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“She wasn’t your woman before.” Hank replied.
I stared into his eyes until realization of what he meant truly hit me. This was his way of kind of passing the baton. Even if she has proven she can take care of herself, as her man, I needed to be willing to step up and have her back.
Nodding, I accepted the weapon and placed it in the holster around my hip then drew my shirt down over it.
When I walked into the room, Kokou was so still. The machines, what the doctor explained, were only helping her breathe. It was something about not putting unnecessary strain on her heart. Still, it caused me pain seeing her like that.
They had removed her wrap and I was pretty sure this wasn’t how she wanted me to see her hair. Looking around, I found the wrap folded neatly on the chair and I inspected to see it was relatively clean. Then again, it was black, and the room wasn’t the best lit.
Still, I picked it up, shook it out and proceeded to wrap her head with it. I was sure I wouldn’t do it as beautifully as she usually did it, but at least her hair would be covered.
Unsure of what to do next, I pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead then sat beside her and took her hand.
Careful not to jar any of the wires loose, I lifted that hand to my lips then sighed.
“I’m sorry, Goddess.” I whispered, leaning forward to press my forehead to hers. “I’m so sorry. I know I’m undeserving of you but, I’m begging you. Stay with me, okay?”
As the night drifted by,I couldn’t get settled. Even after they brought in a cot for me to sleep in, I just couldn’t stop my brain from wandering to places that left me weak and afraid. I paced the small room, wandered from the window to the chair, to Kokou’s side.
I couldn’t give her enough forehead kisses, wanting her to open her eyes and look at me.
A part of me wanted to call Kenny because I knew my daughter was fond of Kokou.
It was almost as if for the first time she had a woman in her life and she was thriving with that idea. She wanted to go to dance classes more so she could teach Kokou all the new moves.
Kenny swam more, laughed more, wanted to learn everything. She would ask Kokou millions of questions about Nigeria and Kokou answered every one of them.
But I didn’t want Kennedy to worry.
At one of my many trips to the window to stare out into the darkness, a commotion erupted in the hall. I swirled around.
“Police!” A voice boomed. “Stop!”
But the hurried rush of footsteps told me whoever they were yelling at didn’t seem to be really listening to the command. Reaching behind me, I unclipped the safety over the gun and wrapped my finger around the handle, I waited, hoping I was wrong.
But the outer door to the room exploded inward.
Anna bolted through the door and made for the bed. I shifted my frame between her and Kokou and pressed the business end of the weapon to the center of her forehead.
“You must be Anna Lowe.” I growled. “I wish I could say it was nice to meet you. But that would be lying.”
Percy entered right after Anna.
“You know I should shoot her?” I asked.
“You don’t want to do that, man.” Percy spoke calmly.
“Trust me, I do.” I didn’t take my eyes off the trembling woman in front of me. “I really,reallydo.”
“Kokou wouldn’t want that.”
“Actually, she’d get no warning from Kokou.” I replied. “The moment she stepped through that door Kokou would’ve put a bullet between her eyes and let the cops sort out the rest.”
“Come on, Daniel. Think about it.” Percy paused for a breath. “You have a career you love and kid to go home to. Killing her takes all that away. And Kokou wouldn’t want this for you.”
I shoved the gun harder against Anna’s forehead and she winced. I wanted it to be imprinted in her flesh so every time she saw herself in the mirror, she remembered just how close she’d come to the end.
“What happens to her if I let her walk out of here?” I asked. “She gets a slap on the wrist and then gets to walk because of some half-ass plea deal from a district attorney pissed the case will interrupt his vacation?”
