29. Forever
FOREVER
I slipped out early the next morning while Demetrius showered, or else I’d never get anything done. My father hadn’t been completely wrong; there was still a job to do, even amongst all that had happened thus far.
“Forever, do you have a minute?”
Demetrius’s aunt Velma approached from the sidewalk, pulling at her cardigan as she crossed her arms. She had kind eyes, but her caution didn’t go unnoticed.
“Of course,” I said, walking toward her. “Something wrong?”
She glanced at the front door and then stepped closer.
“Demetrius will think I’m giving you a hard time,” she murmured with a little smile.
“So, I’ll be quick. My brother can be the one-track mind type.
He’s had one goal his whole life, and that’s protecting the interests of this family.
But he was never meant to lead us like Demetrius.
My nephew moves strategically, and we all know he wouldn’t bring you here if he didn’t trust you with his life and ours.
I say all of that to say, I hope you don’t take Arland’s concerns to heart. He means well.”
I nodded.
“I understand trust is earned, and thankfully, I don’t scare easily. Don’t worry, I won’t leave Demetrius high and dry over something like this.”
She reached out but dropped her hand and took a tiny step back.
“We’ve survived because we understand that unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Different perspectives keep us strong.” A smile touched her lips. “Besides, I’ve never seen my nephew look at anyone the way he looks at you. In fact, he’s never involved us in his love life.”
I took a page out of her book and backed away, not wanting to have a heart-to-heart this early in the morning. Especially about the way my man looked at me.
“Thank you for seeking me out. I hope we can get to know one another better.”
She nodded and turned, walked a few houses down, and then bent the curve until out of view. I pushed our encounter to the back of my mind and left the compound, heading straight for Destiny LaPorte’s office in my baggy sweats, hoodie, and sneakers.
“Do you have an app— Oh , Ms. James, I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you,” the receptionist said, though she hadn’t looked up until the question was just about finished.
“Let Destiny know I’m here to see her.”
The young girl, no older than twenty, typed out a message on her desktop and then looked up.
“She said to give her five minu—”
I rounded the desk and headed straight for Destiny’s office, entering without knocking to find her alone.
“It’s okay, Georgie,” Destiny said, waving her assistant, who’d hastily followed me back, off. “You couldn’t stop her even if you wanted to.”
I took a seat without asking and slid down in the chair, hands stuffed in my pockets.
“How’s your head?” she asked as if knowing about my headaches meant something significant. “Your mom mentioned they were getting worse the last time I saw her.”
She waited for me to respond, but I hadn’t come here to talk about my head or my mother. The longer I sat silently, the more antsy she got.
“Here’s the thing,” I started after a while, leaning forward. “I’m here as a favor to Kai. He figured you’d be more willing to settle your debt if I asked.”
Her gaze shifted, and I followed it with a smile.
“We both know you have the money,” I went on, deciding to sow discord for the hell of it. “Seo-Yeon seems to be holding you back. I’m sure she’s waiting for me and Jayden to make things official, probably told you as much.”
Our eyes met again as I stood and stretched.
The Carroways were banking on using my name for collateral, just enough to fund their separate business ventures.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re up to no good?”
I shrugged and walked over to the bookcase, purposely turning my back to her.
“Always best to go with your gut,” I mused, tugging one of the fake books from the shelf.
“Per the contract terms, you have the option to split the balance between both parties. I suggest paying off your portion of the debt before the end of the day. Seo-Yeon won’t be able to hold up her end of the bargain. ”
Destiny hummed as I slid a note into the book, pushed it back into its rightful place, and turned.
“Is this how you usually collect debt on behalf of your brother?” she asked, leaning back in her chair.
I smiled and returned to my seat.
“Running in here guns blazing wouldn’t do me any good. I know when to pick and choose my battles, and this one isn’t worth the trouble yet. However, it can be.”
She slid her chair closer to the desk and regarded me before asking, “How do you know Seo-Yeon won’t follow through?”
I waited a beat and then whispered, “Because I’m already married. No one can make money off my name but me and my husband.”
And if I had to guess, Demetrius would prefer I made money off him instead of the other way around. He was such a simp.
My simp.
Destiny’s mouth curved into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Married,” she repeated, testing the word. “That’s quite the bombshell to drop. "
She tapped her manicured nails against the desk, considering her options. I could practically see the calculations running behind her eyes.
“I’ll take care of my portion by end of day,” she finally said. “But I’m curious about something, Forever. If you’re already married, why come here at all? Why not just let this play out naturally?”
I stood and turned toward the door, only responding after pulling it open.
“Because I respect your family, and it’d be a shame to have you all swept up in what’s to come. Oh…” I tapped the door frame and glanced at her over my shoulder. “What’s up with the monthly spa appointments that recently turned weekly? Anything I should know?”
I watched her face for any sign of recognition, that telltale flicker of panic that confirmed my suspicions. Her mask slipped for a fraction of a second before she recovered.
“Taking care of myself isn’t a crime,” Destiny replied coolly. “Unless you’re suggesting something else?”
“Just making conversation.” I smiled broadly. “Interesting that you took it as an accusation, though.”
I left without waiting for her response, feeling her eyes burning into my back until they couldn’t anymore. That little seed of doubt would be enough to keep her off-balance until somebody made a mistake and revealed the truth.
Either way, I meant what I said about not wanting to personally involve her family, but it was clear they were already in the mix.
Something about my wife sneaking out on me again doesn’t feel right.
I smiled at Demetrius’ text as I slid into my car.
I’ll be in your arms at the end of the night.
Don’t make me come looking for you.
Instead of replying, I locked the phone away in the glove box, went home to change, and headed for the office to meet with Carmen.
“You good?” she asked, looking me over as I stepped off the elevator, having been waiting there for me.
“You know me,” I said, entering my office to find she’d already lit the vanilla candle on my desk.
The usual ache in my head had dulled a little after taking the ibuprofen, but I knew there was more to be done before they regulated completely.
“Eliel put in a request to come before the trustees. For now, it’s still pending, but someone leaked the news, and word is spreading fast amongst the newbies. I think now’s the perfect time to pay them a visit.”
I nodded and looked down at my fit, sighing at how inconvenient the chocolate brown pant suit and six-inch nude pumps had become.
“We can pop in now…” I sat down and pulled my heels off, replacing them with the Sambas I kept beneath my desk. “Any urgent contracts in the queue?”
She set two files down in front of me, and I slid my chair closer to read over them.
“They move fast,” I murmured, handing Aurelia’s file to Carmen. “Hold on to that one for me. As for this one…” I quickly read over the details and stood. “Let’s put it up for grabs with the new recruits.”
We set off to the basement level, where one of our five training facilities was housed. There were three layers of security in place to gain access, and only Carmen and I could move about freely with our weapons.
“Ms. James. Ms. Greene,” the head of security greeted, buzzing us through. “They’re in the main gym.”
I could hear my uncle’s voice between the sound of his trusty whistle.
We entered the gym from the left side of the room and posted up there, while fifteen new initiates stood in a circle with Etienne James parked dead center.
“Some of you didn’t work hard enough to be here,” he said, turning in a full circle just to meet each of their gazes. “And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe this life ain’t cut out for you, and it’s best to move on now.”
Joining these ranks didn’t come easy, even for the initiates from families like mine and Carmen’s. In fact, they worked us harder, beat us down so bad to prove favoritism wasn’t a thing amongst the killers.
We were soldiers and treated as such, especially in this stage of the game.
“You know that’s easier said than done,” I chimed in, putting a little extra bass in my voice as I pushed off the wall and moved closer.
My uncle’s eyes lit up at the sight of me, but his response was anything but welcoming.
“Oh? And why’s that, Ms. James?”
I smiled and slipped into the circle, stopping directly in front of the man who was nothing like his brother and everything I wished he could be.
“You and I both know that legacy means not having a choice…” I cut my eyes around the room. “Raise your hand if you were born into this life.”
Ten went up, and I immediately excluded them from the chance to start on their first job today. It was tradition to give it to an initiate who was from a society family, revealing the truth about said favoritism.
“Those of you with your hands up, take a step back for me.”
They moved in unison, leaving the five remaining with curious eyes pinned in my direction.
“Raise your hand if you’re first in your family to cross over.”