Page 17

“Good morning, Miss Atkins. Nice to see you back.”

I greeted my fellow agents with small smiles and curt nods as I walked through the building. Today was my first day back after three months, and I was already contemplating another leave. I’ve enjoyed spending so much time with Dre and Briley that coming back in was extremely hard.

Walking down the small hallway, I locked eyes with Agent Micheals. He called and tried to link a few times, but I let him know in the nicest way I was seeing someone. I haven’t heard from him since.

“Good morning, Agent Micheals,” I spoke before I rounded the corner to my office. “How are you doing today?”

“Good.” He glanced up from his computer and spoke dryly. “You?”

“Wonderful.” I giggled and kept moving. I don’t know what his problem was, but I hate it for him. He wasn’t going to make me feel bad for not wanting to date his ass.

Andre and I have been getting closer these past few weeks, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I saw him in a new light the day he defended my daughter at the park. Speaking of Bri, she loves herself some Andre. The way those two are with each other, you would think they were best friends. Every time I’ve wanted to come clean, their growing relationship is what stopped me. I never want to break the bond those two share. I would feel awful.

Stepping into my office, I powered on the lights and electronics before placing my briefcase on my desk. Opening the expensive leather case, I found the folder with the information I’d gathered on Dre and his family. I’d added very little to the file because somewhere within my investigation, I stopped asking the questions I needed to ask. While I was not convinced he and his family were law-abiding citizens, I no longer cared. Underneath the many layers Dre possesses, his kindness and loyalty shined through the most to me. He’s a no-nonsense type of man, and my best guess is that he used bullets to ensure no one did wrong by the Boudreaux family. He is good to my daughter and me, and that’s all that matters now.

After shredding everything, I logged into my email and groaned at the hundreds of messages waiting for me. Of the ones marked important, there was a link about Nate’s case.

“Guilty on all counts.” I blew out a deep breath. Seeing him get life without parole wasn’t shocking to me at all. The man was diabolical in the streets of California. I read over the court transcripts and felt proud of myself. While I had agreed to stop using my looks and gender to entrap criminal men, I still accepted this outcome with Nate as a win. I had worked tirelessly to gather all the evidence needed to indict him. “Good job, Denim.”

As I continued to scroll through emails, a sea of congratulations were flooding my inbox. I knew it was about Nate, and I made a mental note to thank them all later. Hearing my phone vibrate, I groaned at seeing Bryce’s name. Seeing as though it was his week with Bri, I knew I had to answer.

“Atkins here,” I answered as I placed the phone to my ear. “Is everything okay?”

“I see you decided to return to work instead of being a hoe. Good for you.” I could see his smug expression through the phone, thinking his words had affected me. I rolled my eyes as he continued, “I can’t believe you’ve had that man around my daughter.”

“Bryce, what do you want?” I was already tired of the conversation. “The last thing you need to do is be worried about me and what I have going on. Where is my child?”

This is the first time he’s been able to get Bri since I beat his wife’s ass, and while I didn’t want to let her go, my parents reminded me it was important to let him be a part of her life. He and I sat down and had a serious talk about my wishes when it came to his spouse being around my child. I wasn’t sure if he heard anything I said because the whole time, he wore a mixture of lust and disgust on his face. I relented anyway and let him take Briley for their time together.

“Briley is fine.” I could hear the frown in his voice. “We’re headed to breakfast before I take her to the zoo. She’s going to have a fun week with just the two of us. Ain’t that right, baby?”

Hearing her say, “Yes, sir,” so sweetly caused me to smile. She and I also talked, and I made sure she was okay with going to her father’s apartment for a week. Assuring me that she was okay as long as Rebecca and her brothers weren’t around, she was more than happy to spend a long week of fun with him. I was still skeptical, so I made she had all her devices so I could keep up with her while gone.

Briley nor her father knew about the necklace I had gifted her a couple of weeks ago. It was embedded with a tracking device, and I made sure she knew not to take it off under any circumstance. Rebecca is his wife; I’m not naive to think she would never be around my child. Nevertheless, I needed to know where my baby was at all times when she wasn’t with me. She had her iPad and can call me at any time, but if there’s a time I can’t get in touch with her or her father, I’m pulling up.

“If there’s nothing else, I need to go.” I looked up to the sound of a knock at my door. Senior Special Agent Roberts stood, waiting for my nod to enter. He had a smile on his face that I couldn’t read. “Tell my daughter to call me, and don’t forget what I told you, Bryce.”

“You don’t need to worry about me or my wife. You should be kissing her feet for not calling the cops on you!” He gritted through clenched teeth, likely trying to keep his voice hidden from Briley. “You’re so concerned about her and who’s around my daughter when you know nothing of the man you’re fucking. I can’t wait to see when your perfect little love affair blows up in your face.”

Not in the mood to go back and forth with him, I disconnected the call and gave my attention to Agent Roberts. Since I’ve been on leave, he hasn’t tried to contact me outside of the email wishing me well. Now that he was here, it was time for a long overdue conversation.

“Good morning, Agent Roberts.” I stood from my desk and extended my hand, which he happily accepted. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m good… thank you.” He nodded and took a seat. “Did you enjoy your leave? How are you feeling?” Agent Roberts didn’t play about mental health. He was a hard ass, but he cared about his team’s well-being. While we didn’t agree on a lot, I did like his leadership skills.

I smiled. “I’m feeling great—refreshed. The time away did me some good and made me think about some things I wanted to discuss with you.” Taking a deep breath, I looked at him intently as I continued, “First, I want to say thank you for all of the opportunities you’ve given me. I know you may think I don’t deserve my position within this division, but?—”

“I never once said you didn’t deserve anything.” He frowned and leaned up in his seat. “I hate the fact that you think your greatest asset to this team is using your body as bait. Yes, you’re beautiful, and at times, these men are weak enough to fall for your traps, but that’s not all you are. You’re smart, and you can do so much better. The amount of time you invest into meeting these men and luring them into giving you information can be used in the office, making phone calls and connecting dots to get the same information without taking your clothes off.”

Leaning back in my seat, I cracked my knuckles because I felt like I was having another conversation with my dad. “That’s what I wanted to speak with you about, sir. I love my job and what I do. Being a field agent is one of my greatest accomplishments in life outside of my daughter. I take pride in knowing I’m here because of my hard work and dedication—nothing else. I will be submitting a formal request soon to be no longer selected for undercover assignments. I no longer desire to be in the field if I’m there as bait. I would like to sharpen my skills as an investigator in the office—I hope you understand, sir.”

He said nothing as he looked at me. I wasn’t nervous about this decision affecting my job security. However, his response would set the tone for if I was still going to be on his team in this division.

“That’s all right with me.” He stood from his seat, causing me to do the same. “I’m sure you also want to speak about being more local instead of traveling…”

“Actually, yes—” I frowned slightly, pulling my hand back from him. “Wait, how did you know?”

“Oh, come on.” He chuckled as he stuffed his hand in his slacks. “It’s only logical with your new life change. I admit, you had me fooled.” He smiled and wagged his finger at me. “I thought you really had a hard-on for the Boudreaux family, especially Andre. This whole time, you were looking into this man because you wanted to be sure you were making the right choice.”

Words could not describe how confused I was by what he was implying. Andre and I did have a sexual relationship, but I wouldn’t say it was life-changing. Seeing me dumbfounded, he continued to chuckle as he pulled out his phone and began to type. Before long, he was handing it to me. What I saw made my jaw drop.

“Congratulations on your nuptials, Agent Boudreaux. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.”

Clear as day, an email was sent to my superiors and human resources saying I’d married Andre Boudreaux. As I scanned the email, I clicked an attachment displaying a marriage license I’d signed.

“I-I…” I stammered as I handed him his phone. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.” His smile wavered at my reaction. “I’m just glad to know that was the real reason for you looking into him and not because you wanted to build some make-believe case. That family is very powerful, and the wrong accusation would land the agency in more trouble than I care to discuss.”

Nodding, I said nothing since I didn’t trust my words. I was married to Andre Boudreaux, and I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when this happened. More importantly, I didn’t know why.

“T-Thank you for understanding it all, Agent Roberts.” I tried to keep my tone steady, although I was feeling anything but calm. “I’m glad we were able to talk early on. If you’d excuse me, I need to catch up on a few things.”

He stared at me briefly before walking out of my office and closing the door behind him. I couldn’t help but sit and glare at my computer screen in hopes I’d find the answer to my latest woes. Snapping from my thoughts, I went to all the emails congratulating me. After opening them, I was more confused than ever. Here I am, thinking I was being praised for placing a bad man behind bars, when in fact, it was because of a marriage I didn’t know I had entered. Upon checking my outgoing mail, I found the one sent from me saying I’d gotten hitched.

“What the fuck is happening?” I picked up my phone and clutched it tightly. “How did this happen?”

My hand slightly shook as I unlocked my phone and went to my contacts. I needed to call my parents and Jerome to see what I needed to do. Out of nowhere, my confusion turned to anger.

Andre Boudreaux.

I don’t know how or why, but my gut was telling me he was behind this. Could he have found out who I was? I shook the thought immediately because there was no way. The more I thought about Dre doing this to me, the faster my anger turned to worry. What was his reasoning? I wasn’t sure, but I had to find out.

Grabbing my keys, I locked everything and dashed out of my office without saying a word to anyone. I placed my phone to my ear and called Dre repeatedly, with no answer. One way or another, I was going to get to the bottom of this, and I hope this doesn’t end with me killing my so-called husband.

* * *

“Trust me, cousin… I get why you’re upset, but bitch! You act like Andre is some bum-ass nigga. Hell, let that man finesse me into marriage, and I’d be trying to get into his draws right damn now!”

As mad as I was, I couldn’t help but laugh at Jerome. I’d decided to finally call him and vent about my woes with Andre. He was the better option between him and my parents since I’ve yet to get in touch with Dre. I’ve been blowing his phone up for two days now, and I still haven’t been able to reach him. I even went as far as riding to City Hall in hopes I would see him there with Uno, but he hadn’t been there all week. While there, I spoke with the clerk about getting a copy of my marriage certificate, and sure enough, I was Mrs. Andre Boudreaux.

I groaned into the phone as I pulled my legs under me on the couch. “Rome! I’m being serious right now. How is that possible without my consent? I don’t remember even signing?—”

Flashing through my mind was the night of Bryce’s charity auction. I was drinking and so enthralled in the conversation I was having with Gabby and the girls that I didn’t pay attention to what Dre asked me to sign. I assumed it was a waiver saying I was attending the trip with him.

“Oh my gosh!” I slapped my forehead and threw my head against the back of the couch. “How could I have been so stupid? Why would he even want to do this after everything I’ve done?”

“What you mean, bitch?” I could hear Jerome moving around and his background growing quiet. He was currently at Sephora working, but he didn’t care. Whenever I called to gossip, he would stop everything and listen. “What did you do?”

Taking a deep breath, I took the next few minutes and gave Jerome the cliff notes on the reason I initially began entertaining Dre. I even went as far as telling him about Nate and I to put it all into perspective. Once I’d finished, the line grew so quiet that I thought the call was lost.

“Say something, Jerome…” I stood from the couch and paced the room, anxiously waiting for his opinion. “Tell me I didn’t fuck up too bad.”

He chuckled lowly. “Oh, you must certainly did. If you think he’s the man you were accusing him of being, why did you think it would be a good idea to try and run game on him?” I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Exactly! If your gut was telling you the truth, evidence or not, you put a target on everyone you love simply because you didn’t mind your business.”

“I thought I was doing the right thing!” I threw my arms up in the air as tears swelled my eyes. “I thought he was a criminal!”

“A criminal you spread your legs for and allowed into your home where you and your child lay your head? For you to be so smart… you sure are dumb!”

Dropping my head, I couldn’t do anything but cry. I messed up; I know I did. I shouldn’t have ever tried to play my games with Andre. Now, he’s playing a game that I have no control over.

“I-I love him, Jerome,” I confessed as I wiped my tears. “I fell in love with the man I was supposed to be investigating, and I don’t know what to do because I thought I would hate that man, Rome. But he doesn’t have a bone in his body to hate.” I took a breath to try to calm down. “My mind is telling me he knows who I am. It’s telling me that he and I can’t be together because of who we are, but my heart doesn’t care. I want to be with him.”

“So, why are you so against being married to him?” he asked as someone called out his name for help. Sighing, he told them to give him a minute. “You’re attached to the man, so find a way to make it work.”

I heard what Jerome was saying, but it wasn’t that simple. He and I still had so much to learn about each other. Marriage isn’t something I take lightly, and I didn’t know if it’s something I could go through with it, being that Dre was still a mystery.

“I need time to think, Rome. Since Andre has fallen off the face of the earth, I guess now is the best time to do just that.” My phone dinged, causing me to pull it from my ear. I was hoping it was Dre, but it was a notification from Briley’s tracking app. “I’m going to make me some food and lay down. Call me later, cousin.”

Placing my phone on the counter, I decided to make some leftover fajitas. I haven’t eaten much these past few days because of worry, but this headache wouldn’t budge, so it was best I focused on my health. Taking a seat at the island, I began to eat as I strolled my phone. Remembering the notification, I pulled up the tracking app to see what fun my girl was having.

“Looks like they’ve been all over the city today.” I chuckled, thinking about Bri and how she was probably spending all of Bryce’s money. “Make his pockets hurt, baby.”

As I continued to stroll through her day’s events, I went to the live footage to ensure they were home. It was almost nine, and he knew how I felt about having my baby out late. Checking the location, I frowned in confusion as I noticed him nearing Sunset Valley. That was the shadiest part of the city, and my child had no business being there. Closing out the app, I called him immediately.

“Pick up the damn phone, Bryce!” I yelled into the phone as it continued to ring in my ear. “I guess everyone’s choosing to screen my calls.”

I called him three more times before saying, “Fuck it!” Trashing my food, I slipped on a pair of Crocs, grabbed my keys, and dashed out the door. You give a nigga an inch, and he will take a mile every time. I don’t know what business he had at this time of night, but it shouldn’t have included my child being in the most dangerous part of town.

Thankfully, the roads tonight were clear of drivers and cops because the speed limit was nowhere near my mind. As I dashed through the town under the city lights, I continued to call Bryce and get his voicemail. Cursing profusely, I gripped the steering wheel and kept my eyes on Bri’s location. They were no longer moving, and I was about twenty minutes away. That alone threw me into a panic.

Seeing the sign that told me I was in Sunset Valley, my heart began to beat faster than when I first got on the road. I checked Bri’s location once more and noticed I was approaching where she should be.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked myself aloud as I parked outside the abandoned building. The location where Bryce held his event looked like a palace compared to this one. This building looked like a haunted bando, and there was no reason for my daughter to be here. Dashing out of my car with my phone in one hand and service gun in the other, I went in search of my daughter.

As the owls hooted above me, I crept to the side of the building in hopes of finding my Briley. She was definitely here because I saw Bryce’s car. Pulling on the boarded doors, I almost thought I was at the wrong place until I spotted a small light coming from the opposite side. Pushing the wood softly, I eased it open and stepped inside. The dimly lit building made it impossible to see. As I fumbled to turn my phone’s flashlight on, there was the faint sound of a gunshot in the distance.

Running in that direction, I thought the worst, and my heart felt like it was going to leap from my chest. Was my baby hurt? Why had Bryce brought her to this rundown shack? Who else was here with them that would shoot a gun? Entering a room with the only light shining, I stopped in my tracks and gasped at the sight before me.

“Bryce!” I placed my hand over my mouth and cried. He lay there, choking on his own blood as he bled from his torso. “Oh my gosh!”

Dragging my eyes from him, they landed on the hooded man with my sleeping daughter in his arms. Tears streamed down my face as I watched in horror at the danger that she was in. With the smoking gun in hand, he slowly rotated his head around until he faced me for a split second before turning around and sending one last shot into Bryce, ending his life. With the gun now back at his side, he turned to face me completely.

“Andre…” I cried in confusion. Seeing Bri stir caused me to panic. “Why do you have my daughter?” Raising my gun to him with a shaky hand, I felt the tears continue to fall from my blurred vision. “You murdered my?—”

Before the words could leave my lips, a cloth was placed across my face. I struggled to break free of the unknown man’s hold on me, but the more I moved, the weaker I became. Hearing the faint sound of my phone dropping, I felt my eyes get heavy.

“Leave him here. Grab Denim, and let’s go,” were the last words I heard from Andre as he stepped past me with my daughter still in his arms.