Chapter Forty-One
Kwame
Ready or Not
“You’re acting like you’re meeting them for the first time,” Sin says when I ask her for the tenth time if she’s sure I shouldn’t wear a tie.
I scowl at her. “In a way, I am. I want to spend my first Christmas with them without anything but love and honesty between us. I just hope they understand.”
“It’ll be fine,” she says and wraps her arms around me from behind, pressing her face against my back.
“I know.” When she’s holding me like this, it feels that way.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m uber nervous about meeting your dad, too. I almost wish I could do it at one of his parties where he’d be too busy to ask me any questions.”
“Trust me, you wouldn’t like that at all. Those parties are the worst.”
“I’ll take your word for it, although I can’t pretend I don’t want to be a fly on that wall. Is it really like a real live Fight Club?”
I shrug. “It’s just a bunch of rich people getting drunk on champagne, full on caviar, dancing badly, making deals, and being seen.”
“Sounds dreadful,” she says with a mock shudder.
“It is,” I say before I catch the sarcasm in her voice. “No, for real.”
She blows out a breath. “Okay, I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Really? After everything you’ve heard?”
She nods. “Yes, he’s not just some abstract personality now. He’s the father of the man I love.”
The way the words flow off her tongue so easily makes my whole body light up. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this won’t change anything. “So if your parents can’t get past it, could you be with the son of a morally gray man your parents hate?”
She presses her lips together and is silent for long seconds. “Can you be with a morally gray woman?”
I burst into laughter until I realize she’s not joining me in it.
“What do you mean? You’re morally gray? How?”
She shrugs and looks away. “I impersonate people, pick locks, and ignore rules all the time to get what I need for my stories.”
“You do?” My laughter ends on a choke when she nods.
I peer at her. “What happens when you get caught?”
“I’m careful and shockingly good at it.”
“At breaking the law?”
“Oh my God, you should see your face.” She throws her head back and laughs.
I’m obsessed with the sound of her joy and the way she looks when she laughs.
I’m tempted to lean back and allow myself to be captivated by the way her teeth gleam in the moonlight and think of ways to keep her just like this.
But all of that is outweighed by my concern.
“You’re very cavalier about breaking the law, Sin.”
She stops laughing but her eyes stay soft. “I’m sorry.” She cups my face and leans over to kiss me softly. “I take it very seriously and only do it when I have to.”
“Do what?” I’ve forgotten what we’re talking about. I lean up and brush a kiss along the base of her throat.
She giggles but pushes me away and seeks my eyes.
“About breaking the law. I want you to know that I am very careful, and I only do it in pursuit of the truth and justice. I accept the risks that come with doing my job well. I’d do almost anything to give a voice to people and shed light on issues that matter and deserve attention. ”
I know she means that with the purest intentions, but the law is blind and there are a lot of people in jail who were trying to do good but ended up ruining lives.
“I’m an officer of the court. I’m not your lawyer or your husband so there’s zero privilege in these conversations. It’s best you don’t tell me anything incriminating.”
Her brows shoot up. “Would you turn me in?” She looks scandalized.
I nod. “Not happily, but if you tell me you’ve committed a harmful criminal act, I’d have to. Or risk being your accomplice.”
She stares at me for a long time and I wonder if this will be the hill we die on.
It’s not negotiable for me. I don’t want to stop her from her mission.
I believe that she’s on the right side of history.
And if she ends up on the wrong side of the law, at least she’s got someone who can help her navigate it successfully.
“I wouldn’t do anything that might have a negative impact on my family or friends. I’m not totally reckless.”
There’s an edge of defensiveness in her voice that makes me instantly contrite.
“I’m sorry, Sin. I know that. I’m nervous about this conversation. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
She moves to stand in front of me and presses her palms to my chest. “You don’t have to be sorry. I know it’s because you care. I promise that I only bend rules when there’s no other way to get at the truth. And I’d never like…kill someone.”
I snort a laugh. “That’s good to know. Now, let’s go get this over with.”