Page 37 of River & Crown
"Lucian said you are the face, and what a handsome face you have, but your voice screams bitch. You don't have Honor and his people's respect. Allowing you to speak will drag this meeting out, and, as you know, neither of us has time for that. Our daughter has a piano recital we both have to help her get ready for. Now you can sit in this truck, or you can walk inside and be the pretty face your father ordered you to be."
Knocking on the window, I signaled for Kage to open the door. It swung open with his hand, reaching in to grab mine.
"What you say to that nigga? He looks like he's ready to shoot up the place." Kage chuckled.
"I told him the truth. If he chooses to try to prove a point, it'll be his funeral." I shrugged.
"Don't trip. You know I'll hold my goddaughter down."
"This I know." I smirked.
As I rounded the car, Talon caught up to us. His hand slipped into mine, his fingers nastily cradling my own. Every part of me wanted to slap the shit out of him for touching me in this way. The years of us being friends had come and gone.
"Let this be the last time you hold my hand when business is about to be conducted," I gritted.
Talon said nothing and didn't motion to grab the door handle as we approached the door of the mill. Kage reached out, holding the door for me to walk through, then used his body to sever Talon's hold on my hand. I snickered to myself, thinking Kage was the greatest best friend I could've asked for.
My heels clicking against the cemented floors alerted the owners of my presence and brought them all into view as I sauntered further into the main room. I scanned the faces, making sure I was able to put a name to all four of the handsome faces.
Rize. Lynx. Crown. Honor.
My eyes lingered, and my tongue flickered across my lips as I thought about his darkened butterscotch complexion tasting as sweet as it looked. Honor's eyes, void of all emotion, pulled me in, making me feel smaller than I'd felt in a while.
"Ahem!" Talon's hating ass cleared his throat, then attempted to hold my hand once again. I moved out of his reach, clasping my hands together in front of me.
"Where is Wolfe?" I questioned, noting his absence.
"His daughter had a doctor's appointment," Crown answered, but I wished it were Honor.
"Well, let Daddy Daycare know absences from meetings are frowned upon."
Crown let out a low, menacing chuckle that caused Kage to step slightly in front of me while Talon moved subtly behind me.
"It's okay, Kage and Talon move." I smiled. "It's clear I need to introduce myself. Hello, I'm Choyce Bochelli. When it comes to business, I'm a no-nonsense kind of woman. I have a daughter who is my world, and because she is, I'll never allow my duties as a mother to affect business, because I can understand how the weight of my decision can fall on my daughter if you understand what I'm saying. I would hate for my niece to pay the consequences of my brother-in-law skipping out on business."
"Cold-hearted bitch," Crown snarled.
It took Kage all of a second for his Glock to come out and play while Talon stood and said nothing at the insult thrown my way.
"It's okay, Kage. I know Crown meant that as a compliment." I smiled, winking in his direction.
Turning his back to the rest of us, Honor took a couple of steps. I parted my lips to question him, but he beat me to it.
"Choyce, follow me."
The way his rough, dry-ass voice interrupted my heartbeat, you would have thought he saidI love you.
"When talking to me, I need you to?—"
"I don't give a fuck what you need. Never did. You can either follow me, or I can have this conversation with Lucian."
Honor continued walking, giving me no other choice but to follow. I whispered to Kage to wait for me outside, then turned to Talon and told him, "I'll be back."
"Wait, I'm coming with?—"
"Nah, you're staying here with us," Rize interjected, chilling the room.
I smirked in admiration at how the youngest in the room was able to command it as if he owned it. I was impressed. Each one of thesedemonsseemed to be leaders who didn't mind falling in line when necessary. That quality was useful.
