Page 5 of Love Me Now: Baltimore & Madelyn

Bypassing a greeting, he said, “We’re buying the Bears.”

Stupefied, I questioned, “Who is we?”

“Me and you, bruh.”

“Why the hell would I want to buy a baseball team, let alone a struggling one.”

“Uh, you’re the one who walked away from a multi-million-dollar contract to go play security guard with the undertaker.”

I chuckled at Dayton calling Adir the undertaker.

“Baseball is in you. Mind you, you were top three in the country fifteen years ago. Now you look like Pops walkin’ ‘round here all swole an’ shit.”

“Chill, bruh. Let me remind you, I’ve still made my millions.”

Saying that my family was wealthy was an understatement. At this point in my life, making money was a hobby. I had enough stashed away for several generations after me. Working for the Bells started out as just something to do to pass time until it was time for me to take the CFO helm at Cooley & Brown Real Estate Firm. For now, my uncle, Erick, played that role.

“Yeah, yeah. That nigga pays you good, but at what cost? You almost got a bullet in yo’ ass a few weeks ago.”

Despite how serious it was at the time, I laughed at my brother’s foolishness.

“Can we move past that?” I asked him. He’d been riding me ever since he found out about what happened in the dungeon. Thoughts I’d tried purging from my mind resurfaced.

Heir’s dorm apartment door opened. Maddie peeked her head out and locked eyes with me. Glancing to my right and left, I looked back at her and nodded my head. I saw the relief in her eyes the moment she recognized I was about to let her leave. Tears clouded her eyes as she eased out of the door and passed us. Her steps quickened when I didn’t follow after her.

“The fuck you doin’?” Ronnie hissed. I yanked him up by his shirt to keep him from going after Maddie as she rushed from the dorm house.

“Let her be,” I replied.

After cleaning up Genika Grace’s crime scene, I knew I had to give Maddie a way out. If Duval could so callously kill his pregnant mistress, there was nothing stopping him from killing his wife. As I was cleaning up the scene, I called 911 to get someone there to save the baby. I waited as long as I could before paramedics arrived. Once I got out of there, I faced the fact that Maddie was worse off than she claimed to be or let on.

That night, I could barely sleep. All I could think about was how I would kill Duval. Then, it occurred to me that Duval was a Bell. Going against the family was grounds for death. All I had to do was set shit in motion. Having evidence that pointed to Duval and DJ’s disloyalty was as good as a bullet to the head at point blank range.

Inside the dungeon, the team I once led were all killed right along with Duval and DJ. All because they turned on the family. That night, I was prepared to meet my own fate. Thinking back to the fear I saw in Maddie’s eyes as she stood there terrified by what she’d witnessed, I would’ve died a happy man knowing she was finally free of that nigga she called a husband. A part of me was still angry with her. Instead of trusting me, she lied to protect Duval’s trifling ass.

In the name of duty, turning a blind eye to Duval’s marital indiscretions turned my fucking stomach. The bolder he became about his tryst, the more respect I lost for that nigga. He was surely where he needed to be. Duval was the type of nigga who would’ve never stopped cheating on his wife.

“No, we can’t move past it,” Dayton said, bringing me back to the present. “You’re a whole billionaire cosplaying as a security guard. Imagine what Pops would do if he knew what the fuck you were really doing in Niceville Shores.”

“I’m just a security guard,” I replied.

Dayton was the only one in my family who knew the extent of what my job entailed. At first, Pops was mad that I chose not to play professional baseball. Once he understood that my path was leading me elsewhere, he eased up on me. I had a wonderful relationship with my family and was thankful that choices I made never came between any of us.

“Whatever,” Dayton mumbled. “Back to the Bears. The league is considering moving them out of the city if they don’t get a buyer. That’s where we come in.”

“They’re struggling, though, bruh. If I’ma put some money into something, it’s not an organization that can’t make it to the playoffs.”

“Trust me, bro, I got this. We’ll make our money back tenfold.”

“Yeah, aight.”

“We’re meeting with the current owners in three weeks. Now, give my sister-in-law a kiss for me.”

Involuntarily, my face frowned up. “I broke things off with Denisha. And whatever made you think I was marrying her?” Denisha and I casually fucked. That was me being nice.

“Ain’t nobody talkin’ ‘bout Dinky—”

“Denisha,” I corrected him.