Chapter 1
Rosemary Abrams
One Year Later
Onyx City Mayhem Motorcycle Club’s first annual fundraising gala was tonight, and I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous.
It had been a year since Russell and I called it quits on whatever we were doing, and I’d moved off The Compound and into my own apartment.
I’d only seen him a handful of times, which was very intentional on my part, and each time, I regretted not handling him with care.
The thought of seeing him, all dressed up in a tuxedo, made my nipples hard and my pussy wet, not that seeing him in a pair of camouflage pants and a white T-shirt didn’t have the same effect. I missed him, but I would never say it out loud or admit it to anyone but myself.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom and admired the view as I smoothed the front of my dress down. I chose to wear a black, off-the-shoulder, fitted dress with a long split right down the middle. Although I had a date, I couldn’t wait to see Russell’s reaction.
The doorbell rang, alerting me that my date was here to pick me up. I took one last glance in the mirror, grabbed my phone and purse, and headed to confirm it was Preston. I looked at the monitor on the wall near the door and saw him waiting.
He had never been inside my apartment, and today would be no different. I pressed the button and spoke into the monitor, letting him know I’d be right down. A few minutes later, I stepped off the elevator to see him still waiting at the entrance to the building.
He smiled when he saw me, and I returned the smile. I pushed the door, and he took the handle to hold it open for me.
“You look beautiful,” he said, releasing the door and taking my hand in his.
“Thank you, and you clean up pretty well too.”
He leaned in to kiss my cheek before we headed to his car, which was parked right in front of my building. Once I was safely secured in the passenger seat, Preston slid behind the wheel, and we were on our way.
Although my sisters knew I was dating, none of the men I’d gone out with had stuck around long enough to be introduced to my family. Everything would seem to be going smoothly until, one day, they’d call and end things. It was strange, but I didn’t care enough to press them for reasons.
Preston had been around for a couple of months, so I thought the least I could do was bring him as my date to the gala. I was a little nervous about how my family and Russell would react, but I had a right to move on with my life.
I’d met Preston two months ago when he was coming out of Onyx City Grill as I was going in. He held the door for me and struck up a conversation by giving me a compliment. I thought it was cute, and he ended up paying for my food.
We exchanged numbers before parting ways and talked on the phone a few times before meeting up again. He was cute, funny, and had manners, so I figured we could hang out.
“What are you over there thinking about?” Preston asked.
“Honestly, I’m wondering how my family will react to you.”
He briefly glanced my way. “Why do you care?”
“Because they're my family and we’re close.”
“If they don’t like me, will tonight be our last date?”
I could sense where this conversation could go by the tone of his voice if I allowed it.
“No. It’s not like I plan to marry you.”
He glanced at me again. “Damn. It’s like that?”
“It’s like what?”
“You already know you don’t want to marry me?”
I laughed to ease the tension.
“It’s not you personally. I don’t want to marry anyone. I have no desire to ever get married.”
“Oh . . . really? I’ve never heard that from a woman. Interesting.”
“I decided I didn’t want to get married when I was fifteen.”
“I guess that takes the pressure off me, huh?”
“No pressure here. I’m just having fun.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Then why haven’t we fucked yet? That’s the fun part.”
“Damn, Preston. Tell me how you really feel.” I laughed.
“My bad, baby. That was a little forward and harsh, but it’s a valid question.”
“It’s valid and fair, but we’re still getting to know each other. I like to have fun, but I don’t bust my pussy wide open for every nigga I go out with.”
He nodded. “That’s fair.”
“Plus, we’re not exclusive.”
“We gotta be exclusive to fuck?”
“I mean, that’s what I prefer. What I look like sucking your dick, and I know you’ve been fucking other women? Are you gon’ eat my pussy if you know I’ve been fucking other men?”
“Damn. You got a dirty ass mouth, but you’re making some valid points.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“I don’t even be thinking about that shit. I mean, I ain’t really been seeing nobody else since we connected, but I can’t lie, I’ve gotten a few numbers and planned to reach out when I had some time.”
“And you’re well within your rights to do so because we haven’t had a conversation about exclusivity. If offered, I may go out with some other guys too. When you’re ready to be exclusive, we can revisit this conversation. As for now, we’re just hanging out.”
We arrived at the gala, held at the Rush Brothers Youth & Recreation Center.
After parking, Preston helped me out of his car, and I looped my arm through his as we approached the building.
Two men dressed in suits opened the double doors, allowing us entry.
After giving our name to the person at the check-in table, we were told our table number and headed to the gym.
At first glimpse, I was impressed with the décor. The space had been completely transformed and no longer looked like a gym. I was sure Rocky and Russell paid a pretty penny to the decorators, because they worked a miracle.
I appeared calm, cool, and collected, but my stomach did backflips as we approached the table we were assigned. The first person I made eye contact with was my sister Rue. She was seated next to her husband, Rocky, who was Russell’s older brother, and her eyes widened when she saw me with Preston.
I quickly glanced around the table to see who else was seated with us.
Rowdy was there with his wife, Noelani. He was Russell and Rocky’s younger brother, who they knew nothing of until about a year ago.
He was the product of an affair their father had with Rowdy’s mother.
My brow furrowed when my eyes landed on Russell and the woman seated next to him.
Who the fuck is she?
I held my composure because I had no right to feel any kind of way about Russell having a date, especially considering I was here with Preston.
“Hey, everyone. I guess these seats are for us?” I asked, referring to the last two empty seats at the table.
“They sure are, but you didn’t tell me you were bringing someone. Who’s your date?” Rue asked.
“Everyone, this is Preston. Preston, this is my older sister, Rue, and her husband, Rocky. This is Rowdy, Rocky’s younger brother, and his wife, Noelani. This is Russell, Rocky’s middle brother, and I’m not sure who she is.”
I tried to disguise the attitude in my voice, but I wasn’t sure I’d succeeded.
“Hi. I’m Gayle,” she said with a cheesy grin.
“It’s nice to meet everyone,” Preston greeted, getting soft hellos, mumbles, and head nods in return from everyone but Russell.
Preston pulled my chair back, and I sat next to Noelani.
He sat next to me, putting him next to Rocky.
Russell and Gayle were seated across from us, and I could feel Russell’s heated glare burning my skin.
I did my best to avert my eyes, but it was as if his eyes were a magnet and pulled mine in his direction.
When I finally gave in, his anger was apparent, and I knew he’d have some harsh words for me if he ever got me alone. He had a lot of audacity to be upset at me, with Gayle grinning like a damn Cheshire cat sitting next to him.
As I expected, he looked too good for words, and I would bet my last dollar that he wore his hair down to taunt me.
“So, where’d you two meet?” Noelani asked.
“He was coming out of OC Grill when I was going in. He complimented me and ended up paying for my food,” I responded.
“Aww. That’s cute,” she cooed.
Russell cleared his throat, glaring at us as he grumbled something under his breath that I couldn’t hear.
“What do you do, Preston?” Rue asked.
“Right now, I deliver packages for Onyx City Parcel Services. It was the first thing I could find when I moved to town.”
“I guess that explains why you don’t look familiar. Where are you from?” Rocky asked.
“Chicago.”
“Oh yeah? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
“I needed a change of scenery,” Preston told him.
Russell cleared his throat, but I was probably the only person who noticed. Our eyes connected again, and his held so many questions, as I was sure mine did.
The dinner was buffet-style, and they called the tables by table number.
We went up when our table was called, and once I got my food, I put my plate on the table, covered it with my cloth napkin, and excused myself to the bathroom to wash my hands.
Rue and Noelani joined me, and I was grateful Gayle didn’t invite herself so that we could talk candidly.
I knew my sister and Noelani had questions.
“Who is that?” Rue asked as soon as we made it to the hallway.
“Preston,” I answered simply.
“I know what the fuck his name is. Why is he here?” she pressed.
“He’s my date.”
“Are you trying to get that man killed?” Noelani questioned.
“Why would he be killed?”
“I know you saw Russell’s face when you introduced him,” she continued.
I smacked my lips and rolled my eyes.
“Umm, Russell has a date, too, so he has no right to be upset.”
We entered the bathroom, and I checked the stalls to make sure we were alone.
“Russell has every right to be upset. He’s only with her because he can’t be with you. In his mind, you shouldn’t be with anyone unless it’s him,” Rue said.
“He ended things with me—”
“Not because he wanted to. He felt forced,” she said.
“He gave me an ultimatum.”
“Eh, it was more of a choice,” she said with a shrug.
“And I made the right choice for me.”
I entered one of the stalls to relieve my bladder, and I heard them doing the same. We met at the sink as we washed our hands, and they looked at me through the mirror.
“You know all three of these brothers are unhinged,” Noelani said cautiously.
“And this won’t end well,” Rue warned.
“I think you two worry too much. Russell and I ended things a year ago. Besides, he wouldn’t do anything to ruin the gala.”
They didn’t look convinced as we headed back to our table. Preston stood and helped me into my seat. When he sat down, he leaned in and asked if everything was okay.
“Everything is fine. How’s the food?” I responded.
“It’s good, and I was starving.”
I could barely enjoy my food because I could feel Russell’s eyes on me. When the speeches and presentations began, I was relieved because he had to focus on something else for a while, but he kept stealing glances at me every few minutes.
An hour later, after awards and special recognition were given to donors, the dance floor opened. Much to my surprise, Preston loved to dance. He pulled me onto the dance floor, and we didn’t sit down for at least thirty minutes. I was genuinely tired when we returned to our seats.
As I sipped on a glass of water, my phone, which was face down on the table, vibrated and flashed. I picked it up and read the text.
Russ:
Meet me in my office.
Now!
I looked around and saw Gayle talking to a woman I didn’t recognize, but I didn’t see Russell nearby.
I ignored his text and returned my phone to the table.
Less than a minute later, it vibrated and flashed again.
I sighed because I knew it was Russell, and if I didn’t go to his office, he would come and get me.
“I’ll be right back,” I told Preston.
He nodded as he sipped his drink and moved his shoulders to the beat. As I headed out of the gym, I read the text from Russell.
Russ:
Rose, don’t make me embarrass you in front of your friend.
I blew out a breath and shook my head at his threat, although I knew it was a promise. I took quick strides through the hallway and rounded a few corners until I made it to his office. The blinds were drawn, the light was dim, and the door was cracked.
I pressed my hand against the door and slowly eased it open. He was seated at his desk, staring straight ahead, and he didn’t look in my direction before speaking.
“Close the door and c’mere,” he demanded.