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“And this is a loan, Xavier.”

“I know.”

“I want my shit back.”

“You gon’ get it.”

“When?”

He hesitated.

I narrowed my eyes.

“See, that’s the shit I’m talking about.”

He laughed and pulled me toward him anyway.

“I got you, Ave.”

“You better.”

He kissed the side of my face.

I let him.

But even with his arms around me, my mind went right back to the question he’d managed to dodge.

Heather.

Because Xay could borrow my money.

He could fuck me stupid in some cheap-ass motel.

He could kiss on me and call himself my baby daddy when nobody else was around.

But that didn’t mean I believed his ass.

LEVIN

By Thursday evening, I was back at my house in Alpine sitting in my basement with Tyler.

My house was big as shit.

Six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three-car garage, gated driveway, cameras covering damn near every angle of the property and enough backyard that I couldn’t see my neighbors unless I went looking for them.

I didn’t need six fucking bedrooms.

Most of them stayed empty.

My son Henry came and stayed with me sometimes, so one belonged to him. Clothes in the closet. Sneakers. Game system. Pictures. Everything he needed so when he came here, it felt like his room and not some guest shit I threw him in.

Henry lived all the way in Connecticut with his mother.

He was an oops baby.

Simple as that.

Me and his mother had never been some great love story. We fucked around, she got pregnant, and I became somebody’s father.