Life of Sin Book 1

Chapter Twenty-One

“So that ‘friend' you planned on staying with? That was Ivy, huh?”

“It’s not like that, Dev. We’re just cool."

“I remember you being ‘cool' with Falen too. Y’all had sex.” I brushed past her and walked straight to the kitchen, checking the refrigerator. It was pretty much empty, but then again so was mine. Nikki sidled up behind me and placed her arms around my waist. I hadn’t realized it but I was quickly developing PTSD from nearly being raped. I jumped and she stepped back, giving me space.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t, I just…” I trailed off, standing still. I didn’t turn around because I couldn’t meet her gaze. When I looked at her, I could never help feeling weak and weakness was the last thing I wanted to feel. I cleared my throat, recollecting myself.

“Just don’t touch me. Ivy wouldn’t like that.” I tried flipping it on her but Nikki scoffed, she clearly knew me better than that.

“Something’s wrong...” I turned and she slowly wrapped her arms around me. Her scent was so familiar and comforting.

“Everything’s wrong.”

“Well don’t pretend you’re mad at me and push me away. Whatever it is, you don’t have to deal with it by yourself, my love.”

“But I do though… just like Ivy does.” She leaned back to look at me, her eyes trying to read my thoughts. It’s like she wanted to figure it out but didn’t at the same time. I fell under her inspection as she noticed the marks and bruises scattered randomly around my body, her fingers treading lightly over them. Disbelief spread across her face as she finally drew a conclusion.

“You… you were…” Her voice trembled with anger.

“Hey no, I’m fine,” I said, caressing her face in an attempt to soothe her worries. Despite my efforts, I felt her skin heat up under my fingertips.

“He didn’t get to... do anything.”

“Who?” I branched off from her, leaning against the kitchen island.

“Quentin,” I said, trying to regain control over my shaking hands. I heard her footsteps beat against the wooden floor as she walked towards the bedroom. She reentered the kitchen with a flourish, dropping a black backpack in front of me. Not saying a word, she gestured for me to look inside.

“Nik, where’d you get all this?” I asked, pulling out two Glock cases, a bulletproof vest with the plates, a ski mask, and a leather pouch with $3000 in it.

“The ski mask is a little cliché.” I chuckled which escalated into a full on laughing session. She didn’t find anything humorous though, staring at me with an unsmiling face.

“Nikiya.”

“Don’t laugh, Devyn, you’ll need this stuff,” she said, stuffing the items back into the bag.

“Okay, the guns and the money maybe… but where am I going with a ski mask and a bulletproof vest?”

“Did you forget we have a job to do?” I took a step towards her, wrapping my arms around her neck. She lifted me up and onto the island as I kissed her softly.

“I appreciate this, I really do.”

“But?”

“But… kidnapping is supposed to be more elaborate than running in guns blazing and stealing a person.” She laughed sheepishly, holding her head down. I tilted her head, forcing her to look at me.