Page 55 of The Devoted Husband

Dante stared at the picture Ian sent him. He didn’t recognize the man dressed in all black. Not only did he have a hood tossed over his head, but he also wore a mask and gloves. Dante was impressed by his ability to bypass the alarm system. If Atlas were still alive, Dante would have assumed it was him. But this man—the short stature and slim frame—Dante didn’t recognize him at all.

“This is so frustrating,” Sade seethed, rubbing her belly. “I don’t recognize anything about this man, baby.”

“I don’t either. I’m trying to think if he could be an old client affected by what Imani did. But they were compensated, so no one should have a reason to want revenge.”

“Hmm...What if they lost something that being compensated couldn’t fix?” Dante remained silent, so Sade continued. “They got their money back, but what if someone’s credit being affected had a lasting effect?”

Dante massaged his chin as he sat back in his seat. “That’s a possibility. If they were trying to get a house, car, or business loan and Imani didn’t come through, the application could have been rejected.”

“For some people, that kind of thing makes them spiral.”

“That’s a possibility, but I don’t know. Maybe I’ll review the affidavit that lists the victims’ names. If I can find them online, I can see if anyone has his frame. But I’m not sold on this.”

“While you do that, I can check their files individually and see if anyone was waiting on a large loan or credit repair for something life changing.”

“You sure?”

“Of course. My creativity is a bit low with everything going on, so it’s not like I’m painting or working on a new coloring book.”

“I’m sorry about this, Sade. I feel like it’s one thing after another. Maybe your grandma was right. Are we crazy thinking we’ll be able to live a normal life?”

Straddling his lap, Sade affirmed him with, “I don’t mind being crazy in love with you.”

His hands lowered to her ass, and he squeezed it. “And I don’t mind being crazy in love with you, either.”

Sade

“Nervous” wasn’t the best word to describe how Sade felt. Though she was unsure how her sister would respond to the sight of her belly, Sade wanted to visit her anyway. That morning, she took the twins out for breakfast before they had to go to school, and she was grateful for the time spent with them. Just a little while ago, she believed they’d be ripped from her life again because her grandparents wanted her to stay away.

Learning that her parents had been murdered instead of it being an accident had completely devastated Sade. It made so many things make sense. In her youth, she wondered why her parents seemed to favor or spoil Imani more. Saying it was because she was the baby of the family didn’t make sense. And when things got even more toxic between her and Imani over the years, her grandparents were cautious yet adamant about Sade being the one to be the bigger person and cut Dante off.

Knowing that her mother and father were in a similar situation made it feel like missing pieces of a puzzle had been returned. While Sade was confident things wouldn’t have turned murderous between her and her sister, she could admit how rage could turn deadly by accident—and there had been a lot of times Imani’s actions filled her with rage.

Like Sade, Tonya had to watch the man she loved want to be with someone else. Someone close to her. Someone like a sister.

Had Sade been a trigger for her grandparents for all those years? And if so, why didn’t they just tell the truth? Sure, they said the reason was because they didn’t want their granddaughters’ perspective of their parents to change, but that sounded more like an excuse than the truth. If she had known that her parents were targeted because of their love and herfather’s affair, it would have completely changed the way Sade handled the situation with Dante and Imani.

It seemed silly to wonder if she and her sister could have had a healthier relationship with that knowledge, but Sade had decided to tell Imani even though her grandparents didn’t want her to.

With her hands crossed on top of the table, Sade twiddled her thumbs and nibbled her bottom lip. At the sight of Imani, she smiled. Her sister walked with an air of confidence, even in prison. Sade stood, and Imani’s eyes immediately lowered to her stomach. Chuckling, she shook her head as they both sat down.

“Is that Atlas’s baby?”

Sade shook her head. “No. It’s Dante’s.”

Imani’s head tilted, and her jaws clenched. She released a slow, long breath. “I guess you’re finally happy now. Not only did you get Dante, but you’re also having his baby too.”

Sade shrugged. “Yeah...honestly...I am. I didn’t come to throw my happiness in your face, but I won’t lie about it, either. More than anything, I just wanted you to know.”

“I’m not upset about it. I feel like it’s second nature for me to give you a hard time, but I don’t care. You’re the one who wanted him and...I guess it’s good that you finally got him.”

“So, you’re okay with this?”

Imani chuckled. “If I wasn’t, it wouldn’t change anything. But yeah, it’s cool. I really don’t care.”

“Good.” Sade sat up a little straighter in her seat. “There’s something else you should know. Grandma and Grandpa wanted me to keep it to myself, but I can’t do that.”

“What’s going on?”

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