FAVOR #5
“If you go through with this, bring her into your life, you don’t have to worry about using the same last name as me. My son is dead because of her,” she declared, a tight grimace crunching her face together.
“What about his baby?” Bull presented.
“What ba—” Brenda’s mouth fell open before she caught herself. “She’s pregnant? By Bronx?”
“You think you can trust that? She’s the reason he’s dead!” Braxton belted angrily. “How do we know this isn’t all some game to her, so she can skate on the snake shit she pulled!”
“Whatever you came here for, I’d think twice about it,” Bull warned.
That thought hadn’t occurred to him. When Toni blurted it out, they were in the heat of the moment, and she thought he was going to kill her.
It could have very well been a part of her plan to pull some shit like that and buy herself some time to escape.
His mind never went there, and being around her the last twenty-four hours hadn’t given him that vibe. She was genuinely scared for her life.
“You’re coming at us like that? Your parents?” his mother uttered in complete disbelief.
“I didn’t make these rules.” Bull shrugged. “Family before everything, right? No matter what,” he quoted, using the man’s words against him, looking him dead in his face.
“You are making a mistake.” He shook his head.
“Don’t think we will be here when all this blows up in your fucking face!
The wrong son was buried, and as far as I’m concerned, you are as dead to me as he is.
Brenda, tell your son goodbye,” Braxton growled, undiluted hatred darkening his face when he peered up at Toni.
Following them to the door, Bull’s grip remained on his gun until they both stepped out onto the stone porch.
Like a sign from God, an explosion of lightening crackled across the sky.
He slammed the door shut behind them and made sure to bolt the lock before turning around.
When his eyes met hers, Toni shuddered from the top of the stairs.
Bull didn’t utter another word. Instead, he tucked his gun in his waistband and traveled back into the kitchen to resume pouring himself a drink.
By the time their food arrived, he’d had three shots, and his anger slowly subsided.
After grabbing the bag of food from the delivery person, Bull found Toni coming down the stairs.
She was so coy, even in her steps. The only reason it irked him was that it seemed like she was always thinking, so she had to have something to say.
That biting your tongue shit was only going to get her so far with him.
Soaking in her slim frame in the old t-shirt and socks pulled up to her ankles, he moved past the staircase into the kitchen, and she followed him.
Bull unloaded the contents from the bag, and she slid onto one of the leather bar stools to wait for him to address her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?” He lifted the lid to one of the Styrofoam containers to inspect what was inside.
Determining it was her order, he slid it across the counter for her and popped the other open for himself. He ordered a Philly cheesesteak sandwich with steak fries and got her the double bacon cheeseburger she’d been craving.
“For putting you at odds with your family.”
Scoffing, he shook his head. “That damn sure don’t fall on you.”
Toni prepared to say a brief prayer over her food.
She surprised Bull when she reached for his hand to pray with him.
Something in his fingertips tingled. When his eyes drifted across the counter, he caught the flicker of panic shooting through her gaze too.
She quickly brushed it off and bowed her head with her eyes closed.
“Dear God, thank you for this meal we are about to receive. Amen.” When they were done, he jerked his hand out of hers and plucked a fry from his box.
Her mouth watered over the cheesy burger. Flashing him a soft, grateful smile, Toni scooped it into both hands.
“This looks so good.” When she brought it to her mouth, she took a big bite.
Soft moans hummed off her when she chewed, and she did a little bounce in her seat.
She’d been a ball of bad nerves for the last twenty-four hours, and this was the first time she’d eaten a meal since they landed from Vegas.
While fulfilling her craving, she couldn’t help but observe the diamond on her finger.
When Bull mentioned getting married, she thought they were both on a high dosage of some heavy narcotic for even considering it.
Now, as she sat in his presence, she found herself with even more questions than when all this started.
“So, we’re really doing this?” Toni asked, holding her hand out and waving the diamond in front of them. “This shit is heavy. Is it insured?”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Bull grumbled, shoving a fry into his mouth and picking up his sandwich from the container.
He was closed off, shut down. Ever since his parents left, this glacial freeze had taken over the space between them.
Even before that, he was… guarded. Like letting someone too close was a crime he refused to be held accountable for.
She didn’t walk into this with any delusions.
Bull made it clear what it was from jump.
For the first time, she was glad to walk into a situation with no expectations.
“Let me guess, this must be the part where you shut me out and make it clear that everything that has transpired between us is nothing but a natural reaction to you and all your parental issues. So, it’s best if we just move accordingly and do what’s best for the greater good?” Toni surmised.
Bull’s hard stare cut through her, and she sensed his disdain immediately as she slid off the bar stool and to her feet. Quickly closing her container, she snatched it off the counter along with the bottled water he got for her and started toward the nearest exit.
“Don’t worry. It’s better this way. At least this time I know not to invest too much.” She gave him her back and stomped out of the room.