Chapter 6
“Somebody answer him,” Gideon said, his voice softer than Haze’s had been but still demanding.
“Glimm is tryna leave,” Deja tattled as she cut her eyes at Glimmer.
Gideon’s eyes traveled to her. She was so gorgeous to him, even in distress.
She leaned against the bed in discomfort.
He knew her ankle still hurt, and he made a mental note to grab her an ice pack in a minute.
First, he needed to figure out what the hell was going on and why the three women who had just been reunited were arguing.
Glimmer rolled her eyes. “I thought I wasn’t a prisoner?”
“You’re not, bookie, but you aren’t safe goin’ back to that man either.
” Kyomi rubbed Glimmer’s arm affectionately.
Gideon wished it was him that was comforting her.
He didn’t know what it was about Glimmer Delacroix, but he had the constant urge to cater to her ever since she popped up here the day before.
He noticed how Glimmer avoided Kyomi’s gaze. Kyomi always had a way of making people fold. She just had a way about her. It was her kindness and childlike innocence. Glimmer must have understood that, too, because she looked like she was trying to remain strong.
“You tryna go back to that nigga?” Haze asked as he looked directly at Glimmer, who avoided his gaze as well.
“I have to,” she muttered. “He’ll have my dad killed if I don’t.”
Gideon’s frown deepened. “How you figure?”
“She just called her mom,” Deja butted in. “That Trick nigga must have gotten on the phone and told her that shit, because next thing we know, she’s out of bed and tryna leave.”
“Y’all don’t understand. Trick has pull. My dad isn’t safe.” Glimmer cried, and Gideon couldn’t stand by and just watch her anymore. He made his way over to her as Haze spoke.
“Nah, he won’t. We just left the prison and took care of all that. Now get ya ass back in bed,” Haze said.
Glimmer shook her head defiantly, but Gideon was already by her side and gently coaxing her back into bed. Her tears came faster as she sat down, and he rubbed her back soothingly.
“Can you give us a moment?” Gideon finally asked when it was clear Glimmer was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
“Man, . . . talk some sense into ya wife.” Haze ran a hand down his face.
Gideon shook his head. Now was not the time for Haze’s jokes.
Deja gave Glimmer a sympathetic look before following behind Haze and exiting the room. Kyomi lingered. She squeezed Glimmer’s arm and looked at her with sad eyes. “Let us help you, Glimmy,” she softly begged before she followed her brother and cousin out of the room.
It was silent for a few moments while Glimmer wept, and Gideon tried to find the words to comfort this woman he didn’t even know. This woman he was about to marry.
“Scoot back,” he finally said. Glimmer peered at him with watery eyes and confusion written all over her face. He nodded. “Go ’head and get comfortable.”
Reluctantly and with a heavy sigh, Glimmer got fully onto the bed and scooted back so she was up against the headboard. When she tried to tuck her legs under her, Gideon caught her good foot and held it in his large hand.
He noted that she had small cuts all over the bottom of her feet, and then he remembered that she had shown up without shoes on. Gently, he rubbed her foot. He felt her stiffen, and he looked into her eyes. “This okay?”
Slowly, she nodded and relaxed. They stayed silent for a moment. Gideon wanted to say the right thing, but Glimmer spoke first.
“I can’t stay here,” she murmured.
“You can,” he said. He stared into her pretty eyes and wished he could take all her pain away. He wanted to understand everything about her so he could always anticipate her needs. He wanted a moment to himself to reflect on why those were his current desires. “We got a wedding to go to, you know?”
His lips turned up into a charming smile, and even though she was on the brink of a panic attack, she smiled too. And then she laughed. She laughed so hard, another stream of tears fell from her eyes. “A wedding? That wedding can’t happen, Gideon.”
He continued to rub her feet as he chose his words carefully. When he switched feet and gingerly took her swollen ankle into his hand, he looked back into her eyes. “If you don’t mind, I want to say my vows to you right now.”
Glimmer’s brows rose almost to her hairline. “Your . . . vows? What? I . . . I don’t,” she sputtered.
Gideon chuckled. He thought she was cute as hell when she didn’t know how to react to something.
“Chill. Haze and I went to visit ya pops today. I got his blessing to take your hand in marriage, and I want to do this right, even though nothing about this is normal. Is that okay with you?”
Her jaw dropped, and she shook her head slowly. It looked like there was so much she wanted to say, but she finally settled on, “You saw my dad?”
Gideon nodded. “He ain’t know none of this shit was goin’ on out here. We filled him in, and I vowed to keep you safe.”
“How is he?” she asked. Her eyes glittered with tears. Gideon could tell by the way she softened that her father meant the world to her.
“He’s good, love. He gon’ be aight. Me and Haze made sure of that. We talked to the warden. He has the best COs watching his back twenty-four hours a day. We put money on his books and hooked him up with a single cell.”
“Thank you.” She looked down at the comforter for a second before she met his eyes again. “Can I see him?”
Gideon looked at her with sad eyes. “He doesn’t want you to go up there and see him like that. If it were up to me, I would bring you, but I don’t want to get on my father-in-law’s bad side already.”
Glimmer giggled sadly. “What about getting on your wife’s bad side?”
They held each other’s gaze. It was the first time she referred to herself as his wife, and they hadn’t even signed the paperwork yet. Still, something inside Gideon came alive at the sound of his wife referring to herself as such.
“I plan to stay on your good side too. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”
She averted her gaze again. “Trick said he would do some really terrible things to my dad before he killed him. I just want my father to be safe. My mom seems to be siding with Trick, so I don’t think there’s much I can do to keep her safe, but I do want her to be okay too.”
“Consider it done. What else?” Gideon asked.
“I want to see my dad.” She tried it again. She gave him a small smile, which let him know she was only half serious. Something told him that she didn’t really want to go against her father’s wishes. He admired that about her. She respected the people she loved, despite her own desires.
“You gonna make this hard on me, ain’t you?” Gideon asked.
She shrugged, some playfulness coming back to her. “I’ve already agreed to be your wife, and we don’t even know each other. I don’t think I can make things any easier on you.”
He laughed. His laugh caused Glimmer to laugh. It was the first time he’d heard it, and it was at that moment he felt like he was in a free fall, and he wasn’t even mad about it.
“True. How ’bout this? Let’s spend the night talkin’ and gettin’ to know each other. I promise to tell you my deepest, darkest secrets so you don’t feel like you’re marrying a stranger. I’ll also make sure you’ll get to see your pops. That’s my first vow to you.”
Glimmer looked at him with sadness written all over her face. His heart broke at the sight.
“You promise nothing will happen to him? Trick said—”
“To be honest, I really don’t give a fuck about what another nigga said, baby. I need you to focus on what I said, because what I say goes. I don’t expect you to understand that because you’re new around here, but I do want to ask that you trust me, you know, as your future husband and all.”
Glimmer nodded slowly and expelled a long breath. “Okay,” she whispered.
They sat in silence for a moment while Gideon continued to rub her feet. “Have you eaten?”
It was late afternoon, and he suspected he already knew the answer to her question. The club members downstairs said they hadn’t seen Glimmer at all, which meant she hadn’t eaten.
“No.” She shook her head.
“How about I run you a bath? Deja and Kyomi got you hella clothes. While you do that, I’ll get us some food. We can hang out the rest of the day. Whatever I can do to put that pretty mind to rest.”
Glimmer smiled weakly. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
Gideon fought the urge to lean over and kiss her pretty lips. Instead, he gave her foot one last gentle squeeze and stood. “I’ll give you some privacy. Are there any foods you’re allergic to or don’t like?”
“Avocado and mushrooms.” Her cute bunny nose wrinkled when she spoke.
He chuckled. “Allergic or just don’t like?”
“Don’t like. I don’t have any allergies.”
“Cool. Is there anything you want specifically?” She shook her head. “Aight, I got you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, love. It’s my job to take care of you now, ain’t it? Besides, you need your strength for the wedding tomorrow.”
Gideon turned to go toward the bathroom to run her bath, excited to spend the rest of the day with his soon-to-be-wife.