Monte smirks at me in a way that can only be described as pure menace. “I’m a lot of things, Hailey, most of them not good, but I am a man of my word in business. Checks and balances, Hard Knocks. You caught a break. Balance is paid in full”—he moves his gaze from me to Morrison—“for you and Marisa. You’re free.”
Monte turns and walks off as Morrison’s arm comes around my shoulders. When he is a few feet away, he looks over his shoulder at me, then says to Morrison, “I had her first; I’ll have her last. And when she comes crawling back, I’ll make her pay the price for me not being the only one to have had her *.”
Morrison steps out to advance on Monte as Marshall shakes his head at me.
“Morrison, stop! He’s not worth it,” I say.
He stops and looks at me.
“Be the good,” I whisper. “Don’t be him.”
“Aces, you got what you came here for tonight. Hope it was worth your game, because you won’t play here again. This is my city.” Monte stares back at me. “Hailey, when the hard knocks hit you once again, I’ll be waiting, and you won’t have it as good this time around.”
After a moment, he turns away and makes his exit, as chills run down my spine and my mind races.
I get a shoulder squeeze from Jagger and another from Hendrix, while Morrison only stares at me.
“What does he mean you can’t play here again? What happened in there, Morrison?”
“Nothing for you to worry about.” He looks to his brothers. “Let’s eat, then get you guys on a plane and back to Ris Priss.”
There is a distance between us that I don’t understand. I am free. Tonight, I won. I earned my way out. This should be a happy time, but I feel like it’s clouded by something. I just don’t know what.
Jagger and Hendrix seem to read something in Morrison that I am missing; as a result, dinner is quick and quiet. I am not used to being free. Now I am. I am free, and I need to quit questioning everything and just be in the moment, at least for now.
We go back to Morrison’s place until our flight in the morning. As the guys hang out together, I go to Morrison’s room and read to Marisa, using video chat from Livi’s cellphone to mine. Seeing her face smile on the small screen, I feel the first wave of calm I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
She is my reason for being. She is everything.
I finish up my call, then make my way to the living room, where I can hear voices in the kitchen.
“Fuck it! Leave it all. I don’t need the clothes. I got nothing personal here. Home is Detroit; this was a crash pad. Let the kid have it all,” I hear Morrison say to his brothers.
What is going on?
“You really gave it to the kid?” Jagger comes back.
“Nope, I sold it to the kid. I was off my game. She does that to me. Why the fuck did you bring her here? If she hadn’t won, if I hadn’t sold out, do you realize how badly this could have gone down?”
“But it didn’t.” This comes from Hendrix, the calm one in everything.
My phone rings, alerting the guys to my location. Looking down at the screen, I see it’s Jamie and try to act like I haven’t heard anything as I answer.
“You won!” she shrieks.
“I won enough to get out from under his control,” I say proudly.
“You comin’ back?”
“Oh, honey, I wish. I don’t think this is the place for me and Marisa, though. I don’t want to look over my shoulder. I don’t want to remember anything from here except walking away with my baby girl and our friendship. This isn’t the place for me.”
“I’m gonna miss you.” The sadness in her voice is evident. It hurts, but this isn’t the place for me or my daughter—or for Jamie.
“Detroit has all the flash for ya, babe. You could have a fresh start with us,” I say, silently begging her to agree.
“Who knows? Maybe when my shit is sorted. You know I can’t leave until I have my own marker repaid.”
“I’m learning.” I sigh. “From all of this, I’ve learned love isn’t about owing or owning. Love, life, and relationships aren’t checks and balances. I don’t know what they are exactly, but they’re not being someone’s possession. Hold on to that, Jamie, and hold on to the beautiful woman you are inside.”
“Love you, Hailey.”
“Love you too, babe. I’ll phone when I land tomorrow.”
Ending the call, I feel sad for my friend, but apart from that, I feel excitement. My future is in front of me, and for the first time ever, it’s looking bright.
Lying down, I wait for Morrison to come to bed. He doesn’t.
When morning comes, I make my way to the kitchen to find him standing with his brothers around the island.
“Good morning,” I say to the room, barely above a whisper.
“Morning, Hailey,” both Hendrix and Jagger greet. Morrison merely studies me, saying nothing.
“Gonna get our shit ready,” Jagger states as he grabs a cup of coffee and exits. Hendrix nods and does the same.
“Did you sleep well?” I ask nonchalantly.
“No.”
“You could’ve come to bed.”