Page 72 of Disrespectfully, Relic
“Turn off her ears?”
She smiled. “Yes, she literally turns them off. Ryell is hard of hearing and wears aids. She cuts them off or takes them out when the girls start gossiping too much.”
“I like her.”
“Me, too. Ry is the youngest in the salon but the most mature out of the ladies I hired. I was thinking about upping her position to my assistant. She does more than I require of her job title and doesn’t expect a thing. Ryell is just happy to be there.”
“If she’s ready for that responsibility, do it. She’ll be in charge when I need you elsewhere, like today.”
“Speaking of, why the hell am I here? You told me this was business, yet you drove me out to the middle of the damn ocean. I can’t even swim.”
“Good to know.”
Kennedy reared back her head and then jerked up, glancing around like she was looking for an escape route. Relic snorted a laugh before sipping his drink. Her shaded eyes went to it while her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, causing a low chuckle to emit from him.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Kennedy. I can’t drink over my limit or feed that greedy pussy of yours today.”
“Nigga, please! Ain’t nobody thinking about you!” She lied straight through her teeth. “Since you kidnapped me and won’t tell me what the hell we’re doing, the least you can do is keep me entertained. Secret for a secret?”
She tucked the cover under her and then patted the cushion for him to sit. Relic contemplated whether he was in the mood to indulge in her games and let her attempt to pick the lock on his internal closet. He conceded because it could work in his favor.
Before he did that, he strolled to his cockpit and turned on his phone jammer to disrupt their cellular service. He didn’t need their location or conversation picked up. Relic stopped at the galley, grabbing the liquor bottle to fill up his glass for the second time and then returned to the deck.
“What do you want to know, Larenn?” he inquired, dropping into the spot she’d cleared for him.
A yelp slipped from her sexy lips when he scooped her up and placed her on his lap in straddle position. She grinned and locked her arms around his neck before she spoke.
“Where you afraid to die that night?”
Relic hadn’t expected that as the interrogation opening, but it didn’t move him. He looked her square in the face.
“Far from it. If anything, I was relieved to go. Did you give my pussy away to your bitch ass future boyfriend yet?”
She was grappling to digest his answer when he hit her with a counter, throwing her off even more. Her head cocked to the side once it registered.
“Oh, hell no! That is not a damn secret. That’s you being nosey and all up in my business.”
“Answer anyway.”
“Nope, because it’s not your pussy. I said it was yours if you weren’t stingy and if you fed her. You did neither. Our sex was on a trial period that’s expired.”
“I can fuck you right now if I want to, but alright. Let’s get to the good shit. Who was the nigga you let scar you and turn you off from drug dealers?”
Shock rendered Kennedy speechless. Her stomach tanked and throat constricted as Relic sipped from his glass and gazed at her over the rim. She swore she saw a smirk playing at one corner of his mouth. Her mind spun, wondering whether he was fishing for intel, or if he had it and wanted to check if she’d tell a lie. The truth refused to come up as Relic angled his head and snapped his fingers.
“Chop, chop, big dog Kennedy. You suggested we do this, so let’s do it. If I were you, I wouldn’t say your brother either.”
He reached out to remove the shades from her face, and for the first time, she dodged his gaze. That gave away her culpability before he even pointed it out.
“I started thinking, Kennedy, and it didn’t hit me until you asked what are you good at. The shit I mentioned... knowing to not question me about bitches, to listen but not try to fix me, and to play your position in silence. Your brother wouldn’t teach that, but the nigga you’re fucking would. So, who was it?”
Her mouth went cotton dry as she whispered, “Koda’s right-hand man.”
Relic whistled, leaning back against the sofa because he hadn’t seen that coming. He figured it was someone on her brother’s team, but didn’t think she’d play it close to home since her and her brother were tight. Her confession added sneaky to the top of her qualities list.
“How long were you fucking him?”
“From eighteen until a few weeks before Koda died.”
