Page 53 of Tangled Hearts
Hov shook his head at Knycole being petty. They’d been broken up for six months, and he’d moved out the house four months ago. Her trying to mark her territory was beyond him. “I needed to talk to you about some business,” he told her, walking back over to his new car.
“This you?” she asked, eyes lighting up. He nodded his head with a grin. “Let me drive.”
Briana cleared her throat reminding them that she was still there.
Hov pressed a button on his phone and the doors opened. “Get your spoiled ass in.”
“Hov, I wasn’t done talking to you,” Briana spoke up.
He licked his lips. “My bad. I gotta handle some business shit with Knycole. I’ll call you later.”
She smiled with hopes of him wanting to spend some time with her later. “Don’t lie, nigga.”
Knycole was already in the car but made sure to eavesdrop. “She’s so thirsty,” she told Hov when he dropped down into the passenger seat.
“But what that got to do with you, though?”
Cutting her eyes at him, she gave him a nasty look. “If it has something to do with you, then it has everything to do with me.”
“But you don’t want me, remember?”
The statement pained her. She did want him, but she also wanted Rock. She was truly at a crossroads and knew whatever decision she made, things would never be the same. Hell, the decision she made five years ago had already changed the course of all their lives.
“We don’t have to talk about it.” Hov spoke lowly, willing to put his feelings on the back burner to appease her. That was their routine. He was the man and was willing to carry her emotionally, even when it jeopardized his own feelings.
She knew it too, but selfishly, she allowed him to do it. Their love was sacred and pure and came with secrets that had the potential to shift both their worlds. It was the sole reason for their love’s demise.
“But what you need to talk to me about?” She cut through the tension.
Again, his feelings didn’t matter, so he wouldn’t make them. “One of the spots came up short.”
“Okay?” Her brows rose.
“It’s Heavy.”
Heavy was a young man who had to grow up too fast. Knycole took a liking to him, and after giving him odd jobs, she finally put him in the drug game. He was humble and hungry, but now it seemed he was greedy.
Sighing, she switched lanes. “You sure it’s him?”
He nodded. “I made sure to check up on it myself, since I know you got a soft spot for the lil’ nigga.”
“Fuck!” She punched the steering wheel.
“You know what has to happen now.”
Her neck snapped towards him. “It doesn’t have to happen. You’re choosing for it to happen.”
“I decline doing a lot of shit because I know it’ll upset you, but this ain’t one of the things I’m willing to budge on. And the fact you’re even considering asking me to stand down says a lot.” Hov shook his head because he couldn’t believe her.
“The fuck you trying to say?” Her voice lifted, becoming squeaky because she was upset.
“It ain’t about what I’m trying to say. It’s about what the fuck I said. Knycole, I let you get your bossy shit off because I love thefuck out of you, but don’t for one second think I’m a weak ass nigga for you. I’m soft and gentle with you but these streets don’t get that side of me.” Whenever he confessed his love for her, her heart would skip a beat. She knew it was the sweetest thing she ever heard because with Hov, his love came with no conditions.
Instead of replying to him, she pulled into his driveway. “Look,” she said once the car was off. “I respect your decision and know you’re going to do what needs to be done.”
He looked at her upside her face. Whenever in her presence, he etched her features into his memory just in case something changed.
He grabbed her hand, pulling into his new mansion that sat up too high, and was too big for just him and Qua. Still, his money reflected his living space.
