Page 200 of Kentrell

I turned slowly in place… my heart racing… my thoughts catching up too fast.

That trip to Minnesota flashed across my mind.

How fast he’d made it happen.

How smooth.

Like money was never a question.

Like privacy was always guaranteed.

Now this house?

Thisestatetucked away on the outskirts of Chicago?

It wasn’t just a home.

It was a fortress.

A lifestyle.

One you didn’t build off flipping duplexes and passive income.

One you either inherited…

Or earned the hard way.

My throat tightened as I glanced over at him.

“Kentrell…” I breathed, voice catching.

“What is this?”

He paused… looking at me fully for the first time since we pulled in.

Eyes steady.

Gaze unreadable.

But voice low… anchored… and certain.

“My peace,” he said.

And somehow…

I believed him.

Even if I didn’t fully understand it…

Yet.

He closed the door behind us, locking it with a soft, deliberateclick.

And somehow… that tiny sound echoed louder than it should’ve.

Like it wasn’t just a door locking.

It was a line being drawn.

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