Page 67 of The Devoted Husband

Back in Memphis

As soon as Sade took her phone off airplane mode, the notifications started to pop up. She stared at the text from an unknown number. Knowing it was from Jones made her want to ignore it, but a part of her was curious about the video attachment.

“All right, Smiley. The bags are inside. I’m about to go for a run. Do you need anything before I leave?”

Forcing a smile, Sade shook her head. “I’m good, Tay. Enjoy your run.”

He gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading out. Sade showered and climbed into bed, where the urge to watch the video consumed her. Finally, she surrendered to her curiosity and opened it. The first thing she saw was her mother’s tombstone, which caused her to sit up in bed.

When Jones came into view, he said, “I wonder how your mom would feel if she had to grieve you like Patrice, Trina, and Willow’s moms are grieving them.” A slow smile lifted the corners of his lips. “Too bad she’s already dead.”

A clipped scream escaped her before she slapped her hand over her opened mouth. Tears flowed from her, but they weren’t sad tears. They wereangrytears.Thatwas the final straw. Now...Sade wanted him dead.

Dante

After the Hearing

Something was wrong. The judge granted them a temporary restraining order until their hearing in fifteen days, and Sade didn’t seem to care. She seemed to be in her own little world as the judge told them Jones would be served as soon as possible. What Dante thought was a win and their getting back in control only seemed to drain her further. He waited until they were in the car to ask, “What’s wrong, Sade? That was a win back there.”

“I don’t think it’s going to matter.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged, looking out of the window. “I don’t think he’s going to stop. He has to die.”

Her statement caught Dante so off guard he didn’t respond immediately. Shifting slightly in his seat, he took her hand in his and used it to pull her attention to him.

“Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

Sade used her free hand to get her phone out of her purse. She handed it to him after pulling up a video. Dante’s calm was replaced with anger as he watched it.

“When did he send this?”

“The day we came back.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, baby?”

“I didn’t want to even think about it. I just...had to shut down to keep from being consumed by anger and sadness. I wanted to go to Jones’s house and put a bullet between his eyes.” She scoffed and wiped a tear that had slipped down her cheek.

“He hasn’t been back home since he broke into our home.”

Finally, Sade looked at him. “How do you know he hasn’t been back?”

Dante hadn’t told her everything he’d done the day Jones violated their home. He also didn’t tell her about his visit to see Imani the next day before returning home. Imani gave him the information about a man who took anyone’s life for the right price. As much as he wanted to kill Jones himself, what Captain Bennit said was true—if anything happened to Jones, Dante and Sade would be the prime suspects. On the off chance the emergency temporary restraining order wasn’t granted, Dante had a backup plan in place to have Jones killed.

“He’s been watching the house,” Dante continued to share, “waiting for Jones to arrive. I was supposed to call him after the hearing today and tell him what to do. He texted me before court and told me that Jones still hadn’t arrived.”

“If he doesn’t go home, how will they serve him? The no-contact clause won’t matter if he doesn’t get the papers. He can still send us texts and emails if he wants to.”

“Well, they are aware that he was a detective in Vanzette. I won’t be surprised if they try to utilize their services. The judge did tell us to work with them directly to receive confirmation from the sheriff that he was served. Hopefully, they will have other contact information for him and will know where he could be hiding. If not, we’ll handle this our own way as soon as he pops back up.”

“I’m just ready for this to be over,” she grumbled, putting on her seat belt.

Dante was too.

A Few Days Later

Dante wasn’t sure what Eric wanted to discuss when he asked him to join him for an early afternoon round of golf, but it certainly wasn’t an invitation to go into business together. Though Dante appreciated the offer and the fact that he and Jessica trusted that he had nothing to do with Imani’s schemes, he didn’t plan on saying yes. It seemed Jessica and Eric were doing well for themselves, and after what happened at Ian’s firm, Dante didn’t want to risk anyone else getting caught up in his mess.

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