was too far away to truly tell, I was willing to bet the pinstriped suit he wore cost more than my education. With his hair slicked back, he looked like he was auditioning for a role in Goodfellas or maybe The Godfather. I couldn’t take my eyes away as he checked his watch and then his phone. The very last thing I felt, however, was admiration for the man.
“Tyra?”
I heard my sister calling my name, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I felt her shaking me, but the poison seeping into my skin was too powerful. This man was the reason Vaughn and I couldn’t be together. I watched as Franklin Rees dialed before placing the phone to his ear and speaking.
“Tyra, talk to me,” Selena pleaded. “Is everything okay?”
“That’s him.” Franklin had already hung up after speaking a few terse words. “That’s Vaughn’s father.” Selena paused before looking across the street, her forehead creasing as her brows brunched even tighter. “I told you that Vaughn didn’t want to be with me because of football, but that’s not true.” At least I didn’t think it was. We watched as a black SUV rounded the corner and slowed to a stop at the curb. “It’s because of him.” My voice was barely a whisper when I spoke again. “Vaughn said his father wouldn’t accept me because of who I am. Because I’m black.”
A bulky, grim-faced man in a black suit hopped from the front passenger seat to open the back door for his boss. Franklin was still standing by the Town Hall entrance, and there were about thirty feet of walkway between the building and the road. I wanted to run over and confront him before he could get away, but something held me back. If Vaughn weren’t willing to stand up to his father, then it would only be in vain, driving an even bigger wedge between us. It wasn’t, however, the reason I stayed rooted to the spot. I could feel danger lurking like a dark cloud above.
“Well, we can’t let him get away with that now, can we?”
I’d barely processed my sister’s words before she grabbed my hand and darted across the street. “Selena, wait!” I pleaded. It wasn’t just the oncoming traffic we had to dodge that made my heart race. With each step, we came closer and closer to the man exuding the danger looming ahead. “What are you doing?”
Too late, I realized.
As soon as we stepped on the curb, Franklin’s bodyguard rounded on us with his hand inside his jacket. I gulped. My gut told me he wasn’t reaching for a Tic Tac. He had a gun tucked away there, and he wouldn’t hesitate to use it. The driver was also out of the SUV now, and I felt him closing in on my back. Franklin, whose pace remained unhurried as he reached the car, seemed amused. I knew what a sight we must have made. Selena and I barely stood more than five feet high, yet we challenged full-grown armed men. My gaze locked with Franklin’s, and then he closed the car door. I could see the curiosity in his eyes as he came to stand before us.
“Gentleman, relax,” he ordered as he stepped around his security. “I believe I know this young lady.” He pointed at me. “You’re my son’s little friend.” He smiled at me, but it seemed too sharp to be affable.
I wrapped my arms around my waist when I shivered, feeling like I’d just stepped into the world’s deadliest crosshairs.
“She’s more than just his friend,” Selena spat when I said nothing. “You’d know that if you stepped out of 1865 and joined us in the twenty-first century.”
Franklin’s eyebrow rose when his attention shifted to my sister. I wanted to push her behind me to protect her from him, but my entire body remained frozen. “I don’t, however, know this young woman,” he continued as if Selena hadn’t spoken. “What I do know is the year you’re referring to. While I was surprised he outgrew his fondness for brunettes, my son’s preferences in playmates have never been of interest to me. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
Selena paused at that before recovering quickly and digging a deeper hole for Franklin to bury me in. “My sister is not his playmate. She’s his girlfriend. At least she would be if not for you. They love each other.”
Franklin seemed genuinely surprised by that, and I wondered whose eyes Vaughn had been pulling the