A Familiar Ring

CHAPTER 9: Divine Timing

Prosper was irritated. Who in the fuck would show up here at this time in the morning? It was a Sunday in Macon after all, anyone who would show up would still be in church. Only Briscoe knew he was in town and he knew his brother wouldn't be showing up unannounced knowing damn well he was with Cadence. And no one even knew Cadence was in town at all. They hadn't ran into anyone at the grocery store. Prosper glanced at his AppleWatch to see if he missed a text or call that would've maybe alerted him to whoever it was standing on the porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. But there was nothing.

He huffed, irritated by the interruption and frustrated with himself over the actions that had been interrupted. He placed his face in palms, gently massaging his eyelids as he exhaled deeply. The doorbell rang again and Prosper finally walked over to open it. There was a look of confusion as he stared at the two people on his porch.

Upstairs, Cadence was still trying to catch her breath from the kiss she had just shared with Prosper. She looked down between her legs and saw the tremendous wet spot growing from between her legs. Damn! she thought to herself. She couldn't recall if Prosper had ever made her that wet but she'd definitely need to change. "Fuck!" she exclaimed loudly as she remembered she didn't have any truly appropriate clothing to put on. She quickly glanced around the room and saw Duke's luggage. A grimace crept across her face at the mere thought of him. How dare this nigga? She picked up the bag and sat it on the bed. It was incredibly light, which felt odd. But then she remembered that Duke had always been a way more efficient packer than herself. As she unzipped the bag she was sure that she would find his clothes neatly rolled, toiletries perfectly packaged, and even an extra duffle bag neatly folded to bring back souvenirs for their friends. So she was beyond shocked to find the suitcase filled with $100 bills and a letter addressed to her. What the fuck is going on?

Her hands trembled as she reached for the envelope to open it. Once she finally got the letter in her hands to open it, she already felt the tears forming. She was confused, she was hurt, she was heartbroken and she didn't want to be dealing with any of this.

"Cadence!" Prosper yelled out to her from down the stairs.

She opened her door still clutching Duke's unread letter in her hand, "Yes?"

"You got company," Prosper replied, still staring at the two people now standing in the living room.

"Huh?" Cadence was confused. The only people who knew where she was, were Prosper, Briscoe and her mama.

"You got some company."

"Okay, give me a minute."

The last thing Cadence was in the mood for was for company. Of any kind. There wasn't anyone in Macon other than the man she shared this house with that she'd be happy to see right about now. So whoever it was, was going to have to wait until she finished reading that letter in her hand. She took a couple of deep breaths and finally opened the envelope. She wept as she unfolded the letter and recognized his handwriting.

My Love,

I never wanted to write this letter to you but this is the only way I can keep you safe. Loving you has been the greatest experience of my life. I grew up broken, having no one, and always felt like part of me was missing. All of that changed the day I fell in love with you. I can never thank you enough for allowing me to love you.

But leaving you was the only way to protect you. I haven't been completely truthful with you about my job and that lack of truth has finally caught up with me. Two years ago, I was recruited by a higher government agency to investigate the APD precinct I was working in at the time. The investigation revealed a much larger, sinister connection to a major sex trafficking ring. For the last year, I've been undercover working within that ring and things are getting dangerous. I've gotten to a point where being with you risks me being made and I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me. I can't let you be in danger because of me. This is all I can tell you, and even this might be too much, but please know that I am only doing this to keep you safe.