Page 3 of Juke (DeLuca Brothers #4)

Sophia ‘Sophi’ Johnson

I forced a laugh when Mel slapped Nic’s hand away from the shrimp tray. Kasha looked over at me with one of those quiet stares that said she peeped more than I wanted her to. “You good?” She quizzed.

“Yeah. I’m good.” I nodded quickly, but from the looks on their faces, they knew I was lying.

“Why you lying?” Nic inserted as she took a sip of her wine. “You’ve been quiet as hell since we got here. What’s going on with you?”

Mel turned the music down and moved closer; her expression was soft and concerned. “Sophi… talk to us. You always say you’re fine, but something’s clearly bothering you. We can see it.”

These were my sisters in every sense of the word, so I knew their concern came from a genuine place. Each of them strong in their own way, always showing up, always holding me down even when I didn’t ask. Then there was me… the broken one still trying to convince herself she wasn’t.

“I had a dream last night,” I said, barely above a whisper. “About Rio.”

The energy in the room shifted. Mel’s eyes softened. Kasha straightened up while Nic went still.

“He had me pinned against the door,” I went on.

“Just like that night. Screaming in my face, calling me all kinds of names… talking crazy. And I—I couldn’t move.

I was just… stuck.” Nobody said anything.

I couldn’t even look at them. “I woke up drenched in sweat with my heart racing, like I was back in that apartment. I swear I smelled his cologne. I heard his keys jingling like he was coming through the door.”

Kasha reached for my hand. “It’s trauma, Sophi. You’re not crazy.”

“It don’t feel like trauma,” I whispered. “It feels like a warning.”

Mel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You think something’s about to happen?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “But I’ve been feeling off. Like I’m being watched. Like his energy has crept back into my life and won’t leave.”

Nic cursed under her breath. “If that nigga ever touches you again, I’m going to jail. Just know that.”

“We all are.” Kasha nodded in agreement.

“Y’all, I’on understand why I’m still like this,” I said, tears stinging the back of my eyes. “It’s been years, y’all, and I still jump when I hear keys. I still panic when my phone rings back-to-back. I still sleep with a damn chair under my doorknob some nights.”

I shook my head as visions of Rio coursed through my head.

It was storming that night. I remember because the crackle of the thunder is what ignited his rage. I had dropped the glass bowl by accident. It shattered across the kitchen tile. I was apologizing before I even turned around. Rio didn’t care, though. He was on me within seconds.

“You fuckin’ stupid or something?” I didn’t answer. That was always the safest bet, but not tonight. He gripped my hair and slammed me against the fridge. My teeth rattled and my breathing shallowed.

“I asked you a question, bitch!”

“I said sorry.” I whimpered since he still had a tight grip on my hair.

His fist hit the refrigerator inches from my head.

I flinched, and that was a mistake. He hated when I flinched.

He said it made him feel like a monster…

like he wasn’t. He shoved me hard enough that I slipped on the glass.

I felt the sting on my thigh, blood mixing with cold tile.

He stood over me, breathing heavy. He crouched beside me, wiped a tear off my cheek, and kissed my forehead.

“You make me act like this,” he whispered.

“You break things. You don’t listen. But I love you.

You just don’t know how to be loved right. ”

And I believed him. For way too long… I believed him.

Mel pulling me into a hug brought me back to the present. I didn’t realize I was crying until she wiped my face.

“You’re surviving,” she said as she wiped my tears. “And you’re healing, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”

I pulled back and wiped my eyes. “He used to lock me in the bathroom. Beat me if I didn’t say ‘thank you’ quick enough. Once, I tried to leave… and he choked me ’til I passed out. When I woke up, he had undressed me, cleaned me up, and was cooking like it didn’t even happen.”

The looks on their faces said it all. They felt sorry for me, but I didn’t want their pity. I wanted my sanity.

“I was so fuckin’ stuck. I stayed because I didn’t think I had a way out. I thought it was better to be hurt in private than be judged in public.”

“You ain’t gotta explain that to us,” Kasha said firmly.

“I just… I don’t wanna be scared anymore. I don’t wanna keep looking over my shoulder. But I can’t shake this feeling.”

“You don’t gotta carry it alone,” Mel said. “You never did. We got you. You hear me?”

I nodded slowly. “Rashad’s been checking in on me. He doesn’t say much, just… shows up. Whether it’s a quick text or call. He makes sure I’m good.”

Nic tilted her head. “That man moves like a shadow, but his eyes stay open. He cares more than he lets on.”

“I know,” I admitted. “But I haven’t told him any specifics. I don’t even know how to start.”

“Start when you’re ready,” Kasha said. “But don’t shut him out. If he makes you feel safe… let him.”

I didn’t answer right away. Just stared down at my lap and tried to slow my breathing.Because safe… that’s something I hadn’t felt in a long time. And with Rashad? It was the first time I even thought it might be possible. As if he could sense I was thinking about him, a text came through.

Rashad: You good?

Yeah… at Mel’s.

Rashad: Aight. I’ll be at ya spot when you get there.

Ok.

I didn’t even realize I smiled until I looked up and caught all three of them watching me.

“Oohh.” Nic grinned like she just caught me doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing. “That’s him?”

“Mhmm. Juke checking in, huh?” Mel smirked.

“Text got you over there cheesing like a schoolgirl.” Kasha interjected with a smirk of her own.

I rolled my eyes and set my phone down, trying to play it off. “Y’all annoying.”

“That’s not a no.” Nic teased. “So, what is it then? He’s checking for you or what?”

“No,” I said too fast, not believing my own words.

“Girl, please,” Mel laughed. “Stop playing. We see the way that man looks at you, even if you don’t”

I shrugged, suddenly needing a distraction from their interrogation. “He’s just… he looks out for me. That’s it. Like a big-ass security guard who’s just doing his friends a favor.”

“Security guard who texts you at random ass hours?” Nic raised a brow.

“Girl, he’s not checking on us,” Kasha co-signed.

“We’re just friends,” I insisted, waving them off. “He doesn’t act like he wants me.”

Mel smirked. “Sometimes it ain’t about what a man says, Soph. It’s how he moves.”

“Exactly,” Kasha added. “And Juke moves like if anybody sneezes wrong in your direction, it’s gone be a closed casket.”

“I’m serious,” I said, but my voice came out too soft to sound convincing.

“You like him though, don’t you?” Nic asked as she leaned back in her seat.

I froze for half a second, then forced a chuckle. “No.”

They didn’t believe me. Hell, I didn’t even believe me.

I looked down at my phone again, rereading his message.

Rashad: You good?

Simple and direct. But it hit different coming from him.

The way he said my name… in that deep voice that sounded like my favorite melody.

The way he didn’t ask for anything, just showed up when I needed someone without ever making me feel like I owed him.

I never said it out loud. Not to them… not even to myself.

But yeah… I liked him. Probably more than I should, but I damn sure wasn’t ready for what that meant.

***

I left Mel’s feeling a little lighter, but that weight…

never really left. It just shifted deeper in my chest instead of on my shoulders.

By the time I got home, the sun had gone down.

I punched in the code to my condo and waited for the lock to click.

I pushed the door open, ready to get out of these clothes and get comfortable before Rashad arrived.

I didn’t have to wait long, because when I walked further inside, I saw him posted on my couch like he belonged there.

Legs stretched out, one arm resting on the back of the couch.

The TV was low, playing some movie I didn’t recognize.

He said nothing at first. Just looked up like he was scanning me to make sure I was good.

“You scared the shit outta me,” I breathed, hand still on the doorknob. “You couldn’t say something?”

“I was here before you,” he said, calm as ever. “Didn’t think I needed to announce myself.”

I blinked slowly closing the door behind me. “You been here long?”

“Nah, not really.” He shook his head.

“You just make yourself comfortable, huh?”

“Ain’t that what you told me to do last time I was over here?” He smirked.

I kicked off my shoes and dropped my bag on the coffee table.

I made my way to the couch and eased down next to him, pulling the throw blanket into my lap.

Rashad didn’t move, just angled himself a little, so we weren’t shoulder to shoulder, but close enough for his energy to wrap around me, anyway.

“You ate today?” I asked after a beat.

“Yeah. Granny cooked. You know we have dinner with her every Sunday. She cursed everybody out as usual.”

I sniggered.

The silence returned, but it wasn’t heavy this time… just quiet.

“Deion found something.” His tone shifted.

I looked over at him, heartbeat already picking up speed.

“They moved up Rio’s parole hearing. From what Deion said, it could be happening real soon. That’s all I have right now, but I have him on top of it. I wanted to tell you first before I took it to your cousins.”

My whole body tensed, and the air changed. My breath hitched, and I felt like I was suffocating.

“I didn’t wanna tell you like this, but you needed to know.”

I nodded slowly, but my throat tightened. “I didn’t think… I mean, I knew it was coming eventually, but hearing it out loud makes it real.”

Juke’s jaw ticked. He leaned forward slightly, one hand reaching out to pull me to him. I didn’t resist. I let myself fall into his chest, and his arms came around me like a shield. Strong. Warm. Steady.

“You’re safe,” he murmured. “You hear me?”

I nodded against him, breathing in deep, trying to slow my heart.

“I don’t feel safe,” I whispered.

“You are,” he said firmly. “You got me. I’ain letting nobody touch you, shorty. Not while I’m around.”

“I hate how scared I still am.”

“Fear means you survived some shit, but now it’s my job to make sure you don’t have to feel it again.”

I closed my eyes and let myself stay there a minute longer. Let the beat of his heart ground me. Let his strength settle me.

After a while, he leaned back, just enough to look me in the face. “You want me to stay tonight?”

“I’ll be okay,” I blurted. “You don’t have to.”

He looked at me for a long moment, his stare so intense it almost scared me.

“Aight,” he said, finally, nodding. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Rashad…”

“I’ll be out here,” he said, quiet but firm. “Go do what you need to do. I’ain going nowhere.”

I didn’t argue again. I stood slowly, still holding the blanket like it could protect me from anything that wasn’t him.

“Okay,” I whispered.

And for the first time in a long time…even with fear tugging at every nerve in my body… I believed him.