“They starved him, beat him, chained him and sliced him?” Live asked quietly. “For a month?”
“Yup,” I answered. “But they’re dead. We’re not. I’ve got twenty-six peridot necklaces and had a morning that included,” I lifted up my fingers with the count, “three orgasms. And this was before we went over to help out Charlene. So we win.”
“Shit yeah you do. Three?” Live was clearly impressed.
I grinned at him.
Rhash’s voice rumbled to me and the tone made my eyes cut quickly to him.
“He promised him you’d be safe, he’d see to it you had a good life then he sold you into hell?”
One look at him and I could see Rhash was in the mood to be super scary.
“Rhash –”
I didn’t say more because his hand shot out, tagged me at the back of my head, I did a face plant in his wide chest and his other arm closed tight around me.
All the air squeezed itself out of my lungs and not because he was holding me too tight. Without a choice, though I wouldn’t have taken another one, my arms stole around his bulk.
“Glad you won, Sylvie,” he whispered into the top of my hair. I took in a deep breath realizing that in the last two days the people I was tight with that meant the world had doubled to welcome back Creed and include Rhashan Banks.
“Thanks, babe,” I whispered back.
He let me go and his eyes went right to Live. “You tell anyone I hugged Pip, I’ll break your neck.”
Live grinned at him and held up his hands. “Lips sealed.”
I decided sharing time was over. At least for me.
That was why I asked Live, “You doin’ okay?”
Something flashed across his face, he looked away, down to the floor then back at me. “No. Don’t like breathin’ that bitch’s air. Don’t like her touchin’ me. Knight’s keepin’ me busy and away from her so I don’t gotta spend a lot of time with her but when I do, gotta keep up appearances. I’ll be happy when this shit is done and I can get shot of her ass.”
I got that, big time, so I nodded.
Rhash’s phone beeped, he pulled it out, looked at it and then he shoved it back in his pants.
“Knight’s done with Creed,” he announced.
We all moved to and through the door and up the stairs but it was probably only me who was hoping we didn’t open the door to a bloodbath.
We didn’t. Creed had his back to the wall, arms crossed on his chest, feet crossed at the ankles looking like he was waiting patiently for his woman to get done in a shop so he could take her ass to a bar and get a beer. Knight was leaning against his conference table with much the same look about him. My eyes did a scan of Creed first then Knight and they seemed hunky dory. In good spirits even, like they’d just got done talking about the Rockies chance at a pennant this year. This ticked me off so I stopped and crossed my arms on my own chest.
My eyes narrowed on Knight. “I know I have a vagina but that doesn’t negate the fact that I have a brain and a spine so I can make my own decisions about my life and deal with the consequences. I’m also not real big on dudes talking about my shit behind my back.”
He held my gaze steadily and replied, “Babe, cool it. You got a man who cares about you, namely me, this shit is gonna happen. Deal with it because it’s not not gonna happen because you throw a shit fit about it with a gun on your belt.”
I opened my mouth to speak but Creed cut in so I looked to him.
“Baby, it’s cool. I’m not gonna be pissed that after what you been through, for the last ten years you had a man who gives a shit about you at your back and doesn’t delay in layin’ it out that, because you got your man back, he’s still gonna have your back. He’s cool. I’m cool. Now you need to be cool. You get me?”
At the, “You get me?” I rolled my eyes at the same time my phone rang.
I pulled it out, ignoring Creed’s amused grin and looked at the display. I felt my brows draw together as I flipped it open and put it to my ear.
“Hey, babe,” I greeted.
“Sylvie.”