Page 18 of Obsessive Love

“I am,” I said, nodding. “Which should tell you that I know what the fuck I’m doing.” I pointed to her food. “Now come on, eat so I can get ready for bed. I have to be at the arena early in the morning.”

“Why?” She didn’t move from her spot. “You could just come up the stairs and move me out of the way.”

“Or you could just come down here and eat,” I suggested with a shrug. “Answer a few questions for me.”

“What kind of questions?” Her eyes narrowed, and it took everything in me not to smile. “Like, who to send my body to once you kill me?” she crossed her arms. “The only person who would care is Yamari.”

I sat forward, resting my elbows on my legs, and shook my head. “I don’t understand why you keep thinking I’m going to kill you.”

“Ugh, cuz you already kidnapped me,” she replied in a tone that sounded like she was questioning my intelligence. “Let's be honest, I doubt I’ll ever go home.”

“You never know,” I shrugged. “You might want to go visit Yamari or something later on.”

“If you touch my friend, I’ll kill you,” she threatened. “Leave her out of this.”

“Yamari is already involved; you saw the feed from your bakery; she’s covering for you right now since you’re here helping me.”

“Helping you?” she asked me, and I nodded. “Yamari would never believe that.”

“Never say never,” I laughed. “Now, come on down here and eat.”

“No,” she denied. “Tell me what you told my friend to make her believe I’m here helping you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, shaking my head. “Come eat.”

Fable and I stared at each other before she finally nodded and descended the stairs. She grabbed her plate from the table and sat across from me. “If you poisoned this, I’m going to come back from the dead and haunt you for the rest of your life.”

“Yamari is friends with an associate of mine,” I said as I watched her eat. “We spoke over the phone, and after she cussed me out, threatened to go to the news and police, and even comekill me herself if something happened to you, she finally calmed down.”

“Who’s the friend?” she asked between bites of her food.

“Purpose Blackmon,” I answered.

“Of damn course, you’re friends with the fucking FBI, too,” she sighed. “I’m never getting out of here.”

“You will,” I laughed.

I only discovered that Yamari and Purpose were friends once I had the Strongs dig into her background. Once I had the information, I called and explained what was happening to Purpose. She knew Yamari would cause some issues, so she helped me. Yamari was giving me time to handle the situation with Javien Sr., but I had to meet her in the middle regarding her friend's safety.

“I doubt it,” she replied.

“You want to call Yamari and check in?” I asked, and she side-eyed me. “Look, I’m not that bad of a nigga. Let your friend vouch for me, and once you see that this shit ain’t that bad, you can relax.”

“Call Yamari,” she demanded, and I nodded. I picked my phone up and pulled up her friend's contact information. “On FaceTime.” I swiped the screen, waiting for it to connect, then turned it so she could see.

“Yamari!” Fable yelled when the call connected. “You let this nigga kidnap me and didn’t call the police?”

“And say what exactly?” Yamari questioned her with a laugh. “He’s Pyrite Stone; his connections are limitless, and I know for a fact that the second I dial the number and snitch, there would be nowhere for me to hide.”

“She’s right,” I agreed with a laugh. Fable cut her eyes at me, and I smiled.

“Shut the fuck up, Pyrite,” Fable scolded me, then turned her attention back to Yamari. “I am kidnapped-”

“Call it an unplanned vacation,” Yamari interrupted. “More than likely, you’re sitting in a fucking mansion.”

“I’m locked in a basement.”

“In a mansion,” I informed her, and she flipped me off. “Eventually.”

---