Daddy got impatient and bent deep, leaning close.
“Promise to let her go, leave, never return, let her have the life she should have and we’ll feed you, we’ll unchain you, get you medical attention for that cut. I’ll give you ten thousand dollars and you can set up somewhere else. Promise to let her go, leave and never come back, never enter her life again, never phone her, never see her and this will be over.”
Creed spoke then.
And he did it to say in a cracked, parched, weak voice, “Never.”
*
I shot up to sitting in bed, the room dark, Creed’s strong arm along my stomach and I was breathing heavily.
The dream still had me.
I threw the covers aside and started to catapult myself from the bed but Creed’s arm tightened. Instead of jumping one way, I found myself flying the other. I landed in the bed on my back then Creed’s weight was on me.
“It was a dream, baby,” he whispered through the dark. “Just a dream. It’s over.”
It wasn’t a dream. It was real. He told me. He told me all about it. Even the new stuff.
Now I knew everything.
I thought I was ready.
I’d never be ready.
It hit me I was shaking so I did the only thing I could to get rid of the shakes. I wrapped my arms around his solid, warm bulk, lifted my head and shoved it in his neck taking in his scent, letting everything that was him envelope me.
“These dreams are kicking my ass,” I whispered back.
“Just hold on,” he murmured.
I sucked in breath, tightened my arms and held on.
The shaking left me and I found my mouth saying, “I don’t want you to go.”
It was early morning Friday, three days after the shit went down with Drake Nair. Outside of the three girls who got targeted needing a lot of TLC, things seemed settled. Creed and I were working my jobs as well as keeping an eye on Knight’s business but it seemed Nair had worked alone. Creed didn’t trust it, not yet, he wanted to do more digging and he wanted to be around in case something went down. So he spoke to Knight, Knight agreed and we were still nosing.
But the weekend was upon us and it was Creed’s weekend with his kids. He was flying back to Phoenix. He got them Friday afternoon and took them back to Chelle Sunday evening.
We’d discussed this and decided that this visit, Creed would tell them about me and he’d take some time to tell Chelle. He didn’t want her blindsided by the information coming from one of the kids that a woman named Sylvie was in his life. I thought that was cool of him to do but I didn’t envy him that conversation.
He wanted me to come with him but I talked him into going alone. His kids stayed with him and he was okay with me staying with all of them, telling me his kids were good kids, they’d adjust, they loved their Dad, sense his happiness and be cool with it.
He obviously knew his kids better than me but I disagreed. I thought they should get a head’s up and not be confronted with me on their turf until they had time to prepare. Creed didn’t like it but he agreed. I had a feeling he agreed more because he thought I needed time to prepare to meet his kids, not the other way around, but whatever. He’d agreed. So he was leaving that day and wouldn’t be home until late Sunday.
Now that the hour was nearly on us for him to leave, I didn’t like it.
Not at all.
I didn’t want him away from me.
Shit.
“Sylvie –”
I interrupted him, “Forget I said that. I didn’t say that.”
His hands came up to frame my face before he whispered, “Come with me.”
God, it would be so easy to say yes.
“I don’t want your kids –” I started.
He cut me off. “They’ll love you.”
I nodded against the pillows and I gave his body a squeeze.
“Yeah, they will,” I agreed. “I’m good with kids but this is different. This is about our future, all of our futures and it should be handled with care.”
“Baby, you don’t think I got my kids’ best interests at heart?” he asked.
“I’m not saying that,” I replied quickly. “I just think we should finesse this. Give them time. Take it slow.”
“Right,” he muttered then rolled, taking me with him so I was on top. He reached out a long arm and I blinked when the lights came on. When my eyes adjusted, I saw his on me. “Hotel,” he stated.
“What?” I asked.
“We fly there together. Get you a rental car, a hotel where you can hang but not sleep. I go get the kids and talk to Chelle. I spend time with them Friday, tell them about you. Friday night, late, when they’re in bed, you come to me, sleep with me, leave before they get up. Saturday, we do somethin’ together. Maybe a water park. Somethin’ fun. Somethin’ they’ll like. Somethin’ not on their home turf. You take off, come back when they’re asleep, leave again before they get up and we fly back together.”
Had I said before that Creed was genius?
Creed was genius.
“That would work,” I told him quietly and watched him grin.