Page 23 of Make Me Your Hitta

“So why are you here? Because you feel guilty for being the reason my fucking brother and mother were killed?” she barked, starting to squirm again.

“Part of it!” I yelled, arching my brows toward my crisp hairline. “The other part is because I couldn’t stand the thought of anything fucking happening to you again.”

She scoffed before mustering up enough strength to push away from my grasp. I let her go that time. “How am I supposed to believe anything you fucking say when you’re the son of the fuckin’ enemy?”

“I know you don’t know this, but I fought off men by the dozen trying to get to you—trying to get to all of you. Y’all were my family, Nobi. I’d have died to keep you safe. I killed yourattacker and held you for a split second before being taken by the other half of my bloodline I never even fuckin’ knew existed.”

She slowly shook her head. “I’ve prayed for your father’s death every night for the past six years.”

“Me too. I’ll never,everclaim the Toussaint bloodline. That’s on my mother.”

Xenobia fell speechless for a few seconds. “So that’s where you’ve been all this time? Working under your father?”

I dipped my chin. “Yes, all while keeping in secret contact with your father. Who do you think warned him that the Toussaints were planning to attack and kill you? You’re the only reason I’m here, Xenobia. Can’t you see my whole fuckin’ world revolves around you?”

Xenobia’s eyes widened, a mix of shock and something else—hope, maybe—flickering across her face.

“I would always ask what happened to you, why you weren’t at the funeral, why the things in your room had been moved out. My father told me we could never speak of you again.”

“I wanted to reach out,” I continued, my voice rougher than intended. “To tell you the truth so many years ago. But your father… that man’s got a way of making offers you can’t refuse.”

I watched the realization dawn on her face, years of misunderstanding crumbling away. Part of me wanted to reach out to bridge the gap between us. Xenobia’s eyes locked onto mine, searching for every drop of the truth. I could almost see the gears turning in her head, reevaluating every interaction since I’d returned. It was like watching a wall crumble, brick by brick.

“All this time,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I thought you didn’t care.”

I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to pull her close. “I’ve always cared, Nobi. More than I should. All these years… I’ve watched you. You were never without my protection.”

She took a step toward me, and I instinctively tensed. This was dangerous territory. But damn if I didn't want to throw caution to the wind and close that gap between us.

“Does your father know you’re here?”

“Hell no.”

“How are you doing any of this without his knowledge?”

“My father had been pressing me to oversee a specific part of our territory that would put me close to your mansion. I’d been turning him down for years, but when I found out about his intention to attack your family again, I knew I had to do whatever I had to do to make sure that didn’t happen.”

“So, you’re risking your life just being here?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“For me?”

“All for you.”

Xenobia nodded with a new understanding in her eyes. As she turned to gather her things, I smiled. She wasn’t the fragile girl I’d left behind years ago. This Xenobia was a force to be reckoned with.

I watched her leave, her silhouette framed by the fading light streaming through the high windows. Pride swelled in my chest, and a fierce protectiveness threatened to overwhelm me. She was strong, sure, but the world out there was brutal. And I’d be damned if I let a mothafucka touch her again.

The mansion’s silence pressed on me as I stood guard outside Xenobia’s room. Night had fallen, and with it came a new set of dangers. Every creak, every shadow had me on high alert. But ifI was being honest, the real threat wasn’t out there. It was right here, inside these walls, inside my fucked-up head.

I couldn’t stop thinking about her—the way she’d looked at me in the gym, all fire and determination, how her walls crumbled with the knowledge of the truth I’d been harboring for six years, and how she was when we were together and weren’t at each other’s throats. We were perfect.

A soft click behind me nearly made me jump out of my skin. I spun around, hand already on my piece, only to find Xenobia standing in her doorway. The dim light from her room cast a halo around her, making her look like some kind of angel.

“Adonis,” she whispered, her voice low and husky. She didn’t say anything else; she held my gaze and stepped back, leaving the door open.

An invitation. A challenge. A fucking minefield.

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