Page 29

I d r a g g e d a hand down my face, exhaling slowly through my nose. The silence between us was thick, like smoke curling around the room, choking out the space between us. Parker sat on the couch, arms crossed, legs pulled up under her, but her body was rigid.

I was pissed and frustrated. For two fucking days, I let her have space. Two fucking days, I let her think she could just up and leave me, block me, disappear like what we had—what we were—meant nothing. And to top it off, she left that damn USB sitting in my living room like a motherfucking bomb waiting to go off. I knew we were about to have it out, and honestly, I was looking forward to it.

I rolled my neck, popping the tension there, before fixing my eyes on her. “You done playin’ house with your little friend?”

My voice came out even, but there was a razor-sharp edge to it.

Parker scoffed. “You really kidnapped me, Sebastian.”

I huffed out a dry laugh. “Yeah? And?”

I leaned against the bar, rubbing a slow hand over my beard. “You really thought you could run from me? That’s what you thought?”

Her jaw clenched. “I needed space.”

“You needed space,”

I repeated mockingly, shaking my head. “You needed space, so you left me a USB with a post-it like that shit wasn’t gon’ send me over the fuckin’ edge.”

Her lips pressed together, but she didn’t back down. I pushed off the bar, stepping closer. “You don’t run from me, Mrs. Mosley. That’s not how this shit works.”

She let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Oh, back to this. Can’t leave, can’t have my own thoughts, can’t fucking breathe without you controlling it.”

I narrowed my eyes, my blood heating. “You can breathe just fine, but what you can’t do is act like what we got ain’t real.”

She sucked in a sharp breath but recovered fast. “It had potential until I found out who the hell I was married to.”

That made me laugh. A slow, humorless chuckle as I stared her down. “You knew exactly who the fuck you married.”

I tilted my head, watching the way her throat bobbed. “You just didn’t think you’d ever have to face the truth.”

Her nostrils flared. “The truth?”

She shook her head, gripping the fabric of her sweatpants. “The truth, , is that you killed your own brother.”

Silence.

Her words hung between us, venom laced in every syllable. I let the weight of them settle, let her sit in the silence of what she said before I moved. I dropped down in front of her, elbows resting on my knees, blue eyes locked onto hers. She flinched, but she didn’t move away.

“You think I wanted to do that?”

My voice was low, quiet. Deadly.

Parker held her chin high, but there was uncertainty in her eyes. “I don’t know what you wanted.”

I inhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “You think Silas was innocent?”

She hesitated. “I get it,”

I said after a moment, nodding slightly. “Silas had a good act. Always been good at playin’ the part of the golden boy. The “better” brother. The one who didn’t get his hands dirty.” I let out a slow breath, my tone darkening. “But you don’t know him like I did.”

Parker shifted. “Then tell me. Tell me what the fuck he did that was so bad you had to take him out.”

I studied her face, searching for something—anything—that would tell me if she was actually ready to hear the truth. Fuck it. I sat back on my heels, rolling my shoulders before speaking.

“Silas was workin’ with the Feds.”

Her eyes flickered, but she said nothing, so I kept going. “He was buildin’ a case against me. Against my father. Against our whole fuckin’ operation.”

My lip curled. “While you were sittin’ here thinkin’ he was some innocent motherfucka, he was workin’ with them to bring our shit down.”

Parker’s brows pinched together. “Why?”

I shook my head, exhaling sharply. “Because Silas never wanted this life.”

I leaned in, lowering my voice. “He wanted to destroy us. All of us.”

She swallowed hard. “You’re telling me your own brother wanted you in prison?”

I nodded once. “Me and Seth.”

My jaw ticked. “The night before I handled it, I found out he had a whole deal lined up. He was gon’ testify, Parker. He was gon’ sit in that little box in court, point his finger, and put us in a fuckin’ cell for life.”

She went still. I didn’t let up. “You think I wanted to kill my own blood? You think I wanted to be the one to pull that trigger? “But what the fuck was I supposed to do? Let him put me away? Let him hand over everything niggas built?”

She stayed quiet, her fingers tightening in her lap. I dragged my hand down my face. “It wasn’t about choices, Parker. It was about survival.”

She inhaled shakily. “So you had to kill him?”

I met her eyes, standing up. “Yes. And the fact that you really think I’d put a bullet in you? That shit burns me up more than anything else.”

I shook my head. “I’d kill for you, Parker but I wouldn’t kill you.”

Her breath hitched. I kept my gaze locked on hers, making sure she felt every word. I exhaled through my nose. “How’d you even get the fuckin’ USB?”

Parker bit her lip before shifting on the couch, tucking her legs under her. “Some creepy old dude came into the gym,”

she admitted, rubbing a hand down her thigh like she was trying to wipe the memory off her skin. "Talking crazy. In riddles, almost. Something about death. Didn’t make sense, so I went to leave, but then he threw the USB at me and ran out.”

She shook her head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Shit was weird as hell.”

“Describe him.”

She studied me, like she knew I already had the answer. “Older. Like, at least late sixties, probably even seventies. Tall, but he had this slight hunch. Balding, some grays, and his eyes…”

She trailed off for a second, like she was trying to find the right words. “His eyes were…wild. Like, he’d seen too much shit. You know what I mean?”

Yeah. I knew exactly what the fuck she meant. I inhaled slowly, exhaling through my nose as I walked back to the bar. I poured another drink, my fingers tight around the glass.

“Who was he?”

Parker asked, watching me closely.

I threw back the liquor, the burn doing nothing to cool my rising anger. “No one you need to worry about.”

Parker scoffed, leaning back into the couch. “Oh, so now you don’t wanna give me answers?”

I turned my head to look at her. “I’ll handle it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Right.”

Then, sighing, she rubbed her temple. “I need a damn drink.”

I huffed out a humorless chuckle, shaking my head. “Nah, you’ve had enough.”

She sat up straighter, eyes narrowing. “Says who?”

I leveled her with a look. “Says me.”

She sucked her teeth but didn’t argue. I moved from the bar and walked toward her, scooping up the wedding ring that still sat on the coffee table. The sight of it, abandoned like that, had been fucking with me since I walked in the other day. I held it between my fingers, the weight of it heavier than it should’ve been.

Parker eyed me cautiously as I lifted her left hand. Her fingers were still trembling, whether from fear or anger, I wasn’t sure. I slid the ring back onto her finger. “You’re my fuckin’ wife,”

I told her, my voice firm but low. “Don’t ever forget that shit.”

Her lips parted slightly, eyes flicking up to mine. “What now?”

she asked, her voice quiet but steady.

I knelt down in front of her again, tilting her head, my gaze dark and unreadable. “Now, you don’t worry about shit. Just know I wouldn’t put you in harm’s way.”

I brushed my fingers down her jaw. “You just need to trust your husband.”

Parker exhaled shakily, her lips parting, but I didn’t give her the chance to say anything. I kissed her, and she let out a muffled sound as her fingers gripped my shirt. My hand slid up her thigh, gripping her hip as I deepened the kiss, my other hand slipping up to grasp her throat. I growled against her lips. “Missed your mean ass.”

Her breath hitched, her fingers tightening on me. For a second, I thought she’d let me have her. Thought she’d let me claim her the way I needed to after these last two long ass days. But then she pushed me back, her breath ragged, lips swollen.

“You’re in the dog house, sir,”

she murmured, a smirk tugging at her lips. “No pussy for you.”

I licked my teeth, fighting the urge to drag her ass to the bedroom and remind her who she belonged to anyway. Instead, I stood up, watching her as she slid off the couch. She stretched her arms over her head, her body flexing in all the right ways. “Also, you need to replace Mecca’s front door,” she added, sauntering toward the hallway. “And get my shit back.”

I let out a short laugh, shaking my head as I watched her disappear down the hall. She was back. And fuck, I loved that shit.

But as much as I wanted to sit back and enjoy my wife, my mind was already moving. I poured another drink, the amber liquid sloshing slightly in the glass as I set the bottle down with more force than necessary. The burn in my throat was a welcome distraction, but it didn’t do shit to quiet the war raging in my head.

This situation needed to be handled. The old nigga who slid that USB to Parker was still breathing, and that was unacceptable. The question was—do I handle it alone, or do I bring my father into this shit? I exhaled slowly, rolling my neck as I stared at the half-empty glass in my hand. One thing was for sure—somebody had to die and soon.

I tossed back the rest of my drink and let the warmth spread through my chest before setting the glass down. My mind was running a mile a minute, and I needed to turn that shit off before I drove myself insane. The only thing that ever shut my brain down completely was Parker.

I pushed off the bar and stalked down the hallway, already knowing she wasn’t in our bed. That shit didn’t sit right with me. The second I stepped into the guest room, I was hit with the soft scent of her body wash and that damn perfume she always wore—vanilla and something sweet, but still sexy as fuck. My dick jumped as I spotted her curled up under the covers, dead-ass comfortable in a bed that wasn’t hers.

She knew better. I didn’t say a word as I walked over and yanked the blanket back. Parker groaned in protest, shifting away from me, but I was already scooping her up into my arms. “,”

she grumbled, wiggling, trying to fight me off even though she knew damn well she couldn’t.

I tightened my grip. “You got me fucked up if you think you sleepin’ anywhere but our bed.”

“Sebastian, put me down!”

she huffed, smacking my shoulder.

I ignored her, carrying her out of the guest room and straight into the master bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me. I walked to the bed and tossed her onto the mattress, smirking as she bounced slightly.

She sat up quickly, shooting me a glare. “You so damn—”

I cut her off by grabbing her ankles and yanking her to the edge of the bed. Parker gasped, her hands flying back to brace herself, her thighs parting slightly in surprise. But she didn’t close them. Didn’t even try. She was pouting, her lips pressed together like she wanted to argue, but I could see it in her eyes. The anticipation. The way her breath hitched. The way her body already knew what was coming.

“There’s no runnin’ from me,”

I told her, my voice dark and full of promise. I slid my hands up the backs of her thighs, locking her legs in an unbreakable hold. My fingers dug into her soft flesh possessively. “Don’t ever do that shit again.”

She swallowed, her breathing uneven.

And then I was gone, disappearing between her legs, dragging my tongue across that sweet, perfect pussy I missed so fucking much.