Page 94 of Cuffed By Your Love
“Why the fuck is he even still walking free?” I muttered, voice low and dangerous.
“That’s what I called to tell you,” Jonell rushed. “His uncle, a federal judge, has been sweeping his dirt under the rug for years. Yeah, Kam pissed dirty in the academy, but he should’ve been locked down after the bar fights, after he beat up that girl in Fifth Ward, after the sodomy charges with that young couple, after all that petty shit that keeps disappearing. His uncle stays saving him.”
The phone crackled as she sniffled, her voice wobbling between rage and shame. “And me, I hate this. Of all the times to be stuck on this damn law retreat, it had to be now. They got me tied up in workshops and networking dinners from sunup to sundown, and the whole time, my mind’s back home with y’all. I feel guilty as hell that I’m missing everything she’s going through. She’s my twin, half of me, and not being there to ride this wave with her feels wrong.
“I don’t ever want her thinking distance means I’m not tapped in, though. I’m still praying over y’all, still checking in every chance I get, and the second I touch back down, I’m pulling up to hold space for her in real time. I love my twin, but I haven’t had the strength to watch her drown while she pushes everybody away. But you? You’re different. She listens to you. Don’t let her run, Eli. Don’t let Kam near her. Please.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, sucking in a sharp breath. “Sis, listen to me. I’m not going nowhere. You hear me? That fine-ass twin of yours? She is mine to protect now. And I’ll die behind her if it comes to it.”
Jonell gave a half-choked laugh through the phone. “You better not die and break my sister’s heart. I’m rooting for y’all. And, Elias, please don’t let her stubborn ass scare you off. She does that little mean-mug when she’s scared, but I know my sister. She’s in deep. And she’s safe with you.”
I smirked, shaking my head even in the tension. “I got you, sis. Ain’t no man touching her while I still got breath.”
Click. The line went dead.
“Edmonds!”
Chambers barged in like always, loud, extra, and chewing gum like he had a personal beef with it.
“Kam done lost his mind, bruh. Dispatch just radioed. His dumb ass was caught trying to break into Jonay’s place. Themotion cam you set up caught him on the back porch with gloves and a crowbar!”
I was already on my feet before he finished.
“Say less.” I growled, snatching my keys.
By the time I pulled up, patrol cars were already flooding the street. Red and blue lights painted Jonay’s house like a crime scene straight off an episode ofFirst 48, and I damn near left the truck door open when I jumped out. I saw her wrapped up in her daddy’s arms, Leila standing beside them, attempting to hold back Jason, who had his fists balled up, jaw clenched, ready to go to war behind his baby sister like me.
But my focus zeroed in on Kam sitting cuffed on the curb like the coward he was. Shirt wrinkled. Lip split. Still trying to talk slick while two officers kept him pinned like he mattered.
I stepped forward. Calm. Composed. Dangerous.
My badge swung around my neck, but it wasn’t what kept people back. It was the storm in my eyes.
“You really wanted to die today, huh?” I asked, voice low, laced with venom and Sunday prayer.
Kam laughed, dry, cracked, desperate. “She got you that whipped, huh? Grown ass man crying over some bitch?—”
“Watch your fucking mouth.”
I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t move fast. I didn’t even blink hard. But every officer on that block paused because they knew that tone. That was the tone of a man who’d bury you respectfully and still make it to his kid’s parent-teacher conference on time.
I knelt just enough so Kam could see me eye to eye.
“Let me make one thing real clear to you, since you must’ve missed the memo when you were trying to be a man but lacked the credentials. Jonay Jacobson ain’t no bitch. She’s a woman. A queen. And I’m not her savior. She saved her damn self. I’m just the one blessed enough to love her through the aftermath.”
Kam smirked. “You acting like you won something.”
I tilted my head. “Nah. Iearnedsomething. Peace. Joy. And the kind of love you’ll never understand ’cause you’re too busy swinging fists instead of healing wounds.”
I stood, adjusted my jacket, and turned to the officers. “Y’all got what y’all need? He can go now. ’Cause I got a woman over there who needs to be reminded of what safety feels like.”
I crossed the yard like my feet were answering an altar call.
Jonay was crying that silent cry, where her shoulders shook, but her lips didn’t move. Her daddy looked at me, nodded, and stepped back. Leila wiped her face and mumbled something about going to get water. Jason nodded at me, like he was tagging me in.
I opened my arms. She walked into them like home
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to pull away. I just… I didn’t want to bring this to your front door.”
