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Jones made himself comfortable, going through each item one by one. The legal pad was mostly random thoughts and grocery lists or recipes. She had three planners—one for work, one for the night classes she took to get her master’s degree, and one for traveling.

While the planners didn’t tie Willow to Patrice, Trina, or Sade in any way, it further humanized her in Jones’s eyes. She seemed proud to be back in school and happy to almost be done with it. She loved to travel and had several trips lined up. It didn’t make sense for her to drop her life and move somewhere else without contacting her family. Jones was sure Sade had ended her lifeunexpectedly and prematurely, and he wanted her to pay for it now even more than ever.

Sade

August

“This is our last night here. How do you feel?” A soft smile tugged at the corners of Dante’s lips as he looked down at Sade.

Sade relaxed more against his frame, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers. Dancing with him was probably her favorite thing to do...outside of making love to him.

“I feel hopeful. Tomorrow is the start of our new lives. How do you feel?”

“Relieved.”

“Yeah? Why?”

“I’m finally with the girl of my dreams.”

Sade’s eyes playfully rolled as she tried to pull herself out of Dante’s grasp, but he held her closer—tighter.

“Spare me, Dante.”

He chuckled. “Why don’t you believe I’ve been in love with you since we were kids, Smiley?”

“Because you friend zoned me and got with my sister.”

“I didn’t friend zone you. We just didn’t date back in the day. And Imani...that just happened. I never should have let it. That’s probably my biggest regret in life.” Dante placed a kiss on the center of Sade’s forehead. “Even if I had never worked up the courage to go after you and risk our friendship, I never should’ve gotten with your sister.”

Sade’s hands slid down his chest. It didn’t seem to matter now. Imani was in prison, and after decades, Sade finally had her man...even if it was temporary.

They continued their sway before pigging out on Chinese food. The relaxed, intimate moment seemed like the perfect wayto end their time in Vanzette and, unbeknownst to Dante, their time with each other.

Sade’s thoughts were so clouded by memories of her time with Dante that she forgot where she was and who she was with. The feel of fingers grazing her cheek pulled her out of her thoughts. But they weren’t Atlas’s fingers. Her eyes shifted to the left, where a man stared at her with a grin on the opposite side of the escalator.

“Damn, you fine.”

Before Sade could calculate a response, Atlas grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and lifted him onto their escalator.

“Atlas, no!” she whisper-yelled, watching as he dragged the man down the escalator.

If this indicated how things would go between them during their time in Memphis, Sade already wanted to return to her island.

“Stop!” she yelled, tugging at Atlas’s neck. The action didn’t seem to faze him as he repeatedly punched the man in his face. “Are you trying to get put on the no-fly list? Get up!”

“Hey!”

At the sound of security, Sade tried one last time before deciding she’d leave him there.

“Atlas! Get your butt up! We have to go!”

Tugging with all her might, she was able to remove him from the unconscious man’s body. They rushed out of the airport. Sade wasn’t sure if the run or her anger had her heart racing as they jumped into Atlas’s car. Before she could stop herself, she slapped him.

“What iswrongwith you? Are you out of your mind?”

Sucking his teeth, Atlas swerved out of the parking space. “He disrespected me and touched you, so he had to pay for that.”

Rolling her eyes, Sade stared out of the window. She hoped they could pay for parking and leave without further issues. Thiswas yet another example of the stark difference between Atlas and Dante.