Page 61 of New Beginnings
“I know men like him.”
I knew she was talking about Caesar. And even though he was an asshole to her when they were married, I did believe he truly loved her. He wasn’t ready to commit to her, and she didn’t want to wait for him so he could get to that place which was her right. But he married her before he was ready because he was scared he’d lose her even though that was what happened in the end. He regretted how he treated Rumi. He loved my sister. After all these years they still hadn’t moved on from each other. No matter how much she wanted to believe she had.
“J.D. is not Caesar.”
She rolled her eyes. “He’s got you in the middle of bullshit that almost got you and me killed, Rebel! How are they different? They live the same type of lifestyle. We’re at a damn motorcycle clubhouse for fuck’s sake. Are you willing to put up with shit like this forever? The women, the parties, shit that can get you locked up or worse?”
“What he’s got me involved in is him trying to find out what happened to his dead wife and son.” I ignored the trivial shit about women and parties. I’d deal with that when the time came if I had too. Right now, it wasn’t important. “It’s not his fault that certain people don’t want that to happen.”
Her brows furrowed. “Talk to me, Rebel.”
I laid my head against the headboard. “I can’t go into details, Rumi. Even though I’m dating J.D., this is still a case, and he’s entitled to his privacy. All I’m going to say is the man who tried to kill us was a cop.”
She gasped. Maybe now she understood the gravity of the situation. She was on the outside looking in and of course shit looked bad, but she didn’t know what the hell was going on. And I couldn’t exactly explain it to her, but she needed to trust me. I was doing what was best for me and for her.
“A cop?” she asked with disbelief on her face.
“Now do you understand?” I asked, but I didn’t really want her to answer. I wanted her to listen. “So could you please lay off the attitude? It’s making shit worse.”
“I don’t have an attitude.”
I looked at her and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“The hell you don’t. Stop projecting your shit onto me. I really like J.D. and he’s not Caesar. You need to deal with your feelings for him. It would make things easier for all of us while we’re here.”
“I have no feelings for Caesar other than hate.”
“That’s a fucking lie and you know it.” I grasped her hand. “I know he hurt you but even if you don’t want to work things out with him at least forgive the man so you can move on with your life without all the negativity. There’s a lot of shit happening and you’re just making it worse.”
“What do you expect me to do, Rebel! I’m being pulled into shit I have nothing to do with and you’re not telling me anything. I just want to go home. I don’t want to be here especially with him.”
“I understand that Rumi, but this is what we have to do. There’s a target on me which means there’s a target on you. I know it hurts being around Caesar but it’s unavoidable. Maybeyou just need to sit down with him. Clear the air. Get some closure.”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she laid her head against mine. “Every time I see him all I can think about is the past. I don’t want to live in the past. It’s hurtful. I’ve got a real future with Oscar, and I don’t want to mess that up wishing shit was different.”
She loved Caesar, but she can’t get over what he did. But she would never be able to move forward with Oscar until she dealt with Caesar. She had a lot of hurt she needed to let go of before she could move on with anyone.
“Talk to him, Rumi. It wouldn’t hurt anything. I believe you and him have a lot of things that were left unsaid. Deal with that shit then see where things stand. And stop trying to hide that you’re hurt by being an annoying bitch. He and J.D. are just trying to keep us safe.”
She lifted her head from my shoulder. “I’ll behave. You have my word.”
“Thank you. And as soon as everything is cleared up you can leave.”
“Thank God. Oscar is losing his mind that I’m away.”
I wasn’t even going to respond to that lie. Rumi using Oscar as an excuse to get away from Caesar was laughable. She was spending more and more time at my place, and this was the first time she had even said anything about Oscar having a problem with her not being around. The man worked all the time and most of it was done out of town. He might miss her, but he definitely wasn’t complaining about her spending time with me and her not being at home.
A knock sounded at the door then J.D. peaked his head in.
“That’s my cue.” Rumi rose off the bed. “Come find me later.”
I nodded. “I will. And go easy on Caesar.”
She snorted but didn’t say anything. J.D. pushed the door open wider and as Rumi walked by him, she smiled. The look on his face almost made me laugh. Hopefully now we could handle everything without them wanting to kill my sister.
He closed the door behind her and looked at me like he didn’t know what in the hell just happened which caused me to laugh.
“We had a little heart to heart.”
