Page 74 of Session 33

We stood there, both of us holding steel like two men willing to die. But I could see it in his eyes—he wasn’t. He was all talk. His safety wasn’t even off. Mine was never on.

“Do something, bitch,” I said, my voice low, calm.

Before he could decide, Silas came up behind him like a ghost. One hit to the ribs, and Solomon folded like a lawn chair. That’s when I stepped in. I slammed the door behind me and cracked him across the face with my gun. He dropped, blood pouring from his nose, his eyes wide with shock.

“Get the fuck up,” I barked, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him into a chair.

He groaned, clutching his ribs, trying to catch his breath. I wasn’t giving him the chance.

I stood over him, rage boiling under my skin. “Why the fuck did you hit Angel?”

He wiped his face, blood smeared on his hand, sneering at me like he had something to say. “She hit me first,” he spat. “She went through my stuff.”

That wasn’t an excuse. Not by a long shot.

I leaned down, my gun still tight in my grip, trigger finger itching. “What the fuck are you hiding, Solomon? Why’d you snap on her?”

He tried to keep that tough-guy act, but I could see him crumbling. “I’m not hiding anything,” he said, his voice shaky. “My mom. She thought Angel was too young, thought she wouldn’t understand me. She thought I’d hurt her.”

He stopped talking, like he realized he’d said too much.

“Hurt her?” I demanded, shoving the gun under his chin.

His eyes darted to Silas, then back to me. He swallowed, hard. “Like I did with... my ex. We fought. I hurt her. She ran. My mom thought I’d do the same to Angel. But I didn’t mean to. I just—”Ihit him again, this time with my fist. His mouth started leaking faster.

“So you’re just a fucking abuser, and you met me and chose my woman to prey on? You definitely don’t like breathing.” I growled.

He didn’t say shit. He just sat there, holding his ribs, blood dripping down his face.

I wanted to shoot him. Put a bullet between his eyes and be done with it. But Angel didn’t need that. Ekon didn’t need that. And I wasn’t going to be the man I used to be.

Instead, I leaned down, close enough to see the fear swimming in his bloodshot eyes. My voice dropped to a whisper. “Stay the fuck away from Angel. If I even think you’re near her, you’re done. Dead.”

He nodded, trembling now.

“You ain’t shit, old fuck,” I spat.

Silas stepped up and slammed his fist into Solomon’s gut one last time. I heard something crack, and I didn’t care what it was.

On the way out, I grabbed his phone and keys. His nearest neighbor was half a mile away, and Jonas had already disabled his security system. Solomon would have to crawl for help. He’d probably have to hurt himself even more just to get to it.

Back in the car, I couldn’t shake the anger. My hands were still shaking, adrenaline pumping through me like a drug.

Silas lit a blunt, taking a slow drag, making me want to smoke, I had to fight the urge.. “I’ll call Grady,” he said, his voice calm.

Grady was a friend from high school turned sheriff. Silas didn’t need me to say shit. He already knew the drill.

As we drove off, all I could think about was Angel. This was my fault. If I hadn’t fucked shit up with her, she wouldn’t have been with that weak-ass piece of shit in the first place.

Chapter sixty five

My knee wouldn’t stop shaking under the kitchen table as I sat, watching the front door, hand on my pistol, while the movers hauled in Angel’s things. I told her she was moving in with me until Rico Suave got over whatever the fuck he was going through. He’d been calling and showing up at her house every day for a little better than a week, even after the ass-whooping. His old ass was limping around to harass people—that let me know something was seriously wrong with him.

I couldn’t stop thinking about how this wasn’t the way I imagined us living together. I thought it would be under different circumstances, not because some old man couldn’t keep his hands to himself. This shit was awkward because, even though we’d been together, she’d never even seen the whole house. Now, she was about to be living in it. It didn’t feel haunted by my parents anymore, not since Ekon was born, but still... this wasn’t how I pictured things.

Ekon was upstairs, sleeping in his room. I liked that none of the drama going on had touched him. I would’ve had to kill Solomon if he’d laid a hand on my child.

I glanced over at Angel, sitting across from me, arms wrapped tight around herself like she was physically holding herselftogether. She’d told me her daddy had a temper, but he never hit her or her mom. This abuse situation had her reeling, and I didn’t know how to help.