Page 19 of Judgments of Fire and Desire

He cleared his throat and released my hands. “A little tough, but I can handle it. I’ve been updating the detectives when there are new developments.”

“They still don’t have any leads?”

“No.”

I found that extremely skeptical, and I could tell that Kyrie did, too, simply by his tight lips and inability to look into my eyes while he was speaking. He was a very intelligent man, and I knew that he probably felt like he was probably working with the enemy.

Changing the subject, he looked up at me and said, “You look so beautiful. I know I’ve said it already, but this burnt orange against your skin is gorgeous.”

I smiled as I said, “Thank you.”

I really wished he could be open with me, talk about his fears, and what he needed help with, but I knew Kyrie was a “manly” man. What I meant by that was he was traditional in a sense. When it came to expressing what he felt was weakness… he didn’t. I was only trying to get him to state the obvious. Who wouldn’t be scared half to death, knowing people were trying to kill them? It was a normal reaction to a not so normal situation.

I knew it was still very soon in our relationship, but I wanted him to trust me to be able to handle his fears with care. I would never belittle him or judge him. As his woman, I was here to uplift him. I was already expecting him to behave like we’d been together for years.Ugh. Slow down, Genesis.I supposed I was just worried about him.

The waitress appeared, introduced herself, got our drink orders and our appetizer of fried alligator, then left to go fulfill those requests. As if reading my mind, Kyrie said, “I can see you’re worried. Everything is going to be okay. They will eventually find who’s behind these threats. They have cops around me at all times. Look at the door.”

I glanced around him and saw the cop standing near the hostess podium. That made me feel a little more comfortable. At least they were being proactive. Bringing my attention back to him, I asked, “Aren’t you a little worried though? I mean…” I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to seem pushy. Forgive me.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to ask for forgiveness. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Closing his eyes for a moment, he said, “Iamworried… somewhat afraid. I have too much to live for. However, their threats are not going to stop me from doing whatI know is right. I’m sorry I’ve seemed closed off concerning that, but I don’t like talking about it. It reminds me that there are people out there who are really evil and don’t give a damn about what’s right or anyone besides themselves.”

“I understand. I just want to make sure you’re okay. If there is ever anything I can do to be of assistance to you, please let me know.”

“Well, I can think of at least one thing. I mean… my house is getting cleaned as we speak and should be done by the time I leave work today.”

The waitress set our drinks and a small loaf of bread on the table and said she would be back with our appetizer soon. After taking a sip of my water, I asked, “Will there be food?”

He released a hearty laugh then slowly shook his head. “I’m not enough?” he asked.

“Well, I need to know if I should eat before I come over.”

“Mm hmm. I like how you cleaned that up. I’ll have food, Genesis. Should I surprise you again, or would you like to suggest something?”

I intertwined my fingers and lifted them to rest my head on them, putting my elbows on the table. “Surprise me, please.”

He chuckled. “Seems I’ve found the way to your heart.”

I giggled as she set the alligator in front of us. All talking had to cease. I immediately grabbed one, dipped it in ketchup, and brought it to my mouth as Kyrie watched me, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Well, I thought we would bless the food. Youdobelieve in God, right?”

I brought my hand to my mouth because I nearly choked. My eyebrows lifted as he laughed. When he stretched his hand across the table, I slapped it, causing him to laugh more. After swallowing what was in my mouth, I said, “Sorry, Lord. I’m super hungry.”

The smirk that appeared on Kyrie’s face caused my eyes to narrow. I put my hand in his, bowed my head, and closed my eyes.

“Lord… thank you… so much for… this day… and every day.”

I opened my eyes, and a frown graced my face. He was talking extremely slow. I jerked my hand away from his and said, “Jesus wept. Thank you, Lord.”

I popped another bite of alligator in my mouth while he laughed hard. I didn’t play about my food, and he was gonna fuck around and find out. Finally, I was able to join in on the laughter. “You make me sick.”

He smiled at me. “We are going to get along just fine. I can’t wait to spend more time with you later.”

“I can’t wait either.”

“For the crimeof money laundering, the defendant will serve twenty years in a state facility and pay a fine of one million dollars.”

The courtroom went into an uproar. Darlene Doll had laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars through the city for years. How no one caught it until now was still a mystery to me. After I banged my gavel and they’d calmed down, I continued. “For the embezzlement charge, the defendant will serve five years in a state facility. The sentences are to be carried out consecutively and not concurrently. We are adjourned.”

I walked out of the courtroom, angry about what had just gone down. Darlene had refused to implicate anyone else. I didn’t understand how she could leave the other criminals out in the free world to do that shit again. To me, it said she didn’t care, and hopefully, I showed her I didn’t care either. She got the maximum sentence for the money laundering charge, asshe should. Evidence proved that she’d cleaned nearly a million dollars through the city of Beaumont. So, technically, I could have charged a fine double the amount of money she laundered.

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