Chapter 2
BALTIMORE COOLEY
Unlike a few funerals I’d attended, this one wasn’t capped off by droplets of rain.
There was no ray of sunshine beaming down, prompting anyone to think the souls lost were smiling down on them.
Gloominess surrounded those standing graveside as the two men’s empty caskets were lowered into the ground.
Soft cries tore at my heart. Her hands clung to me as she buried her face into my arm. I didn’t move an inch. Whatever strength she needed, I provided. Although I couldn’t hold her in return, I stood here and let her cling to me.
When Maddie’s light went out, I leaned back on the patio chair and took a swig of my beer.
My shift ended hours ago, yet I was here nursing a drink, pretending as though I was too exhausted to move.
Really, I lingered around just in case Maddie needed me.
Night shift had already made their rounds, and I was sure they wondered what the hell I was still doing over here.
The answer was simple and yet so damn complicated. Simply put, the lover man in me couldn’t walk away. He couldn’t comprehend how to put one foot in front of the other and tear himself away from this damn woman.
Therein lay the complication: the woman. It was one thing to be in love with a woman who belonged to me. It was another story to be in love with a woman who was my boss.
The ringing of my phone pulled me away from staring at Maddie’s window.
Dayton’s name flashed on the screen. Older than me by two years, my brother was the CEO of our family’s real estate firm.
When he wasn’t doting on his wife and kids, buying up properties, and attending business meetings, Dayton was on my line bugging the shit out of me.
“‘Sup?” I answered my brother’s call.
Bypassing a greeting, he said, “We’re buying the Bears.”
Stupefied, I questioned, “Who is we?”
“Me and you, bruh.”
“Why the hell would I want to buy a baseball team, let alone a struggling one.”
“Uh, you’re the one who walked away from a multi-million-dollar contract to go play security guard with the undertaker.”
I chuckled at Dayton calling Adir the undertaker.
“Baseball is in you. Mind you, you were top three in the country fifteen years ago. Now you look like Pops walkin’ ‘round here all swole an’ shit.”
“Chill, bruh. Let me remind you, I’ve still made my millions.”
Saying that my family was wealthy was an understatement.
At this point in my life, making money was a hobby.
I had enough stashed away for several generations after me.
Working for the Bells started out as just something to do to pass time until it was time for me to take the CFO helm at Cooley & Brown Real Estate Firm.
For now, my uncle, Erick, played that role.
“Yeah, yeah. That nigga pays you good, but at what cost? You almost got a bullet in yo’ ass a few weeks ago.”
Despite how serious it was at the time, I laughed at my brother’s foolishness.
“Can we move past that?” I asked him. He’d been riding me ever since he found out about what happened in the dungeon. Thoughts I’d tried purging from my mind resurfaced.
Heir’s dorm apartment door opened. Maddie peeked her head out and locked eyes with me.
Glancing to my right and left, I looked back at her and nodded my head.
I saw the relief in her eyes the moment she recognized I was about to let her leave.
Tears clouded her eyes as she eased out of the door and passed us.
Her steps quickened when I didn’t follow after her.
“The fuck you doin’?” Ronnie hissed. I yanked him up by his shirt to keep him from going after Maddie as she rushed from the dorm house.
“Let her be,” I replied.
After cleaning up Genika Grace’s crime scene, I knew I had to give Maddie a way out.
If Duval could so callously kill his pregnant mistress, there was nothing stopping him from killing his wife.
As I was cleaning up the scene, I called 911 to get someone there to save the baby.
I waited as long as I could before paramedics arrived.
Once I got out of there, I faced the fact that Maddie was worse off than she claimed to be or let on.
That night, I could barely sleep. All I could think about was how I would kill Duval.
Then, it occurred to me that Duval was a Bell.
Going against the family was grounds for death.
All I had to do was set shit in motion. Having evidence that pointed to Duval and DJ’s disloyalty was as good as a bullet to the head at point blank range.
Inside the dungeon, the team I once led were all killed right along with Duval and DJ.
All because they turned on the family. That night, I was prepared to meet my own fate.
Thinking back to the fear I saw in Maddie’s eyes as she stood there terrified by what she’d witnessed, I would’ve died a happy man knowing she was finally free of that nigga she called a husband.
A part of me was still angry with her. Instead of trusting me, she lied to protect Duval’s trifling ass.
In the name of duty, turning a blind eye to Duval’s marital indiscretions turned my fucking stomach. The bolder he became about his tryst, the more respect I lost for that nigga. He was surely where he needed to be. Duval was the type of nigga who would’ve never stopped cheating on his wife.
“No, we can’t move past it,” Dayton said, bringing me back to the present. “You’re a whole billionaire cosplaying as a security guard. Imagine what Pops would do if he knew what the fuck you were really doing in Niceville Shores.”
“I’m just a security guard,” I replied.
Dayton was the only one in my family who knew the extent of what my job entailed.
At first, Pops was mad that I chose not to play professional baseball.
Once he understood that my path was leading me elsewhere, he eased up on me.
I had a wonderful relationship with my family and was thankful that choices I made never came between any of us.
“Whatever,” Dayton mumbled. “Back to the Bears. The league is considering moving them out of the city if they don’t get a buyer. That’s where we come in.”
“They’re struggling, though, bruh. If I’ma put some money into something, it’s not an organization that can’t make it to the playoffs.”
“Trust me, bro, I got this. We’ll make our money back tenfold.”
“Yeah, aight.”
“We’re meeting with the current owners in three weeks. Now, give my sister-in-law a kiss for me.”
Involuntarily, my face frowned up. “I broke things off with Denisha. And whatever made you think I was marrying her?” Denisha and I casually fucked. That was me being nice.
“Ain’t nobody talkin’ ‘bout Dinky—”
“Denisha,” I corrected him.
“—I’on even know what you saw in that block-head ass girl. She tough on the eyes, bruh.”
Chuckling, I said, “Whatever happened to beauty being in the eye of the beholder?”
“Mm, mm. You need to behold some damn glasses ‘cause she wasn’t it.”
I burst out laughing at his stupid ass.
“Give my sister-in-law, Boss Lady, a big ol’ nasty ass kiss,” he clarified.
“I’ma tell Nene you on the phone lustin’ after another woman.”
Dayton cracked up. “Never that. Have you seen my wife? The mother of my kids? Supersoaker Nene—”
“Bye, mane!” I hung up on Dayton, still laughing at his crazy ass. The laughter abruptly died on my lips when Maddie’s room light clicked back on. Less than a minute later, she appeared at the patio door.
Madelyn Bell was tall, with a slim-thick body that curved and dipped dangerously.
Her heart-shaped face that held cat-like, wise brown eyes, perfectly arched eyebrows, long lashes, a delicate nose, and perfect ass full lips seemed to be crafted from a master’s touch.
In all my adult thirty-eight years, I’d yet to find a damn thing wrong with Mrs. Bell.
If anything, I kept finding shit that attracted me to her.
Shit.
Gritting my back teeth, I willed my body not to react to this woman. She came onto the patio dressed in her blue silk pajamas and a pair of socks. Her hair was inside a bonnet, and her face was free of makeup. Concern marred that beautiful face.
“It’s cool out,” I stated.
“Everything okay?” she asked, ignoring me.
Meanwhile, her scent snagged the hell out of my senses.
“Yes, all is well. I was about to leave.” Sure, I was lying, but hell.
“Oh, it’s okay. That’s not why I came out here,” she replied.
I swallowed hard when she took a deep breath and lowered her fine ass body into the patio couch opposite me. She got comfortable, tucking her feet underneath her and everything.
“I can’t sleep,” she whispered after a few minutes had passed.
“Ya light was barely off,” I stated.
She smirked. “Right. You notice everything.”
Of course, I did. Still, I asked, “You think so?”
“I know so.” She smiled gently, then it slowly faded. “I’ve never told you thank you. For everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Mrs. Bell.”
Her head leaned back on her shoulders. “Mrs. Bell? I thought I was Madelyn.” Her playful smile nearly lit up the night.
I wondered if she recalled the way my fingers felt on her chin. Or if she recalled how much thought I put into the bath I’d made her that night.
I gave her a smile of my own. “If that’s what you’d like me to call you, I don’t mind.”
The atmosphere was charged. I could tell by the way she looked at me that her mind was somewhere she refused to admit it ventured to.
Maddie had just buried her husband. I wasn’t looking for her to acknowledge the undercurrent between us.
Plus, she had healing to do. To add to that, mixing business with pleasure was just… overboard.
If anything, I wished she would simply acknowledge the shift between us.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the night I stood in her bathroom preparing her a bath.
My fingers touched the products she used, the towel she used, and even her body loofah.
To know that shit encountered various parts of her body almost teased me beyond my control.
I stood in her space, imagining my hands cleaning her delicate body.
“Madelyn or Maddie is fine,” she finally answered.
“Aight. Madelyn or Maddie… Is there any way I can help you get some sleep tonight?” From here, I saw her breath stall in her throat. Inwardly, I chuckled. She could deny it, but her body’s reaction to me was loud as hell. Had been since that night in her bedroom.
“Uh…uhm.”
While she stumbled over her words, I wet my mouth with a gulp of beer.
“Cooley?”
“Yes, Maddie.”
“I just buried Duval.”
“Right,” I replied.
“Isn’t it, I mean shouldn’t it… I shouldn’t be feeling this tug from another man. Right? Especially not so soon. Especially not a man ten years my junior. Shit! Especially not with the shit Adir dropped on me this morning.” Exasperated, she shook her head.
Finally, I thought with a satisfied smile. Baby girl was sleep deprived, though. The proof laid in her rambling. Talking about anything that had to do with us wasn’t the move right now.
“I think you should get some sleep,” I said.
“I can’t sleep,” she reiterated. Her big brown eyes remained trained on me.
Shifting to relieve some of the pressure behind the fly of my jeans, I replied, “I’ll be here when you’re ready to receive what I gotta say.” My response disappointed her. She glanced away. “You’re not ready for that yet, Maddie,” I offered to ease her mind.
She had a little attitude as she stood to leave. “Forget I even said anything.”s
While watching the shift of her retreating hips, I chuckled. “I won’t. I’ve been waiting for the chance to tell you a thing or two. Be glad I’m giving you time to prepare ya’self.”
Briskly turning on her heels, she padded back my way, then stood in front of me with her hand propped on her hip.
I dragged my eyes from her sock clad feet all the way up to her curious eyes.
Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees, bringing me eye level with her midsection.
To my surprise, she didn’t step back to give herself some space.
It would’ve taken nothing for me to reach my hand out, cup her ass, and bring her close enough to bite into her supple flesh.
I peered up at her and waited for her to get the nerve to say whatever was on her beautiful mind.
“Yes?” I questioned when too much time passed. Her scent was all over me.
“Uhm…” As if remembering she stood so close to me, her eyes rapidly blinked and focused on me. “You do realize I’m turning forty-eight this year.”
Smirking, I replied, “I’m well aware.”
“And you’re barely forty.”
“And?”
“And… I’m older than you.”
“Really?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are you making fun of me?”
“I’m not,” I assured her.
“Oh. Well, good night.” She pivoted on her feet and padded inside the house.
Chuckling, I leaned back on the couch, downed the rest of my drink, and prayed over my soon-to-be family like I always did.