Page 34 of Honey's Special Roux

“Mmm.”

I hung up and blew out a frustrated breath. Leave it to Marquise to get shot on a random Saturday afternoon. He’d better have a damn good explanation for what happened.

I walked out of the head chef’s office and found her in the kitchen. She could tell from my facial expression my phone call was upsetting.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

I shook my head. “My boyfriend is in surgery right now. I can finish my next couple of orders, but I’ll have to go be there with him. Do you know who will take over my station?”

“Don’t worry about it, Hix. You can clock out now and be there for your family. We got this. I’ll take over your current orders, and Hernandez will take over once those have gone out.”

I smiled. “Thank you, Chef. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Of course.”

I offered a smile of gratitude before I left the kitchen and went into the locker room. I removed my apron, cooking shoes, the dark pants, and white shirt before I tugged on a sundress and sandals. I placed all the things in my bag and grabbed my keys.

Usually, Marquise would pick me up, but he’d planned to be on the block a while today. I should have known then he would find trouble. Every time he did his rounds, he got into some shit. It was so exhausting to keep up with him.

* * *

By the time I’d arrived, his aunt, uncle, and cousin were all in the room fussing at him. He looked annoyed but couldn’t move like he wanted to because of the wrapping they hand on his shoulder.

When his eyes landed on me, he smiled brightly. “Hey, bae.”

“Hey, y’all.” I greeted the room.

I placed his duffel bag with his clothes and necessities in it on the dresser by his bed. Then I gave Dedra and Chance hugs before I waved at Dayari and claimed the seat beside Marquise. He reached out to grab my hand, and reluctantly, I laced our fingers together. I hated to see him down. I hated to see him recovering from the consequences of life in the streets.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Like fifty. Niggas tried to empty the clip on me, and I never went down. Ended up beating him unconscious through the pain. Ari picked me up and brought me here, though.”

“I will not fuss at you while you’re here with your family, but just know when they leave, you’re going to hear my mouth.”

“I’m already knowing.” He closed his eyes and shifted on the bed.

My heart tugged with pain at the sight of my man not at one hundred percent. However, I couldn’t be too sad because he was here for his own terrible choices. How was I supposed to tell him about my opportunity when he was so deep in gang life? His uncle was a dangerous man with a cartel that held a lot of weight in the crime world. What Marquise and hisblock boysdid in the streets didn’t even hold much weight to the real spread of Merlot’s cartel involvement.

“How’s your job going, Honey?” Dedra asked. She wanted to switch the conversation away from Marquise, which was smart.

“It’s going great. I’m almost done with my culinary program. There are a lot of opportunities opening up for me, but I’m struggling to decide.”

“That’s amazing. What I will recommend is you follow your heart. Do what will make you the most content in the long run. Do it for you and only you. My nephew will have to understand and support whatever you decide.”

“I’m right here… Don’t mention me like I’m not in the room.” Marquise addressed his aunt. He had a cute scowl on his face. I reached over and pressed my thumb against the wrinkles between his eyebrows.

“The man in the bed with battle wounds doesn’t get to gripe about anything if he can’t control his emotions.” I darted my eyes at Marquise. He opened his mouth to protest but decided against it.

“Are you ready to talk about your next moves?” Dayari asked.

“Not yet, boo. You know I’ll set up a call with you and Jenifer once I’m ready.”

“Period.”

We all talked for a while about trivial things. It was nice to catch up with the Kents since I rarely saw them these days. They hadn’t come by the big house for Sunday dinner in a while. Once they were gone, it was just me and Marquise.

“Can you help me get this blood off my body?” he asked in a soft tone.

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