Page 62 of Widow Mayker

“Oh, for real?”

She cocked her head to the side in confirmation. “Keep yo’ hoes in check!”

“You see where the fuck she’s at,” I barked, then immediately regretted it. “Fuck!” I took a minute to take a few deep breaths, then grabbed Heir’s face to force a kiss on her lips. She glared at me. “I apologize for yellin’ at you, baby. Aight?”

She glanced off, avoiding eye contact, but I could tell she was ready to flee. I couldn’t have that. I leaned closely and kissed her neck, then the area under her ear.

“I’m where I wanna be, My Heir,” I told her. “This where you wanna be?”

She licked her lips but didn’t respond. With quickness, her wall was going back up.

“I give a fuck about you, baby.”

“Did you give a fuck about her?” she quizzed.

I tilted my head to the side and grilled her. “You met the people I give a fuck about and the one you didn’t meet, I put a dozen bullets in ‘em.”

Her eyes searched mine, and she must’ve found the truth she sought. This time when I went in for a kiss, she turned her face up to accept it.

“We in this together, or what?” I asked her.

Hesitantly, she nodded.

“Nah, I’ma need you to answer that with no hesitation. We in this together, right?”

“Yes, Kody,” she answered. We kissed on it, and I turned her in my arms to face the stage. She wrapped herself in me and rested the back of her head against my chest. We stayed that way through a few songs before she joined Maja on one of the sofas. The two enjoyed a drink, Heir’s being a cola, while I stared at Heir. She was every damn thing I desired and even those things I didn’t know I desired.

My thoughts trailed back to my mama. This was what I took from her—the reality of finding the one and knowing there would never be another person to take their place. Just then, Heir locked eyes with me. It was scary how maniacal I would get if it ever came to her.

VONSHAE

I tried everything. Going out with Maja and her people, working out, overworking, meditating…anything to get my mind off Iyana’s death. This shit hit hard, and I blamed myself heavily.

“You okay, baby? You’ve been quiet the last few days.”

I’d been staring off in space and didn’t see Maja standing at my study’s door. She was dressed in my robe and carrying a plate of whatever she’d been cooking the last couple of hours. The aroma wafted from the kitchen to my study, causing my stomach to growl. However, I’d been in my own world, fighting to suppress anger that wanted to do something dumb like take a man’s life.

Maja sat the plate on my desk, then rounded the desk to come stand behind me. She dropped a kiss on my cheek that produced a smile from me. Her hands caressed my shoulders, applying light pressure as she did so. The muscles in my tense shoulders agreed that this was what we needed to relax a little.

“You’re so tight,” she murmured. “You want to talk about it?”

Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes and let her hands work while I explained to her the shit that had been consuming my mind for the last few days.

“You’ve seen the young lady that was found dead in Cypress County?” It was a rhetorical question. Iyana’s murder was all over the news, and the community, her family, and everyone in between were demanding answers as to what happened to her.

“I have,” Maja confirmed. “Iyana was really sweet. She helped me at the credit union once.”

“Right,” I muttered. “She’s worked there for a few years.” Her coworkers were devastated. Iyana’s death touched many people, and I hated that I couldn’t prevent it.

“It’s crazy that investigators don’t have a suspect yet.”

A spot in my shoulder Maja focused on caused me to groan. She pressed the knot and firmly rotated her thumb over it. The fingers on my left hand tingled from the sensation of relief.

“I know exactly who the suspect is,” I divulged. “Jemell Franklin.”

Maja’s magical hands moved to another knot, this one a little more tender than the other. I hissed in ecstasy at the pleasure pain she inflicted on me. It hurt like hell, but it felt too good for me to tell her to stop. My jaw ticked as she worked the knot out.

“How are you so sure her boyfriend is the suspect?”