Page 44 of His Sacrifice

“No. I’ll have Apollo with me.”

“Then why the hell are we telling Candace that is where you’re going?” Creed asked.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Just do what I told you to, and I’ll check in with you when I land.” Leo ended the call, and we all just stared at the phone.

“Am I the only one who is completely confused right now?” Tatum asked.

I raised my hand. “I am confused and afraid.”

“Do you think you guys can just bust a cap in Candace’s head when she meets with Jada?” Tatum asked. “Just right between the eyeballs.”

“If they were meeting somewhere less crowded, abso-fucking-lutely. In the middle of Green Door? Can’t do it, baby girl, unless you want to visit me in prison for the next thirty to forty years,” Murphy laughed.

Tatum folded her arms over her chest and pouted out her bottom lip. “Talk about life not being fair.”

“What happens after I meet with Candace?” I asked. This was all so insane.

“Order some dinner to go, and I’ll meet you back at your place.” Creed pulled me into his arms and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“Where are you going to be?” I asked.

“Making sure your mom is safe, gorgeous. And then I’ll be at your house waiting for you.”

I nodded. That sounded damn good to me. I took a deep breath and leaned into Creed. “Thank you for taking care of my mom,” I whispered.

“Don’t even worry about her, gorgeous. Just focus on your meeting with Candace and coming home to me.”

I wished that Creed could come with me, but I knew he couldn’t. No one I knew could come with me. The only comfort I had was knowing that in the crowd at Green Door, there were going to be people protecting me.

Chapter Twenty

Creed

“Where is your wife?”

I looked up from the paper I was cutting, momentarily thrown off by the question. “My wife?” I asked Kim, my hands pausing mid-snip.

“Yes, that pretty dark-haired woman you were here with last week,” she replied, her gaze steady and inquisitive.

I tipped my head to the side, speechless that Kim had remembered not only Jada but also myself. She hadn’t remembered my name, but she remembered us being there last week. It was a small miracle, given the circumstances.

“Uh, she had an important meeting she needed to go to,” I explained, trying to keep my voice steady.

Kim nodded, her attention returning to the piece of paper she was gluing to the background. “Maybe you can give this to her when we are done with it,” she offered, holding up the colorful collage she was working on.

I cleared my throat, feeling a lump form. This was only the second time I had sat with Kim, but the woman had already dug her way into my heart. Just like her daughter. “I think Jada would really like that,” I said, my voice a bit hoarse.

“Just promise you’ll bring her the next time you visit,” Kim added, her eyes shining with a hopeful glint.

“I promise,” I said softly, touched by her sincerity.

We continued working on the craft in comfortable silence, the snip of scissors and the rustle of paper the only sounds between us. I watched Kim as she meticulously placed each piece, her concentration absolute. There was a gentle, almost childlike joy in her actions.

“Do you enjoy doing crafts?” I asked, trying to engage her in conversation.

Kim looked up and smiled. “Oh, yes. It keeps my mind busy and my hands moving. Plus, it’s fun. Don’t you think?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it is. I used to do this kind of stuff when I was a kid. It’s been a while.”

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