Page 94 of Rose
“Hopefully youwillsee him with a wife one day,” Ahzii shot back coolly, “just not with me.”
Olivia blinked. “Wait… y’all not toge—”
“We are,” Savior interrupted quickly. “She just playing hard to get. You know I’m patient. I don’t mind moving on her time.”
Olivia shook her head, chuckling. “But girl, you’re not staying for breakfast? You were about to zoom out of here like a getaway driver.”
“Actually, no, I have to—”
The tight grip on her ass cut her off mid-sentence, and she whipped her head around to glare at Savior.
“Don’t piss me off,” he said calmly, not breaking eye contact. “You staying for breakfast.”
He leaned in to kiss Ahzii’s cheek, but she blocked him with a mush to his forehead.
“Allure, stop fucking playing with me,” he warned, voice low. “You disrespecting my boundary.”
With a heavy sigh, she let him kiss her cheek on the second attempt, lips soft against her skin.
Olivia watched, lips parted, confusion evident in her eyes.
“Well… Ahzii, we should—”
“Olive Oil, don’t piss me off,” Savior cut her off, shooting her a glare.
“That ain’t my fucking name,” Olivia fired back, giving him a quick jab to the shoulder.
“And that ain’therfucking name either,” Savior added with a smirk. “It’s Mrs. Carter, or Allure. Get it right.”
He walked back toward the stove and flipped the bacon like the conversation hadn’t just shifted the temperature of the room.
“Nigga please,” both women said in unison.
Savior only chuckled, the sound deep and unbothered, as if chaos and control were one and the same to him.
“Olivia, I don’t know how you’ve dealt with this man for so many years. Your mental health is in my prayers,” Ahzii muttered, watching Savior from across the kitchen.
Olivia chuckled, eyes warm. “Thanks, girl—you can call me Liv. But I already know I’ll be sending a few up foryoutoo. He ain’t coming off you, no matter what you do or say.”
Ahzii followed Olivia’s gaze. Savior stood at the stove, dancing and rapping along to Lil Wayne, his shoulders moving to the beat like he didn’t have a single care in the world. He was barefoot, shirtless, flipping pancakes like a man with peace in his chest and love in his bones.
“That same man…” Olivia said, shaking her head. “He’s a stone-cold killer. Been like that since we were teens. All he ever gave a damn about was his cars, his dogs, and handling bodies. Twenty-seven years I’ve known him, and I’veneverseen him like this.”
Ahzii exhaled slowly. “That’s exactly why I can’t get emotionally attached to him. I’m not ready for this. Not again. I can’t afford to hurt him… and I will. I’m too heartless to accept what he’s trying to give.”
The music was loud enough to mask their voices, and the stove was far enough that Savior couldn’t hear them. He was still in his own world, cooking like he was building a future.
“I’m a federal detective, so I make a living reading people,” Olivia said gently. “And I can tell the minute I looked into your eyes—you’ve been hurt in the worst kind of way. That’s something Savior understands. He’s always had this… emptiness in him. Quiet, numb. But if he loves you? Helovesyou. And sometimes, yeah, in the most chaotic, destructive ways. But it’s still love. Always has been.”
Ahzii blinked, caught in her own spiraling thoughts. “So… why me?” she asked, her voice smaller now. “What makes me so special that he let me in? Why am I one of the people hefeelsfor?”
Olivia tilted her head, thoughtful. “I can’t say for sure. But if I had to guess? Savior would deny this until his last breath, but he has a thing about saving people. It’s not just his job, it’s who he is. Killing to protect, hurting to heal. His parents must’ve seen it coming, naming himSavior.”
Ahzii’s brows drew in. “So he’s got a savior complex?” she asked flatly, her body tensing.
“Yes,” Olivia admitted, raising a brow at her defensive tone. “But I don’t want you to think that’s what’s happening here.”
“That’s exactly what it sounds like,” Ahzii bit back. “And I’m good on a savior in my life.”
