Page 70 of The Devoted Husband

“Who?” Dante tilted her face with her chin.

“Trina’s sister. She came at me with a bat. I warned them if they came in that I would shoot. She didn’t believe me.”

“Mr. Williams?” Dante turned at the sound of his name being called. “I’m Detective Tate.”

With one arm still wrapped around Sade, Dante shook his hand.

“We’re advising the two of you to vacate the property. I’ll have Officer Murphy escort you wherever you want to go to ensure no one follows you. That post has gone viral, and people have been riding by nonstop since we arrived. Do you know where you can go until this dies down?”

Dante looked at Sade, and he could tell by her distant stare that she was starting to disassociate.

“Yeah, uh, I’m going to take her to our beach house in San Diego.”

“Okay, good. Just as a precaution, the bedroom is an active crime scene. I’m sure you’ll need to pack some things, but be mindful of what you’ll see. Murphy will lead you back inside when you’re ready.”

Dante nodded, cupping Sade’s cheek. His touch caused her to breathe again as she looked into his eyes.

“I’m going to pack us a couple of bags before we head to the airport.”

“I had already started,” she told him, her eyes shifting again.

“Hey,” he called softly. She blinked her eyes but remained distant. “Smiley.” Dante lowered his hand to her stomach, rubbing it until she looked at him.

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay? Seriously.”

She nodded her head as she gritted her teeth. “I’m just tired, Dante.”

As much as he wanted to hold her, Dante gave her a quick kiss and headed inside with Murphy. The sooner he got their bags packed, the sooner they could leave. And at that point, Dante was sure getting as far away from the house as possible was the only thing that would help Sade.

Two Days Later

The light had begun to return to Sade’s eyes. Like Dante knew it would be, the beach house was her favorite of the three homes he’d purchased for them. She sat out on the beach all yesterday—coming inside only to use the bathroom. She ate out there, talked to herself and God, and stayed well after the sun had gone down.

The next morning, they started their day walking a couple of miles along the beach after breakfast. Now, they were at thefarmers’ market, where Sade got her fill of fruit, flowers, and dainty jewelry.

Her thumb stroked his hand as she sipped her tea. “This is perfect, Tay. The beach, this market, the normality of no one knowing us here. This is exactly what I needed.”

“We can stay for as long as you want to, baby.”

“Maybe until my next appointment. That’s the only thing I care about.”

“That works. I can do a grocery order and have it delivered to make sure we’ll have everything we need.” She gave him that beautiful smile he’d fallen in love with when they were kids. “There’s that smile. I missed that.”

Sade licked her lips and laughed softly. “You know I’m always smiling and happy when I’m with you.”

“Nah, shit’s been rough, Sade. I can’t romanticize the fact that us being together has been...” He shook his head. “A magnet for drama. Sometimes, I wonder if Grandma Ava was right. And I know I’ve said that to you before, but I feel like I’m failing you. I feel like I can’t protect you from this. I’m sorry, Smiley.”

Sade sucked her teeth before smiling and wrapping her arms around him. “If anyone should apologize, it’s me. I’m the one who lied when you had amnesia. I did what I did to them. This is the snowball effect of my actions. So, if this is your way of preparing to say I’m better off without you, save it. There’s no doubt your life would be a hell of a lot more peaceful if I hadn’t...You know. So, if you want to end things to return to a normal state, I’ll accept that, but I love you, and I don’t blame you for any of this. If it’s up to me, you’re not getting rid of me.”

Pulling her closer, Dante lowered his lips to hers. As long as she was willing, he’d put forth the effort. But if at any point it seemed she would be better off without being attached to him, Dante would end things...no matter how hard that would be.

A Few Days Later

“Where is my sister?” Imani asked.

Dante crossed his arms over his chest, wondering if he wanted to bring Sade the phone. They had spent the afternoon in Balboa Park, and she was so inspired they went to CVS and grabbed several sketchbooks for her to fill. Now, she was on the beach drawing until it was time for them to leave for the dinner cruise.

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