Page 83 of Sweetest Temptation
“No, um…” My words trailed off. I didn’t want to tell him about Jerome grabbing me at the mall. Not because I was protecting him, but because I knew Samir wasn’t going to take it lightly.
Samir’s eyes narrowed. He knew me too well. “What?”
“It’s nothing,” I said quickly, forcing a laugh. “Probably just a little sore or something. Maybe I slept wrong.”
He tilted his head slightly, studying me the way he did when he knew I was lying. Then, before I could react, his fingers slid gently under my chin, tilting my head to the side.
“The fuck happened to your neck?” His eyes flicked to my neck, his thumb brushing over the spot that still felt a little tender. I tried to move, but he caught me. “Zanova, don’t play with me, man. Did someone put their hands on you?”
My heart started pounding. I didn’t want to lie to him. I exhaled shakily, realizing I couldn’t dodge it anymore. “It was Jerome,” I admitted softly.
Samir’s hand stilled. “Jerome? The fuck he gotta do with this mark on your neck?”
“He showed up at the mall when Nyala and I were walking to my truck. He was trying to talk to me, but I told him there was nothing left to say. When I tried to walk off, he grabbed my arm. I pulled away and almost fell, and that’s when Nyala stepped in. She said something about me being pregnant, and he snapped. He grabbed me by my throat, Samir. It… it wasn’t for long because Nyala tased him,” I said all in one breath.
Samir’s expression didn’t change right away, but I could see the storm building behind his eyes. His jaw flexed once, then twice, before he drew in a slow, sharp breath through his nose.
“Let’s get cleaned up,” he finally said, voice low and too calm.
“Samir—”
Without saying another word, he fixed his clothes and walked out of the conference room, leaving me standing there with my mind racing. I knew this wasn’t going to end well.
The only thing on my mind right now was murder. This nigga Jerome was already on my shit list for fucking over my sister. Then he goes and puts his dirty-ass paws on my woman. Yeah, his bitch ass was about to see me.
“So how are we playin’ this out, bruh?” Ryan asked from the passenger seat, voice low like he was trying not to wake the block.
We sat two cars down on the tree-lined street where the houses sat back from the curb behind trimmed hedges and clean driveways. It was late in the evening, so it was dark out. The only light shining came from the streetlights.
“I want to put the nigga in the dirt, but my niece loves his bitch ass. But this nigga is definitely about to feel me. Feel me?”
“Aw, shit! My boy coming out of retirement. Let’s get it!” Ryan was too hype to wreck some shit.
“Nigga, I may not be in the streets no more, but I’ll lay a nigga out in these streets. The fuck you mean, retirement? I neverleft.” I looked over at Ryan before climbing out of my truck. He followed right along with me, chuckling.
I threw my hoodie over my head, checking my surroundings. The block was semi-dark, and the street was quiet. We made it up the driveway, and when we got up the porch steps to the door, I checked the locks and was surprised this nigga didn’t even have his door locked.
“This nigga got company,” Ryan said, pointing to the woman’s heels and clothes in the middle of the floor when we walked inside the house.
I only saw Jerome’s car in the driveway, so I didn’t expect him to have company. Whoever the bitch was, she must’ve parked on the street.
We hit the stairs, since we heard the loud music coming from that direction. I guess this nigga was in here making love to his bitch from the way he was playing some R&B shit. We hit the room the music was coming from, and sure enough, he was in here fucking. Jerome was butt naked, lying on the bed, while a bitch rode him like her life depended on it.
Without speaking a word, I pulled my gun from my waist. I aimed it at the Bluetooth speaker on the nightstand and fired a single shot. The speaker exploded into a shower of plastic and sparks. The music cut off mid-lyric and silence filled the air. The bitch screamed instantly, high and sharp. She lost her balance and tumbled off the bed before looking at us like she’d seen a ghost.
Jerome bolted upright, hands flying, eyes wide in complete panic. “What the fuck, man! What the hell is y’all doing in my house?!” he yelled, sounding like a bitch.
“I think you know the answer to that. Get the fuck up!” I grabbed Jerome by the back of his neck and tossed him to the floor. I smacked him across the face with my gun, causing blood to leak from his mouth and nose.
“Ahhh!” Jerome screamed. “I’m sorry. I was just pissed that she was pregnant! That was supposed to be my baby!” Jerome spat the words out fast, venom slithering off every syllable. He was trying to stand tall, but the tremor in his voice gave him away.
“Man, shut the fuck up! You sound stupid. You fumbled a good woman, and now you mad that she moved on?”
“Fuck you! Zanova was my bitch first! That pussy forever mine!” Jerome shouted angrily.
I reached down and grabbed his jaws tightly. I shoved my gun into his mouth, ready to pull the trigger.
He froze like a puppet with its’ strings cut—his eyes bugged out, body shaking like a hoe in church, and stuttering as the gun blocked whatever bullshit her was trying to say. “Nah, my nigga… Zanova was just yours for a season. She’s about to be mine for a lifetime.” Quickly, I pulled the gun from his mouth and brought it down on his face again for calling my woman out of her name.
