Page 96 of Between Passion and Revenge: Part Two
“A domestic situation. How so? Provide details,” he replies, and I stiffen.
“Nigga, I don’t owe you no fuckin’ details.” I smile as I deliver the words, so I don’t start shouting.
“You do when you have me trafficking two minor children across the Atlantic!” he shouts, and I almost laugh. “Princess is losing her goddamn mind. She says you dragged Shae off somewhere and your goons refused to let Princess see her. You owe mesomething. Damn!”
I breathe in and hold it for a second, contemplating the situation. On one hand, I don’t trust King as far as I can throw him. I don’t know him. Hell, my own best friend turned out to be on some weird-ass shit. On the other hand, King knows a lot of people, and I’ve never heard anyone say anything sideways about him.
“All right, I’ll tell you,” I finally say, deciding to trust my gut and give Kingsomeinformation. “Tempest and Raiden are my kids.”
King doesn’t miss a beat.
“Duh, that’s not a secret.”
My eyebrows come together. Damn, so did everyone know about my kids’ paternity but me? What did Shae tell them about my absence? That I’m just a deadbeat?
Anger at her actions swirls in my gut again, and I involuntarily turn my seat to face the bedroom at the aft of the plane.
“Right. Well, it was a secret to me until about two days ago,” I grind out, and King goes silent, then lets out a low whistle.
“Damn. That’s fucked up,” he offers. I nod, even though he can’t see me.
“Listen, King. Like I said, this is a domestic situation. Shae and I have some shit to work out, but trust that there’s nothing bad happening where my kids are concerned.”
The line goes quiet again, and King finally sighs, sounding tired.
“All right, fine. But don’t drag me or Princess into this mess. Got it?” he grinds out, and for some reason, I feel like poking at him.
“Why do you call your sister Princess rather than her preferred name?” I ask, still staring at the closed door.
“Why would I call her anything but her given name?” King asks, sounding genuinely perplexed.
I shrug.
“Whatever.”
I hang up the phone and drop it on the side bar, where it falls to the floor with aclank.
I continue staring at the door. The higher we climb, the more it feels like my emotions settle into a flat nothingness, where on land, I was nothing but pure energy.
Fire.
Shae’s got some answers to give me, and she’s got some sins to atone for.
But now, in the quiet air, I recognize…I’ve got sins to settle, too.
TWENTY-ONE
SHAE
The first thing I register is I’m horizontal, and the surface beneath me is more comfortable than my bed at home.
But then there’s the second thing I realize: It’s dark, and with the way my ears pop, I know I’m in the air.
The unmistakable hum of airplane engines and how my body feels as I lie here tell me I’m on an aircraft.
The critical issue, however, is that I’m not on the plane I’msupposedto be on. I know that much by the lush bedding that’s completely different from the crisp yet expensive sheets on King’s plane.
“Shit,” I hiss, pressing my face into the pillow which holds a familiar scent just like….
