Chapter 3
Kincaid.
I sat in my car, flipping the business card Eli had left for my wife. The sleek black cardstock moved through my fingers, feeling as if it weighed a ton when, in reality, it was featherlight. Things were changing. I didn’t know how they would end, but I knew who wouldn’t be a casualty . . .
My wife.
I placed the card in the center console before my eyes landed on the multicolor building.
Nari’s mother was in there. She wouldn’t be expecting me, but that was my plan.
After leaving Nari with my mother, I drove straight to the airport and got on my jet to make the hour-and-a-half flight to Miami.
What happened while I was here would depend on what her mother told me.
The minute I stepped inside, she frowned, pointing to the table we used when she met my wife for the first time. She whispered something to the young girl behind the counter before wiping her hands on the towel tossed over her shoulder. She placed it on the counter before coming to join me.
“Is she with you?”
I stared at her face, inspecting every inch. I could see what Nari would look like years from now. Her mother was beautiful. They shared that in common.
“Is she?” Her voice elevated because I hadn’t answered, making her anxious.
“No.”
Her frown grew deeper.
“Then why are you here?”
“To see you.”
“About?”
“Before I allowed you to meet my wife—”
“My daughter . . .” She cut me off, and my fist balled, causing my knuckles to crack. She didn’t know me, so she wasn’t aware of what lines not to cross. I would give her a pass.
“My wife,” I reiterated before continuing. “I asked you to promise me she would never be placed in harm’s way by your doing. Not with her physical being or emotional state.”
“And she hasn’t.” Her spine straightened, causing her shoulders to square a little more. I was sure she was on the thin side due to her condition. I knew a little about depression and its ability to steal your appetite. The mood swings and medications were the reason.
“Eli Manchester.” The name had her visibly shaken even though she attempted to hide the reaction. I noticed everything. Maybe it was because I had become an expert on reading my wife, which gave me insight into her mother, or possibly I was just talented in the art of reading people in general.
“How-how do you know that name, that he’s—”
“Nari’s father?” My expression remained even, but hers fell fast. “You sent him to her. That means you sent harm her way. Something you promised me you wouldn’t do.”
I studied her again. Trying to read the reaction that followed my words and I had my answer before her mouth delivered it.
She doesn’t know.
“I would never. He doesn’t even know he has a daughter. I refused to allow him to know about her.”
This proved what I had already assumed. Eli lied about how he knew of my wife.
Now, the question was, how had he found out and what the hell did he want?
He might have recognized Endia when he looked at Nari’s face.
It was hard not to see the striking resemblance if you knew the two.
Maybe he’d gone to her family for answers.
They wouldn’t be able to provide much other than confirmation that she did indeed have a daughter.
He would assume she was his by doing the math.
It wouldn’t be that complicated to piece together a timeline.
“Has he reached out to you?”
“No. I haven’t seen or heard from him since I found out I was pregnant. The man was toxic. I was young and dumb for falling in love with the devil.”
The way she looked at me exposed her darkest secrets. She was afraid of Eli. Whatever he had done wasn’t something she wanted to remember.
“Do your parents know?”
She shook her head quickly. “No, I never told. I didn’t trust them to protect me. In their eyes, I had a bastard child with a nameless, faceless man.”
She snorted, looking off into blank space, likely lost in her thoughts.
“It’s why they refused to let me keep her.
It’s also why they lied to me about who would have her.
” Endia’s eyes met mine again. “I would never send the devil to my child’s front door.
Even if I know one lives behind it and will protect her. ”
My eyes danced with amusement. “Are you calling me a devil?”
She shrugged. “You are in some ways. I can feel it. Just not the kind that would hurt my baby. Others, yes. I knew the day you came to see me that you would end my life to protect hers. You love Nari, and that’s good enough for me to trust you.”
“I do.”
I wondered if she had the same gift as her daughter. She said she could feel it. That meant she was perceptive to things about me I hadn’t revealed. Some had the gift to see and feel what others couldn’t. I had that with my wife, but only her. It was a dangerously calming sensation.
“So, now what? Eli now knows I kept her from him. That man doesn’t want to be a father.
He’s incapable of loving anyone but himself.
I wasn’t the only woman he took advantage of.
There were several, and he shared them with others in his circle.
He passed women around like it was nothing.
I was lucky enough, if you can call it that, that he was partial to me.
Eli refused to allow anyone else to touch me.
There’s no way I would want my daughter to be a part of his life and I’m positive he only cares that she exists because he feels like I stole from him.
He had a thing about that: stealing. The thought of anyone taking what he believed to be his made him crazier than he already was, which was dangerous. ”
She’s referring to Nari when she referenced stealing from Eli. That doesn’t sit well with me.
“He won’t touch you. Tell them you’re leaving for a while.” I tossed my chin to the counter.
“A while?”
“Yes, a few months.”
“I can’t do that; they won’t hold my job, and I need it.”
“They won’t need to. You’ll be fine, but you have to trust me.”
We were at war. Our eyes battled; neither of us prepared to surrender, but she retreated first. “Where am I going?”
“To spend time with your daughter.”
I couldn’t allow my wife to forge a relationship with her father, but I could offer a compromise . . .
Her mother.
I stood, and she hesitated briefly, but followed.
I posted up by the door while she disappeared in the back, then joined me, carrying a fabric purse and a jacket.
We drove to her tiny apartment and she packed the little she had before we went to the airport.
She was quiet, not saying much because she was deep in thought.
I studied her for a while, wondering what plagued her thoughts before I decided to finish some work.
I made calls and checked financial reports, which allowed time to pass quickly.
After we landed, her things were loaded in my car and I drove to our home to get her settled before I went to pick up my wife.
I wasn’t sure how she would react to what I had done and I didn’t want my mother there to witness if things didn’t work in my favor.
Lately, the two of them were as thick as thieves, which would make me the bad guy regardless of whether I was right or wrong.
I sat on the balcony, enjoying the quiet.
With a glass in my hand, I stared into the evening sky.
It was rare I was allowed a minute for my mind to slow down and settle into a state of peace.
I had to force it this time, but I managed.
It was a struggle, but I was learning to be in tune with everything around me, which was how I sensed her before she spoke.
“Why is she here?”
“You don’t want your mother here?”
“Yes, but I didn’t think you would. She’s the reason he found me.”
“Your mother didn’t send Eli to you. He lied.”
“How do you know?”
When my wife came into view, I lifted my eyes to hers and took in her appearance.
She had a fresh face, and her hair was in its natural, curly state, parted down the center and tucked behind her ears.
She had changed from the jeans she wore to my mother’s house and was now in a cotton dress hanging loosely around her body and reaching her ankles.
Her nipples were hard, pushing through the fabric, giving away that she wasn’t wearing a bra. My dick swelled.
“I asked.” I placed the drink beside me and reached for Nari, pulling her between my legs.
She frowned, still partially angry, but didn’t back away.
Angry about what, I didn’t fucking know.
She was always at odds with me for one reason or another.
Although I preferred her heaven, I was used to feeling her hell.
“And you believed her?” When I looked up, curious eyes were waiting, mocking me. She knew me well. I didn’t trust people, hardly ever.
“I believed her reaction more than her words. I’m good at reading people. I find their truth in the simplest things, like a shift of their eyes, the tone of their voice, the vibration of their heartbeat, or the tempo of their pulse. It’s how I know you’re angry with me about something.”
“I’m not.”
My hands gathered the material of her dress, bringing it high enough to ease my hands beneath it so I could feel her skin. I loved how it felt like silk on the pads of my fingers.
“You are, but I’ll fix that later.”
She cracked a smile, and I gripped the back of her thighs, bringing her closer. When she leaned into me, her arms cradled my head, and I pressed it against her stomach.
“You sent me to your mother’s house like I’m a child.”
“Nothing I do is intended to hurt or mishandle you.”
“I know.” She exhaled a short breath. “It just feels that way sometimes. You hover and hold on so tightly that it suffocates me.”
“That’s love, sweetheart.”
“I’m still trying to understand what that means. It’s hard to think clearly when you’re all over me and in me. Give me space to navigate.”
There is no space between us.
I pressed kisses against her stomach, wishing the fabric wasn’t between me and her skin. If I changed that, I’d be inside of her without a doubt.
“I’ll give you whatever you need as long as I know it won’t harm you.”
“I’ve decided not to push when it comes to Eli.”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected her to concede so quickly, but I decided not to question her reasoning. I would take what I could get.
“Good. It won’t do you any good.”
He will never know the beauty of you because he will never get close enough to get the chance.
“All my life, I’ve felt incomplete. There was so much of myself I didn’t know because I didn’t have my parents.
You have to understand that a part of me won’t feel whole without him.
You had your parents, while all I could do is miss the presence of mine.
It won’t make sense to you, and I can’t explain it, so I won’t try. ”
I understood the void. Maybe not to the degree she experienced his absence, but I understood. Regardless of that understanding, it fucking hurt. She was telling me I wasn’t enough, and for a man like me, her words were a knife in my chest, twisting and turning, inflicting the worst type of pain.
“I’ll spend my entire life doing whatever’s necessary until you feel whole.”
Until you realize I’m enough . . .
“Why do you hate him?”
“I don’t hate him. For me to hate him, I would have to care first. He’s never been important enough for me to care about.
I simply don’t respect his kind. There’s no honor in a man who has no moral compass.
Our grievances in the past have been monetary.
A dick-swinging contest from inflated egos.
When he pulled you into the equation, things became personal.
Once he crossed that line, there was no coming back.
I meant what I said. Nothing touches you—ever, not even a man who shares your blood. ”
Nari delivered a look that expressed curiosity; however, understanding kept her words hidden.
“Thank you for bringing my mother back with you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to make sure she’s settled.”
“I’ll wait up,” I promised. Bringing Endia to our home was a way to maintain balance in my home, but it wasn’t until this moment that I realized it meant I had to share. I didn’t like to fucking share . . . especially not my wife.
She stepped away, and I didn’t bother to watch her leave our room or her mother would have been on her own, settling herself into the new accommodations we provided. Nari dividing her time was about to test my resolve. I could already feel it.