A knock came at the door and one of the guards poked his head in.
"The chef prepared breakfast for you in the kitchen," he said. "Mr. Carter had to handle some business this morning."
I nodded and he left.
I got out of bed and went through my morning routine. Brushed my teeth. Showered quick. Put on some comfortable clothes — a fitted tank and some joggers. While I was getting dressed, I kept thinking about how he'd asked me to come sleep with him again. How natural it felt. How I didn't want to leave his bed this morning.
This was getting dangerous.
I was starting to feel things for a man who'd kidnapped me. A man who was dangerous. A man whose world involved dead bodies and threats. I needed to keep my head on straight but every time I closed my eyes I could feel his heartbeat under my ear.
Focus, Tatti. This is not your man for real! He needs you, he doesn’t want you.
I went downstairs to the kitchen and the chef had set everything up beautiful. Eggs, toast, fruit, fresh juice. I sat down at the table and started eating, my mind already running through what I needed to do before Friday. The bank. My aunt.
That's when the front door opened. Then I heard footsteps coming to the dining area.
Zuri Carter walked in like she owned the place. Which, I guess in some way she did. She saw me sitting at the table eating breakfast and stopped.
"Good morning," I said, being respectful even though something in her energy was already off.
She didn't respond to my greeting. Just kept walking toward me. This kind of pissed me off, so I had to say something.
"Does your son know you show up unannounced like this?" I asked. Not mean. Just real. "Because I feel like a heads up would be respectful. You know, maybe a call? A knock on the door?"
Zuri's whole face tightened.
"This is my son's house," she said, and her voice had that cold edge. "I've been showing up unannounced for years. That's not changing because you're here."
I set my fork down and looked at her straight.
"Well, this is my husband's house and my house now," I said. "And I think the respectful thing would be to call first or at least knock before you just walk in. What if I was walking around naked? I'm at home now. I should be able to be comfortable in my own space without surprise visitors."
Zuri's jaw tightened but then something shifted. A small smile crossed her face and she laughed. A hard, loud laughed.
"Well, I hope you have enough morals to not walk around naked while men guards are on the property," she said, and there was humor in it.
I laughed too because the shit was funny.
Zuri pulled out a chair and sat down at the table across from me.
"I like your feistiness," she said. "If you're going to be a part of this family, you have to have tough skin. Every test I throw your way, you pass it."
"I appreciate that," I said. "But with all due respect, I don't like tests. I've been out of school for a long time."
Zuri looked at me for a moment.
"As the woman of this family, it's my job to make sure that all of my sons are going to be in good hands when I let them go," she said. "So I need to know who they're with."
She shifted in her chair, her eyes still locked on mine.
"Let me ask you something," she continued. "How do you feel knowing that Kaseem will never just be with just one woman? I know my son. And although he's forced into this arrangement, I know that he doesn't have it in him to be faithful."
I held her gaze steady even though her words landed different than she meant them to.
"I've already spoken to him about that," I said. "And he knows what I will and will not accept. So I'm not worried about it."
Zuri nodded slow, like she was impressed or maybe just processing.
