the small ceramic counter. I dropped my head between my shoulders then slowly lifted my eyes and stared at my expression. A few minutes later I heard my front door slam and knew she was gone. I was grateful because arguing with this woman or dragging her out of my place wasn’t anything I wanted.

When I entered my room again, I sat on the foot of the bed and lowered, allowing my body to sink into the mattress. I raked both palms over my waves and down my face before I turned my head toward the stack of papers next to me. As fucked up as things were, this was my life and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that all I wanted from Saniya was sex, the lie felt weighted in my thoughts. Regardless, it didn’t fucking matter. She didn’t want anything to do with me and the way I just talked to her killed any consideration she might have been toying with.

After a few long minutes of staring at the ceiling, I lifted, snatched up the papers, and shoved them in one of my drawers before I left my room. In the kitchen, I removed a bottle of Hennessy from the cabinet, bypassed a glass, and took it to the living room. My eyes landed on the backpack. I turned up the bottle and snatched it from the floor before I headed to the sofa. I unzipped the bag and removed one of the stacks of cash, running my fingers over it before I dropped it back inside and stretched out across the fabric-covered sofa which was too small to fully accommodate me. I lifted my head enough to take down several gulps and place the bottle on the floor.

I still had three grand from the first fight and the twenty-five I collected tonight, minus Tali’s cut, would give me a nice cushion. I planned on calling Walt to see if he was serious about putting me on, then figuring things out with me and Raiden. Tonight was proof that I had to stick to my priorities and women weren’t on that list as of now. Especially not one like Saniya. The reality fucked with me more than it should have but so did the reminder that I wanted things with us to work. The guilt was strong as hell and maybe that was a good thing. Either way I had a reality check and now it was time to get back on my grind.

Watching my son doing the most simple things was surreal. We spent the day at Gravity Zone. They had recently opened a branch in Diamond Falls. Raiden kept telling me how all his friends had been there and he was the only one who hadn’t. Fucking kid metrics . Regardless I was gonna make sure we pulled up.

As much as I wanted to let him enjoy the moment, he wanted me to be a part of the process. I was hesitant, allowing my insecurities of the type of parent I was get in the way of me enjoying my time with him. I missed so much and although I planned on making up for the absence, a small part of me felt like the people around us could see through me and were judging.

Raiden’s enthusiasm had me quickly saying fuck anyone’s opinions but his. I spent hours on trampolines, climbing through obstacle courses, and playing laser tag. He and I existed in our own world and for the first time in years I felt at peace. At the moment, I had a smile on my face watching him carefully putting ketchup on his burger. His brows were pinched while his little hands worked to smooth the small packet, removing as much as he could but skillfully ensuring it remained on his burger and didn’t reach his fries.

Simple shit but the process had me feeling a love that I’d missed for the past five years. “I have two more. You want them?”

He placed the top bun back on the burger then lifted the two packets.

“Nah, I’m good.”

I glanced at my phone and silenced the third call from Rix. He had been hitting my line and I wasn’t about to deal with him crying about the money I’d won fairly because he wasn’t a smart businessperson.

“Not even for your burger?” He knew I didn’t want ketchup on my fries but the disappointment of me not wanting it on my burger had me taking the packets and emptying them on top of the stacked lettuce and tomatoes.

The smile he offered was enough reward to struggle through the overdose of ketchup I would have to suffer. We both dug into our food, and like I had done most of the day, I watched my son doing simple shit and enjoyed every second of the time until he dragged the back of his hand over his mouth and lifted eyes that mirrored mine.

“Daddy, can you buy me a bike?”

“Don’t you have one?”

He nodded with a jerky motion before his brows pinched a little. “Nana got me one for my birthday but I don’t know how to ride it. She didn’t know how to teach me. If you buy me one to keep at your house, you can teach me tomorrow when we wake up and then I’ll know how to ride both of them.”

“We can swing by the house and get the one you have.”

“But then you will have to bring it to your house every time I come to stay with you. There’s nothing wrong with having two bikes.” His face split into a grin and I chuckled.

“Sounds like you’re trying to hustle me into buying you a new bike.”

The kid was grinning again. He shrugged and bit into his burger, not bothering to deny that he had an agenda. Not that I cared. I would buy him ten fucking bikes if that’s what he wanted. We finished our food with me listening to him speak with elation about how his new bike was going to look just like the ones he saw outside of Sweet Auburn. My kid basically wanted a motorcycle, which he wouldn’t be getting anytime soon, but I planned on gifting a bike that was a close trade-off.

We were done with our food just after seven which left me plenty of time to keep my promise. My goal was to get Raiden a bike, spend an hour teaching him how to ride in the parking lot, but when we left the restaurant, my entire mood was shot to hell by my bad choices catching up with me.

A man approached, causing me to tighten my grip on Raiden’s hand while moving him closer to my side and slightly behind me just in case I needed to react. I was close enough to my car for Raiden to go safely without my assistance so I hit the locks. “Raidy, get in the car. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He nodded and smiled, hurrying to the back passenger seat. I shielded the path he traveled with my body. Once my son was out of harm’s way, I moved closer ,drawing whatever bullshit this man was on away from my son.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Not important but the message I have for you is. Boss says next time he calls you need to answer.” The man’s eyes met mine, then lowered to Raiden, which had my muscles tensing. I’d kill for my son, but I damn sure didn’t want him witnessing me doing it.

“I don’t know who the fuck your boss is—” I moved slightly to the side to make sure Raiden wasn’t in his line of fire, since he was approaching head on.

“Rix and he said he needs to see you soon. So when he hits your line, you need to answer.”

My eyes shifted around in confusion. How the fuck would Rix know where I was and today of all days when I was with Raiden?

“How the fuck did you know how to find me?”

“I followed you the day you met with Rix. He doesn’t like to leave anything to chance and that’s a good thing because of that stunt you pulled last night. You didn’t honestly believe you would get that type of money from him and not work for it.”

“We had a deal. I survive all three fights, I keep the money. Tell Rix I don’t owe him shit.”

He grinned smugly in a way that had my fingers curling into my palm. The only thing saving him was my son being a few feet away from us.

“I’ll tell him but just know, he isn’t gonna accept that. The minute you stepped in that ring, you became an asset. Rix is not in the business of losing assets.”

His eyes shifted past me toward my car. “I suggest you answer the next time he calls.”

I edged closer because this muthafucker was toying with his life if he thought acknowledging my son was a good idea. “I suggest you keep your focus on me. He’s the one person I will risk it all for without question.”

“I’m not the one you need to worry about.” He spoke with too much smugness in his tone, but now wasn’t the time. I’d lost one person I loved because of a careless act on my part. I left her alone. I refused to make another stupid mistake and lose one more person.

He walked away and I turned toward my car to find Raiden knocked out in his booster seat. His iPad hung loosely from his fingers. I was grateful the day had worn him out so he didn’t question me about what just happened.

I opened the back seat and checked to make sure my little man was buckled properly before I rounded the car and got in. Once I was settled, I removed my phone and hit Tali up.

“What up, cuz?”

Something in me relaxed when his voice flowed through the line. My first thought was if they followed me, they followed Tali. Thinking of last night shifted my thoughts to Saniya and I tensed again. They could have followed her too. The best way to control people was to seek out the people they cared about.

“Nothing, you good?”

“I’m not the one who was taking body blows last night. I’m straight, fam. You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Spent the day with Raiden.” I lifted my eyes to the rearview and smiled before I started my car.

“That’s why your ass sounds stressed. I know he had you on go all damn day.”

I smirked and nodded before I backed out of the spot I was in and navigated out the parking lot.

“Yeah, he took full advantage. I’m not gonna complain though. I owe him years. This is one day.”

“I feel you.” I was appreciative that he didn’t argue the point or try to justify why I hadn’t been around. No one could justify what I felt I owed my son.

“You in the shop tomorrow?”

“Nah, my schedule is open. You trying to get in my chair?”

“No, just wanted to make sure you were good after the shit from last night.”

“Is there a reason why I wouldn’t be?”

I probably should have told him about one of Rix’s people pulling up on me but I planned on handling it. If I couldn’t, I would fill him in. So for now, I kept it simple.

“No, everything’s good. I’m not going back so there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“You sure.”

“Yeah, I’m sure, but let me get Raidy back to my place. I’ll hit you up tomorrow.”

“Aight, do that.”

I ended the call and made another one.

“I see you got my message.”

His fucking tone was too smug, but I kept mine level. “A man who doesn’t keep his word is not a man, Rix. Is that the type of reputation you want?”

“I don’t give a fuck about other’s opinions of me. What I do care about is my money and you stole from me.”

“I didn’t steal from you. We had a deal. I honored my end. Are you refusing to honor yours?”

“You walked out of there, didn’t you?”

I snorted in annoyance. “Then stop fucking calling me.”

“You owe me fights. Pay up and I’ll stop calling.”

“I don’t owe you shit.”

“For that kind of money you do. Three more fights and we’re done.”

“I’m not giving you any more fights. I told you the first day that this was temporary.”

“You need the money or you would have never stepped in the ring. Where else do you think you can make that kind of money with no risk?”

“Doesn’t fucking matter. I said I’m done.”

“If you tell me no now, then you’ll never step into another ring. Not mine or anyone else’s in the city. One call and I’ll shut you down. You might want to rethink that.”

“Call whoever the fuck you want. I said I’m done.”

He hung up on me but I didn’t give a damn. I had no intention of stepping in another ring. It had always been temporary, just long enough to stack enough money to pay my mother back what she spent and to give me enough cushion to not be stressed about how I was going to keep a roof over my head. The rest I would figure out.

I dropped my phone in my lap and contemplated running by the Target near my complex to get Raiden’s bike. The way he was all over the place nonstop today meant he would likely crash for the rest of the night but I didn’t want him to wake up disappointed about not having a new bike. Another glance in the rear view made the decision for me. Raiden’s head was back, mouth wide open, and he was growling like he just worked a forty-hour shift. The way this kid had me smiling was pathetic.

Thirty minutes later I was parked in front of my unit and carrying my son to the door. His little body was dead weight in my arms because he didn’t so much as stir when I lifted him from the car.

As soon as I got him changed and in bed, I was going to see if I could get him a bike ordered and delivered in the morning, but once again the universe was fucking with my patience. I heard a car door slam followed by the voice of a person that had no business standing behind me.

“I didn’t know you had a son.”

Which was intentional. I purposely left Raiden’s name out of my parole plan. All they needed to know was I was getting a job and staying out of trouble for the next two years.

I shifted Raiden to my left arm and pushed the key into the lock with my right hand without bothering to look at her when I responded.

“And you have no business pulling up on me.”

I turned the lock and doorknob, shouldering into my unit and this crazy ass woman was right behind me. I needed to get him situated but refused to argue with my son in my arms.

“Stay here and don’t touch any of my shit,” I gritted and carried Raiden to my room. As much as he needed a bath, that would have to wait. So I removed his clothes, got him in a T-shirt and shorts—bypassing pajamas—and tucked him into my bed. I dug my phone out of my pocket, hit record, and slipped the device back in place.

When I returned to the living room, this crazy ass woman was standing in my kitchen going through my cabinets.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you have no drugs or alcohol in your apartment. That would be a violation of your parole.”

I was grateful as fuck I’d finished the bottle I had last night and dumped the trash to make sure there was nothing lingering when Raiden got here today.

“There’s nothing here, and regardless, I didn’t give you permission to go through my shit.”

She smiled seductively, closing the cabinet before leaving the kitchen and heading my way. “I don’t need your permission. I have the right to search your place and you…” She extended her hand toward my waist but I caught her wrist.

“You don’t have the right to be here and you damn sure don’t have the right to put your hands on me.”

Her brown eyes flickered with amusement. She was a pretty woman with a decent enough body who I was sure had no problems attracting men, but I wasn’t interested. There was no way in hell I would cross certain lines. If I fucked her once, it wouldn’t end there. The threat of messing with my freedom would always be lingering and the minute she got in her feelings I would be at risk of this woman throwing her weight around.

She snatched her wrist free and pushed a hand into her jacket pocket. “You didn’t read your paperwork. I can do unannounced visits to ensure you’re complying with curfew. You’re still property of the state. You can either be our property here , in this apartment, or in prison. Choice is yours.”

It was just after eight, so her being here was bullshit. I simply needed her to say something that would prove my point. My phone was still recording, which meant all I had to do was provoke her enough to make her proposition me now. She had done this enough times that I would bet every penny I owned, that was why she was here.

“My curfew is ten. The only way I go back to prison is if I violate the terms of my probation and clearly I haven’t.”

Her lips slowly pulled into a smile. “Not yet.” She removed something from her pocket and held it up. My jaw clenched. Was she fucking serious?

“I just took a drug test yesterday and passed.”

She shrugged lazily. “I know and I still have the right to demand that you take another one.” She extended the small plastic cup toward me. “But this time I’m going to watch.”

I snorted a laugh. “You want me to pull out my dick and pee in that cup while you watch?”

“Not want , you’re going to. I need to make sure you don’t try to slip anything past me.”

Nah, your horny ass wants to see my dick and that ain’t happening.

I lowered my eyes to the cup she was dangling between us.

“I might not have read the paperwork but my memory is good as fuck. Officers of the same sex are the only ones who can witness a urine test. Unless I’m confused, you don’t have a dick.”

“I can argue the test was warranted based on violation of parole. I’ll just report that I found drugs on the premises and was required to test you.”

“Bruh, are you fucking serious? You didn’t find a damn thing here but a dick that you want and can’t have. Search my entire place if you want to.”

“I’ve been working for the state for twelve years. My record is exemplary. You’re a felon. Who do you think they’ll believe? You might as well give me what I want. If not, I’ll have to make some notes to your file.”

I pushed my hand into my pocket, removed my phone and held it up. Her eyes shifted to the device and I noticed the second she realized what was going on.

“So, let me be clear. If I don’t fuck you, you will lie and say I’ve violated parole.”

She hesitated and tensed for a minute. “You can’t record me without my permission. Nobody is going to care about that.”

“Maybe not legally but the news loves shit like this and I would bet that the state isn’t going to risk their reputation by defending you.”

The way her expression shifted to anger had me believing she would keep pushing this but thankfully she did the right thing. For now…

“You’re taking the test.”

This bitch.

“Bet, let’s go, but you still ain’t watching.”

She rolled her eyes and shrugged, stepping forward. Her hand was on my dick before I could stop her and she squeezed firmly then patted the front of my jeans until I knocked her hand away.

“The fuck you doing?”

“I’m making sure you’re not hiding anything. I have the right to search you.”

“Let’s get this shit over with so you can get the fuck out of my apartment.”

She followed me to the bathroom, stood in the doorway. My back was to her but she could still see me at an angle. I knew her thirsty ass was watching. After I was done, I placed the lid on the cup and handed it over. When she reached to accept it, she pulled her hand back at the last minute and let it drop to the floor. Luckily it didn’t spill or I would have had another case on my record.

“The state appreciates your cooperation. Have a good night, Mr. Sinclair.” She flashed a smile, stepped into the hallway, and made her way to the door. I followed to make sure she was gone, locked my door, headed to the bathroom to dispose of what she left and wash my hands so I could try to calm the fuck down.

I had to get the money up to pay off this damn fine so I could be done with this parole shit or I was going to lose my mind and my patience.