Page 122 of Tainted

“Who pissed you off tonight?” I shook my head, trying to reel in my emotions. Then Kenyon pecked my lips again before scooping his phone up. “I gotta take this. You good?”

“I’m home. Why wouldn’t I be?” I mocked.

Kenyon kissed me again, and I hopped in the shower, hoping it slowed my thoughts. When I finished, he was still somewhere other than his bedroom, so I made myself comfortable in bed. Kenyon finally joined me, engrossed in his current read.

Tired of torturing myself, I rolled over.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“What’s on that big ass forehead of yours?”

Kenyon gave me his undivided attention, smoothing my curls down. How he looked at me so focused and ready to slay whatever dragon had me stuck didn’t help. Telling him the truth was a risk, but not telling him felt like a bigger one.

I didn’t know how to spit it out, so I focused on a less pressing conflict.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Phoenix?”

“Tell you what?”

“Don’t make me say it. You know what I’m talking about.” His deadpan expression made me furious. I tried to slide out of bed, but he caught my arm, yanking me into him. “Move Kenyon!”

“That shit was a long time ago.”

“How long?” I asked.

“Where is all the shit coming from?”

My chest ached as the tears started, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I wasn’t even angry anymore. I was scaredbecause I didn’t know how Kenyon would take what I had to say next.

“The police questioned me today.”

He jumped out of bed, standing on his bowed legs, “What?”

“I was headed to work, and Detective Jones asked me to come to the station. They asked me questions about Makori and what we argued about.” His intense gaze made me so nervous that I began pacing and talking faster. "Then, another guy came in. He told them to get out and mentioned you by name, Kenyon, asking how we knew each other.”

His jaw tightened, but I wasn’t sure what was the cause.

"What did he look like?"

I took a deep breath, trying to recall, "He was, umm, older and well-dressed. He had a clean cut, a beard, and dark skin."

Kenyon’s expression didn’t change much, but something in his eyes did. I could see recognition flicker across his face.

"You know him, don’t you?" His silence told me everything, and the frustration boiled up inside me. "What is going on?"

He clenched his jaw, refusing to give anything away.

"Kenyon!" I snapped, my voice cracking. "You have to tell me something!”

But he stood silent, wearing a mask I couldn’t read. It made me feel so small like I didn’t deserve to know whatever he was hiding.

Tears blurred my vision again, and I wiped them away angrily. "You wanted to be my man so bad, well.My manwouldn’t keep secrets from me. I can’t protect you or me if I don’t know what is happening!”

“You don’t like secrets when you’re on the receiving end, but you’ve got plenty, Zara Nicole.”

Kenyon’s accusation had my heartbeat drumming in my ears. He finally chose to speak, and this is what he had to say.

"Don’t try to change the subject!”

---