Marz disconnected the call then tossed my phone onto the couch. He used my hands to sit me down on it.
“Everyone is okay, but there was a shootout at the academy.” Gasping, I clutched my chest and sat up in my seat. “I was the target, and as you just heard, it was Iman. He thought he could scare me into agreeing to his terms, but all he really did was piss me off enough to decline altogether. Now it’s war.”
My shoulders slouched as I grimaced. “This is what I didn’t want to happen.”
“I know, but we move. And I really don’t mind.” His cocky smile and wink made me smile, regardless of how I felt internally. “I live for this kind of shit. Maybe that’s toxic and something I’ll age out of like my pops did, but for right now, I’m on that. If we’re going to work, I need to know that you accept me and that you can handle it. If I ever feel like being with me is bad for your mental health and emotional wellbeing, I’m going to leave you, no matter how much I want to be with you. I’m unwilling to cause you pain.”
“I know that, babe,” I whispered with a sigh. Looking toward the ceiling, I waited until my eyes were dry to look into his.Marz took my hands into his and kissed both before resting them in his lap. “I do accept you, and I do plan to love you unconditionally. That means there will be no condition that will stop my love for you. However, that won’t mean I’m going to tolerate things that will change me liking and respecting you, or my emotional wellbeing.” Cupping his cheek, I smiled softly. “Good thing is, I believe I can trust you to protect my heart and mind just like I can trust you to protect my body.”
I watched as his body depuffed in relief. He kissed my hand again before kissing my lips.
“Of course you can, Wifey.”
Twisting my mouth to the side, my attempt to not cry was unsuccessful. “I’ve never respected and trusted a man the way I respect and trust you. I’ve never felt safe with a man the way I feel safe with you.” The more I talked, the more I realized it wasn’t just this situation that was bothering me. It was my conversation with Ariel too. She’d vowed to spend forever with her husband and now her forever was through. Now she had to navigate life without the man she’d promised to spend the rest of her life with. “I couldn’t take it if you hurt me, Marz. And don’t cheat on me or switch up on me either. If this is no longer what you want, I want you to keep that same energy and leave me then too. Don’t change my perception of you.”
Confusion riddled his handsome face before he smiled softly. Cupping the back of my neck, he pulled me close and kissed my lips softly.
“You talked to my sister?”
Laughing quietly, I nodded. “We were on the phone when you came in. I think everything just blurred together and?—”
Marz pulled me onto his lap and kissed my neck, cheek, and lips. As his hand squeezed my hip and then my ass, he chuckled. “I’m telling you we’re about to go to war and you’re worried about me cheating on you?”
“It sounds silly when you say it like that,” I muttered, making him smile.
“I got too much fear and respect for God and my pops to ever cheat or intentionally hurt you. That type of flawed shit ain’t even in my character. Even if it was, I value you too much to do anything that would make me lose you. I’m not just falling in love with you, bae. I actually like you and enjoy being with you.
“You’re my friend. I mean it when I say I want this forever, and regardless of what happened between Ariel and Raheem, our forever is going to last. Just as long as we’re always on the same page with each other, nothing or no one is going to tear us apart.”
Resting my forehead against his, I hummed. “I really needed to hear you say that. And I’m okay with you doing whatever you have to do to get Iman out of our lives. Just make sure you don’t lose yours.”
He kissed my lips before wrapping his arms around me. “That will always be the plan. To be safe, I’ma take you downstairs and introduce you to the rest of my people. I’m gonna give you their information. If anything happens to me, or if you need me and can’t get in touch with me, call any of them. Reach out to my brother, Winston, or Shiloh first, but they all will come as soon as you call. Those are just the ones I talk to daily, so they would nine times out of ten know what was going on with me. I’m not saying this because I believe something is going to happen to me. I just need you to be aware and prepared.”
Nodding, I gritted my teeth and sniffled. He looked my face over for a few seconds, and when Marz was confident that I could handle it, we stood and he led me down to the basement. As nervous as I was, I wouldn’t choose this moment to show it. He already had enough on his plate. I didn’t want him to think he had to babysit me and worry about Iman too. Neptune musthave picked up on my energy because he kept making small talk every time I got too deep in my head, and Lord knows I appreciated him for that. About two hours passed before the men started to head out.
Marz was going to give them a week to find and kill Iman before he and Neptune handled it themselves. At the moment, he already had someone watching Iman’s office, and it had been cleared out. Iman must have prepared for Marz to disagree and want to retaliate, because he’d already packed up his shit and moved to another location. Marz called Jay to confirm, and he let us know that the real estate business was still operating there normally but that Iman had moved to an unknown location.
I was surprised he hadn’t told Jay where it was yet, and I was even more surprised when Jay said he’d tell us where it was when he found out. I should have known he was going to be on some bullshit because he said he’d give the address in exchange for a second chance with me. And at that point, I was more than okay with Marz and his team having to figure it out.
Marz believed Iman was going to be prepared for him and his family to attack, so it was smart for him to use someone else. I prayed someone on his team would be able to handle it so Marz wouldn’t have to, but either way, I’d just be glad when this shit was over.
Chapter
Fifteen
Marz
Today wasthe first time since I was in college that I spent all day inside without working and it wasn’t because I was on vacation. It was strange not being productive. Even when I didn’t work, I left the house daily to dosomething. The only good thing about spending all day at the safehouse was getting to spend that uninterrupted time with Heir. But being here with her gave me firsthand experience on what she’d been going through.
Logically, I knew it was best for me to lay low. I didn’t know how familiar Iman was with my moves and my schedule, and if I went somewhere he was aware of unprepared, that would lead to trouble. So as difficult as it was, I agreed to stay at the safehouse for a week to let my team try to find him and handle him. But after just one day, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it for a whole week. I may not have been the wild child I used to be, but I was ready for some kind of action, even if it had nothing to do with Iman.
I rolled what was probably my third blunt for the day and Heir giggled. We’d given each other space while she worked and I was in the game room. Now that she was finally done, at least her company would entertain me. I was comfortable in my solitude; I just couldn’t stand being in the house all damn day.
“I’ma put a pool, basketball court, and home theater at this safehouse,” I said. “And I’ma get an animal to bring here too. If not a dog, a horse.”
She laughed as she sat next to me. “Who’s going to take care of and entertain the animal while no one is here, babe?”
“It’ll be with me until someone is here and in need of companionship. How have you been surviving here all day while I was gone? I’ma call Karrington and have him bring me some animals from his family’s manor. I’m willing to risk him being followed and leading Iman here at this point. We can shoot it out then get the fuck up outta here.”