Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
She stood there in a white shirt and tight white jeans. With a pair of black and white Chuck Taylors and a gun on her hip. Black hair flowed down past her shoulders.
“Here’s the truth! Your grandfather sent a relative of yours to the club the last night. I don’t know the guy’s name. Told me to drop you like a hot potato and accept a payoff, or live to regret it,” she blurted. “That’s why you felt like I was acting a little funny. I pulled a gun on him and he was led out back to receive a beatin’ he won’t soon forget from one of the bouncers. I didn’t want to tell you right then, Lennox, because you’d have gone and got yourself killed or ended up behind bars on account of me! Look what you did to Dice and LeRon, and those were minor infractions compared to this!”
“YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO KEEP THIS FROM ME!”
“I was right to want to shield you! I was going to tell you, but not before I calmed down, and we could both discuss it rationally. You should see how you’re looking at me right now – it’s like your eyes are turning red right in front of me! Don’t you see? I had to protect you from yourself!”
Invisible spools of hot air rolled from his flared nostrils as if he were about to morph into a raging bull. He could practically feel the blood flowing through his veins, and hear his own heartbeat. He became heated all over, his head began to sweat, and his vision blurred with frenzy. It was worse than he imagined. So much worse…
KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL HIM!
“I’m sorry, but please believe me when I say that I was going to tell you. I know I was wrong to keep it from you,” she added, yanking his mind out of his violent thoughts. “but please look at it from my point of view. I shoulda told you sooner, Lennox, but I was scared you’d fly off the handle and then something bad would happen to you. And I… I just got you back! I didn’t wanna lose you!” Her voice shook as an angry tear trailed down her face. She spoke clearly, yet the words didn’t sound right, almost as if she were speaking in a foreign language. His worst fears twisted around his heart. They stared at one another for a long while. She tilted her head to the side. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“You just confirmed my suspicions. Don’t you ever in your life hide somethin’ that one of my buddies or relatives, or hell, the damn mailman for all I care, did to you that was outta pocket! I don’t need your protection, Nadia, I can handle this shit just fine. I can’t believe this… Get your ass in this gotdamn house! We’ve got a score to settle.”
He grabbed hold of her arm and led her inside his house. Time to get down to business…
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
No tea, No shade
Nadia felt her body sway then hit the wall at an awkward angle when she lost her balance on the way inside of the house. She’d broken free and tried to rush ahead of him, talk some sense into him, but it was no use. Lennox slammed his door so hard, the entire dwelling seemed to shimmy and shake like an earthquake. When he faced her again, unadulterated anger shone in his piercing eyes. She pressed her body against the wall for support. He locked his door while she took several deep breaths and briefly closed her eyes. Her heart nearly pounded out of her chest.
“I know you’re angry, Len, but I’m angry with you, too.” He kept his back turned towards her as he fiddled with the chain on his door. “You had no business crushin’ Dice’s car like you were in some monster truck show, and puttin’ my ex in the hospital, beatin’ him down with a baseball bat like yo’ name is Babe Ruth. I don’t give a damn about either of those men, but I care about you. Just like I told you. You know your grandfather would love to find you committin’ a crime so he can use that as leverage. You just out in these streets running amuck! This is exactly what I was afraid of, and why I didn’t tell you what happened at the strip club in the first place!”
He slipped out of his jacket and hung it up in the closet without uttering a single word. That was when she noticed several large cardboard boxes in his living room, some filled with items she recognized from around his house. Before she could inquire why they were there, he took her wrist and led her down the hallway. His house was dark and cold, not warm and inviting as it typically felt when she’d spend time there. It was as if his entire mood had colored the environment around him. Made the world foggy and dreary, dripping in shades of dull, dank gray.