Page 6

COCO

“Miss Pretty… Please have a seat.”

In my head, I wasn’t aware that I was pacing.

Inside Dr. Bell’s mansion was the last place I expected to be tonight or any night for that matter.

Briefly, I peeked at the young man who Dr. Bell referred to as Humble.

Surely, he gave off a spirit of humility.

However, there was an iciness to him that was terrifying.

He stood with those guns in his face without the slightest fear.

So had Dr. Bell and all those men that ran out of that building.

“My name is Coco,” I corrected.

He merely cocked his head and pointed to the dining room table.

At the dining room table sat three other young men, along with Quilo, and a woman who keenly watched my every move.

“Come have a seat, child,” the woman instructed.

Reluctantly, I moved to an empty chair.

“I need my phone. I need to call someone.”

“You need to have a seat. Bruising is starting to form on your arms,” the lady mentioned.

Glancing down at my arms, I did see where the steering wheel caught me.

“And you’re in shock. Get her a bottle of water,” she ordered softly.

Within seconds, a chilled bottle of water sat before me.

As I cracked the bottle open, a beep sounded.

Minutes later, several men filed into the dining room led by Dr. Bell.

My eyes widened after seeing all of them.

“Pretty and Quilo, these are my sons, Humble, Peace, Kalm, and Bragg. The lady there is my mama, Minnie.”

I quietly gasped, realizing I’d been keeping company with Dr. Bell’s mother.

Now that I looked at her, she heavily favored Bianca.

And his… sons ? I was surely in an episode of a crazy ass horror show.

“Quilo, Humble will take you upstairs to show you to one of the bathrooms. Peace will get you some clothes. Kalm and Bragg, get him some clean linens.”

Like soldiers, the boys moved to follow Dr. Bell’s instructions.

Quilo and I looked on, unsure of what the hell we’d stepped into.

“Come on, Quilo,” Humble called.

He was already leaving the dining room as if he expected Quilo to fall in line.

When he’d taken a few steps and realized Quilo wasn’t behind him, he glanced at Dr. Bell before putting his eyes back on Quilo.

“Quilo…” Minnie’s smooth, gentle voice pulled my brother’s attention to her.

“Go with my grandson. Everything is okay here. You have my word.”

As if Minnie was our mother, Quilo instantly did what she asked.

When he didn’t give her any back talk, my eyebrows crashed together.

Once the boys were out of the dining room, a man moved closer to Minnie, then dropped a kiss on her lips.

There was no questioning the fact that he was Dr. Bell’s father.

He looked just like him with the exception that the elder Bell sported salt and pepper gray hair.

His beard was a little longer than his son’s, too.

The elder Bell approached me.

“Pretty, is it?”

I went to shake my head ‘no’, then thought better of it.

Dr. Bell kept referring to me as Pretty anyway.

“I hate that we’re meeting under these circumstances. However, I’m Judge Bell. Has my wife been kind to you?”

Minnie sucked her teeth.

For the first time tonight, I partially grinned.

“She’s been very sweet to me.”

His satisfied smile sort of eased the fear that was still tucked inside me.

That fear returned when another beep sounded, and more men filed inside the dining room.

These were all variations of Dr. Bell, some older, some around his age, and a few younger.

They regarded me with as much curiosity as I regarded them.

Then, my eyes snagged those of Dr. Bell.

His eyes were even more intense than they had been earlier.

Something dark laid in them.

Something that caused me to shiver a little.

“I need everyone in the conference room. I’ll be there shortly.”

Dr. Bell was good at giving orders.

My heart raced as it was becoming quite clear that this man was more than just a doctor.

The way he’d handled those thugs…

The way he spoke and everyone listened.

The way he was handling everything just seemed so…

organized. And not in a good way.

My stomach dipped.

Everyone left the dining room, leaving me with Dr. Bell surrounded by expensive ass paintings and separated by an expensive ass dining table and chairs.

He placed my purse, my phone, and Quilo’s phone down on the table.

A few heartbeats passed before he walked up to me, looking down at me like the tall, stocky being that he was.

I found his hand in front of me again.

“Walk with me outside,” he uttered.

Placing my hand in his, I let him bring me to stand before him.

His cologne literally made me drool as he led me from the dining room.

It was subtle yet powerful enough to shift my thoughts for a moment.

He took me through an immaculate living room and to a set of sliding glass doors that led into the backyard.

Once he stepped out, he turned to let me out, then shut the door back.

I wasn’t prepared to see a backyard so magnificent.

Although night had fallen, low lighting placed along the privacy fence provided me with some visuals of how beautiful the yard was.

The pool was magnificent, along with the large gazebo positioned at the back of the property.

There was a half basketball court, also, that I could tell was heavily used.

A few pairs of sneakers and several balls were scattered over it.

“Welcome to Bell Estates, Pretty. I hope you don’t mind if I call you that.”

I tilted my head even as I blushed.

“Why?”

“It’s the first name that came to mind when I laid eyes on you this morning. Since I didn’t know your name, Pretty seemed fitting.”

I couldn’t fight the tug of my lips, even though knowing who this man could possibly be scared the fuck out of me.

“I don’t mean to be rude, Dr. Bell—”

“Adir, baby,” he corrected.

“…Adir… You can understand why I’m a little afraid.”

I glanced back at the house.

Too many questions swirled in my brain from all those men showing up, to Adir having four sons, who neither of which looked nothing like him.

“Before we dive into the millions of questions you have, I should warn you.”

“About what?”

“Should you leave this property without the protection of my last name… I can’t help what happens out there.”

My heart sped up in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“Quilo killed a high-ranking gang member. There’s money on his head.”

The food I’d eaten earlier rushed from my stomach.

I ran to the grass, dropped to my knees, and expelled everything inside of me.

I felt dizzy. My head spun while understanding the weight of what Quilo had done.

Tears sprang to my eyes.

Adir stooped down beside me.

His large hand went across my back, soothing me as I cried in between losing my stomach.

When I had no energy left, I nearly sank to the ground.

Adir caught me, though, easily lifting me into his strong arms. He sat me on one of the patio sofas and kneeled in front of me.

“Breathe in slow, lil’ baby. I’m right here. You’re safe.”

Adir’s hand reached out to grip my chin.

His strong ass fingers sent chills down my spine, igniting me to the point every nerve relaxed under his touch.

Out of thin air, someone appeared, handing him bottled water and a towel.

“They’re going to kill him,” I whispered, distraught.

Adir opened the water and forced me to take a few sips of which I used to cleanse my mouth.

I spit the contents into the towel.

“No… they’re not. Not if the two of you bear the Bell name.”

His words hit me in my chest. The implication of what he suggested was jarring.

“He’s all I have,” I admitted tearfully.

“Why is that?”

Adir’s question brought me pause before I took a deep breath and shook my head.

“Our mama died five years ago. Our father has never been in our lives. The rest of our family…”

“Scattered?”

I simply nodded.

They were more than scattered.

They were dysfunctional and wouldn’t do a thing except make the situation worse.

“Well, you’re both with me now. If you want it to stay that way, it can. I’m offering you protection and shelter—”

“In exchange for me sharing your bed,” I fired back.

Just this morning, he’d made it very clear that he was attracted to me.

So much so that he refused to work around me.

Interrupting him was likely something no one ever did.

I could tell by the set of his jaw that my response rubbed him the wrong way.

Then his face relaxed, he looked up at the starlit sky, and closed his eyes.

From the outside looking in, he was centering himself.

“What do you hear?” he questioned.

Aside from the sound of the gentle breeze brushing across my face, I heard nothing.

Not even a cricket chirping.

“Silence.”

He smirked subtly.

“That’s how silent I want ya fears to be.”

“How, when I don’t know you?”

Standing, he took my hand and brought me with him.

“We’ll get to know each other. Things will go slow. For now, my mama will show you to your room. Anything you need, just ask. More importantly, I want you to rest. Everything’s gon’ be okay.”

“I haven’t even agreed to stay here.” My brain screamed that there was no going back.

However, this was crazy as hell.

“You agreed the minute you got into my car, Pretty Bell.”

I stared up into his hypnotizing eyes without a single comeback.

Maybe he was right. I jumped inside his car without the slightest hesitation.