His words are so cold that they send a shiver down my spine. “You can’t kill your own father, Bowie.”
His arms tighten around me, so tight they steal my breath away. “He knew that one of us was gonna die as soon as he started this shit. It’s either me or him, and I don’t plan on dying any time soon.”
Guilt fills my body as I close my eyes and lean my head against his chest. I can feel the tears building in my eyes when I say, “I’m so sorry I came here. I should’ve just stayed with Marcus, then none of this would be happening.”
“Stop that shit,” Bowie says raising a hand to my face. He waits for my eyes to open then uses his thumb to brush a stray tear away. “This was gonna happen one way or the other. It’s not your fault. This would’ve happened with or without your ex showing up.”
“I don’t even understand how Cash knew about Marcus.” I’m sure Bowie wouldn’t have told him, and no one else really knows my whole story. I may have told Nina a lot, but I never even told her where I was from.
“Me neither.” He replies then asks a question. “Have you told anyone but Nina?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t even tell Rachel. I think she knows that I’ve been hiding from something, but she doesn’t know what.”
“Tin knows it all. Rollo knows you’re running from something but not what.” He hesitates for a second before going on. “I had Red watching over you when I was in Alabama. I told him a little, but I never went into detail, just enough to know he needed to keep his eyes out for any trouble. None of them would have said a word.”
When he says Red’s name, I remember my conversations with Lila. I’m about to tell him about talking to her when he cuts me off. “Doesn’t matter. This shit was gonna happen sooner or later. At least this way, I get you out of the deal. Having you in my bed every night makes everything worth it.”
“That doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.” To have me he has to kill his father, there’s nothing fair about that.
“Believe me, it is,” His words are so sincere, they wash away all the cold in my veins and replace it with a delicious warmth.
“Bowie, I don’t want to be the reason that you and your father…” I’m not sure how to finish my sentence. How do you tell someone that you don’t want to be the reason he has to kill his father? Worse yet, be the reason his father kills him.
He leans his head down to run his lips over mine. “This shit with Cash has been coming for years. It has nothing to do with you. I promise.”
“But...”
“No buts, Shay. None of this is your fault. Not one damn thing. Even if it was, it wouldn’t change a damn thing. You’d still be my woman at the end of the day.”
“I love you,” I say, hoping to hear the words back. Instead, a knock interrupts us.
Bowie looks towards the door and shouts, “What?”
A voice I recognize as Rollo’s shouts back. “I got some news you’re gonna want to hear.”
Bowie doesn’t respond to him, just leans down and places a soft kiss on my lips. “Be back as soon as I can. Make sure you stay in this room,” With that, he pulls away. A second later, he walks out of the room without ever saying the words I want to hear.
Friends and Enemies
Bowie
I meet Rollo in the hall and let out a frustrated breath. “What is it now?”
“It’s in the office. You gotta see this shit to believe it,” He says with a shake of his head, before turning to walk down the hall.
Well fuck! I have enough to deal with; I don’t need any more shit. Turning to follow him, I see Tag leaning against the wall at the end of the hall. “I thought I told you to get something to eat.”
He lifts his hand, showing me a half-eaten sandwich. “I did.”
“Then why in the hell are you standing here, go sit down and eat.”
“I want to stay close to the girls,” He explains, looking between the door that Shay is safely behind and the room where Nina and Priss are staying.
I look at the kid and realize he’s gonna make a hell of an Outlaw one day. “Grab Shay something to eat and sit with her till I get back.”
He lifts his chin and walks towards the kitchen. Turing away from him, I follow Rollo to the office. He goes straight to the desk and sits down in front of the computer. He wiggles the mouse and points towards the screen. “Look at this shit.”
I walk to the desk and look at row after row of numbers filling the computer screen. “What the fuck is that?”
Using the mouse to move the page, he scrolls down showing me more. “It’s account numbers.”