Chapter 9
I couldn’t breathe.
In all the things I thought he would want to talk about, I never envisioned it would be a file a mile long on Gideon, me, and our years together. The file even held all the notes from my many hospital visits. How the nurses were ready to call the police to protect me, but in the end, the mighty dollar for their silence won.
Was it possible for my heart to break this way?
“Why did you go out and get all that? I told you whatever happened between me and Gideon wasn’t any of your concern. I just wanted to go on about my merry way, but you made a point to keep me despite what I wanted. Now you have that stupid folder. What are you going to do? Two million dollars is a lot, so I guess you’re about to be like everybody else and hand me over?”
“Gideon’s money is no good with me. The only thing I’m after when it comes to him is his blood on my hands. Come here.” Arrow held out his hand to me.
I shook my head, leaned down so my head was resting on the island, and sobbed.
“No.”
I heard the stool scoot back, but I paid it no mind because my mind was moving a mile a minute.
I could feel Arrow before he touched me. He placed his hand in the middle of my back and rubbed small circles. I didn’t want to, but I leaned into him. What did Arrow knowing who I really was mean for me? The urge to run away before I had to come into contact with Gideon was heavy on my spirit. Arrow came to the left side of me and grabbed my hands.
Once he had my wrists in his large hands, he pulled me up and wrapped his arms around me.
“You are free of him. Even if there was a way and he escaped his fate, there will never be a time where you are in his presence again. You and Hendrix are safe forever. I know you want to leave, but something in my spirit is telling me you need to be here. All this sappy shit is making me itch, but you’ll be good here. No matter what.”
“I wish you hadn’t looked for the information. If something happens to you in pursuit of him, it would kill me, and I don’t want that. Gideon doesn’t fight fair, and he will hit you where it hurts. You don’t know him like I do.”
“What if I knew him better?”
I snatched my hands away from him and stepped back.
My eyes scanned Arrow’s face, but it gave nothing away. I opened my mouth, then closed it as my brows dipped. He shook his head and grabbed my face, touching his forehead to mine. Arrow’s grip was tight, but there was no pain. The look in his eyes calmed a part of me, although I wanted to fight it.
Arrow used his thumbs to swipe away my tears.
“His death was coming long before you and him ever existed. I had no idea that he was even married, but when I came for him, it wouldn’t have mattered. Gideon, his mother, and my father?—”
“Your father!” I whisper-yelled. “So, my son is really named after Hendrix? Did y’all know who…”
“No. I was tired of you looking over your shoulder—even when you didn’t think I noticed, so I had my guy pull your information to end this. You tying us to him, to me, was God’s way of giving me the green light to do what needs to be done.”
With a stale face, I pursed my lips.
No part of me believed that God was condoning the death of Gideon and his folks. No matter how terrible they were to me, they were still God’s children. Arrow shrugged and used his body to block me between him and the island.
I looked up into his face and wondered how this stranger could make me feel so secure.
“You better be careful before you get struck down from your blasphemy.”
“I’ll be straight. I want you to relax and just exist. Here is the last place anyone tied to Gideon would come looking for you. You will be okay here. The compound has everything you need, but you are not a hostage here. I just ask that you don’t leave Rushin Mills at all, but mostly until the Baxters have been handled.
“What about your father? He would one hundred percent recognize me.”
There were so many factors that he wasn’t considering that I couldn’t afford to let fly.
He had sons in Rushin Mills for goodness’ sake. There was no way he never saw his sons and vice versa. Over the years, I’d never met anyone in Gideon’s family but his parents, but to know that I was locked away with his stepbrothers had me feeling like they would pop up randomly. My thoughts were trying to take over what Arrow was saying, and I didn’t know how to shut them up.
Arrow might have felt like he had this situation under control, but he couldn’t always be around.
“Randy Baxter hasn’t been around here in years. Honestly, he’ll probably be shot on sight if he were to cross the line into the Mills. He has no chance breathing in our direction.”
I sighed. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I still need to finish dinner. You’re more than welcome to keep me company while I cook.”
Arrow chuckled. “Thanks for the permission. I’m gonna shower, grab Drix, and be back.”
I shook my head at the nickname but didn’t give my feelings a voice.
All this shit was weird, but at least Arrow wasn’t turning me over to Gideon. I felt like I could breathe a little easier, but I probably wouldn’t be okay until I could move freely. Arrow told me that time was now. However, that wasn’t the full truth. My movements in Rushin Mills could be done without looking over my shoulder, but the rest of the world was off-limits. By the time Arrow returned with Hendrix, I had our pizzas done and the kitchen cleaned.
It felt good to not be watched like a hawk and just be.
“I forgot to ask you what kind of pizza you liked, so I made cheese. If you want toppings, you’ll have to put them on yourself.”
“That’s cool. His shit sagging, so I brought his stuff down so you can handle that.”
I giggled and took Hendrix from him. “Thanks. Are we eating in here or in the dining room?”
Arrow looked at his furniture and hiked his left eyebrow.
That one face gave me my answer, so I didn’t wait around for his response. I took the diaper and wipes he brought down and walked to the other side of his sectional. Arrow cut on the television and immediately went to the sports channel.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes because, clearly, all men were programmed the same.
“What you over there deep sighing for?”
Chuckling, I wrapped up Hendrix’s diaper and said, “Do men watch anything other than sports? What’s your favorite TV show, movie?”
“I barely watch television, but sports is background noise for me.” He was quiet for a second, and I thought he wouldn’t answer my question until he said, “Favorite movie has to be anything action based. I need something to keep me up, or I end up falling asleep ten minutes into the movie.”
I scoffed, stood, and handed him the baby.
Arrow got up and followed me to the kitchen. Once there, I washed my hands, grabbed a few plates and set the pizzas on the island. We were eating in the dining room, but the island had a lot of room where I could spread out the food. I watched Arrow with Hendrix, and it did something to my heart.
His actions could be blamed on the newfound relation, but I knew it wasn’t that.
“Do you plan on holding him while we eat?”
“Don’t mind our business. I got him. You just make sure that you eat so he can be nice and full later.”
“It’s crazy how you just swooped in and are taking over my baby.”
Once again, Arrow shrugged and tucked Hendrix into his arm like a football and grabbed the salad bowl.
I grabbed the water pitcher, the plates, and napkins, then followed them into the dining room. Since Arrow was still holding the baby, I cut into his pizza, asked if he wanted any toppings, and served him. I prayed over our food and dug in. My eyes closed on their own volition, and I couldn’t help the moan that slipped. Gideon never allowed me in the kitchen, but I watched enough social media to know how to get around a kitchen. Clearly, those skills didn’t disappoint.
When I opened my eyes, I was startled to see Arrow staring at me.
“The shit good, but damn… If it got you moaning like that, then maybe I need a piece of yours.”
The frown on his face was one of concentration, and I couldn’t help the laugh that belted out.
“What?” I laughed. “I made our pizzas the exact same.”
“Nah, ’cause mine not hitting like yours, and I feel cheated.” He pulled Hendrix off his chest and looked my baby in the face and said, “Your pops might have been onto something with her cooking.”
I hit Arrow on the arm and cracked up.
Never in a million years at first glance would I have believed that a man who looked like him could have a sense of humor. He shook his head and went back to eating his pizza. Dinner didn’t take us long to get through, and by the end, Hendrix was getting fussy, so I decided to feed him and shower before finding a movie to watch for the night.
Arrow told me he’d clean the dinner dishes while I settled in, but before I got all the way upstairs, the doorbell rang.
“What do you want?”
“Bitch, move, and don’t talk to me like that. Where my sis and nephew?”
Realizing it was only Boss took some of my panic away. I still couldn’t believe that my son was named after him. My intention originally when we were free was to change his name, but now I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.
“She’s getting them ready for bed. I probably won’t sleep until I know she ain’t gon’ bounce when I’m knocked out.”
I didn’t wait to hear Boss’s reply because leaving had been at the back of my mind but so had staying.
Arrow didn’t want me to leave, but that was nothing new. Now, it was me that was hesitant. I was aware that all of this would blow up in my face, but a big part of me trusted that Arrow would do as he said and protect me. Crazy, since we were practically strangers; however, in my mind, it made perfect sense.
I was in my head so long I hadn’t realized that Hendrix was done eating and had knocked himself out.
“All right, baby boy. Let’s get you washed down so I can get you in the bed.”
His little lips turned up and smiled.
I kissed his cheeks and took him into the bathroom so I could wash the day off him. In no time, I had Hendrix bathed, in a new diaper, and jammies. I laid him down in the middle of the bed and got all my things for a shower. A bath would have been nice, but I was eager to get back downstairs. It was silly, but no one had to know my reasonings but me.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, I went into a slight panic seeing that Arrow’s body took up most of the queen-size mattress.
“I know you have your own room. This bed not as big as the one at the clubhouse.”
“After three days, I’m sure you know that where you and Hendrix are, that is where I’ll be. We can move down the hall to my bedroom, but I want you comfortable, so… get yo’ ass in the bed.”
“You do know that you aren’t the boss of me, right?”
Arrow offered a grunt but no more words. I shook my head and pulled the blanket back to find Hendrix clutching Arrow’s beard, fast asleep. Times like this I wish I had my cell phone to capture these moments.