Chapter 5
Promise was out with her friends having the time of her life.
It was her first time outside in what seemed like forever.
She sat in the middle of Greer and Ace, feeling like she was on a cloud.
Lately, she had been high off life. A woman approached their section with two men in tow, gaining their attention.
“Can we help you?” Promise asked. Long gone was her nice, laid back demeanor. Everyone outside of her circle was a threat. She wasn’t taking any more chances.
“Hi, I’m Kemi. I’m Shadow’s wife,” the woman announced, knocking the wind out of Promise.
“What?”
“May I?” Kemi asked.
Promise wanted to say hell no but she nodded. She was too invested not to. Kemi sat down with all eyes on her. Promise locked eyes with Don, who nodded, letting her know she wasn’t his only wife. Stupid me, she angrily thought to herself.
“I come in peace. I’ve been reaching out to Shadow but he refuses to speak with me. I’m sure that has everything to do with you and Baby Pryce, is it?”
“My son ain’t your concern. We ain’t got shit to do with whatever you and Shadow have or had going on.” Shadow and Promise spent a ton of time together. However, she wasn’t always with him. She didn’t know what he did when he was away from her.
“Just tell our husband I said I’ll be in touch.
” She stood while Promise angrily peered at her.
Kemi was beautiful. She had chocolate skin that mirrored hers.
She was five-five with hips and ass for days.
Her chest was just as voluptuous. Her heart-shaped face was beautifully done up.
Her big doe, blue eyes were framed in eyelash extensions.
Her slim nose had two diamonds on each side.
Her plump, pink lips were outlined in a brown pencil and coated in pink gloss.
She walked away dressed in a black dress that fit her like a glove.
Promise was green with envy. She had just met her husband’s first wife and it left a nasty taste in her mouth. She felt sick like she needed to empty all of the liquor she had consumed.
“P, are you okay?” Ace asked.
“No, I gotta go.” Promise stood and Don led her outside.
As soon as they reached the truck, she climbed inside.
She didn’t know how to feel. She never asked Shadow had he been married and he damn sure didn’t offer that information.
Don got in, pulling off. Promise’s mind ran a mile a minute as Don drove her home.
They were home in no time. She got out as soon as Don put the car in park.
Shadow opened the front door, letting her know that Don had hipped him on what was going on.
“What the fuck?!” She snapped as she walked past him into the house.
“Calm down, everybody is still here.”
She didn’t care about that at the moment. Shadow had some explaining to do. She damn sure wasn’t waiting for their boys night to be over for answers.
“I don’t give a fuck! Why the hell you didn’t tell me you were married?” Promise spazzed as Amari rounded the corner along with Nautica.
“Y’all knew this nigga was already married?”
“Yeah to Kemi but she’s dead.” Nautica shrugged as if it was nothing. Promise glanced at Shadow after what Nautica said.
“I thought she was dead, too, baby I swear to you. I didn’t tell you because you were already against marriage.”
Shadow went to grab her but she pushed him away. Nautica and Amari shared glances.
“What’s going on, P?” Nautica asked, worriedly. They had never seen her so worked up.
“Well, his wife ain’t dead. She just approached us in the club saying she’s trying to get to you but you’re ignoring her. She knows my baby’s name. Who is that bitch?”
“When you had Pryce, my parents came and they told me she was alive. I had Don look into it. He confirmed it. She’s alive and now the leader of the Purple Onyx.”
“Nigga, what?” Nautica bugged. The Purple Onyx were an organized murder for hire squad. Everyone in the underworld were familiar with them. They were who you sent when a hitman missed. They didn’t miss ever.
“I need you to see what she wants,” Amari demanded and Promise frowned.
“What?”
“P, this ain’t about y’all right now. The Purple Onyx ain’t to be taken lightly. I’ll go to war with God about you but you don’t ignore someone with that much power. It’s like starting a war. If we can prevent that, we need to try,” Amari said.
“He’s right, baby. I need to see why she’s all of a sudden showing face. You ain’t got nothing to worry about. I love you,” he assured her but she didn’t doubt that at all. However, she was sure he still loved her. After all, they were married when she supposedly died.
Shadow walked inside of what he assumed was Kemi’s home.
He had flown to Seattle yesterday to meet her.
He was a ball of emotions, he couldn’t deny that.
He’d loved Kemi more than anyone at one point, but now he loved Promise.
The sounds of footsteps had his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He’d spent years mourning her and all along, she was alive.
They locked eyes as she stood at the top of the stairs.
“Hey, honey. I missed you,” she spoke, softly. She walked down the steps in what Shadow felt like was slow motion. She looked just as beautiful as the first day he met her.
“Why are you back? What do you want?”
She invaded his personal space. He stepped back, letting her know it wasn’t that kind of situation.
“Damn, it’s like that?”
“How did you think it would be, Kemi? You died on me, left me to mourn you, and all along you’re alive. That’s fucked up, even for you.”
“Baby, I was going to find my way back to you when the time was right. Instead of waiting, you honored a dead man’s wish that you swore you wouldn’t.”
It was true; he too didn’t want to get married because his grandfather said so, which was why he eloped with Kemi. Plus, he loved her. He didn’t want to marry Promise; at the time he hadn’t met her. Now the joke was on him because he was head over hills in love with the woman he was meant to marry.
“Things change and so do people. What do you want?” Shadow got to the point.
“I need you to kill someone for me.”
“You got a team of killers and you want me to kill someone for you?” He laughed. She walked off, and he followed her to the den. She walked towards the liquor cart while he sat on the couch. She made them both drinks. Then, she sat beside him.
“I trust you.”
“I know you got other people that you trust, too.”
“Not with what I need you to do, Sawyer. Do this and I’ll owe you my life. Whatever you need, I handle it.” She seemed desperate, making him wonder what she wanted him to do.
“What is it, Kemi?”
“I need you to kill my father. He won’t let anyone close enough like he’ll let you.”
He looked at her like she was insane. “Why? What’s wrong with you?”
“Shadow, I’m not your prissy little wife anymore. Don’t worry about me. I mean I am still your wife.”
“Promise is my wife let’s be clear about that,” he said, and she laughed.
“I’m aware but you’re my husband, too. I need you to do this for me and I’ll go away.”
“Okay, Kemi. I’ll do it but you have to leave.”
She sucked her teeth in annoyance. “I said I will.”
“I ain’t tripping off you faking your death on me.”
“It’s not as simple as that, Shadow. There’s a lot you don’t know. I love you I always have and I always will. I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”
“I’m married to someone e—”
“You can just have two wives. Hell, you do anyway.” She laughed as he stood to his feet, letting her know their conversation was over.