Page 32 of Violent Little Thing

Uninvited

ADONIS

Alonzo: Just sent you something

Me: ?

If it’s another man putting their hands on Delilah, I already know I don’t want to see it. Trying to find her last failed arrangement has been hell enough.

Any solace I felt after dealing with the first two was short lived when I remembered Samuel Kirk is still walking around, untouched and unfazed after he dragged Delilah through the living room while her brother and dad watched.

He’s the only one she was too hurt to fight and there’s a special type of hell that simmers in my veins every time I think about it.

Only a week and a half has passed since I asked Alonzo and Victor to hunt him down, but every second feels like too long after the shit I saw on that tape.

Alonzo: It’s not Sammy but I think you’ll still want to see it

Me:

Whatever it is, I’ll get to it after I un-fuck my mind because it’s been a shit show since the doctor’s appointment.

In my office, I sit down and briefly make eye contact with Titus before I cover my face with my hands.

I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever cared about somebody being okay as much as I worry about Delilah.

It happened against my will and now I can’t get away from my need to know nothing and no one is harming her.

Even with my parents, I’ve always maintained a certain amount of distance when it comes to their wellbeing. Because at the end of the day, they have each other.

But Delilah keeps revealing parts of me I didn’t know existed.

I didn’t know I could care about someone more than I care about myself.

I didn’t know I could hold someone all night and pray she didn’t wake up, so the moment didn’t have to end.

I didn’t know I could feel anything other than nothing when it comes to a woman.

And I didn’t know how much I could hate the fact that I love her?—

The reluctant revelation gets drowned out by the sound of glass crashing against tile.

Titus cocks his head as I open a drawer and pull out the gun I just stowed .

“Stay,” is my only command before I leave and head for the kitchen.

It’s the only room with tiles on the first floor.

I’m around the corner, hammer cocked and aimed in front of me when I hear footsteps hitting the staircase behind me.

“What was that?” Delilah whispers.

“Delilah, go back upstairs.”

“Why?”

I shut my eyes for a split second and empty the air in my lungs.

“Because you don’t fucking run toward danger. Go upstairs and let me handle it.”

Delilah frowns at the clipped words and descends the two remaining stairs.

“Go the fuck back upstairs,” I repeat through clenched teeth.

“No.” She folds her arms across her chest and tilts her head.

“Somebody is breaking into the house. Go upstairs!”

“Somebody is breaking into the house and you’re yelling at me instead of figuring out who it is.”

Just then, Titus trots down the hall at the sound of her voice and nudges her shin with his nose. Undaunted, they both size me up.

“I can’t fucking do this right now,” I murmur, walking away. She can stay there or not. I don’t care anymore.

Another crash disrupts the silence before a feminine grunt touches my ears.

As soon as I clear the corner leading to the kitchen, the only thing I see is pink. A bright fucking pink Afro walking through the wreckage she made of my back door .

I know before she looks up exactly who the woman is, and another wave of irritation washes over me.

Indigo Carmine.

Twenty-seven.

Cosmetology student.

And for whatever reason, Delilah’s best friend.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” The more important question is how the hell she knows where I live. The one day Victor has off…

If I was expecting remorse on her face, I don’t get it. Contempt burns in her gaze as she takes me in.

“Why are you having me followed and where is my friend?”

A week.

That’s all it took for her to figure out she had a tail on her. Probably less than that if she found out where I live in that time too.

I’m fucking firing somebody.

For seconds that feel like minutes, we stare at each other. The longer I stare at her, the higher her brow arches.

Titus’ belated bark breaks up the silence. Then Delilah’s footsteps get closer. Resigned, I flick my thumb over the safety, listening to the hammer fall before I tuck the Beretta at my waist.

Delilah’s voice reaches an octave I’ve never heard before as she rushes into the kitchen. “Oh my god, Adonis. Were you trying to surprise me because you knew today was going to be stressful?”

“No.”

Unfazed, Indigo pops out her hip like she belongs here and lets her stare linger on my face.

Delilah tries to move around me, and without breaking eye contact with her friend, I grab her wrist, suspending her trip across the room. “There’s glass all over the floor and you don’t have on shoes, menace.”

The first hint of a smile curves Indigo’s lips and all the hate in her eyes melts into something tender when she sees Delilah.

I’m well-versed in that stare so I shake my head and beckon her into the house.

I still need to find out who told her where I live, but since she’s already here…

Si: What do you mean she broke into your house? How’d she get past the front gate?

I bite the inside of my cheek as I read his message for the third time.

A year ago, Delilah proved that gate was more for the appearance of security than actually keeping anyone out.

But it was cute when she climbed over it.

The thought of Indigo doing the same thing grates on me until my jaw locks up.

Instead of texting him back, I move to my message thread with my handyman.

I need a temporary door in my kitchen before it gets dark.

As soon as I get confirmation that he’s on his way, I swipe back over to my texts with Silas.

Si: I’ll be there in ten

Me: You’re not invited

Si: Don’t worry, I’m not coming empty-handed

Me: Still not invited

Si: Stop being a brat. I got dinner since Ms. Aggie is gone for the day. And I got enough for the four of us

Silas shows up in eight minutes, not ten. And the grin on his face when he walks in turns to ash when he sees Indigo in my living room.

That dopey look stays painted on his face while we share the pizza he brought with him.

The whole meal, Indigo doesn’t spare him more than a passing glance and that intensifies his fascination.

I feel like I can breathe again when Delilah disappears upstairs with her and Titus. Until Silas rounds on me and talks over the construction noise in my kitchen.

“I’m impressed.”

Cutting him a sidelong look, I wait for the rest.

“Delilah really sold the romance between you two at dinner. I think Indigo believes her. Hell, I almost did. You taking the jalapenos off her pizza was a nice touch. Although, after the way you were at lunch today, I don’t think that was an act.

” Silas rocks back on his heels. “I just realized we had two meals together today. Just like old times. When’s the last time you spent this much time with Alonzo? Not recently, I bet.”

“Silas?”

“Hm? ”

“Please shut the fuck up,” I snap, face tight from the way my muscles have been drawn all day.

My best friend huffs a dry laugh, ignoring my request. “Can you blame me? Indigo is…something. I feel like I should apologize for even looking at her.”

“Si, what?”

“Did you see her?”

I did and it’s exactly why I want her out of my house.

Over dinner, I learned that she dismissed the man tailing her and he just…listened to her. He’s still getting fired but I feel better knowing he isn’t also the reason she knows where I live.

The man I paid off in her leasing office last week shoulders that blame alone. He told her my name, and she took it from there.

Pain throbs at my temples, the beginnings of a migraine cementing my regret.

My life is a poorly written comedy and it’s my fault because I decided to kidnap a woman from the family I despise.

“That woman would eat you alive, Si.”

He doesn’t answer me but the smile that steals across his face makes me inhale sharply.

A bottle of tequila is in my hand before I even register that I’m at the bar cart. I grab a glass and pour until it’s heavy in my grip.

Watching me, Silas smooths a hand over his jaw. “So… you think I have a chance?”