Page 25 of Trading In A Broken Heart

I’d been living underground ever since the Saint-Merciers killed my daddy. It was all I knew at this point. Shit was comforting. Every so often, I’d leave and head to the lake house when I needed a breath of fresh air or the world got too loud for me. I might take her thoughts into consideration.

The driver I hired for the night opened the back passenger door on the Rolls-Royce for us. “Just to let you know, I don’t want to go,” Solei said as she slipped into the seat. Shit was already obvious with how long it took her ass to get ready.

“Just be a good girl tonight,” I told her when I got in alongside her.

“And if I don’t?” A devious grin crept onto her face.

My jaw muscle tensed, but I didn’t respond to her ass.

We arrived at the gala. There were so many cars parked. People were walking the red carpet and taking pictures. Solei opened the door on the car before the driver even got out. She climbed out and shut the door in my face. Shaking my head, I got out behind her. She was already on the red carpet, posing for pictures.

I stepped alongside her, and all the whispering died down. She cut her eyes at me. My hand rested at her lower back, and Solei’s body went rigid. This was basically the first time I touched her since Vegas. It took so much restraint to not make her feel uncomfortable around me when all I wanted to do was feel her soft skin.

Leaning my mouth near her ear, I whispered, “Calm down. You’re safe.” Solei’s eyes burned a hole in the side of my face before she disappeared from my side.

I followed her into the gala, and the first stop she made was the bar.

“There you are,” Senator Jackson said when he approached me. I kept my eyes on Solei. She leaned against the bar and said something to the bartender. I noticed how the men watched her. None of them approached just yet.

“Everyone should already be in place,” I told him, bringing my attention back to him, since I knew Solei was safe for the moment.

“That’s not what I was coming over here for. I wanted you to meet my niece.” Senator Jackson beckoned, and this woman maneuvered through the crowd in our direction. She was dark chocolate. Her bone-straight hair flowed behind her as she strutted over. I didn’t know why this man wanted me to meet his niece. Whenever I did jobs for people, they’d always try to hook me up with people they knew. I didn’t know what was up with that shit.

“Jerrica, I want you to meet Savion. He’s the one responsible for our protection tonight,” Senator Jackson said when the woman stopped at his side. “Savion, this is my niece, Jerrica.”

She extended her hand in my direction, and I shook it to be polite. “Nice to meet you,” Jerrica said with a warm smile.

Solei’s eyes could be felt burning a hole in me. I made certain to keep distance between Jerrica and me so she wouldn’t get any ideas.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Senator Jackson said, and he snuck off.

Jerrica tucked her hair behind her ear. “I think someone is calling me,” I said as I turned to get the hell away from her. She caught me by the wrist before I could get far, and I snatched away from her. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch me.”

I couldn’t stand whenever people put their hands on me without permission. She was lucky I didn’t toss her ass across the room.

“You must not be single?”

“I’m married,” was the only response she got from me.

“She’s a lucky woman.”

“I know.”

I ended the conversation right there and walked off. When I looked over, Solei was no longer at the bar; she was out in the center of the dance floor, swaying her hips to the song that was being played on the piano. It wasn’t even a song that she should’ve been dancing to.

Everyone in the room was watching her. My woman. She had the men mesmerized. They were lusting after her, and it was only a matter of time before they approached her.

“You’re falling for the mark.” I didn’t even need to look down at my mama standing next to me. I smelled her before she even approached. My eyes stayed fixated on Solei. She took a sip from her drink. “You’ve done a lot of crazy things in your day, but this one here . . . this isn’t gonna end well.”

I stepped away from her and went over and grabbed Solei’s hand. I pulled her off the dance floor and pushed her down by the shoulder into a chair at our table.

“What are you doing? I was having fun,” she said, placing the straw to her lips. I wasn’t sure how much she’d had to drink, but water should’ve been on the menu for her for the rest of the night.

“Too much fun. This ain’t the club,” I made known as I took the seat next to her. Ma sat on the opposite side of me. Everyone else at our table found their seats. This guy sat alongside Solei. He bumped her arm, and a bit of her drink spilled over.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologized and handed her a napkin.

“It’s fine,” she told him and dabbed the tiny speck on her dress. Shit was barely noticeable.