Page 70 of Love At Close Range

“This is because of Dorian?” She asked with a frown.

“Yeah, he figured he’d lure him to move faster if he snatched y’all up. I guess they figured Rhyse was his son,” I stated, already pissed.

“That nigga ain’t my daddy,” Rhyse cut in, making me chuckle.

Reiana stared at me for a few seconds with anger replacing most of the fear that had been there before. I knew she had more to say, but with Rhyse standing beside us, she held it.

“I’m handling it,” I told her and she nodded.

The door opened behind us a few minutes later, and Rook stepped out. One look from him let me know he had finished what he needed to do. I pulled Reiana closer while Rhyse stayed beside me. For the last two hours, finding them had been the only thing that mattered.

Now that I had them back, Dorian now had my full attention.

***

By the time we got back to Reiana’s house, Rhyse had fallen asleep, so I carried him inside, but he woke up as soon as we got inside. Rook locked the door behind us before walking over to Reiana.

“Damn, Ree. It’s been a long ass time.” He smirked as he pulled her into a hug.

“Apparently, not long enough,” she countered as she cut her eyes at me.

“Nigga, back up,” Rhyse grilled as he stood between Rook and Reiana. All I could do was shake my head while Rook laughed, because not a DNA test invented could tell me this wasn’t my son.

“Rhyse!” Reiana snapped as she pulled away from him.

“What?” He looked at her like he didn’t understand the problem. “I’on know him.” He shrugged.

“Boosie, chill,” I chuckled. “That’s your Uncle Rook,” I explained to my son because he looked like he wanted to beat Rook’s ass for being that close to his mama.

Rhyse looked between us before shrugging. “Oh… my bad.”

“Little nigga was ready to press me over his mama,” Rook laughed.

I looked over at him. “Let me get them straight. I’ll be back.”

“Take your time,” he said before heading back toward the front of the house.

I kept my arm around Reiana as we headed upstairs and looked over at Rhyse. “Get your stuff together for your bath, Boosie. Let me get your mama situated, and I’ll be back to check on you.”

“Yes, sir,” he complied as he went into his room.

While Rhyse went into his room, I walked Reiana into hers. She looked exhausted, and the second we were alone, everything she had been holding in started showing on her face.

“You need anything?” I asked as I pulled her close.

“I just want to get out of these clothes and take a shower,” she responded.

“Go ahead. I’m gone check on Rhyse, then I’ll be back.”

She nodded before walking into the bathroom, and I waited until I heard the shower turn on before leaving the room. Rhyse was pulling his pajamas out of a drawer when I stepped into his room, with his towel and underwear already on the bed.

“Aye, you got everything?” I asked once I was fully inside of the room.

“Yes, sir.” He grabbed a shirt and tossed it with the rest of his things before looking at me. “Is Mama okay?” He asked.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” I assured him as best as I could.

He nodded, but I could still see the concern on his face. I walked over and pulled him into a hug before kissing the top of his head. “Go take your bath. Take your time and get yourself together and I’ll come back before you go to sleep.”