Page 19 of Nobody Praying for Me

He chuckled with a shake of his head. “Wow, not the full name.” He nodded once then snatched me back to him. “If you feel like you can do it, then I’m okay with that.” I smiled because getting him to agree felt like a win to me. “But I have to go. We can talk more about it later.” His lips crashed into mine, and for a minute, we both forgot that he had to leave. “Unhand me, woman. I gotta go,” he joked when our kiss kept intensifying instead of dying down.

I pouted but eventually released him. “Okay, fine. Have a good day at training.”

He smacked me on the ass and winked. “Always, Pretty. I’ll be back later.” I nodded as he disappeared out of the kitchen. The front door slammed shut soon after, and I sighed, thinking of how I could incorporate my vegetables in his diet. It would feel like carrying a little piece of me with him to work every day.

Slamming the car door shut behind me, I gripped the bag in my hand and made my way inside the gym. The air inside was hot and humid and smelled like testosterone. I ignored it and instead began looking for my man. I spotted him in the boxing ring in the left corner. He was sparring with someone, drawing me to him like a moth because he was the flame when he was in his element.

Instead of distracting him, I took a seat on the bench and watched him work. From the sweat dripping down his Hershey-toned midsection to the ripple of his every move sent shockwaves of desire coursing through my veins. I hadn’t seen Kalm fight in person yet, and lowkey, I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I was the type that’d jump in the ring with him if I felt like a nigga was hitting him too hard.

“Pretty,” he called out and snapped me from my thoughts. His weight leaned over the edge of the ring, and he had a genuine grin on his face as the light reached his eyes. “Just can’t stay away from me, huh?” he teased me and wiggled his eyebrows.

I stood with the bag in my hand and walked closer. “Yes, but also, you grabbed the wrong food today. You have Sissy’s lunch, and I just knew you were going to curse me out if you cracked that container open to find the stuffed chicken breast I made for her in there.”

He reached for the towel his trainer handed to him and came down the stairs. I snatched the towel from his hand and began to dry him off myself. “You’re looking leaner these days,” I noted, even though he still gave big-boy.

“I’m cutting to make sure I make weight,” he informed me. He licked his lips while he watched me wipe him down. He bent down and whispered an idea in my ear that made my toes curl. “Aye, cut it out before you make me take you in the locker room to punish your pretty pussy. You going to be laying on the bench in there, taking a nap after I finally let you go.” I tucked my bottom lip, feeling my body heat up at the possibility. “You a freak,” he joked when he saw I was intrigued by the idea. He mushed my head to the side before quickly pulling me back into his chest.

“Ew,” I squealed. “Let me go. You’re covered in sweat.”

“Because I’m a man that puts in work. Take a deep whiff of this shit because not every nigga is capable. Matter fact, let me step back because you are ovulating, and we just might make a baby this time.”

I giggled at his silliness. “You’re crazy. Take your lunch, and get away from me.” I handed him the bag, which he accepted.

“Let me walk you to your car,” he suggested, sitting the bag on the bench I was sitting on.

I shook my head to stop him. “No, it’s fine. I already distracted you once, and if you walk me outside, you might take forever to come back in.”

He scratched at his close-cut goatee with a nod. “True shit. Well, let me watch it jiggle while you’re walking away.”

With a laugh, I turned on my heel and walked away. “See you later, Mr. Savage,” I called out over my shoulder. I didn’t need to turn around to know he was watching me, and that had my cheeks hot.

I did put an extra sway in my hips for his enjoyment until I heard his voice. “Aye, stop looking at my fucking woman before I bust your head open to the white meat,” he threatened someone behind me.

With a giggle, I stepped outside, wishing the fresh air cooled me off, but it was so hot that it only made me hotter, being out there. Taking quick steps, I raced to my car, ready to sit in the AC, but someone leaning against the hood froze me in place.

“Long time, no see, Rizz,” Bryaire spoke with an unsettling smirk. “I’m sure you know I’ve been looking for you.”

I glanced behind me, wondering if I should make a run for the safety of the gym. Instead, I straightened my spine and lifted my head a little higher. “What are you doing here, Bryaire? We don’t have anything to talk about after what you did.”

I sucked in a sharp breath when he stood to his full height. His eyes raked across my body, making me wish I had on a Burka instead of the oatmeal-colored bodycon dress. With a lick of his lips, he smiled. “I wish I didn’t have to do you like that, but that was my initiation into Black Gods. Dice actually wanted me to rape you too, but I spared you.”

Hearing the reason behind his betrayal made the earth crack open under my feet and suck me into its dark depths. “What? Are you kidding me? Spared me? If I hadn’t hit you with my shoe, you wouldn’t have stopped.”

He shook his head, coming closer to me. His revelation had me frozen in place. “Whatever. Dice had to know I could be trusted, and he wanted to make sure you would need the club more than ever before since Ghost has been on maternity leave.” He snorted with a sigh. “Who knew you’d meet that boxing nigga, though, and completely disappear.” He shook his head and reached for my face. I turned away, not even wanting to be within six feet of him, but he gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “Now you owe Dice a debt, but he has a solution.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little baggy with white pills. “All you have to do is slip your boyfriend one of these so he fails a drug test and forfeits his next fight. After that, your debt will be cleared.”

He stuffed the bag between my breasts, making me gag. I pushed him away from me, and he went stumbling a few steps and chuckled. “Just do it, and you’ll never have to see me again, but if you don’t, I’m going to think you want me to finish what I started at your apartment.”

Bryaire winked at me before finally walking away. I watched him all the way until he got to his cherry-red Mustang across the street and pulled off. Only then did I race to my car and lock myself inside. My head fell into my hands as the tears came. Just when I truly started to believe I could leave that life behind, they wanted to snatch my beautiful and peaceful future from me.

Knowing how much this next fight meant to Kalm and his family, there was no way I could ever do him like that. There was no reason for me to have any debt to Dice when they’d already stolen everything from me, but that was how devils like him operated. He would never just leave me alone, and that was what terrified me most.

13

KALM ALEXANDER SAVAGE

Standing at the sliding door leading to the backyard, I watched Charisma in her garden. She usually spent hours out there, but today was different. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on with her. It began when she didn’t come to sleep in the bed with me last night, but instead, she spent the night in the spare room. Since we’d become official, we spent every night together, so I missed having her warm and soft body beside me.

When I left for training, she only allowed me to kiss her on the cheek, and she wouldn’t look me in the eyes. Her odd behavior had been at the back of my mind all day. I came home to find her in the garden and figured she would come in shortly, but according to Sissy, she had been out there since they returned from her chemotherapy session earlier today.