Morgan swiped another tear. He was right. She knew it. She didn’t care. She was still hurt.

“You’re a ho, and I knew you were a ho before I let you in. Ain’t nothing special about a whack-ass nigga that’s giving out one-size-fits-all dick.”

His hand pinched the sides of her face before she could utter another insult. A lesser man would have hurt her. Meek was well aware of her limits. He issued the warning with no pain, but the look in his eyes told her she was pushing him. Mo was lethal when provoked, and her mouth was her weapon of choice.

“I don’t even see the point in pretending like this shit even matters anymore. None of it matters.” Her sister took over her mind. Would Meek slap her? Would he hit her? Would he destroy her? Bash did it. Even Messiah had hurt her—not physically, but damn if the emotional blows didn’t hurt worse than the physical ones. She was so damn tired of building men up in her head for them to not meet her expectations. They always fell short. Defeat was written all over her.

Ahmeek’s eyes changed. Her words altered him. Anger melted into concern because he knew that Morgan could be pushed to the edge. He also knew she wasn’t afraid to free-fall to the bottom. She had done it before. “You have to tell me what we talking about here, Mo. Keep it a buck with me, cuz it sounds to me like you giving niggas too much power. It sounds like you’re going to a place that you almost didn’t make it back from last time, and that’s never going to happen with me around. Good or bad terms, I’m never going to pretend like I don’t see the shit and let you fucking drown, so tell me. Is this for attention, or is this for real? I’m with it either way. You got problems, I got answers, love, either fucking way. You want attention, I got that for you. I got that all day for you. I’ll pay real close attention, Morgan Atkins.”

Mo tried to roll her eyes and look away, but Ahmeek was in control. He turned her chin back to him. There would be no averting this conversation.

“If it’s something else, if this is serious, if you’re in trouble, I need to know. You said you would come to me if you felt like that again. Niggas don’t deserve you. Not even me, love.” He brought his face so close to hers that Morgan sobbed. “What the fuck, Mo? Stop letting niggas ruin you. You’re so much better, man. You’re so fucking good, yo. I’d love the shit out of you if you let me.”