Page 6 of Trading In A Broken Heart

“A’ight.”

Commotion came from near the restrooms. I looked up and saw Solei standing there with a couple guys in front of her. They probably noticed how drunk she was and thought they were about to get her. Not on my watch.

“Gotta go.” Ending the call, I got up from the table and made it over to them just as Solei grabbed a bottle off a nearby table and smacked one of the men across the head with it. The bottle shattered, and he stumbled back. The other one closed in on her. I gripped him by the back of the neck and rammed his face into the nearest wall. My gun lodged into the back of his head. “Touch her and you die.”

Solei gazed at me. Her eyes softened. I got lost in them, searching for her soul.

“Get the fuck off me,” the nigga mumbled.

“I think it’s time for you to go,” I told Solei, and she nodded. This time, she didn’t even protest. I released the nigga from the wall and backed up from him. My men surrounded him while we exited the bar.

The Next Afternoon

The sound of my phone vibrating sent waves of pain through my skull.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose, but I knew that wasn’t gon’ get rid of the massive headache that I had.

“Fuuuuck,” I groaned and stared over at the clock on the nightstand. It was two in the afternoon, and I was still sleeping.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“I’m coming!” I yelled as I tossed the covers back and climbed out of bed. The entire room spun.

Gripping the wall, I leaned my head down to try and gain my composure.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Squeezing my eyes shut, I yelled, “You bang on that door one more fucking time! I said I’m coming!”

Removing myself from the wall, I headed to the door and yanked it open to see Imani standing there with her arms folded over her chest. “Where have you been?” she asked and brushed past me into the suite.

“Sleep, . . . obviously.” Dragging my feet, I went into the kitchen to make some coffee to wake myself up. Sleeping this late in the day was never me. I had to have gone too hard last night.

“What happened to you last night?”

My brows scrunched as I squeezed my eyes shut. I groaned. “Why are you screaming?”

“I’m talking regular.” Imani stopped next to the counter as I searched the coffee for the Keurig packs.

“Whisper. Your voice is making my head hurt.”

“Sol, this is serious. You disappeared last night from the club, and we couldn’t find you anywhere. Not even in your suite.” She stood there with her arms folded over her chest, wearing a scowl.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I’m here now, though.” I brushed my hair out of my face, and Imani gasped. “What?” My eyes cut to her, and hers damn near popped from her head.

“What the hell is this?” she asked when she snatched my left hand. That was when I noticed the massive rock sitting on it. The shit was so freaking huge. Heart cut. Pink diamond. Small pink diamonds covering the entire band.

“What the fuck?” I frowned. “This a joke, right? I know you came in here and put this shit on me while I was sleep.” I snatched the ring from my finger and shoved it into her chest. “I don’t have time for y’all games today.”

“Bitch, where the fuck do you think I can get money from to afford this?” She stared inside the band of the ring. “This shit is real.”

“Maybe I bought it while I was out last night. I don’t know why I’d put it on my ring finger.” I took the ring from Imani and carefully examined it. “It is my style. That’s the only explanation. Yeah, . . . I bought this.”

“Well, you need to snap back from that hangover. We got stuff to do today. You got two hours.” Imani peeled away from the counter and strutted toward the door. Stopping in her tracks, she turned back to face me and said, “And don’t ever pull some shit like that again. You know we always leave together. No matter what.”

I hit her with a head nod, and she exited the suite.