Page 68 of Her Unflinching Warrior (Omega Sky)
“There’s not a lot more to tell after that. I gave in. I did everything he wanted. He wanted me to come and work for him? I did. He wanted me to quit school? I did. He wanted me to abandon my family? I did.”
“That’s impossible; you were only fourteen.”
Gideon gave a harsh laugh. “Oh, you have enough money and lawyers on your side, you can do anything. Plus, he wasn’t just scaring me by that point, he threw out the carrot. He promised me that my family would be taken care of, that my parents would get the money they needed to move out of North Highland, which was Crips territory, and he could get Pops the physical therapy and hospital care he needed to get well.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. There isn’t a chance in hell that my family would have let me go. I know you, I’ve heard you talk about Mike, I can’t imagine that the parents who raised two men like you wouldn’t have fought tooth and nail to keep you with them.”
Gideon pulled away so he could stand up again, but Jada wasn’t having any of it. “Jada, let me stand—”
“You just keep your ass planted on this bed and tell me what happened,” she said fiercely.
“Ihappened. It was all me.”
“What are you talking about, baby?” she asked gently.
“I did exactly what he said,” Gideon whispered. “His lawyers were slick, but without all my help and my subterfuge, there is no way I would have been able to get away with getting emancipated from my parents at fourteen. But I managed it.”
“That sounds impossible,” Jada gasped.
“You woulda thought.”
“Jesus, Gideon, how horrible for you. They made you do that?”
“What are you talking about? I’m the one that did that. I’m the one who lied and tricked my Pops into signing paperwork he didn’t understand because he was so sick. I’m the one who turned my back on my family.”
“Yeah, you did all that because you didn’t have a choice,” Jada protested.
“Didn’t I? At any point, I could have just talked to my parents, told them what was going on. We could have figured it out together. They’d always been my foundation.”
“Sure, you, the skinny little black kid from the hood, up against some powerful CEO with his security guards telling you that you were going to go to prison. You thought you were going to be able to fight this? Give me a break.” She squeezed him harder. “Then that bastard says he can fix it so that your father will get well, and your family will have a place to live outside of gang territory. You didn’t stand a chance.”
Jada got up on her knees and pulled him to her chest.
“Please, God, don’t tell me that you are still beating yourself up for this.”
“Of course, I am. I destroyed my family. My dad disowned me, and he died believing that I turned my back on my family when they needed me most. My mother still won’t talk to me to this very day.”
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
Gideon closed his eyes and blew out a long breath. “God, I can’t even remember the last time I thought about all that shit, let alone talked about it.”
Jada cupped the side of his neck, and he turned to look into her beautiful brown eyes. “Gideon?”
“Yeah, Angel?”
“Who else knows?”
“Mike. Kostya.”
“And your mother? Does she know?”
Ah, God, were those tears for him? “Jada, there’s nothing to be sad about. I’m living a great life. After I was done with Streetgamezzz, and before I decided to join the service, I was recruited by a legit team in Silicon Valley and made ridiculous coin.”
Her fingers dug deeper into his neck. “I don’t give a shit about any of that. Answer the question, Gideon. Does your mother know what happened? Does she know what that monster did to you?”
Gideon pulled her hands away from him and then tangled them with his so that they were palm to palm.
“Angel, it’s best to leave things as is. I’ve never seen two people so in love before like my mother and father; it was sacred. When I betrayed my father the way I did, according to Mikey, I broke him. My mother will never forgive me for that, no matter what my reasons.”
“That’s not fair,” she whispered.
“Who said life was fair?”
