Page 30 of Liberty
“Liberty, you cannot be serious about this!” Belle exclaimed.
“Afraid so, Belle,” I replied. “Let’s help set the table ok?”
She looked stunned as she went over and grabbed a stack of table napkins then wandered away.
“Man, you are gonna fight for her,” Redemption said with a chuckle. “You sure you don't wanna fess up now?”
I scoffed. “I don’t like bullies Red and you damn well know it.”
“Yeah, yeah and you having the hots for Ms. Belle has nothing to do with it, right?” He snorted.
“Ok kids, let’s get all the food platters and pans moving.” Ma’s voice rang through the kitchen. “The table ain’t gonna set itself.”
“That would be a neat trick to see,” Fate stated as he gave Ma a smile then stepped over to where we were. “I heard all that, Lib,” he whispered as he got right up close to me, then his smile dropped from his face as he exclaimed, “Are you fucking insane?”
I stared at him and shrugged my shoulders.
“Did you forget who Talon is or something?” Fate went on. “He is gonna kick your ass and grind your bones to make his bread.”
“Man, what the hell does that even mean?” Redemption spoke up as he stared at Fate. “I really wish you would lay off the kid’s movies, baby brother.”
I narrowed my eyes at Fate. “Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Fate.”
“Just cause I’m looking out for you,” he retorted. “Did you miss the memo on Talon? The Claw? Remember that name? And do you remember he has it cuz he tears men apart? As in tears themin half. You do it for a living, man. This guy does it just for the fun of it. I know you are a badass fighter, brother. You got a shitload of trophies and a dozen hundred thousand dollar cashier checks to prove it. But this guy is downright deadly in a ring. Or a parking lot, or well, just about anywhere. I mean I know this is over your girl, but it is not smart. I really thought you liked your face the way it is.”
“Is that true?”
We all looked over to see that Belle had returned.
Fate shook his head and asked her, “Which part? That he likes his face the way it is? Or that this is over his girl? Which is you?” He nodded. “You should wake up to that fact now. Cause that ship has already sailed Miss Belle. Liberty is a fighter but he doesn’t toss his hat into the ring over just any ole bullshit. Being who he is, he has to pick and choose the occasion. If not, he would be constantly in a ring, in a damned fight upon receiving so many challenges.”
Belle slowly shook her head as she stared at Fate in confusion. “I have to say that you are highly entertaining and nothing like your brother. But no…I wasn’t referring to any of that. I meant Talon. Is he that dangerous?”
I scoffed about this part of it. “Don’t worry about that, Belle. Talon has to apologize for the shit he said about you.”
She braced her hands onto her hips. “Why? You said the same thing about me a couple of days ago. That I was spoiled and always had to have my own way.”
I opened my mouth to reply and then halted to look over at my brothers.
They both looked really invested in hearing my reply. Of course they did, the nosy fuckers.
Glaring at them, I took Belle’s hand in mine and led her to the pantry room. They were not going to be privy to this particular conversation, no way. Stepping in, I closed the door behind us. Looking over at her, I slowly shook my head as I attempted to explain my change of heart, “Look, I realized I was wrong about that. I saw that you missed your life and your career. I was wrong about you. I mean you are a strong woman with all that you have faced in your life. I could see how much being trapped here was costing you. That is why I volunteered to go with you. They were not going to let you leave and you know it. But as to Talon, he is wrong about this. You have the right to your life. You worked hard for it, pulled yourself up from real hardship and made something of yourself.”
Belle simply stared at me in total surprise and then she whispered, “You’re serious, aren't you?”
“I am.” I nodded. “I told you I was sorry and now you know why I was sorry. Then this is the second time Talon has insulted you. And when I saw him twisting your wrist?” I looked upward and let out an angry breath. “I nearly lost my damned mind.”
Belle stared at me as silence fell between us, then she grabbed my shirt with both hands and tugged me close, her mouth latching onto mine.
To say I was stunned wouldn’t cut it. I stood like an iceberg, frozen solid from shock. The woman was kissing me? It took her tongue meeting mine to wake me up to the fact that she tastedlike pure heaven. Wrapping my arms around her, I kissed her back.
We kissed wildly, breathlessly. Our hands were all over each other as we slammed into the shelves. Turning in a full circle as our mouths and bodies melded, we slammed into them again.
This was insane… we both broke apart suddenly. Breathing heavily, we stared at each other.
Then at that very moment, the pantry door opened.
We looked over to see Ma coming in.
