Page 52 of Love Letters From Memphis

“What? Of course not. Why is that the first thing you would think?”

“What else am I supposed to think? There isn’t anything else that could warrant this reaction.”

Londen pulled in a deep breath. “I killed Hamilton. Marcus. Whatever you want to call him. Your father ordered the hit, but I carried it out. I killed him, Lei.”

Lei’s mouth moved but remained silent from surprise. It looked like she was fumbling over her thoughts, blinking rapidly.

With an unfocused gaze, she asked, “You killed my father?” A quick no jerked her head. “You killed Marcus?”

“Yes. I didn’t know who he was or why. Ace offered the deal, and I took it.”

Clutching her throat, she looked away from him. “When did you find out?”

“In January, right after you told your family about the bet. Ace called and asked me to look out for you on the inside. Make sure you didn’t connect with the wrong kind of character. I asked him then if you were the reason he ordered the hit when he mentioned his daughter. Up until then, I hadn’t heard anything about you being back.”

“So you… you started talking to me… because of my father?”

“Not at all, Baby.” Londen took her hands into his, but she quickly pulled them away. “He told me to keep an eye out for niggas will ill intent, that’s it. I matched with you because I was curious, and I pursued you because I wanted you.”

Lei licked her lips and palmed her forehead. “Okay. Um… this is a lot. I need time to process this.”

“Yeah… of course. You know how to get in contact with me when you’re ready, and if you never are…” Londen used her chin to nudge her face in his direction. “I’ve enjoyed spending the last few months getting to know you.” Her eyes sealed shut. “Everything I’ve said and done has been sincere. I want to spend my life with you, but if this is too much, I understand.”

All she did was nod and gently push his hand down from her chin. Lei turned her back to him quickly, but he heard her sniffles when he opened the door. As much as Londen wanted to console her, he couldn’t. Walking away from her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. She deserved time and space to process his actions, even if they were done before they met.

thirty-eight

She’d never driven so quicklyand recklessly in her life. Lei hadn’t even bothered to cut the car off before she was hopping out of it. It was in park, and in that moment, that was the best she could do. Tumbling through the front door, Lei charged toward her father’s den, sure that was where she’d find him. As soon as she burst through the door, the stark difference between their energies was evident.

While she was a massive ball of fire, he was calm and still.

“Is it true?” she asked through gritted teeth, chest heaving. “Did you hire Londen to kill my father?”

“I’myour father.”

“You know what I mean!” she yelled. “Did you?”

Ace wiped his eye and sat back in his recliner. “Yes, I did. And I don’t regret it at all.”

With a chuckle, Lei ran her fingers through her hair. “How could you?”

“He took you from us. Did you really think I was going to let him get away with that?”

As she considered his words, she felt foolish. Did she really think he was going to let him get away with that? For some reason, she did. When nothing happened to Marcus immediately, Lei figured Ace would let it ride. It was smart of him to wait a month because no one considered he was involved. Technically, he wasn’t. He had Londen, the man she was falling in love with, to do his dirty work.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want it to come between us. We had to learn each other. Me killing him would have ruined that.”

She laughed as her eyes rolled. Nostrils flaring, Lei squeezed her chest. It felt like her heart was about to burst. All she wanted to do was run to Londen so he could make her feel better, but this was his doing. Sure, he didn’t know he was killing the man that kidnapped her… and how crazy was she to be upset because he did? Father figure or not, what Marcus had done was wrong, and even if he hadn’t been murdered, he would have paid.

“Did you plan on telling me at all?”

For the first time, Ace looked away from her. Slowly, his head shook. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t want to hurt you. I know that makes me like him in a sense, keeping something from you of importance, but that wasn’t something I felt you needed to know. Londen wanted to tell you because he felt you needed the truth before you committed to him. But if it was up to me… no, Princess. I wouldn’t have told you at all.”

“He wanted me to know?” she asked softly, feeling some of her fire diminish.

Ace stood and slowly walked toward her, but he left a couple of feet of space between them, and Lei appreciated that.

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