Chapter 19
—DEVYN
You know you’re a bad bitch when you step into a meeting, and the head person in charge greets you as “The Fixer.” I spent years in a place where I fixed everyone’s problems, but now I could come in, do a week’s worth of work, and be on to the next project.
I didn’t have to constantly tell grown men to fix the same problem a million times over; just direction, results, and then a check.
Although engineering wasn’t my first career choice, I was great at it.
Numbers made sense, pressure made sense, oil made sense.
My life outside of this didn’t. If anyone had told me a year ago that I’d be engaged to a man I didn’t know, I would have laughed in their face.
But there I was, proudly wearing that same man’s ring, with a nine person security detail tucked close to me like I was the president.
As we were walking through the lobby, Vic started his shit.
He made all these hand gestures and looked to his team, making sure we were secure before I could even step outside.
Crazy thing is, I started getting used to moving around this way.
I didn’t know if that was good or bad, but I stood there and waited.
Vic nudged my arm, staring down at me. “Is that your cousin Mercy?”
When I looked up, it was him and his girlfriend, Zara.
She locked eyes with me before he did. Something about the way she looked at me made my stomach dip.
She pulled at Mercy’s arm, and he turned around.
The same goofy ass grin spread across his face as he damn near dragged Zara toward me.
His smile dropped when he saw how close Vic was standing next to me, then he peeped the rest of the security.
He still walked up and hugged me like he always did, snatched me off my feet, and kissed my forehead. “Dev, who you feeling like? Princess Diana?” He laughed, putting me down.
“Something like that.” I giggled, leaned into him, then cut my eyes at Zara. “Hey, Zara. How are you?”
“I’m well, Devyn. How are you?” she chirped. Her smile was so fake, I wanted to smack it off her face.
Something ain’t right with this bitch. How can Mercy not see this shit?
“I’m well. Thank you for asking. What brings you two here today?” I asked, looking between them.
“You know I’m always working. Zara met me down here. We’re about to grab lunch. You wanna join us?” Mercy asked.
“I wish I could. I actually have to get going.” I pouted, grinning at Mercy but still keeping my eye on Zara.
She kept looking at her phone, then over her shoulder. I knew Vic could sense something from how stiff he stood next to me. Mercy’s eyes went from me to Vic.
“You good?” he asked.
“I’m fine, Mercy. I would tell you if I wasn’t.” I pulled him into another hug, then I heard a loud boom.
Vic grabbed me so fast and tossed me behind the receptionist's desk. Gunfire exploded so suddenly that my ears started ringing. The first round sounded like balloons popping, then something louder.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
“Stay down, Devyn!” Vic shouted over people screaming and the shattering glass.
More shots followed, louder this time. So much glass shattered that it made me grind my teeth. When someone cried out in pain, it made my heart race even more. In that moment, all I could think about was getting out of there alive.
I covered my ears, trying to make them stop ringing.
When I looked up, Mercy and Zara were behind the desk beside me, and she locked eyes with me again.
This time, I knew my intuition wasn’t wrong; she was hiding something.
She couldn’t hide the guilty look on her face.
Eyes wide, lips trembling. It twisted something in my stomach.
Fear was there, but it wasn’t the same fear I saw from everyone else.
When the gunfire finally stopped, someone was howling in the corner in pain.
“I’m bleeding! Am I going to die?!”
Chills ran through my entire body as Vic pulled me to my feet.
He was moving so fast that I didn’t get a chance to check on Mercy or say goodbye. When I looked over my shoulder as we walked through the glass, Zara was crying hysterically, looking straight at me. Mercy’s back was turned, so he couldn’t see it. But I felt it.
This bitch is performing…
I didn’t have time to process that either.
Vic was moving so fast that it was hard for me to keep up.
He helped me into his truck, then sped off.
I looked down at my hands, and they shook so hard that my whole body rattled.
Even when I tried to take long, slow breaths, they came in staggered and choppy.
If this was what a panic attack felt like, I never wanted to feel it again.
“Dev, you alright?” Vic asked, weaving in and out of traffic.
“I… I don’t know,” I mumbled, clutching my chest from how tight it was.
“Lie down and pull your knees to your chest. Slow breaths. You’ll be home soon,” he said, pulling out his phone.
I closed my eyes and lay across the seat, pulling my knees to my chest. This was why Azani wanted me to have so much security.
He knew how dangerous it was. Two close calls with death, and now I was curled up in a backseat, willing myself to breathe.
I tried to find something to focus on other than the hum of the engine, but the only thing I could hear was Vic.
“Run the plates on that fuckin’ van! I need you to dig into her background. Anything that could link her to Black Crow! I need it in an hour. No excuses!”
He tossed his phone on the passenger seat, then gave me a look that made my chest tighter. Would this be my life forever? Would I never have freedom again? Would someone always be out to kill me? I had so many questions, but something told me I wouldn’t be getting those answers anytime soon.
When I got home, my breathing was normal, but my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. I went straight to my room, took my clothes off, and climbed into bed, clutching my phone. As bad as I wanted to call Azani, I knew he was busy, and he already knew. He always knows.
I tried to piece together what I could remember from the shooting, but it was blurry. One thing that stood out was Zara. Her energy was off. That fake ass smile and her pretending she was so devastated by the shooting. It was all a game to her.
My phone buzzed in my hand, and I already knew who it was. Azani’s name flashed across the screen, and I answered, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Did they tell you?”
“Yeah.” He said it so calmly that my hands shook even more.
“I don’t feel right, Azani. Something was off. This is the second time I almost lost my life,” I muttered, voice shaking.
“I know. It’s getting handled, Dev.”
This wasn’t Azani I was talking to. Not my man. This was the man who was at the gun range when I watched him knock down all those targets—the same man who moved around the house in stealth mode without me noticing him. This was who I knew he was under all those layers.
In that moment, I stopped being scared of what happened in that building. I was scared of what Azani was going to do about it. He was so silent on the other end of the phone that I couldn’t even hear him breathing—just a low humming sound.
“What time is it there?” he asked, almost robotic sounding.
“It’s… It’s about 5:30,” I stuttered.
“I’ll be home in six hours.”
“What? I thought you weren’t coming home for another two days?—”
“I’ll be home in six hours, baby,” he said softly.
I sighed, thinking of what he might do. “Okay… I love you.”
“I love you too. Eat and get some rest.”
When I ended the call, I felt worse than I did during the shooting. Something about his tone didn’t sit right with me. I didn’t know a lot about his life in Sector II, but I knew enough to know that when it came to me, he wouldn’t spare anyone.
My phone buzzed again, and I picked it up, pulling down my screen.
Nanna: I’ll be dropping by tomorrow. Are you free?
Me: Yes. I’ll be home.
Nanna: Will Azani be there?
That made me pause. Why should Azani be here? With so much going on around me, I didn’t have the strength to ask why.
Me: I’m not sure.
Nanna: Make sure he’s there.
Me: Okay.
Nanna: I love you, Zuri.
Me: I love you too.
I rolled over and closed my eyes, clutching my phone to my chest. Whatever this was, I wanted it to end.
With everything that had happened in the last eight months, I couldn’t imagine what else could go wrong.
I was mentally exhausted, and my body was starting to feel it.
When Azani came home, the only thing I needed from him was comfort.
No words, just him beside me. My whole life had been turned upside down in every way since the day I met him. I just hoped this wasn’t our forever.
The room was so dark when I opened my eyes.
I’d slept the rest of the day away, and I still felt exhausted.
Azani’s body wash filled the room; he was here.
The bathroom door opened, but I couldn’t hear his footsteps.
He was moving too lightly on his feet. Then, the closet door opened.
He shuffled around in there for a few minutes, then the bed dipped.
When the blankets were pulled back, chills ran up and down my body, but when he pulled me close, I relaxed into his arms. He rubbed me all over like he usually did, but he was rougher.
His body was so tense, I could feel the muscles in his arms and chest coil.
Then, I rolled over, facing him. He still had his hair up, jaw clenched so tight that he looked like he was frowning.
We didn’t say anything, just stared at each other. I reached up and pulled his hair down. When it fell, he closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against mine. But he kept touching me. His hands softly caressed my face, moving over my back and legs, reminding himself that I was here and safe.
“I’m alright, Azani,” I whispered, rubbing my fingers through his scalp.
“I know,” he muttered, pulling me on top of him, still rubbing up and down my back.
He kept his eyes closed, but as I ran my fingers through his hair, the tension drained from his body.
He opened his eyes, searching my face as if he were taking inventory.
He was here, but he was also somewhere else.
I could feel it. I laid my head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat.
It wasn’t racing, but it wasn’t calm either.
“Are you scared, baby? I can feel you shaking,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard, almost afraid to answer truthfully, because I was scared. But nothing scared me more than him not coming home again.
“Yes,” I said quietly.
He stopped rubbing and wrapped his arms around me. “Look at me.”
I raised my head slowly as he gently grabbed my chin. “Nobody will hurt you. Vic and his team will die protecting you. That’s what they’re here for. I will die for you. Do you understand?”
If I wasn’t scared before, I was now. He hired men to die for me.
He would die for me. That was a burden I wasn’t sure I could handle.
The need for this much protection kept me up at night.
Not knowing where Azani was or if he was okay on a random Tuesday had me praying to God to keep him safe every day.
“Yes… I understand,” I whispered, pressing my face into his neck.
He started rubbing me again, and my eyes got heavy. Holding onto him, I let my eyes close. If I had known what Nanna was coming to tell us, I would have stayed awake.