Page 35 of Dominated By Love

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’m not signing shit. All these years later and you’re still playing hero.”

“Hero?”

“Hero, Captain Save a Ho, whatever you want to call it. When are you going to realize some of these hos ain’t worth saving?”

For years, I’d respected Sage’s decision. I walked away with a broken heart and let this fool have her. Back then, I swallowed my pride and took the high road. This time, I was taking it to hell.

“If I knew you were going to fuck her over, I would have finished killing you the first time,” I said.

This was never about me. It was about what Sage gave up to try to have some semblance of family. It was about all the yearsshe couldn’t get back. It was about her feeling like she had to settle and beg someone to love her. It was all about how hard I had to work to prove myself to her just because so many people had made her fearful of genuine love. This lanky bitch-ass punk was no exception.

“Are we done?” he asked, stretching his eyes.

“You owe her this,” I reminded him.

“I don’t owe her shit.”

I shook my head and tossed the papers on the ground next to us. “I was really hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

My fist connected with his jaw before I finished the sentence. He swung, hitting me back. I could taste the coppery blood in my mouth as I charged him, hitting him again. He stumbled back, and this time, I didn’t give him time to recover before I hit him again and again.

He was probably falling anyway, but I rushed the process, scooping him and slamming him on his back. I walked over and grabbed the papers with the pen still clipped on top before walking over and putting my foot on his knee.

“Sign the fucking paper before I make sure this is the last day you ever bounce a fucking basketball, pussy. Just in case you think I’m bluffing, I’ve already been in touch with some of your sponsors. I would hate to let them know the kind of man they have representing their brands.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Please try me. You kept ownership of Sage’s dream and let her think they were her own. She poured her blood, sweat, and tears into that studio, and you let a woman who helped you betray her threaten to take it away because you’re in your feelings because you got caught. I can’t wait to end your career. While you’re nursing a catastrophic knee injury, I’ll be tearing you down from the inside. You know I’m connected. EverybodyI can’t reach is in Sebastian’s Rolodex. I actually want you to try me. Please don’t sign that shit. I want to see your life crumble.”

“Man, fuck you,”he spat.

He might have talked tough, but he picked up those papers and signed them. I had never seen him move so fast, not even on the court.

“You’re obsessed with that sneaky bitch. You think I don’t know she’s been messing with you the whole time while pretending you were like a brother to her.”

“You should be careful about throwing around allegations like that. I manage public figures for a living. A baseless rumor can really fuck up someone’s life. I wonder what kinds of rumors people would believe about a professional athlete. Y’all boys will do anything.”

“I’m signing the papers, my nigga. You can stop making threats.”

I shrugged. “I don’t make threats. You of all people should know I’m about action.”

“She can have that dance studio. I wasn’t going to let Rebecca sell it anyway. She’s just pissed that I wouldn’t tell Sage about us. She made the truth come out.”

“I really don’t care about none of that shit. Are you done?” I asked, peeking over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t miss a spot.

Once he scribbled his John Hancock on all the designated spaces, I kicked him in the ribs and headed back to my car. I stuffed the contracts in my glove compartment and looked up just in time to see two police cars pulling up to block me in. Throwing my head back, I put both hands on the steering wheel and waited for the inevitable to occur.

9

SAGE

By the time I parked outside the county jail, my hands were literally shaking. Imagine my surprise when I got a call from a lawyer after a full day of not hearing from KD’s crazy ass. The lawyer explained that KD had been arrested the day before but had something for me. I couldn’t even get past the fact that KD was in jail to find out what the hell he had for me.

I was furious when I found out that KD was arrested for beating Jaylen’s ass at the freaking training center. I begged him not to do anything irrational, and he’d done exactly that. I had the right to act crazy after the way Jaylen played with me. Still, there was no excuse for my behavior. KD had absolutely no reason to put his hands on Jaylen.

I was so pissed that I could have cried. I wanted to strangle him for resorting to violence. I needed to know why the hell he would do something like that. By the time the lawyer explained that KD had gotten Jaylen to sign my studio back over to me, I was sobbing into the phone. I didn’t need to lose him when I had finally let myself have him. He’d managed to get arrested while simultaneously getting those papers signed. That was something only KD could do.

KD had already posted bail. He was just waiting for me to come pick him up. I got out of the car and marched up to the door of the building. The last place in the world I wanted to be was back at the county jail, but there I was.