Page 5 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)

Pulling into the parking lot, I shifted my truck into park and peered in the rearview mirror at Kree.

Today, it was just the two of us because he had a midday doctor’s appointment, and after being poked and prodded, he was fussy.

I’d sat outside of the clinic for damn near thirty minutes trying to get him to sleep.

After he drifted off, I decided to stop by Publix so that I could grab something to cook for dinner.

While Kree and I were at the doctor’s office, Kreed had taken the girls to the movies. Hitting the phone on the car screen, I dialed his number and leaned against the headrest. When the call connected, that raspy voice that I loved greeted me. “What’s up, baby?”

“Hey. I was just checking in. How are the girls?”

“They’re good. We ’bout to stop by Chipotle so I can feed them before bringing their chatty asses home.” He chuckled.

“Cool. Any ideas for dinner?”

“Nawl. I’m cool with whatever.”

“Okay…” I sighed.

“What’s wrong? Why you sounding defeated?” he quizzed.

“I don’t want to wake Kree up.” I giggled softly. “He was not happy about that appointment.”

“When is he ever? But you need to go ahead and get him up so he won’t be up tonight.”

“I know…” I exhaled and took another glance at Kree, who was resting so peacefully in his car seat. “I shouldn’t be long.”

“We will be at the house by the time you get there.”

“Okay. Love you.”

“I love you more,” Kreed affirmed before ending the call.

Unfastening my seat belt, I fished my bag off the seat and threw it across my body before sliding out of the car. Once I’d gotten Kree out of the back seat and loaded into the shopping cart, I ambled into the store in search of something quick to cook.

Seven different personalities resided in my house, which meant seven different taste buds.

I wanted to grill some salmon, but Sophie, my six-year-old, detested fish.

If I did chicken breast, Aurora would only eat it if it was blackened.

Those were the types of things that I dealt with on a daily basis.

Deciding to keep it simple, I selected lamb gyros and a Greek salad.

I was standing in the middle of the aisle, trying to decide on which brand of Kalamata olives to throw in the cart, when I heard someone call my name.

Tilting my head to the side, I spotted the woman whom I’d seen last week in Lululemon.

This was the second time I’d seen her and still couldn’t figure out why her face was so familiar.

“What’s up?” I asked and swiped pitted olives off the shelf.

“You’re Dolla’s wife?” she asked as if the world didn’t have a clue of my existence.

“I am. But you knew that already,” I noted and narrowed my eyes at her.

“Right…” She licked the corners of her mouth.

“Since you already know my name, mind telling me what yours is?”

“Ashton,” she uttered.

“So, what’s up, Ashton?”

Dropping her eyes to the floor, she huffed. “Never mind. I’m sorry.” She gave me a faint smile before turning to walk away.

“You’re the fan, huh?” I asked after finally realizing where I knew this chick from.

Spinning around, she stared at me in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I said, you’re the fan . The one from the ESPYs that approached me in the restroom.

When I saw you at the store, I knew you looked familiar…

I just couldn’t remember where I’d seen you before.

That’s the same shit you said to me then…

the ‘never mind, I’m sorry.’ This is your second time approaching me, so what’s up?

Do you need something?” I asked and folded my arms across my chest.

“I umm…” She hesitated a second before recovering. “I wanted to tell you that night.”

Tell me that night. I knew something was up when she first approached me.

The bitch must’ve gotten scared and tried to play that shit off.

I was going to take a page from her book and act accordingly.

I wouldn’t dare give away that my heart rate had doubled in speed when she said that shit just now.

The fact that I had my baby with me was the only reason I wasn’t going to put hands on this chick.

For her to even have the guts to step to me in the store was bold—bold as fuck.

“Well, why didn’t you? I mean… you was bold enough to follow me into the restroom that night. Then, when I asked who you were, you pretended to be a fan. So, what’s up? Y’all fucking? How long has it been going on?”

“No…” She shook her head adamantly. “I’m not sleeping with your husband.”

“What?”

“I mean, not as of now,” she clarified, pissing me off further.

“Okay, so he fucked you and ducked you. And I guess you thought I should know?”

Letting out an exasperated breath, she looked behind her before placing her attention back on me. The next thing out of her mouth gutted me like a fucking fish. “Kreed and I have a six-month-old son.”

“Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say?”

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen before turning it around for me to view. “His name is Kreed Jr.”

I smirked at her before taking the phone out of her hand.

The longer I stared at the picture, the more my heart started to ache.

This kid looked just like my kids. My kids were eaten up by Kreed’s genes, and the only feature of mine they carried was their pointed ears.

Everything else that adorned their faces was reminiscent of the man I’d married, much like the baby on the screen.

Kreed couldn’t deny him if he wanted to.

The kid had his entire face. Nibbling on my bottom lip, I looked down at Kree in his car seat before tossing my eyes back up to the chick.

She was cute; she had that whole “video vixen” thing going on. I could see why my husband would be interested. Handing her back the phone, I stared at her. “How long?”

“It started before you had him.” She nodded down at Kree.

“When did it end?”

“When I found out I was pregnant.”

“Right…” I chuckled bitterly. “He knows about him?” I asked, then rolled my eyes at my own question. “Of course, he knows. And I’m certain he’s active. Am I right?”

She nodded. “He is.”

“So, if he’s active, then why did you feel the need to tell me? What are you hoping to gain?”

“Nothing… I’m not trying to gain anything, Masai.”

“So, you know my name? You think he gonna leave me and be with you? You want a family with this nigga or something?”

“No.” She shook her head and denied. “I just don’t want my baby to be a secret anymore.”

“Don’t want your baby to be a secret…” I repeated.

“Yeah… okay.” Glancing down at my watch, I checked the time.

“Listen, your secret is out. I don’t know what you were looking to gain or what you thought would become of this, but a bit of advice: Me and that nigga have been together for years.

He might have fucked you, but that’s as far as it’ll ever go. ”

The more I talked, the more her eyes pooled with tears.

I genuinely didn’t know what she thought she was going to achieve by telling me that she’d been fucking my husband once upon a time.

I could very well become unhinged and bash her skull in, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

For what? Why come out of character about a man who chose to ruin his marriage by not only stepping out, but producing an outside child?

This girl didn’t know me from a can of fucking paint and owed me nothing. I mean, as a woman, it was fucked up on her part, but the loyalty—the loyalty was supposed to come from the man I’d taken vows with. That’s who was supposed to guard my heart.

As painful as this shit may be, I wouldn’t give her a reaction. I was reserving all of that for Kreed.

“He’s never going to leave me for you. Y’all will never be a family, and I feel sorry that your son will never know what it feels like to have mommy and daddy under the same roof.

The only reason I’m not beating yo’ ass right now is because I have my son with me.

Don’t think for one second that shit is sweet over here ’cause it ain’t.

Lastly, don’t ever walk up to me again when I’m with one of my kids.

” Paying her one final glance, I smiled and bumped past her.

“Masai…” she called out after me.

Is this chick serious? “Yes, sweetie?”

“I have proof that it wasn’t just some affair.”

“And what do you want me to do with that?”

“Nothing… I just.” She hesitated before saying, “I guess. I wanted…”

“What is it? You guess… you wanted? What? Might as well say what you need to say because this is the last time you and I will ever speak.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she let out a frustrated sigh. “I fell in love with Kreed. And I guess I thoug?—”

Cutting her off mid-sentence, I chuckled.

“Thought he was going to leave me and his family to be with you. I’m sure he sold you a dream.

That’s what married men do, love. It’s all part of an act.

My husband never intended to leave, and I want to say, ‘I’m sorry that your feelings are invested,’ but I’m not.

“You knew exactly what you were signing up for when you got in bed with him. Now, you gotta deal with the consequences. You will never be around my kids, love, and neither will your son.” With nothing left to say, I walked away.

The whole time I rang out my groceries, my conversation with her kept replaying in my head. She fell in love with my husband. That was laughable. What could he have possibly done to make her fall in love? Fucked her good was the only answer because that’s the only thing that I could see him doing.

The fact that whatever they had going on ended when she found out she was pregnant should’ve told her he didn’t feel the same way.

She had lain down with a man who already had a family and thought he was going to abandon that for her.

That nigga did what all married niggas do; he made her a glorified side bitch, and she was the nut that fell for his shit.