by Edwina Fort
“Damn, shorty, I almost f***ed up really bad. My life wouldn’t be sh*t without you. When you left, I swear it felt like you took half of me with you. I was f***ed up.”
I brought my other hand up to gently touch his perfect lips…
“Shhh… I shouldn’t have left. I should have talked to you—” I shook my head. “I was stupid and insecure. I was embodying my mom’s problem…” Laughing without any humor, I leaned in until our foreheads were touching.
“You’re nothing like my father…”
“Your father’s a b****!”
I chuckled… “Yeah, he is.”
Pulling my left hand from his I brought it up to rub his beard, but I caught the reflection of something out the side of my eye and realized while he was playing with my hand, he’d slipped a ring on it.
"Romeo…" his name seeped from between my lips as I brought my shaking hand in front of me to see that he'd slipped a huge diamond ring on it. In the torch lighting, it reflected gold… for what seemed like the hundredth time today, my mouth dropped.
“This brings me to my next question.” His voice was low as he concentrated on me with that honey gaze that also looked golden in the firelight casting his spell on me.
“I don’t want to ever feel the feeling of losing you again. I want to live and die with you, shawty. When you go…I pray to be right next to you, ‘cause I found out I can’t live without you.”
He took my hand with his ring on it and brought it to his lips kissing it gently.
“Will you marry me, Nak?”
Nossa!
I could have died right then and I would have been the happiest girl in the world. Through tears, I leaned in and kissed his lips again.
“Yes… Mue Rei—” But my words died off as a terrible thought came to me.
So terrible it caused my heart to freeze over and my eyes to fill with more tears.
He wanted to have children and I was barren.
When he saw the expression change on my face, panic crossed his as he sat up straighter on the settee, taking my bare shoulders in his big hands.
“What’s the matter?” I could hear the urgency in his voice. I bit my lip as a tear escaped to run down my cheek.
He shook me… “What’s wrong, Nak…Please don’t tell me no, baby!” The agony in his voice broke my heart even more.
“I can’t have children.” My words came out just barely over a whisper. The knot that was in my throat was choking me.
A look of relief crossed his face as he wrapped me in his arms pulling me close.
“Dammit, girl, you scared the f*** out of me.”
I remained stiff in his arms. “Did you hear me? I’m barren,” I told him just to make sure.
He held me away from him a bit so that he could look down into my eyes. There was a smile of relief on his face.
“Let me tell you something, shawty…I don’t give a f*** about none of that, just as long as you are mine. Sh*t, I’m fine with being an uncle, my sister pregnant with her second child. That horny bastard Jo will probably keep her pregnant.”
I laughed at that…Wow! Who would have imagined Jo being the fathering type? But then my laughter disappeared as that sadness came back. I could imagine Rome being a father…He would be a good dad.
“No, don’t frown, baby,” He soothed lifting my chin so that he could kiss my lips.
“But I want to be a mommy too.”
He chuckled down at me. “You are so sexy when you pout.” He kissed my lips again. “Aren’t you the same girl that plopped her little Bible down on the table in front of me and bragged about all the studying you’ve been doing?”
Still pouting I nodded my head.
“And have you not read about Abraham’s wife Sarah and how she too was barren. But that the Most High touched her womb and she bore a child?”
I sat up on his lap and nodded as a spark of hope lit in my heart. I did read about Sarah and Abraham. Sarah was sad because she wanted to have a child for her husband like I wanted to give Rome a child.
“Baby, nothing is impossible for the Heavenly Father…and if it is his will, we will have a child. However, if it’s not in his will, we have to be okay with that…Because there are two things I know for sure…” He held up one finger.
“One…Nothing in this world happens unless it’s The Most High’s will. Not anything from the smallest ant being born to the biggest mountain breaking off and falling into the sea. And two—” He held up another finger.
“If you don’t finish saying yes to my proposal, I am going to go ape sh*t and start trashing this mutha f***a.”
Laughter bubbled up in my throat as I circled my arms tightly around his neck…
This is my thug…and I loved him so much!
“Yes, baby! I’ll marry you! A thousand times yes!”
He whooped coming to his feet bringing me with him…I held my head back and laughed as he turned around in a circle causing my dress to fly behind me.
“Damn, girl! You had a brotha sweating! Sh*t…” He put me on my feet taking my hand. “Come on, let’s go and celebrate!”
And celebrate we did…We painted the town black.
His surprises did not end there. Do you guys know that he and I were married before that night was out? Somehow in the midst of all that celebrating, he found a judge that married us underneath a beautiful gazebo in the garden of a really nice restaurant.
It was magical…the celebrating around us paused for just a moment as we said our vows and then after the judge told Rome he could kiss his bride, it picked right back up…
When we signed our wedding certificate, I found out that my new last name was Law. He said that since Romeo Reevers had to die, he and the others had agreed to just take the last name Law. So now my name was Nahkti Law…
I loved it!
I drank and danced and ate wedding cake…
Yes, you guys heard correctly…Wedding cake.
Come to find out, Rome had set up everything. He’d actually rented out the restaurant we’d gotten married at and hired the Samba band and dancers… He allowed the people to come in and celebrate with us until the restaurant had reached its maximum.
Oh guys!!!! It was a night I’ll never forget…
And so…
Now that I’ve told you the high, brace yourself because at this point, my story shifts drastically and it will be a long, long time before I feel such happiness again. The very next day and I do mean the very next day, everything changed.
He and I were kind of taking it easy because we’d partied so hard the night before that the both of us woke up hung over. We had a leisurely breakfast still basking in the fact that we were newlyweds. At some point, we decided to go for a little swim in the pool.
I don’t know how it got started, but we ended up acting out that scene in Dirty Dancing…You know the one… Nobody puts Baby in the corner.
Yeah…it was goofy, but we were newlyweds.
“Okay, let’s try it again. You have to stop laughing or you’re going to drop me again,” I told him.
“Alright, I’m ready.” He held out his hands and I took off running toward him…When I got to him, I leaped up out of the water and he caught me holding me up in the air…
"Yes…" I cried making sure to hold my arms and legs straight out like Superman.
“You dripping water all over me, I can’t see…” He complained before a deep rugged voice cut him off coming from somewhere over on the side of the pool.
“I wish I could un-see this.”
“Oh sh*t!” Rome said before he quickly lowered me back down into the water behind him, using his big body to block mine. I didn’t think to pack a swimming suit, so I’d gotten in the pool wearing one of his tee shirts and a pair of panties.
“Ay man, I can explain. This not what it looks like.”
What the hell? I stood on my toes to look over his shoulder curious to see who m
y big tough husband suddenly felt the need to explain himself to and came up short at the sight that greeted me.
Standing on the side of the pool looking down at us was a grinning Jo and Albert…but it was the frowning man they were with that drew all the attention. And if my guess was correct, this was the man Rome felt the need to explain himself to.
If my guess was also correct, this was the one called Judah. I’m glad he warned me about him or else every fighting instinct in me would be on high alert right now. Everything about him was unrelenting, from the way he stood so powerful and sure, to the way his clothes fit on his big body. His long locs that appeared dark brown in the sun were pulled back in a ponytail that hung to his waist.
The whole bottom half of his face was covered in hair, but it did little to hide the sneer on his face. He looked like a wild man. Rome guided me out of the pool careful to keep my body blocked from the other men, then he quickly wrapped me in a fluffy white robe, closing it all the way up to my throat.
“Is that…The Unbreakable One?” I whispered.
“Yeah and he caught me playing damn Dirty Dancing with you.” He whispered back before he turned to face them.
“Shall we talk inside over a cool drink?” Rome said once he’d made sure I was good and covered.
Nossa! I never thought there was anything out there as fierce as the Politician, but I was wrong, I could tell by the way the powerful men that I knew…Rome and Jo…hell even Albert held themselves around him.
He was clearly the boss.
Judah nodded once and then went inside and Albert followed him…But Jo stood there grinning at Rome. He held his lips in a way that said his laughter was going to burst through any minute.
Rome frowned at him. “What you got to say…chump?!”
“Dirty Dancing, kid? Is that what you do in your down time? Practice your dance moves…” He patted him on the shoulder none to gently. “You looked good out there, baby brother…I give you a perfect ten.” And then he held his head back and barked with laughter.
“Man, shut yo’ corny a** up!” Rome hissed shoving his hand off his shoulder.
“Hey Rome!” Jo called after. “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.” And then he held his head back and barked with another round of laughter. He was laughing so hard he had to brace his hands on his knees to keep from tipping over.
I stood in front of him with my arms folded because his big body was blocking the door. When he saw that there was no laughter in my face his laughter died, and he stood opening his arms for me.
“Nak, baby…What up, girl?!”
I didn’t bother to speak…I was still mad at him. I just shoved his arms out of the way and walked pass him like Rome had done.
“Hey! What’s up with that?” He asked following me in.
“Not right now, Sarge…” I told him before I went into Albert’s waiting arms and hugged him.
“You mad at me or something?” He asked when after I hugged the Old Man and still didn’t talk to him.
Nossa! He figured that out all by himself. Okay, so I’m going to be honest, I didn’t like seeing Jo and the Oldman. Seeing them meant they were going to try and pull me back into a lifestyle that I’m done with.
Jo never comes to just say hello or to check on me. If he was here, it meant I was going to have to kill somebody…and I was done with that.
“So, what brings you guys by?” Rome asked after the servers left from giving everyone lemonade.
Nobody had taken a seat, so I guess this wasn’t a social visit.
“You ask that question, like you’ve forgotten you’re now employed by me?”
Obviously, Judah was not one to mince words. I frowned at Rome…What the hell was he talking about?
“Why are you mad at me?” Jo whispered from my left. I turned my frown to him…
“Shhh!” I told him before turning back to once again give Rome and Judah my full attention.
“Yeah…about that—” Rome began, but Judah shook his head.
“I don’t have time for your excuses…If I found you, the others can. You and Nak need to get packed and come back with us—”
I held up my hand… “Whoa! What do you mean him and Nak? I’ve ret—”
He cut me off. “You are wasting time that we don’t have.”
When I snapped my mouth shut insulted that he’d so rudely interrupted me, he turned to face me fully.
And let me tell you something, having his complete attention was intimidating as hell.
“What did you think was going to happen, Nahkti?” He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. His presence alone demanded your full attention.
“Did you think you were going to be able to turn the killer off inside of you and live happily ever after with the genius, on your f***ing horse ranch? How long did you think you were going to be able to suppress your urges? Tell me…did you kill the jailer that violated you?”
His question threw me…because first of all, how the hell did he know about that? And second of all, in all the excitement of Rome showing up, I’d forgotten to kill that bastard. Something I was going to amend as soon as I got back…
Just thinking about breast boy rekindled the anger inside of me…
“Don’t bother…” Judah spoke as if he could hear my thoughts. “Rome already did the honors for you because he’s a f***ing savage.” He opened his arms. “That’s what we are, baby, a band of f***ing savages.”
I whipped my head around to look at my husband. He and Jo stood behind me looking like two little brothers in the presence of their older brother. It was strange seeing my old boss and my husband this way. They had always been the alpha males of their environment, but standing next to Judah, they came across as the little brothers.
When Rome noticed me looking, he gave a little shrug, one side of his mouth lifted in a smile.
Jo stepped forward clearing his throat. “About is all being savages. I can’t speak for the others, but I’m no savage. In fact—”
“Shut up, Jo.” Judah muttered not taking his piercing gaze away from me.
“Okay…” The Sarge said stepping back to his spot next to Rome.
Judah exhaled. “Look… you can’t just turn off who you are. I know, I’ve tried a thousand times. Rome was so desperate to get you back, he didn’t think about the fact that he was putting your life in danger. I’ve been watching you for a while…As long as you worked for my little brother, I let you be, he needed somebody like you watching his back. But now he and Rome work for me. I have a place for you on the team—”
I was shaking my head before he was done. “No, I’m finished with that life. I just want to be left alone.”
He chuckled…It really was a horrible sound because it sounded like something he didn’t do often.
“Unfortunately, that is no longer an option for you.”
Anger ripped through me… I balled up my fists prepared to deck this big bastard if I had to.
“The hell it is! Let me tell you something—” Before I could get anything else out, Rome’s hand came around my mouth cutting my words off completely.
“You will have to excuse her…she has a condition,” he said calmly as if he was discussing the weather.
“Really, she does, it’s been diagnosed,” Jo finished.
Something like amusement entered Judah’s eyes as he looked at me. He could see that I had been prepared to attack him…and the sick bastard liked it.
“I’m aware of her condition.” He pointed to Rome. “Talk to yo’ girl.”
“Got it…” My husband said dutifully. I slammed my elbow back into his stomach mad as hell that he was speaking for me…but he knew me well and had it blocked before it connected.
“Won’t you guys just give me a few days? I’ll talk to her and get back with you,” he told the fellas as he wrapped his other arm around me holding me so that I didn’t take another swing at him.
“I
don’t know if you have a few days…I can tell you, y’all are definitely not safe here.” His gaze came to mine.
“I hope you change your mind, we can really use you on the team.”
My voice came out muffled behind Rome’s hand…but what I said was…So, f***ing what, I’m done! Dammit!
“You know how to find us,” he told Rome before heading out of the door.
“Baby girl, think about what the man said. I know you tired of this life and I’m sure we’ll rest soon. Now just ain’t the time.” Albert said before he leaned in and kissed me on my forehead.
Old Al, always the calming voice in the storm. Feeling the tension leaving my body, Rome removed his hand from my mouth…but still held me close.
“How long you going to be mad at me?” Jo asked taking the Oldman’s place in front of me.
The tension came back. “This is all your fault!” I growled…. He looked surprised at the venom in my words.
“My fault? How?”
“Hey…” Rome spoke up before I could say anything. “Just let me talk to her… okay?”
Jo’s gaze came back to me before he exhaled. “Yeah…okay.” He put his hand on Rome’s shoulder and the grin came back to his face.
“Keep those dance moves sharp, kid.” And then he followed his brother and the Oldman out the door laughing his head off.
“Man, I can’t stand that mutha f***a…” Rome hissed.
I snatched away from him. “Forget Jo! When were you going to tell me you worked for the CIA?”
He held up a hand. “We don’t know that he works for the CIA…”
I put my hand on my hip and gave him the, really? look.
He exhaled taking my hand off my hip and pulling me to the couch. “Sit down, baby, let me talk to you for a minute.” I sat, but I folded my arms remaining hostile.
This was so messed up, I felt like he tricked me. He knew I was trying to get out of the business and now he’d pulled me right back in it.
I shook my head.
No! I was done, I’m not going back.
“Nak, what Judah said about you is true. Baby, you are a warrior, you were born to fight. You can’t just turn that sh*t off.”
I stood from the couch. “Watch me…” I told him as I marched toward the stairs.