Chapter 13
My life had become a movie. While Cam was following us, Brandon was setting my home on fire.
His parents’ home on fire. I wasn’t sure what surprised me most…
the fact that Cam had a gun and was going to shoot us, or the fact that Brandon had destroyed the home we’d grown up in.
True, I had more bad memories in that house than good, but it was my home, nonetheless.
And Aunt Brenda leaving it to me made it that more special.
I guess they’d meant it when they said if they couldn’t have the house, neither could I, because by the time the fire department had arrived, the house couldn’t be salvaged. I didn’t have to hear an insurance adjuster tell me that. I saw it for myself.
Pulling up to smoke floating in the air wasn’t how I thought our night would end. I didn’t think anything would top watching my man kill my cousin, but I was wrong. He’d picked me up, as he promised, and not too much later, Lily was calling and telling me about the plan her brothers had.
She said she’d been going back and forth about whether she wanted to warn me or not, but she decided to warn me so we could try and stop Brandon from burning down the house.
I think that was the final piece that broke me.
The fact that it took her a whole day to decide to warn me that her brothers planned to try and kill me and Him.
I was in such disbelief over that that I couldn’t even cry.
I couldn’t yell or be mad. At that point, I never had to question if she had my best interests or not.
She showed me in a way that I’d never forget that she was going to ride for her siblings no matter what, and because of that, I was going to ride for my man no matter what.
The guilt that I thought I’d feel over Draco killing them didn’t consume me—only rage.
I wanted them all to fucking pay. Let Lily tell it, Megan was on her way to Atlanta to be with her, but Brandon?
He had to still be in Memphis. What he’d done was unforgivable, and I’d never be able to move on with my life as long as he had his.
I didn’t know what had been done with Cam or his car, but Draco assured me that he’d been taken care of.
I sat in the dining room of his dad and stepmom’s house, staring at the wall.
While Clover and Derrick may not have been close to Draco, they hadn’t left my side.
Both were leaned against the doorframe while Keem and Nathan were sitting at the table with me.
Draco was kneeling in front of me with his hand on my knee.
When I finally looked down at him, tears fell from my eyes. But these weren’t sad tears—they were angry tears. They were tears that said what I couldn’t.
“What chu want me to do, boo?” Draco asked gently.
“Find him,” I commanded through gritted teeth, “and make him pay.”
He looked back at his brother, and Clover nodded.
“Keem and Nathan will take you to the house. We gon’ get a team together and try to find this nigga tonight, aight?”
With a nod, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank you,” I whispered, and before I could stop myself, I sobbed. I had no idea what I’d done to deserve this, and when I said that through my tears, Derrick said…
“You ain’t do nothing to deserve this, baby girl.
Their actions aren’t a reflection of your character; it’s a reflection of theirs.
Sometimes a person can be so good, so loving, so kind, that it brings out the worst in other people.
And when it comes down to men, sometimes the better a woman treats them that they don’t like, the more it disgusts them and makes them want to treat her worse.
Draco told me a little about your childhood, but I can promise you, you didn’t do a thing to deserve this.
And I can also promise you we gon’ make that nigga pay. ”
For some reason, that made me feel better. I allowed Draco to wipe my face as Clover said, “If anybody understands toxic family relationships, it’s us, but some shit you just don’t do. We gon’ take care of you, sis.”
I could tell his statement caught Draco off guard because his brows wrinkled, and he frowned as he turned to look at his brother.
“For her to be yo’ sister, I would have to be yo’ brother.”
“I can claim her and not claim you.”
“Nigga, you claim me. I don’t claim you.”
“Lord, here they go,” Derrick groaned, making me laugh. “Take my daughter home so we can handle this business,” he told Keem and Nathan, who wasted no time standing and doing what their father said.
I thanked them all again before giving my man a hug and kiss goodbye. It felt silly praying for them, knowing what they were about to do, but I prayed anyway. What would have made me feel guilty was if anything happened to them while they were trying to look out for me.
4:00 AM
It didn’t matter how much I tried to sleep, I’d been restless.
There was no way I’d be able to sleep until Draco made it home.
Keem and Nathan tried to distract me, but I assured them it wasn’t necessary, so they started doing their own thing.
How the guest suite was set up, it had a sauna, pool table, a few arcade games, and a beautiful view of the lake, so they’d been up there.
I usually cooked when I wanted to relax, so I made them some hot wings, meatballs, and Rotel.
They devoured that shit and was asking for more.
Cooking for them was the perfect distraction.
It led to me joining them in the guest suite and playing pool for a couple of hours.
They couldn’t believe how well I could play, like they forgot their brother was my man.
He’d taught me just enough to beat everybody else,… except him.
Eventually, I retired to the primary bedroom and let them do their own thing. That was when my thoughts started getting the best of me again. I kept telling myself no news was sometimes good news, but I still couldn’t get to sleep.
At the sound of the door chiming, relief immediately filled me.
I had to keep myself from racing out of the room and charging downstairs.
If I hadn’t showered and taken off my clothes, I would have.
I did unlock the door so Draco would be able to come right inside.
The second the doorknob turned, I had to stop myself from pouncing on him.
I was on my hands and knees in the bed, wiggling my ass and shoulders to keep myself from jumping out of bed.
Draco chuckled at the sight of me. His eyes were low,… tired.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, we’re all good. We couldn’t find Brandon, but we’ve put word out and put a price on his head. It won’t be long. I’m confident about that.” Nodding, I climbed out of bed and walked over to him so I could undress him. “How you feel, boo?”
“I’ve calmed down. I’m good now that you’re here.
Lily was blowing my phone up begging me not to let anything happen to her and Megan, and now I know why.
Since you put a price on Brandon’s head, it’s already started to circulate.
Someone who knows them has called her or Megan.
I told her it was above me now and that if they knew what was best for them, they’d stay in Atlanta and away from me. ”
“Yeah, I don’t usually touch women, but for you, anybody can get it. As long as they don’t come to Memphis starting shit with you, I’ll let them live. Hell, if they ever accidentally find themselves in the same room as you, they better act like they don’t even fucking know you.”
I knew he was serious, which only made me laugh harder.
By the time I was done undressing him, it seemed his body was already starting to shut down.
We went into the bathroom, and I washed him quickly in the shower.
After drying him off, I covered his body with oil, then we brushed our teeth and washed our faces, then climbed into bed.
As soon as I snuggled up against him, I tossed my leg over him.
Like always, my hand went to his belly, and his went to my scalp.
“Hey,” I said softly before yawning.
“Wassup?”
“Thank you, pooh. I’ve never doubted you when you said you’d always protect me and take care of me, but you really showed me today that you’ll do literally anything for me. I don’t think I could ever repay you for that, but I just want you to know that I’m grateful.”
“What I do, that’s what I do as a man. You don’t have to repay me for that. All I need you to do is stay soft for me. Let me take care of you and be ya man. That’s all I need in return. I love making you happy and solving your problems. That won’t ever change.”
Lifting my head, I looked into his eyes. As I cupped his cheeks, I willed my tears not to fall.
“With all the bullshit we’ve been through, us coming together was more than a silver lining. It’s a blessing. I used to question why me, but if my reward for everything I’ve gone through is forever with you, I’m grateful to God for that. I love you, Him, more than anything else in this world.”
“Damn, girl. Now you got me getting all teary eyed.”
I laughed, but it turned into a moan when he gripped my neck and kissed me.
My hand lowered to his dick, and I stroked it as it hardened.
Making my way under the covers, I gave him slow, sloppy head that had him moaning and groaning and whispering my name.
When he couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled me up his frame by my hair.
I straddled him, getting comfortable on my feet before sliding down his long, curved dick.
I started out slow, giving myself time to adjust to his size.
Once I picked up the pace, he went from caressing me to holding my waist and matching my strokes.
The friction of him fucking me back had my body trembling and spine tingling as I circled his nipples with my thumb.
He released an animalistic growl as he shot his seeds inside of me while we came simultaneously.
“Shit, boo,” he moaned quietly, eyes fluttering until they closed. He rubbed my ass, movements slowing and getting weaker with each second that passed. “I luh you,” he slurred, and it took everything in me not to laugh as he fell asleep.
My baby was tired.
I lowered myself and kissed him before sliding off him and out of bed.
After I cleaned myself up, I did the same to him, smiling as he snored softly.
As soon as I climbed into bed, I decided I’d sleep on my side so he could rest.
That didn’t last long.
Only a few minutes passed before he was waking up out of his sleep, feeling around for me in the bed. Giggling, I rolled and made my way next to him, tossing my leg over him and rubbing his belly. And within seconds, he was out again.