Page 29 of The Devoted Husband

Sade’s Audio Journal

“My life is a mess like an unmade bed. I hope Imani’s being sincere, but she’s in my head. She’s being all nice, and she apologized...and cried. What am I supposed to do with that? Do I trust it? Is it a part of a plot or scheme? And then there’s Dante and Atlas. God knows I’ve always loved Dante. The months we spent together were the best months of my life. I can’t describe how it felt to finally be his...even if it was temporary.

“Even if it was fake. It doesn’t matter how much I tell myself I deserve better than a man who didn’t choose me. I can’t deny how much I love him. How much I’ve missed him. And then there’s Atlas. He’s been a little off his rocker lately, but he choseme. He’s been so considerate and thoughtful about me. Or at least he was. I don’t think I trust him entirely either, and I certainly can’t trust him and Dante to be around each other.

“Is it even possible for me to have something with Atlas one day since I will be having Dante’s child? Should I just cut Atlas off now before it gets too hard? Am I only attached to him because of how much he likes me? Because of the toxicity? I don’t know, but I need to figure this out soon.”

Dante

Rubbing his hands together as his leg shook, Dante tried to direct his energy to one place. Ever since he found Sade and Atlas together, his emotions had been all over the place. The most frequent emotion had been anger...then confusion and hurt. He’d been replaying the situation, the conversation, over and over again. A part of him hoped he’d missed something, but that wasn’t the case.

He got a call from Sade.

He agreed to fly out two days later.

They were supposed to meet the next day.

But instead, she sent a text with a time and place to meet after his flight.

He showed up and heard her telling the man confessing his love for her that she appreciated what he did to Dante for her.

So, truth—Sade had some kind of sexual or romantic relationship with Atlas. Truth, Atlas was the man who tried to kill him. Truth, Sade, his best friend, asked him to do that.

Whenever he thought about it, Dante wanted to go after Atlas again. He’d have the chance. That, Dante was sure of. His phone began to ring, and that was the third time he’d received a call from an unknown number.

He finally answered with, “What?” before taking a swig of his beer. That was all he’d been doing since he’d been back in Memphis—drinking...and thinking.

“Dante Williams?”

The voice was familiar, yet Dante couldn’t place who it was. “Who is this?”

“This is Detective Jones from the Vanzette Police Department. Is now a good time to talk?”

Dante chuckled. “It’s never a good time to talk to you, but what do you want?”

“This is something I’d prefer to talk to you about in person.”

The last time he heard that, it was from Sade. And what she had to say, Dante didn’t want to hear at all.

“I’m no longer in Vanzette, Jones.”

“I know. You’re in Memphis.”

Dante’s leg stopped shaking. He stood. “You’re following me?”

“No, I’m following Sade and saw you approach her.”

“Does she know you’re following her?”

“No, and it’s best if it remains that way.”

Shaking his head, Dante massaged his temples. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I want no parts of it.”

“I just want to have a conversation. I’m not going to lie; I’m still going after Sade, and because I’m convinced you’re the reason she committed several murders, this concerns you too.”

With a sigh, Dante nodded his agreement. “Fine. Where do you want to meet?”

Even meeting with Jones felt like some kind of betrayal against Sade. But seeing as she was why he’d almost lost his life, Dante stuffed those feelings of loyalty inside to meet with Jones. As he stepped inside the coffee shop, his eyes scanned the room. He found Jones seated at a high-top round table in the back of the room. There was already a mug of something in front of the seat Dante would occupy, so he didn’t bother heading toward the front counter.

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