Page 5 of Lennox Lane

What nobody understood was Lane had never fantasized about exotic dancing; it was merely a means of survival in a world where she knew how much grown men coveted her body. For as long as she could remember, men felt entitled to her; this included her mother’s boyfriends who had looked too long and strangers who had commented too freely. Men chased her near and far, convinced that persistence would eventually wear her down—it never did.

Lane decided early that if she ever gave her heart or her body to someone, it would happen on her terms and in her own time. Not because she was pressured or desperate.

By day she was an honor student, by night she danced before returning to her motel room to finish her homework and sleep for a few hours. It was a rinse-and-repeat cycle that nobody knew about—not her teachers or her classmates. She carried the secret alone and would continue to do so until she graduated high school and left Stonebridge.

The most painful part wasn’t what she was doing. It was what never happened—Jeanette never caring enough to find her or even report her missing. Lane had to accept that her mother hadn’t lost her; her mother had let her go.

Lane applied to every school she could think of and got into every one. The acceptance letters arrived one after another to the motel front desk. The small joy she had was knowing that her mother had been wrong and she was better than her circumstances. Every letter was proof that survival wasn’t the end of her story.

When the scholarship offer from North Carolina A&T arrived, Lane sat alone in her motel room and cried. Not because she was sad—but because she was finally free.

College was the change she knew she needed because Lane was able to breathe and she wasn’t constantly waiting for something terrible to happen. Nobody was around to abuse her verbally or physically. She wasn’t lambasted for merely existing in her skin, and as the years went by, she slowly bloomed, discovering pieces of herself she’d never had room for before.

She built genuine friendships, developed a love of poetry, where she learned her words could bleed safely onto paper. The frightened girl from Stonebridge slowly transformed into the confident woman she was meant to become. Men pursued her through college and beyond, but Lane remained cautious and protective of herself; most importantly, she was protective of her peace.

Years passed, and the girl who had spent so much of her life fighting to keep ownership of herself eventually became a woman who understood that waiting was not something to be ashamed of. The power she felt knowing the choice belonged entirely to her often made her smile.

After graduation, Lane landed a job with a modeling agency doing talent acquisition. That’s how she met Nova Sinclair and, by proxy, Cadence Samuels. These women would become her sisters and her chosen family—the people who loved her without requiring pieces of her in return.

Lane stepped out on faith years later, launching her own thriving management company. Perseverance took her from a girl who once lived in a motel while doing what she had to do to survive to a woman who built careers for others. Long gone were the days of wondering where her next meal would come from because not only could she feed herself these days, she also owned and operated a food bank that fed the community. The girl nobody came looking for became someone impossible to ignore. Yet some scars never fully disappeared and certain ghosts refused to stay in the closet.

Which was exactly why years later, when her phone lit up with an unfamiliar number and a message that made her blood run cold—Lane realized the past wasn’t done with her just yet. It was finally coming to collect, and she wouldn’t be bullied by it.

CHAPTER ONE

ENCRYPTING LANE

The St. Barts sun had kissed Lane’s honeyed-hued skin in a way that had her glowing. The salinity in the air couldn’t be missed as smoke from the blunt KC rolled and passed around, floating through the villa. Lane stood at the railing watching the water turn from turquoise to ink as her silk caftan slipped off one shoulder while the people she loved most laughed and enjoyed a much-needed vacation. Nova and Tariq were doing their usual flirt-to-fight choreography, and Cadence sat rubbing her barely-there bump while KC poured her sparkling water like it was champagne because she’d lied and told him her stomach was bothering her.

Lane tried to focus on something, anything other than the hyper-awareness of the heat at her back from the way Lennox had been staring at her all afternoon. His eyes told the story that she was the last thing he wanted to see before he slept and the first thing he wanted to touch when he woke up.

"You keep standing out here by yourself, and people gon’ think you don’t like us,” his voice close enough to make the hairs on her neck stand up.

She didn't turn. "Maybe I don't like your arrogant ass."

"Liar,” He said, stepping beside her.

He was close but not touching her. At bare minimum, he understood social cues and was respecting that invisible boundary she'd drawn since they landed.

"You picked this villa. Helped KC plan this whole trip knowing I’d be here. If you didn't like me, you would've stayed your ass at home."

Lane laughed before finally looking at him. The sunset caught the sharpness of his jaw and the glint of the gold chain around his neck. What she didn’t expect was the way his eyes softened when they met hers despite the cocky smirk he wore like armor.

"I like the view, but your company is... debatable," she quipped.

Lennox laughed, and Lane hated that it made her feel giddy inside, but she’d never tell his worrisome ass that. Maybe it was because when he laughed, he showed the gold canines on his top and bottom teeth.

"Cold. I knew you were cold, Lane Sanders, but I might need a North Face fucking with you."

"You don't know anything about me,” she rebutted.

"Let me learn then,” he said smoothly.

It didn’t seem like a question, but more of a dare that Lane wouldn’t back down from.

As the evening began to wind down, Nova and Tariq headed to his villa. They all knew the pair had something going on, but the private couple would never quite confess it. Cadence and KC headed to their master suite as KC fussed about her going to the doctor when they got back to make sure her stomach issues weren’t anything serious. Lane knew she should’ve left when everyone else did but found herself alone with Lennox on the terrace—the night had cooled to something bearable as the ocean crashed against the cliffs below, providing the soundtrack.

"You want another drink?" he asked, already pouring rum into two glasses. He was heavy on the ice, exactly how she'd been drinking them all day.