Page 75 of Torch

I didn’t care about their family woes. I was here for one reason and one reason alone. “Hey! I didn’t come here to listen to you two bicker. I came for some understanding.” I loomed over Julian, staring into his eyes. I wanted to make sure he saw the honesty in my words. “If you come for my wife again, you won’t have to worry about me getting your business shut down. You won’t have to worry about the IRS draining your family accounts. You won’t have to worry about spending the rest of your life behind bars. You’ll have to worry about me putting a bullet right between your eyes. And you won’t see me coming. If I even dream you’re thinking about coming for Brit, I. Will. End. You. Am I clear?”

Julian was visibly shaking by the time I finished. “Crystal.”

I patted his jaw roughly, and he winced in pain. “Good. Well, it was nice doing business with you fellas. Have a terrible fuckin’ day.”

I tucked the gun back into my pants and grabbed the file off the desk. When I opened the door to leave, people were watching from the cubicles. As we made our way to the elevator, we could hear Julian and his father arguing.

I believe Julian finally got the picture. Brit was gone, and she wasn’t coming back. If he didn’t accept that, he was calling for his own death.

“Come on, ref. Where the fuck is the flag?!” I shouted at the television.

I finally had a day to relax. I was at home alone, nursing a beer, watching a football game. The club was ready for its grand opening. All Blade and I had to do was come to an agreement about when that would be. We didn’t want to do it amid all the drama, but we also didn’t want to postpone it for too long.

Brittney was out with my black card, shopping with my sisters. Nowadays, she didn’t hesitate to spend my money, and I loved it. Whenever she got home, she would try on the items she had bought and ask for my opinion. Plus, my sisters were shopaholics. After a few trips to the mall, Brit got with the program.

My phone rang on the coffee table, distracting me from the game. I glanced at the screen and saw it was Wyatt. “What’s up?” I answered, taking a sip of my drink.

“Hey man, Morgan is at the gate. She said her grandmother sent her here to talk to Brit about something.”

My brows bunched together. Something had to be wrong if Ms. Etta sent Morgan here. I knew all about what took place at her home. Brit made it clear after that night she was done with Morgan and her parents.

I checked my watch to see what time it was. Brit had been gone for five hours. “Hold on a second,” I told Wyatt.

I called Brit’s phone, but she didn’t answer. I tried again and got the same result. Clicking through my phone, I looked up Brit’s location. She was en route to the clubhouse. Knowing the girls, they probably had the music blasting, and Brit couldn’t hear her phone. Since she was almost home, I told Wyatt to let her in.

About three minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. I walked over and opened it. Morgan stood there with a solemn expression, and she looked like she had been crying.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her.

She shook her head, staring down at the ground. “No. May I come in? I really need to s-speak with my sister.” Her voice was shaky, like she was about to cry.

“Uhh, yeah. Come in.” I stepped back, allowing her to come inside. She took a seat on the couch. “Would you like a bottle of water or something?”

Morgan lifted her head with a small smile. “Please.”

I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed the water. After I gave her the bottle, I sat, putting a good amount of distance between us. “What’s going on, Morgan? Is Ms. Etta and Gavin okay?”

She opened the water and took a sip. I grabbed my beer taking a hefty swallow. After placing the lid on her water, she turned to me.

“Everyone’s fine. My grandmother wanted me to come here to talk to Brit about what happened at her house.”

I rubbed my jaw, not knowing what to say. The way Brit spoke when she told me everything made it sound like what happened between them was irreversible. Brit had been taking Morgan's tongue-lashings for too long. If that wasn’t enough, she flat-out told Brit she hated her. Brit had a huge heart. Which is why she endured so much before throwing in the towel. Morgan pushed too far this time, though.

“Honestly, I can’t tell you w-what B-Bb-Brit might sayyyy,” I stuttered and slurred my words. My body felt funny. I was extremely weak for some reason. My vision was becoming blurry, and my heart was racing. I closed my eyes, trying to snap out of it. When I opened them, I saw Morgan watching me with a cunning smile. “W-what did you d-do?”

Morgan pushed my shoulders, causing me to fall back against the couch. She straddled my lap and kissed my neck. “I just need you to relax so I can show you I can be better than her.”

I didn’t hit women, but if I had an ounce of strength, I would have thrown this delusional bitch across the room. I felt nothing but disgust as she humped me while kissing and licking all over my neck. I was trying my hardest to fight, but I could feel consciousness leaving me.

Morgan's blurry face hovered over me. “Just relax. Let me make you feel good,” was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

Chapter Twenty-Six

BRITTNEY

Iwas dead on my feet. I couldn’t wait to get home and snuggle up with Christian. A long day of shopping with his sisters and Bianca would do that to you. One thing they knew how to do was swipe a card. Over the past few weeks, I had taken so many trips to the mall. Christian had cleared half of his walk-in closet for me. He told me I had until the end of the month to fill it up, or he would take me to the mall himself to get it done.

As we pulled through the gate of the clubhouse, Wyatt stood there watching Cara’s truck with an amused smirk. We had "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo blaring from the speakers, rapping each word at the top of our lungs. With the windows down, he was getting an earful.