Slay (Storm MC 4)

I reached across the kitchen counter and placed my palm on his chest. “Stop thinking, baby. Just let it be what it is.”

He covered my hand with his. “You do listen to me,” he said, his lips twitching.

I smiled. “Yeah, most of the time.”

He finished his coffee and rinsed his mug before coming back to me. “I’ve got a lot of stuff to take care of today, so I’m not sure what time I’ll see you later.”

“It’s all good. You take care of what you need to, and I’ll be here whenever you get back.”

He bent his face to kiss me and then asked, “Do you have any idea how much I need you in my life?”

“Probably as much as I need you in mine.”

I watched him leave and decided I’d never let him go.

Ever.

Donovan Brookes was it for me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Blade

I stepped through the front door of my mother’s house with trepidation. The news I had to break to her would either gut her or help her move on. I wasn’t sure which.

“Hey, baby,” she greeted me with a smile as she wiped down the kitchen counters.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” I said, getting straight to the point. I didn’t have it in me to drag this shit out.

She stopped what she was doing and turned to give me her full attention. “What is it?”

I took a deep breath. “Marcus is dead.”

Her eyes widened, and her whole body stilled.

I waited.

“How?” she asked eventually, her voice shaky.

I was never one to beat around the bush, so I didn’t start now. “I killed him.”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, God.”

Still unable to tell if she was upset or just in shock, I waited to see what she would say next.

She grasped the chair at the kitchen table and collapsed into it, but didn’t say another word.

I sat next to her. “I’m not sorry I did it, and I would do it again, but I’m sorry if it hurts you. I never wanted that for you.”

Reaching out for me, she cupped my chin. “Donovan, it hurts but mostly because my son had such a bad father he felt it necessary to kill him.” Her voice cracked as she continued. “I did that to you, and for that I am sorry.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t blame you for that, Mum.”

> We sat together quietly, lost in our own thoughts, and I realised something. It’s easy to blame yourself for shit in your life and in the lives of those you love, but it just holds you back. Mum had blamed herself for Marcus for far too long, and I’d blamed myself for Ashley for too long as well, and both of us had stopped living our lives fully.

“We have to stop this shit,” I muttered, standing.

Looking up at me with a frown, she asked, “What?”