Page 18

The windows are dark, as is the street, as I stare out into the night. I close my eyes for a mental count of fifteen before I open them again. Opening and closing my gloved fists, I grip the steering wheel with one hand and drum the fingers of my other hand on my leg.

I grit my teeth and breathe out through my nose.

You got this, man, I tell myself as I contemplate my next move.

I promised my siblings that I could handle myself, but so close to her, the way that I am, I want to put a bullet through the front of her skull. For the first time in a long time, she’s not surrounded by her entourage, which consists of her PA, her advisor, and a wannabe bodyguard.

I’d left her alone for a while. When Essence had left my father behind after high school, she had gone to college. When she returned and moved across the street from us, she had been enrolled in law school.

Essence had graduated just under two years after my father went to prison. It hadn’t taken her long to move out of the old neighborhood, although we were no longer there. She got a job in some prestigious firm and hadn’t looked back on the lives she destroyed.

She walks by the double glass doors, now wearing a nightie and slippers. I see her curves outlined in the sheer nightie, and it amazes me that her body hasn’t changed much in all these years. She must stick to a serious diet and workout regimen.

She walks back from somewhere out of sight and stands in front of the doors, staring out into the night, almost as if she can see me. I know that she can’t.

Slowly, I lower my window and aim the gun out at her. Looking through the sight of the gun, I think about how easy it might be to take her out now. With the silencer attached, no one would hear anything.

This gun and this car can never be traced back to me. Essence has no idea that the security cameras surrounding her house are no longer recording. When anyone goes back to look at them, they will never see the moment that they cut off and then cut back on again.

My phone rings, and I glance at the screen on my dashboard.

“Fuck!”

It’s Bayleigh.

Slowly, I lower the gun, let the window up again, and start the ignition. I pull away from the curb in the all-black Lexus with the tinted windows.

“Hey, baby,” I greet her cheerily.

“Hey, where are you?”

“I’m on the way home to you now.”

“How much longer?”

“I should be there in less than twenty minutes,” I say, flooring the gas pedal.

“Okay, I’ll wait up.”

“See you soon, baby, and keep it wet.”

Giggling softly but sleepily, she replies. “I will.”

My phone rings again immediately after I end the call.

“Hello?”

“Bossman.”

“Yeah, Malik.” I sigh.

“Tell me you didn’t do anything stupid.”

“Nah, I’m on the way home.”

“Good. I told you, I know this might be personal for you for some reason, but we got you. You don’t need to get your hands dirty fucking with this bitch. We’ll take care of her, dawg.”

“I know you will, Malik.”

“You’ve worked too hard to destroy all that you’ve worked for, everything that you built for Bayleigh and the kids,” Malik comments.

What he doesn’t say or know is that not only have I built all of this for Bayleigh and the kids, but also for my siblings. Everything that they have is because of the sacrifices that I made, the risks that I took, and the moves that I have made over the last decade.

“Sides, the team and I are relying on you too. You’re our brother. You take care of our families, man.”

“I know.”

“So, all I’m saying is no matter what has happened, please keep in mind that you’ve got way too much to lose, and every decision you make impacts more than just you.”

Gritting my teeth, I grip the steering wheel tighter. “You think I don’t know this?”

“I know you do. Sometimes, a friendly reminder is good for everyone involved.”

I sigh. “Thanks, bro.”

“Any time. You have a good night and get back to that woman of yours.”

I glance in the rearview mirror and see the midnight blue Charger peeling off in a different direction. Shaking my head, I chuckle.

No matter how smooth I think I am, that fucking Malik has always been smoother when it comes to stealth moves and surveillance. The only reason I just saw him now is that he wanted me to see him.

Aris, who not only manages the data for my company and underground operations, is also paid handsomely to keep an eye on the data pertaining to all my siblings, including the twins’ businesses, Aspen’s real estate development firm, and Denver’s construction firm.

She brought to my attention today that Essence was having Denver’s real estate firm and its corresponding finances looked into.

The only way that she will do that is if she suspects who he is.

And if that is, in fact, true, then she probably also correctly assumes that the money he gained to start his construction company came from me.

Unfortunately for her, there is no way that she’d be able to trace that back to me either. She would run into so many brick walls and drive herself crazy looking for that needle in a haystack.

After I exchange the car for my own so that it can be wiped from existence, I head home and pull up within five minutes.

“Hey, you,” Bayleigh greets when I step into our bedroom.

“Mm, just like I like you. Wet and waiting,” I say, taking my clothes off.

“Always.”

“Want to join me in the shower?” I ask.

“But of course.”

After adjusting the shower settings in the display panel in our shower, I pull her into my arms and take her lips with mine.

Bayleigh kisses me hungrily as though we haven’t kissed in ages. Her tongue is smooth, and her mouth tastes like honey.

My hands grip her ass and squeeze before I lift her, spreading her thighs apart so that she can wrap her legs around my waist.

“God, I missed you so much today, woman,” I growl, biting into her neck.

Her head drops back against the tiled wall as I adjust her and place my hard erection inside of her. She slides down my dick and moans shifting slightly.

“You feel so good,” she mumbles, pressing her lips against mine.

Six showerheads spray us from every angle. I smooth my hand over her hair, dousing it with water as her hair curls at the edges.

Licking the pulse point in her neck, I bite her there, basking in the groan she releases. Bayleigh’s legs clench tightly around me as she begins to rise and lower on me, riding me expertly.

The way her pussy clutches me and then relaxes repeatedly almost brings me to my knees. I lower my head, taking one of her nipples into my mouth, sucking and licking, and licking and sucking. Slowly, I drag my teeth to the edge of it, eliciting a moan and a “Please, more, baby.”

I bite harder before I release her.

“On your knees,” I say, pointing at the shower floor.

She drops her legs from around me and gets on her knees. I move behind her, parting her ass as she rests her hands on the floor.

Kneeling behind her, I place one hand against the shower wall. I ease my dick into her from behind, and my eyes close at the warmth of her sweet heat.

This is home. This woman right here always lets me know that no matter how shitty the world gets, it’s always going to be just fine.

My hands grip her hips, and I pound inside of her. I know that I’m rougher than normal, but she takes it, knowing that I need this tonight.

She is the release for the anger that I hold inside, the calm to my storm. Bayleigh takes and takes, and then she pushes back, thrusting that ass on me and sliding her wet pussy all up and down my rock-hard dick until I can’t take anymore.

I hold on for dear life until she cums. And only after my woman gets what she needs do I pull out and cum all over her back and ass.

Yes, home is always good to me.