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“I am tired.”

“So go somewhere and rest,” he commanded.

I rolled my eyes. “I can’t just leave town. I’m too busy.”

“With what?”

The challenge in his voice made me frown. “My job, for one.”

“Take some days off.”

“There’s a lot going on. Saadiq has the Hayashi portfolio and a⁠—”

I stopped as he shook his head.

“Nigga got rich without you. I’m sure he can stay rich for a week or two.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Shut up, Topaz. I understand. I understand that you work too much, that your man was cheating, and that your boss just knocked him on his ass to defend you. I understand that same boss looked like he wanted to snatch yo’ ass up, carry you off somewhere. You don’t know what the hell is going on. Seems like a good time to put an ocean between you and them niggas.”

Despite myself, I laughed again. In the soft glow of the lights Kiana had strung around the porch, I saw Demon’s mouth curve slightly.

“You got entirely too much shit going on,” he said eventually.

I flipped him off. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” I admitted.

He mushed my head lightly. “Come to Port Isle, Paz.”

“I’ll think about it,” I lied.

They were sweet to offer, but I wasn’t going all the way to the Atlantic to play third wheel. I could do that right here in the Gulf of Mexico.

“That means you lying.”

“It means I’ll think about it. And I mean what I said about Adam. He’s off limits, Damien Montana.”

Demon’s expression remained perfectly innocent. “Why you defending that nigga so hard?”

“Demon, living well is always the best revenge. Revenge doesn’t have to end in murder,” I coaxed.

He stared into the darkness of Kiana’s yard, an equally dark smile gracing his face.

“I don’t think I’m the one you gotta worry about.”

I sighed. Saadiq Masters was a complication I couldn’t think about right now.

“I just wanna go home. I know KiKi ain’t going. She made sure y’all blocked me in,” I complained.

Demon stood, dug in his pocket, and held out the keys to the Mercedes they had parked behind me. I looked up at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Just don’t scratch my shit up, Topaz. I hate to fuck you up,” he threatened with no bass in his voice.