Page 41 of Recklessly In Love With A Ruthless Savage 2
“Yeah?”
“I love you. I never stopped.”
I blinked.
“I love you too.” I whisper. “I think I always have. I was just fooling myself into thinking I could deny my heart what my mind was scared to let it have.”
He smiled. “You’re not some broken shell of a woman. You’re a fucking force. You survived. You chose me again. And baby… every damn time I look at you, I see my whole world.”
I let the tears fall this time, no shame or fear, just the love we shared. Crew leaned down and kissed them from my cheeks one by one then curled up behind me in bed, holding me tightly.
“You got me?” I asked, voice small.
“I always do, Princess,” he whispered.
And with his breath on my neck and his arms around my waist, I finally let myself fall asleep.
Crew
The time flashed on the clock on the nightstand reading 5:00 am. The room was dark because of the blackout curtains Nova loved so much. I ain’t slept peacefully since Nova was taken and I probably wouldn’t until this was over. My insomnia got worse ever since Blue put that file in my hands and I saw her face older, sharper, calculated like always walking into my city like she never left. The woman I was supposed to marry. The woman I buried in my mind to survive the grief. The woman who might be working with the same motherfuckas trying to snatch my daughter and gut my wife from the inside out.
In hindsight the red flags were there but I chose not to see because of the love I had for Sabrina. Looking back now it was clear that she had been pulling away before she died. All the late nights and early morning she worked unnoticed. She always had a believable excuse.
“I’m working on something big for the partners at the firm, baby. As soon as I make partner I’ll be home more,” she said.
We were both working to secure our futures so I disregarded her long absences. The private phone calls she used to take in another room, saying it was about a case she was working on or her father. What fucks me up the most is how she moving.If she was innocent, wouldn’t she type reaching out, warn me, hell explain where she been. But she ain’t gave me nothing but silence. That says everything. I’m not some broken-hearted little boy waitin’ for closure. I’m a man with blood on his hands and people to protect. She knew that, so if she’s back and tied to Valdez or Kyle or even breathin’ on the same side as them. She’s my enemy, period. And she will be dealt with as such.
Nova was still sleepin’, her body curved around me. Preparing herself in case I fold. In case I go chasin’ ghosts and forget what I got in front of me. Yeah, my heart twisted when I saw that photo. I ain’t gonna front like it didn’t. We had history, deep shit, and we made plans. I almost built my whole empire with her at my side. But that was then. Still all of it makes me wonder if Nova would have ever found me if Sabrina stayed or would I still be sleeping next to a stranger I once loved like a fool. Sabrina was my past whether she’s alive or dead. Now she’s back like nothing changed. The only thing was that everything changed. I’m not the same man no more. And if she thought she could walk in and manipulate the situation and pull strings from the shadows while Nova's carryin’ my child and sleepin’ in the home we were building together. She done lost her fuckin’ mind.
I hate that my wife is bracing for the possibility that I might get pulled back into the version of me she never got to meet—the one who didn’t give a fuck about nothin’ but vengeance and control. But here’s the thing. My loyalty ain’t split. I got real love in my heart for Nova, that ride-or-die, would-kill-for-her type of love. And that means if anyone, Sabrina included, becomes a threat to her or our children. I’ll set this city on fire.
My past don’t own me. My guilt don’t control me. But betrayal, that’s a different monster. And if Sabrina really chose that side, then she better hope Valdez can protect her, cause I’ma bring Armageddon behind mine. She had better pray towhatever God that had time for her because I wasn’t the same man she left behind.
I stared at the sonogram photo Nova had tucked inside my planner earlier this week. Just something small. A surprise from the doctor August sent to check on her. I smiled at her handwriting on the back.
“Our little light.”
My throat tightened as I thought about where I was in my life. Nova was everything Sabrina never was. She was loyal, honest, brave, and fiercer than she gave herself credit for. She had stood in front of monsters, defied death, and still fought to make a life out of wreckage. So why couldn’t I stop this pull in my fuckin chest? I didn’t want Sabrina back, not like before. But I wanted to understand. I needed to know why and the deeper I went, the more I felt Nova slipping away.
Nova had been watching me for days now. Not in the paranoid way, no this was worse. It was the quiet kind of watch. The kind that said.
“You’re here, but you ain’t really with me.”
I sat up in bed for a while longer before I finally left Nova in bed and made my way downstairs. The house was quiet, just the low hum of security feeds and the weight of silence pressing on my shoulders. I slid into my office and closed the door. The screens flickered on. One of them showed a satellite image Blue pulled off a private drone last night. A meeting with four people, one short frame in a gray hoodie, face obscured. But the posture and movements told me that it was her.
The other three were confirmed Valdez soldiers. Maybe she had reasons. Maybe she got in too deep. Maybe she was trapped. But I don’t give a fuck. My loyalty ain’t ever been in question. Not when it came to Nova. Not when it came to Timberly. Not even when I’m drowning in old memories and scars that never quite healed right. I love Nova in a way I didn’t even know Icould. She not just my peace, she’s my anchor. The reason I ain’t turned the whole fuckin’ city into ash yet. But that don’t mean I go soft. It means I’m calculating, and the second Sabrina shows her face I’m gonna handle it.
When I finally came down to the kitchen Nova was moving through quietly like she was trying not to rattle the air. She was barefoot, silk robe barely tied, lips pressed tight like she was holding back too many words
“Morning, Princess.” I said.
Her eyes flicked to mine. “You been up all night again ain’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You find anything?”
I didn’t answer right away. She leaned on the counter; arms folded across her soft belly.
