Page 53 of Mister Concierge

“Then why did you come back?”

“Because Gino was going to kill me. The abuse intensified and I was just… tired. A part of me felt like you wouldn’t help me if I told you Santino wasn’t yours, so I lied and said he was. For that, I’m truly sorry, but it was out of my need to survive. I wasn’t trying to hurt you yet again.”

Rolling my tongue across my cheek, I nodded. That truth made a hell of a lot more sense. I could accept that within my heart.

“Well, Gino’s dead, so you don’t have to worry about him. You and Santino can stay here until the end of the month, then you have to leave.”

“Hosea,” she called as I stood.

“You cheated on me, left me, came back, and tried to pin another man’s baby on me. The only thing that should come out of your fucking mouth is thank you, because a lesser man would put your ass out right now.”

She tugged her ear as her face covered with distress. I didn’t bother waiting for her to thank me because I knew it probably wouldn’t come. Not right now, at least. The only reason I was giving her time here was because of Santino. As scandalous as his mother was, he didn’t deserve to suffer for it. I wanted to go into his room and have one last look at him, but that would have made saying goodbye even harder. I was just glad I didn’t go all in and get too attached before receiving the results of the DNA test.

Twenty-Nine

Cartier

While I waited for Hosea to change, I called Raven. We hadn’t spoken to each other in quite some time, but I needed to make sure he had all of his things out of the apartment. I’d talked to Detective Sanders, and Deandre’s first court date wasn’t until after Christmas, so that gave me about two months to get back to Cali for the lineup and to give my written account of everything that happened. I offered that instead of having to return once his trial started. I truly wanted to put all of this behind me as quickly as possible.

Ashley was still in a coma, but her parents had taken her off life support successfully, so that was a plus. My girl was a fighter, and there was no doubt in my mind that she would wake up when she’d gotten enough rest. When she did, I wanted her parents to tell her that the man responsible had been sentenced to the maximum time allowed for his charges.

I stared at Raven’s contact in my phone before dialing his number. He answered after four rings with…

“Hey, stranger.”

“Hey. Can you talk?”

“Always. What’s up?”

“I was just calling to confirm you’ve gotten all of your things out of the apartment and left your key with the leasing agent. I found two women to sublease to until our lease is up.”

“I have all of my stuff out, but I do still have the key. What are you going to do about your things?”

“Well, I don’t know if you heard, but they have Ashley’s attacker in custody. I’ve been asked to identify him in a lineup and give a statement, so I planned to pack up the rest of my things when I did that.”

“Yeah, I heard about him being arrested. His trial doesn’t start for a while, though, does it?”

“Yeah, after Christmas.”

“When are they moving in?”

“First week of November.”

“How about I pack your things up since I still have my key? I’ve been meaning to visit my family, anyway. I can drive everything down to you.”

I smiled, grateful that he’d offered.

“Are you sure, Raven? I couldn’t ask that of you.”

“You don’t have to. I’m offering. It’s the least I can do.” Raven paused before adding, “It would be nice to see you again, too.”

“Raven… I’m in a relationship.”

“That’s cool. I figured you would be by now. You’re too great of a catch to stay single for long.”

His compliment made me smile genuinely. “Thank you for that. I understand if me being with someone changes your mind.”

“Nah, I want to do this for you. And like I said, I want to see my family back home, too. It’ll give me a reason to make that happen sooner than later.”

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