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A knock on the door startled me because Lucas and I were locked into the movie Mufasa .

We’d never seen it. I told whoever it was to come in.

In walked this dark chocolate, tall drink of a milkshake.

You cannot be attracted to the man that had you nice-napped, Reya!

I didn’t recall ever seeing him around. I imagined that we didn’t hang in the same circles.

I knew what Sully looked like because I’d met him at the club before. Plus, his wife was the manager.

Who I assumed was AK wore a perplexed expression. “Jedi?”

My expression switched to befuddled. Jedi was what Mama Bee called Lucas’s alter ego. How did he know that name? Lucas’s eyes lit up when his head snapped in the direction of the man.

“Lo!”

I stopped him when he tried to climb down from the bed to go to him. Lucas looked at me like I’d just cussed him out before his eyes went back to the man.

My son pointed at me, then said, “Lo! Tell her read the room.”

It clicked in my mind when he said, “read the room.”

“Y-you’re Mama Bee’s grandson?”

I never met him, but I knew that the whole “read the room” thing came from her grandson Lo. She told me that her grandson talked to my baby when he was acting up one day, and that was the theme of how he got him to behave. I didn’t really understand the concept, but whatever.

“Yeah, I am. You can let him come to me,” he said with a voice like velvet. “What’s up, Jedi!”

I let Lucas go. He climbed from the bed and ran to Lo or AK or who the hell knew. I watched them interact like they were best friends. My smile surfaced without my consent at the sight of this man’s dimples. Was this the man that I heard in passing was a savage?

“Lo! Look at the big TV!”

Lucas pulled his hand to show him the television. It was on the wall in the living room area of the bedroom, but it was on a swivel mount that allowed us to turn it toward the bed.

Lo smiled at my baby. “I see it, man. How about you watch the movie, and I talk to your mama. Is that cool with you, Jedi?”

My baby was so comfortable with him. Lo called out to Joey, who came into the room moments later.

“Aye, y’all got popcorn in there?” When Joey confirmed that there was some, Lo instructed, “Take Jedi, and let him help you make some like a big boy.”

It was so weird to hear him call Lucas by his alter ego that came from his middle name Jedidiah. Any task that allowed my son to show that he could be a big boy, he was down for.

“Mama, I be back. I go make popcorn with Joey. We eat ’fredo later”

“Okay, baby. Be careful,” I told him.

He gave me a big hug before he bolted out of the room with Joey. My baby told Joey that he wanted some chicken alfredo, so he told him he would make some.

Lo asked me to come into the living room. I pulled on my clothes because I was dressed casually. I had on a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt. Both of my feet were placed under me as I sat on the couch opposite him.

“Do I call you Lo or AK?”

“You can call me Lo or Lo’ak,” he responded.

When I asked him if the Lo and the AK meant something separately, his answer intrigued me. “My grandma calls me Lo. The streets call me AK because my full nickname is Armageddon.”

My head leaned toward my shoulder. “As in the last battle before judgment day? Oh, that’s scary.”

“It’s only scary if you have to battle me. You’re good, though. At least, I think you are,” he said with a raised brow. “I wanted to talk to you about what happened the last time you worked.”

My inner brows kissed, and my upper lip turned up. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about. Nothing happened the last time that I worked. Did I mess up a bar order?”

His face tightened. “Are you serious? Like, you’re really serious.”

“Yeah, what? Did something happen?” I shifted in my seat. “I didn’t hear about anything.”

Yep, I would play dumb as hell. I was not trying to go up against Armageddon. To hell with that!

He laughed. “So, you one of them, huh? You don’t know nothing. You didn’t see nothing?”

“I mean, I can’t know or see anything that didn’t happen. Or at least, I didn’t know that happened,” I said nonchalantly. “If that’s one of them, then I guess I am.”

He displayed those cute dimples. “Well, I’m sorry my people had to grab you up. I had to make sure shit was straight.”

“Oh, no problem. This was a calm nice-nap. Joey and Ethan were very accommodating, which was great. I didn’t want my Lucas to be traumatized by this experience,” I told him. He laughed at my nice-nap term. “Will I be able to go home now?”

He dropped his head then rubbed his hand across the waves in his hair. When his eyes connected to me again, I knew the answer that he had for me would not be what I wanted it to be.

“So, I got a call about the person that you don’t know that didn’t see you, and they didn’t tell their imaginary boss that they didn’t see you. Now that boss is not looking for you. I need you to stay with me until the imaginary threat is cleared.”

Is it proper to laugh at him trying to follow suit with my ‘it never happened’ parallel?

“So, I have to stay out here? For how long?”

“Nah. I think I’m gonna move you to my crib. I want to keep eyes on you to make sure you’re safe.” He stared at me for a moment. “Is that alright with you?”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “Like your ho pad or something? Is your girl going to have a problem with me being there? I don’t like drama. I may be little but mighty.”

His head bucked back. “I’ll have to remember that shit, but nah. It’s not a ho pad. What makes you think I have a girl?”

“Um, your girl is Alexi,” I answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“She makes sure she mentions you every time she comes into Louie’s.

I work there too. Wait. Does this mean that I can’t work?

How am I supposed to pay my bills and take care of my son!

” Anxiety covered me like a dark cloud. “I don’t have enough time off for this kidnapping. ”

Lo glanced at me before he sat back. “First, I thought you said that you were nice-napped? Second, at this point, it’s about your protection now.

Juan, who you don’t know, was taken care of, but his boss is looking for you.

I can promise if he gets to you, it won’t be a nice-nap.

As far as your bills, I’ll make sure they’re taken care of. I’ll also talk to Louie.”

“Why is his boss looking for me? I didn’t do anything.”

I smacked the tear that trickled down my cheek away. I didn’t get it. Why was this happening to me? I wanted to shift the subject because I felt like I would breakdown if I didn’t.

“You never said anything about Alexi.”

He didn’t respond to me immediately.

“Alexi and I are not in a relationship any longer. She is a non-issue.” He paused for that to sink in. “Reya, I know you didn’t do anything, but the fact is that you did see something. To them, that means you have information.”

“Wh-what about GeGi? Is she safe? She was the one that was supposed to dance for them. Wouldn’t he have told about her too?”

He nodded in understanding. “She and her babies are safe and far away. You don’t have to worry about her. Right now, it’s about keeping you safe until the threat is neutralized.”

“Okay. Well, I guess I really don’t have a choice,” I said dejectedly. “When are we going to your house? I want to make sure I pack up my stuff. Will Ethan bring my car there too? It has all my other stuff.”

He let me know that we would go to his house in two days.

That gave me enough time to pack and him enough time to get some things together at his house.

I wasn’t sure what he needed to get together, but alright.

Shortly after our conversation concluded, Joey and Lucas came back into the room.

By the orders of Lucas, we would all stay in the room to watch Mufasa together.

He ran out and got Ethan because he had to be included too.

This was my life for now. I had so many mixed emotions. I went from being kidnapped to protected by a man that the streets called Armageddon. The streets feared him, but my son loved him.