Page 163 of The Sweetest Devotion

His was one face I’d never forget. Even as a kid he held nothing behind his eyes, reminding me of the first time I’d ever seenHalloweenwith Michael Myers. Now, as an adult, not much had changed.

Kinda like Beans, I didn’t know too much about Dice since he’d been younger. Though, I should’ve known Dice wasn’t far, because if there was one thing I could remember vividly from my youth, was the time he’d slashed some kid’s face open for making fun of Beans.

They both stayed in the neighborhood at a house that was a home for foster kids. Beans hadn’t been a tough guy. Being “soft” made him an easy target in the street, until Dice stepped in to his defense. After that, they were never far from each other. Until Dice was relocated with another foster family.

Dice stared at me as I looked between him and Beans curiously. We’d never been friends, but rather stayed out of each other’s way.

Something about the way his car was parked told me it was intentional. Something about the way both men were looking at me caused me to go on alert.

Dice heaved a sigh as he glanced back at Beans. “I hate surprises.”

Surprises?

I opened my mouth to question what was going on, but no words ever made it out as all went black around me.

33

My phone was ringing again.Like I had the first time Cain had called me, I ignored it. I was partly embarrassed after the way we’d left things, but mostly just over it all.

I was done.

As I brought the last of my things out to my Lexus, I took one final glance at the place I’d called home since I was twenty. For so long, I’d loved living in my penthouse. It made me feel like a real princess, having my needs met and my own privacy away from my parents.

But it was time to say goodbye.

It wasn’t about Keith. I wanted to be with him, I did, but for the first time I had to see the whole picture. Was my inheritance worth my freedom, even if only for three years? Was it worth the disregard for my personal feelings? The blatant disrespect? Was it worth my right as a human being? As a daughter?

What good was having everything you could ever ask for if you couldn’t have what you wanted? If life was lived within the confines of a gilded cage?

I loved that Keith challenged me as much as Jadyn, but even if things didn’t work out, I knew I was making the move for me. That I wouldn’t go back for a second.

So, I cried like a baby as I made the hardest decision I ever had to make in my adult life: to walk away from my family.

It wasn’t quite leaving withjustthe clothes on my back, but after stowing a few bags of my belongings into my Lexus, I climbed in behind the wheel, set to leave for good.

This was real. I was really doing this. I’d never committed to anything wholly in my life. I dropped out of my sorority before leaving college altogether. I ran from Gaius when he wanted to be more. I felt overwhelmed and nauseous at the thought of moving out and into my own space. It was all too easy to fall back and just accept what was happening to me.

But no more.

It was time to be a big girl and choose me.

“I’m doing this for me,” I said to myself as I caught my reflection in my rearview mirror.

If my father wanted a casino more than he wanted my happiness, he would have to find another way to broker this deal. I was leaving, and thankfully, I had Jadyn to cling to. She’d been all too ready to take me in. What would happen next, I wasn’t sure, but this step was the most important. The first major move I’d ever made in my life.

My cell phone rang again and I only answered it to properly tell Cain he could now go fuck himself.

“What?” I snapped into my phone.

His musical chuckle greeted my ear. “It’s a very good thing you picked up this time,Kennedy.”

I was so fucking done with this shit. “Look, Cain, this?—”

“I’m having car trouble,” Cain cut in casually. “I need you to pick me up.”

I rolled my eyes. “Send one of your henchmen to do it.”

“Nah, I wantyoufor this. Hold on a minute, I’ll send you the address.”

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