Page 1 of Divine

The Beginning

My body swayed slowly to the music as I vibed to the live band playing at a low volume on stage. I took a sip of the sweet red wine and chanced a glance across the table at Trevor. He and I had been seeing each other for a little over two months now, and things couldn’t have been going better. I had done well to keep our situation low key.

Trevor valued his privacy just as much as I did, hence the little hideaway where we were having our date night. I hated having people in my business, so it was nice dating someone on the same page. Most of my dating had to be done discreetly to keep my nosy family members out of my business.

It was necessary to hide the guys that I was dating so I could give them a fair chance before my brothers and cousins ran them off with death threats and hints of bodily harm. Trevor and I had just returned from a weekend getaway for my twenty-eighth birthday. It felt good to just go out without worrying about who saw us. It was crazy that I was almost thirty and felt like I had to sneak around to date.

Trevor Lucas played football for the Abbeville Badgers after being traded last season from some team in New York. I didn’t really follow sports, but I’d heard my brothers talking about how he was going to help get the team to the championship. I didn’t even know who he was when he approached me in the jewelry store and asked for my number.

My phone buzzed against the table, and I took a quick look. I rolled my eyes when I saw my cousin Syre’s name dancing across the screen. It was crazy how bad he insisted on keeping tabs on me. I loved him to death, but he could be overbearing and overprotective to a fault.

Syre and I, along with his and my older brothers, had grown up together like siblings. As a matter of fact, I was probably in kindergarten or first grade before I found out the devastating news that he and my other cousins weren’t my real brothers. It never occurred to me that they called my mom by her first name. All I ever knew was that I had five brothers.

Knowing that our mothers were sisters didn’t change the way we treated each other. My mom never treated any of us differently, other than making sure they always protected me. The boys sometimes took their jobs too seriously, but over the years, I’d gotten used to it.

Being the only girl in the family gave me constant protection and supervision whether I wanted it or not. You couldn’t tell them that I was a woman in her late twenties and not the same little girl who chased them all over the back yard when they would steal my Barbie dolls two decades ago. Being a girl and one of the youngest members of the family was a gift and a curse. They spoiled me and gave me anything my heart could begin to desire.

When I was in college, they made sure my tuition was paid, and I always had money in my pocket. When it was time for me to start my business, the boys found a building in the perfect location and made sure everything was up to code. They even pooled together and bought me my first house. I had no idea what I would do without them.

Their goal was to make sure I never needed a man for anything, while my goal was to find a man who was just like them to marry and live happily ever after. They’d shown me exactly how I wanted to be treated by spoiling me with love and affection my entire life. They loved me to no end, and I knew every one of them would take a bullet for me.

I’d seen firsthand the lengths they would go to in order to protect me. The black truck parked outside was a clear indication of their dedication to my safety and security. Syre owned a security company and thought it was a good idea to have a security detail on me at all times. Even though they didn’t get in the way, I hated having someone following me everywhere I went.

My cousin Bishop and my brother Maven were both lawyers who had dealt with high profile cases that put them in the spotlight and in harm’s way from time to time. My brother Deacon was a homicide detective. He probably had more enemies than he could count. Even my mom was a former politician. I was sure she had made her fair share of enemies in her day as well.

Thankfully, they had the foresight to shelter me from their shit. I was as far removed from the business as I could be. In my eyes, I didn’t need a security detail. The illegal dealings my family had going on had nothing to do with me. I owned a smoothie and juice bar and was starting to bottle and distribute smoothies locally.

My business was completely legit. I barely knew what they were into, and I preferred it that way. We all did. At the same time, they felt like as a woman and a civilian, I was in more danger than anyone else in the family. They felt like people would deem me as an easy target and try to get at me to hurt or get back at them.

For that reason, I was the only one that had a twenty-four-hour detail on me. The rest of the guys had surveillance unless there was a big case or event going on. It made sense. I just didn’t like it.

In their eyes, I was still a fragile little girl, so they were determined to keep me from dating untiltheydetermined I was ready. I was pretty sure they thought I was a virgin too. The fact that the person who’d taken my virginity in high school was still breathing was proof that neither Syre nor my big brothers knew he existed. Things didn’t work out between Jamal and me, but I didn’t wish him dead. To keep him safe, I would take that tid bit of information to my grave.

Trevor was cool in how he doted on me and made sure I didn’t want or need anything. I loved the fact that I had someone in my life who was sweet and attentive like my brothers. I blamed my affinity for men with disposable income on them. I’m not saying I was a gold digger, but I refused to deal with a broke man. I always said if I found a man who treated me the way they did, I would be a lucky girl.

Tonight, something with Trevor was off. I wanted to ask if something was wrong, but he usually brought things up in his own time like when he was worried that he was about to be traded again. When our eyes connected, he smiled.

“What?” I asked, letting a smile play on my lips that matched his.

“Just looking at your pretty ass. I’m not ready to let you go. You letting me spend the night with you tonight?” he quizzed.

“You know I’m not ready to bring you back to my place yet. I told you how my brothers are.”

“You’re a grown woman, Divine. What kind of woman lets her brothers tell her how and when she can have company at her own house?”

“They’re not like regular people.” I laughed. “Plus, they bought the house. We can go back to your place if you want.”

“You keep saying that. I’m starting to think you got a nigga over there or something.”

“So, you don’t trust me? Is that why you want to go to my house so bad? You feel like you need to make sure no else one is there?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t trust you. I’m just saying the shit don’t sound right, baby. Come on. You know this is crazy. It’s been months, and you won’t even tell me where you live.”

“So, youdon’ttrust me.” I shook my head.

“I’m just messing with you, woman.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, I bet.” I rolled my eyes.

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