Page 91 of Imperial: The Corvidae Family
“Fine. Order food. I need to eat.”
“Got it. Wings?”
“That works. See you in a few.”
She ended the call before I could say anything else.
I smiled, as I stood from the kitchen stool. I sent Emir her address and when he shared the link of the ride with me, I texted Rachelle to let her know to get ready. I couldn’t have my man right now but my bestie was on her way.
For the firstten minutes after I let Rachelle into Emir’s house, she moved around like a woman on a mission. First the living room before she checked out the kitchen, and lastly the theater.
We ended up lounging in the theater, sinking into custom leather chairs, a spread of wings between us. The space was damn near luxurious with a massive screen taking up an entire wall and dim ambient lighting giving it the feel of a real theater.
I picked at my food while she assessed the space, flipping through channels until she settled on reality TV nonsense to act as background noise.
Rachelle finally grabbed her first wing, pulling the meat from the bone before looking at me with curiosity.
“Girl, what does this man do? Because he is rich, rich.”
I tensed and my eyes swung to hers. She caught that immediately. One perfectly arched brow lifted as she smiled.
“Enough said,” she teased, licking sauce from her fingers. “He’s a criminal.”
I considered how much to tell her.
Rachelle was my girl, and I trusted her with my life, but this wasn’t just about me. This was about Emir…
His world, livelihood, and freedom. Keeping her in the dark might be a problem considering she was attached to me, and if something ever happened…
Besides, Emir had let her come here. That meant something.
“Criminal, yes,” I admitted. “But not the kind you’re thinking.”
She wiped her hands with a napkin, tilting her head. “So he’s not slinging bricks and making it snow?”
I barked a laugh. “No. Definitely not.” Then, I frowned, because… I really didn’t know that for sure. “Or at least… I don’t think he is.”
She grinned. “Boo, he’s definitely slinging something, and not just the dick he’s providing you.”
I groaned. “Can you not?”
“Oh, friend, I have to.” She waved a hand in the air. “He’s definitely laying it down, but my point is… these houses out here?” She gestured broadly. “Three-point-five plus.”
I frowned. “How do you know that?”
“I googled it as soon as I pulled up.”
I shook my head, grinning, not at all surprised.
“Well, shit. It’s deep, isn’t it? Spill, friend.”
I hesitated for half a second, then set my wing down. “You have to give me your word that this stays between us. You cannot tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. And I mean no one. And we only ever talk about this in person.”
Her brow lifted. “Girl, that sounds like speak and die.”
“Because it sort of is.”
Her expression faltered. “Umm…” She frowned hard. “Baylyn.”
