Page 36 of Bully

“If you kill this man, youwillstart a war,” Karrington reminded me. “That’s not what we’re here for. Peace for your girls. Freedom. Remember?”

Slowly, my head shifted in his direction. It felt like my arm was covered in concrete because it was almost impossible to lower it. Eventually, I huffed and lowered the gun. Karrington’s frame relaxed next to me, and Rocco nodded for us all to take seats. I preferred to stand and make this shit quick.

My eyes were trained on him as he and Karrington talked and came to an agreement. In exchange for him never asking me to do anything else and keeping Andre’s murder a secret, Karrington would become his new supplier and offer him a twenty-five percent discount. I’d already made up in my mind to give Karrington that back because I didn’t want him taking a loss for me. Once they sealed the deal with a handshake, Rocco stood to shake mine.

I took his hand into mine and used it to pull him close. Against his ear I told him, “If you so much as look at my wife and daughter again I will kill you. I’ll go to war with God Himself behind them, so I have no problem going against you and sending you to Him.”

My words caused the grin he’d been sporting the entire time to drop as he released my hand. Silence found us as we made our way out, but once we were outside, I thanked them all for showing up for me in this way. Truth was, I was used to being the one who showed up… not the one people had to show up for. Had I let Karrington do this before, I wouldn’t have been away for as long as I was. But that was in the past and it was finally behind us.

Once I got in my car, I called Innvy, and she answered after the first ring.

“Well…” she said with a smile in her voice that I couldn’t help but mirror.

“Hey, baby. It’s over.”

18

Innvy

A While Later

Me and Bullywere laying on a thick blanket on the carpeted floor. Innah’s toys were spread all over our floor as she played in her own little world. I fed him popcorn as he rested his head on my lap. We could have easily watched a movie in the home theater but doing it in our room gave Innah the space to crawl around and play without us worrying about her getting under the leather seats.

Things had returned to normal after their meeting with Rocco and I couldn’t be more content. The only thing that would have made life better was having my man and daughter’s last name. He’d been put on her birth certificate and he shed a few tears just like the first time he saw her.

Bully gasped and gripped my arm. I looked down at him and then in the direction of his gaze. A quiet, choked cry escaped me at the sight of Innah waddling in our direction. Clutching my chest, I blinked back my tears. Immediately, we both cheered her on and held out our arms to receive her. She smiled and giggled and fell two times before making her way into my arms.

I stood and spun her around, holding her close and kissing all over her face. When I put her back down, I grabbed my phone and recorded her walking over to her daddy. Our princess had taken her first steps and we both were here to see it. Just months ago, I wasn’t sure that would be the case, but by the grace of God, Bully was back home with us.

The rest of the night went by in a blur. We played with her a little while longer and read her a few books before feeding her and doing her nighttime routine. Once she was fast asleep, we showered then climbed into bed. It was crazy how we went from spending our weekends at sporting events, traveling, or at lounges to lounging around at home. I wouldn’t trade our relaxed, slow pace of living now for anything else in the world.

“You wanna try to finish the movie or call it a night?” Bully asked as I lay on his chest, causing me to look up at him.

He was truly the most handsome man in the world to me with his smooth milk chocolate skin, the meaningful tattoos, square head and beard, juicy lips, and perfect white teeth. But as always… it was those eyes… those piercing, slanted brown eyes… they were always my weakness.

“You are so sexy,” I complimented.

His expression turned serious before he asked, “You want this dick?”

That got a hearty laugh out of me. “Really, bae?”

“Hey, you complimented me. If you want the dick, just say that.”

“I mean… I’ll always take it, but I really was just in awe of how fine my man is. I want a son that looks like you.”

Bully’s smile was relaxed as he flipped me onto my back and switched our positions. “You wanna make him tonight?”

“Well we can’t because I’m on birth control, but we can definitely practice for when I get off.”

“And when will that be?”

“After the wedding. I’m not giving you another baby to have your last name before I do.”

His chuckle was sexy as he lowered himself to my lips and kissed me. “That’s fair, and I’m more than okay with that.”

Our lips connected again, and soon, our centers did too.

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