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“I need you to marry my daughter. The sooner the better. Preferably before next Wednesday.”
My nerves felt raw as adrenaline filled me.
“You have got to be out your motherfucking mind, man. There’s no way inhellI’m marrying Piper. What the fuck iswrongwith you, Ahmad?”
“I figured you would say that.” He pulled out his phone and busied himself in it before telling me, “Check your messages.”
I did, and my entire world stopped at the sight of the pictures he’d sent me. They were pictures of the last favor Kahlil had done. A favor that left two men that had betrayed Ahmad dead. Not only were there pictures of Kahlil shooting them, but there was also a picture of the gun he’d used to do so. Taking lives had never been something me and my brother was proud of, but we did what we had to do back in the day. One would never think journey books could lead to so much greed and bloodshed, but that was exactly the case.
“You were supposed to get rid of this shit. Why do you still have it?”
“I knew he wanted to go legit, so I kept this as insurance in case I needed him to come back. I don’t need him to, but I know you care enough about your brother to do whatever it takes to make sure these pictures and that gun aren’t sent to the police. Either you commit your life to my daughter, or your brother is going to spend the rest of his life in prison.”
Nostrils flaring, I gritted my teeth as my pulse raced.
“The only thing that’s stopping me from snapping your neck right now is the fact that my neighbor is walking down the street with his dog.”
Ahmad smiled, tilting his head. “You wouldn’t want to do that anyway. Two of my guards are in the car. Besides, I’ve already sent this to one of my attorney’s and they have the gun. Should anything happen to me, all of this goes to the police.”
I looked at my front door absently, wishing I could see Janae through it. She had just started to open up to the idea of us. I couldn’t hurt her with this. I couldn’t intentionally hurt her at all.
“What is the reason for this? You could have used this to make me work for you again but you’re using it to get me back with your daughter? Why?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I need Piper’s help with something, and you are the only thing I could offer her in exchange.”
Piper and I had a good thing going five years ago. It was comfort more than it was love, but I did love her, that I could admit. She was beautiful, the sex was amazing, and she was about that life. Piper was the first woman I’d ever been with that didn’t make me feel like I had to change or hide pieces of myself. She accepted me as I was and was down to ride. I believe that was why I didn’t want to tell Janae about my past, too. I didn’t want what I used to do and how I used to hurt people to make her no longer want to be with me.
When I asked Piper to marry me, it was more so out of necessity than love. I felt like there wouldn’t be a woman that was a better fit for me than her, plus, I was working for her father, so it just made sense. We had an agreement—she would cut the stealing out for her father, especially when it involved having sex with men. Piper agreed. Unfortunately, she reneged on that promise, and I felt like that was my way out. Back then, I didn’t know if or when I’d want to get married again, but the moment I met Janae I knew she was the one. The one that would give love and marriage and faithfulness value to me again. So far, she had, and I didn’t want agreeing to Ahmad to change that.
But what other choice did I have?
If I had to choose between being with Janae or my brother’s freedom, I would have to choose him. Not just him but my niece. His wife. He’d finally gotten his happily ever after; I couldn’t let Ahmad fuck this up.
“I need some time to think about this,” I decided, though I already knew what I would do. I just needed to figure out how to do it without breaking Janae’s heart in the process.
“You have until tomorrow morning. Then, you’ll need to immediately get a marriage license, because I know you’re going to choose your brother’s freedom.” He pushed himself off the car. “Listen, I don’t give a fuck if you’re faithful to my daughter or not. Do whatever the hell you want to do while you’re married to her. Just marry her so she can keep me out of jail.”
“You’re such a piece of shit.” I laughed because I couldn’t think of anything better to describe him, but that was literally what he was… how I felt toward him. Like he was a literal piece of shit. Something that caused my face to scrunch up in disgust. Something that didn’t even deserve to be on the bottom of my fucking shoe. Something that literally made me sick to my stomach. “Piper deserved so much better than you, and I hope she gets that soon enough.”
With a shrug, Ahmad opened his car door. “My father was a piece of shit too. What makes her any better than me?”
I wanted to tell him that he was supposed to be what made her better… that he was supposed to give her better… give her what he never had… but I didn’t feel like wasting my breath. Instead, I turned and headed back into my home. Janae was pulling the bacon out of the skillet and my heart dropped at the thought of us being over—again.
I’d just told her last night that she was safe with me. How was I supposed to go against that? I couldn’t. Not right now at least. Right now, we were going to eat breakfast together and spend time with our families. That was the least I could give her before I pulled our future away.
CHAPTER25
Janae
When Tyreek asked me to meet him over Honey and Kahlil’s house, I didn’t know what to expect. We had an amazing past two days, but when we said goodbye to each other last night, I could tell something was off with him. I figured he would talk to me about it when he was ready, so I didn’t press him about it. Now, I wondered if that was what this was about.
“Hey,” I spoke to Honey after she let me inside.
“Hey.”
“Do you know what this is about?”
“No, you don’t?”
