“Nah, I held on too tight with you, Mo. I’m trying to do things differently with Bella. Extend some trust. You taught me a lot.”

“B’s a good girl,” Alani said.

“It ain’t Bella I’m worried about,” Ethic stated.

The chime that interrupted commanded their attention to the front door.

Morgan walked down the corridor toward the foyer. “Where did they go anyway?” she yelled.

She pulled open the door, and her heart stalled. Ethic was speaking behind her, but she couldn’t hear him. She couldn’t hear shit.

The scowl that drew wrinkles into his forehead eased some when he saw her face. Surprise. He was shocked to see her there. Gratefulness. She saw the thought manifest in his mind. He was happy to see her. Messiah. Motherfucking Messiah. Morgan’s chest automatically caved around him. It was like he had taken a knife and carved out her heart every time he was in her space. She hated he had that power. She hated that she would always feel him, be affected by him, love him. Stupid ass.

“Shorty,” he greeted.

Morgan gripped the wood of the door as her entire body tensed. She hated that her eyes misted.

His eyes took her in. “Damn, shorty. You graduating? I missed a lot.”

“You missed everything,” she whispered. He took two steps and was crossing the emotional fence she had put up. Fuck the fence. He was in her yard, fucking up her grass, trampling all on her flower bed as he trapped her against the wall. Just like Messiah to fuck shit up to get to her. Morgan’s breath hitched, and her lashes fluttered. Stupid-ass nigga. She both adored this feeling and despised it. He just controlled her. Like there was a remote control to her emotions and he was pressing every damn button like a badass kid.

“I don’t want to miss shit else, Mo,” he said.

Morgan tried to ease by him, but he placed a hand to the wall, stopping her. She went the other way. Another hand. She blew out a breath and rolled her eyes up to him. Niggas and the traps they captured her in. Trap niggas. Hood niggas. Why the hell did she have to be attracted to that type?

“Hear me, shorty. We gon’ get this wrong until we get it right, cuz I ain’t come back for nothing else but you. I’m not accepting nothing less than you.”

“And I’m not accepting nothing less than loyalty. Can you look me in the face and tell me you’re done hurting me? That there are no more secrets? Nothing else I don’t know? That I’m safe with you?”

Messiah bit into his bottom lip and turned his head as thoughts of Bleu ran through his mind. Thoughts of other things too.