63. LUKE
Chapter 63
LUKE
I made a quick trip to New York to close some deals. I wanted Dele to come with me, but New York is still a place with bad memories for her, and she wants to stay away. I had Bruce look into her uncle per her request; he was bad. I had to tell her about it, and she begged me to get him help if I could.
He’s been at a rehab center for the last few months and getting better, but Dele doesn’t want to see him yet. She will in the future, she says. I won’t push until she’s ready to take that step. After my meeting, I’m hanging out with Daniel at his place. We’re both not interested in going out. We’ve just finished discussing his plan to move to Chicago when my phone rings.
It’s Bruce. Since it’s just Daniel and I, I answer it on speaker. “Hey, I’m with Daniel. What’s up?”
“Luke, we have a problem,” he says, and my heart pounds right away because the only problem we could have is something happening to Dele. She’s out clubbing with her friends tonight—what went wrong for Bruce to call me?
“Dele just cut one of my guys.” I exhale the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Did the guy try to grab her?” I ask. The only way Dele will use her knife is if some guy grabs her, triggering her to fight back.
“Yes.”
“Fuck! Why would he grab her instead of talking to her?”
“He was trying to get her out of the club, but she’s refusing to leave with him unless you confirm her pet name and her dance name—” I smile. That’s my girl. “—and the place she’s at is about to get chaotic. A fight is about to break out. My guys see guns.”
“Are your guys listening?”
“Yes.”
“Ask them all to mute and give the phone to her.”
“I can’t mute.”
“Fine.” It only takes a second, and I hear her voice.
“Hello.”
“Your pet name is ‘Ayo mi’ and your dance name is ‘Nami’k’. Please go with them before things get out of hand.”
“Okay,” she says. As if on cue, a gunshot rings out loud. The line disconnects.
“Dele!” I shout.
“Luke, the line was cut off. We should know in a few minutes. Let me call you back,” Bruce says. Before I can say anything, he disconnects.
“ Fuck !” I pace with my heart pounding again. My mind is reeling with lots of crazy scenarios. In each one, I can’t handle it if anything happens to her. I call Bruce’s line back, and he keeps sending me to voicemail. While I pace, Adam arrives to join us. I barely notice him as I await updates on Dele. My phone rings.
“Tell me she’s okay,” I ask right away.
“She’s fine. They lost signal for a moment. I should let you know that Dele feels bad and is insisting on treating the wound of the guy she cut.” Of course she is.
“Get him out of there as soon as she treats his cut.”
“I knew you would say that.” He laughs at me and hangs up.
“She’s good,” I say to the faces looking my way. Daniel nods.
“What’s this I hear about Dele liking to dance? I’ll test her dance moves,” Adam says.
“That shit you always pull with Declan, keeping Anne on the dance floor with you. Don’t try that shit with me,” I warn.
Daniel and Adam laugh.
“Told you he has it bad,” Daniel mocks.
“Fuck it, I do. So, keep your hands to yourself,” I add, and they laugh harder.
We spent the evening laughing and hanging out. My phone rings on FaceTime. It’s Dele.
“Hi,” I say, answering the call in the privacy of Daniel’s office.
“Hi,” she greets with a scowling face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m just trying to understand why you have men watching me. Did you think I was cheating whenever you travel?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “That’s not why I have men watching you. They’re there to protect you. I don’t want to come back and find you injured ever again.”
“Oh,” she pauses. “Good, because with the rate at which you’ve plastered your name all over my body, I’m pretty sure my vajayjay will set off an intruder alert if any other dick goes in there.” I burst into laughter, but I like the thought of an intruder alert. And I’m glad she’s taking it with ease—better than I’d hoped.
“Are you saying I can put my personalized ring in there?” I tease.
“I’m saying your personalized ring, AKA your dick, is already in there all the time.” I laugh.
“Did you at least have fun with your friends?”
“Yeah, it was good with Jax and Vanessa before the big guy showed up, saying, ‘Mrs. Blythe, we need to get you out of here,’” she mimics his deep voice, making me laugh as she pulls her hand. “I didn’t know who he was, so I reacted.”
“It’s fine. He shouldn’t have touched you.”
“Maybe. But he jumped right on me when the gun went off, like he was taking a stray bullet for me. I felt bad for cutting him, so I treated his cut.”
“Bet he learned his lesson,” I say to her.
“Next time, let me know, so I don’t go cutting people who are there to help me.”
“Yes, Ayo mi.”
“Alright, have fun with your friends. I’m going to bed. When do you get back?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Good night, Luke.”
“Good night, Dele.”