Page 82

He stepped in front of me and forced me to look up at him. “I genuinely liked you, you know. I was trying to build something with you, so I let shit rock for a minute because I thought I was trippin’.”

He pressed his tongue into his cheek. “Then you show up at the gala with Cardez fucking Montague. Looking at him with stars in your eyes.”

“Gideon—”

“Is that what you do, La’Belle? Fuck men, take what you want, then dip before they figure it out?” He tilted his head. “Is that what you’re doing to Cardez?”

My blood went cold. The truth was more complicated than anything I could say right now, and whatever came out my mouth was going to be used against me.

He pulled out the phone and turned the screen toward me. It was pictures of his bank statements with the wire transfers from the ghost corp I’d set up with Jody. “It was smart, making it sound like a legitimate hedge fund. But Blackwater Associates doesn’t exist.”

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have a quick response. No witty reply. I just stared at him like a deer in headlights bracing for impact.

“So what? You want your money back? Fine,” I said, trying my best to sound unbothered.

Gideon laughed. “Seven hundred thousand dollars. What you took, interest, plus the aggravation of having this conversation.”

I blinked at him. This nigga wanted to punish me for choosing somebody else.

“Are you insane?”

He reached out and ran his thumb along the side of my face. I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to slap his hand away. “Do you know what kind of man Cardez Montague is? What his family does?” His breath was close enough to feel on my skin. “He's dangerous, La’Belle. I don’t think he’d take too kindly to finding out his bitch has been stealing from him.”

Nausea gripped me at the thought of him going to Cardez. All it would take was one conversation for Cardez to go through his accounts and find the hundred and fifty I’d stolen. I didn’t know what scared me more—what he’d do to me, or the way he’d look at me after he found out.

“I need time.” I swallowed. “A few weeks.”

“Two weeks,” he said.

“Two weeks,” I repeated.

He held my gaze for one more second before dropping his hand and stepping back. “Don’t make me come find you, La’Belle.”

He turned and walked back toward the avenue.

I stayed where I was until he turned the corner, then let out a shaky breath. I trembled as I adjusted the bag on my shoulder.

I walked back to my building on autopilot. I didn’t even remember walking into the bathroom, but I made sure to turn the shower on as hot as it would go and sat on the toilet while steam filled the room.

Two weeks to figure this shit out. I’d have to liquidate most of my assets, including the nest egg that had taken me over a decade to build. And for what? Nothing was stopping Gideon from coming back and asking for more while holding Cardez over my head.

And if I told Cardez, I’d have to come clean about everything. Dez might’ve made his money illegally, but he’d never stay with me knowing I was a thief.

1 Listen to Sweet Tea by Snoh Aalegra

20 CARDEZ MONTAGUE

Something was going on with Belle.

I decided to pop up on her at Luxe and Siani told me she’d called out. That wasn’t like Belle at all. She liked her routine too much. Work, Pilates, hanging out with her girls, and now me. Those were the constants in her life. Calling out meant she was sick or something had knocked her off balance.

If something was wrong, I figured she would’ve told me. That’s what you do when you’re in a relationship. You open your mouth and say what’s bothering you so the other person can help you carry it.

The women I’d dealt with before never had a problem with speaking up. If they were sick, I’d send a courier to their crib with whatever they needed. If they had an issue, I’d listen and figure out a solution. I wasn’t the most emotionally available nigga in the world, but I showed up when it counted. That was the bare minimum, and I held myself to that standard.

Belle’s hardheaded ass was different though. She’d told me I could talk to her about anything and I believed her, but she held herself to a whole other standard. I didn’t need every single detail of her life. It just bothered me that she’d rather sit with her problems than let me help.

I couldn't fully fault her. I had my own shit. Solomon was still out there and the marriage conversation was lingering in the back of my mind like a dull ache I couldn’t shake. She opened the door in a cropped tee and leggings with her bonnet on, looking at me like I was the last person she expected.