The room was illuminated with sunlight, covering various parts including the two sleeping figures. The warmth of the light moved ever so lightly causing a groggy Nadia to open her eyes slightly, her body ached instantly as she turned a little.

And Kane's insane grip did not help, pulling her closer to him. She could feel him twitch a little, wondering if that was her doing. As wonderful as last night was, the shame started to set in straight away, she couldn't believe that she had been so careless.

She could imagine that Jordan would be rolling in his grave at the mere thought that his sister and his friend were here, lying naked and entangled after a passionate lovemaking session. But on the other hand, Kane had taken her places she had simply never been before, the ecstasy was unmistakable and a just simple flashback sent small shockwaves through her body.

She was so torn on what to do next, it would be easy to just dismiss him and kick him out without looking back except she knew deep down that her craving for him would never wane.

Things simply couldn't go back to the way it was, she had a choice: to pretend that all of this meant nothing and actively avoid him where she could or possibly accept that she felt as deeply as he did.

He said everything he wanted to say in his actions without so much as verbal confirmation and she knew that he wouldn't accept any denial of this, she could tell he was in love and most importantly, with her.

What to do now?

She watched him breathe lightly as his grip loosened enough for her to escape him and tiptoe her way to the bathroom. Turning the light on, she could see the remnants of last night dotted all over her, her brown coils flung every which way, hickeys placed on different parts of her neck and grip marks slowly fading away on her hips.

Dishevelled was the only way to describe the way she looked as she took in her appearance, making her way to the shower to wash away last night. The warm water cascaded down her body, stripping all the dirt and making her feel better.

After the refreshing shower, she lotioned herself, changing into her underwear and a simple dress. She walked back into her room to see that the bed was now empty, but she could see that his clothes were hanging over her chair near a bed.

He's still here.

She made her way downstairs, passing Jordan's room as always to see that Kane was sitting on Jordan's bed, quietly sobbing. That was not something she expected, he always presented such a tough exterior so she was a little taken aback by his current behaviour. Unsure what to do, she moved back a little, causing a little creak and she knew that he heard that.

" I know you're there, Nads," he said gruffly, turning to face the door. She simply pushed it open, walking in carefully. She was so on edge today, probably because of last night.

She stood in front of him, seeing him with his elbows resting on his knees, his head hanging low. He stretched his hand out, she hesitated to slip hers into his but ultimately decided to do so. He pulled her close so he could rest his wet face on her abdomen, she chose to caress him knowing he was feeling vulnerable.

" I know you think that I was a bad influence on Jordan but to be real, he kinda saved me. There was a time when I was supposed to hold a stash for my brother time ago but Jordan told me it wouldn't be a good idea, he said he had a bad feeling that something would happen and he wasn't wrong, Kevari ended up getting caught with it and now, he's on a ten-year sentence. That was two years ago, I was only 21 and Jordan was 18. I could've easily been in there with my brother but for the first time in my life, I chose not to follow because all it did was get me in trouble. Yeah, he looked after me after my mum died and my dad was already somewhere else but the street life was him, not me." He confessed, rubbing circles on her lower back.

Nadia took in everything he said, it did put into perspective that she may have misjudged but his life was still entangled in the streets and a part of her still found it hard to believe that association didn't have an indirect cause in her brother's murder.

" I hear what you saying and I might be wrong to have been biased but you can understand why I might feel that way, right?" She looked down at her, cupping his face.

He had a mixture of sadness and yearning etched on his face, she wanted to kiss him all over and also throttle him for feigning this innocence as if he didn't withhold the truth from her. It was so hard to work out what was best but for now, she figured that maybe it was good to keep this thing between them up.

It could help her investigation and yes, she might be exploiting his vulnerabilities but neither of them were saints at this point. She accepted that and chose this risky route, knowing the danger possibly that lay ahead.

Her face formed a smile that she hoped would convince him as she leaned down to kiss him again, her whole body became hot in seconds and she could feel herself slipping that she had to pull away before he could take her again and this was not the room to do that in.

She pulled him up, dragging him back to her room so he could have a shower whilst she prepared breakfast. She made scrambled eggs with toasted buttery bread and sausages, plating the piping hot food as she heard his footsteps get closer.

She watched him scoff the food in no time at all, thinking about her plan going forward. There was no denying that there was a very intense sexual and emotional connection forming between but to trust him properly, she needed him to feel comfortable enough to tell her more of what she didn't know about Jordan including if he knew a Maya Bailey.

How does she go about it?

 Perhaps, letting him stay for the day would help him ease into a confession but there was a possibility that could backfire.

What if he caught on what she was doing?

Her worry set in, she had no defences if he were to get angry and she couldn't afford to get hurt again. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't realise that he had been saying something for the last few minutes.

"Huh, what did you say?" She focused her attention on him, noticing the way her almond complexion complimented his caramel one.

" I said that since it's the weekend, I should probably stay so we can chill for a bit, you know. After last night, I ain't quite ready to go just yet" He rubbed her hands, offering a lazy smile.

This might be harder than she thought because if he kept looking at her like that all the time, she was sure she would deviate from the plan.

"Yeah, that sounds good. What do you want to do?" She questioned.

" Anything you like, you're the leader and I'm your loyal servant" He joked, making her chuckle too. She had to admit that this was nice, it had been a while since she had been like this with a man.

After Leo and the abortion, she took a break from dating and sex in general which was meant to be for a couple of months but ended up turning into a couple of years instead. 

The day went on and now they were watching a crime drama, the detective was prying a confession out of the suspect and she thought about how she could pose her question to him. She had to know if he was connected to Maya Bailey or not and the time was now.

" Kane, do you happen to know a Maya Bailey by any chance?" She looked at him, she swore that she could see a shocked expression on his face before it relaxed.

" Maya Bailey, it doesn't....erm...really ring a bell. Why? Is it to do with Jordan?" He looked at her curiously.

" Yeah, I recently found out that she might've been pregnant with his baby"

"His what?!" Kane was struggling to hold back because the truth was that he absolutely knew who she was referring to but he hated that she decided to bring it up, just when things were starting to fall into place.

How did she even know that?

" So you do know her then? Do you think she might know who killed him?" She eyed him suspiciously, she was already shocked by his response and he continued to affirm why she had very little trust in him.

" Know her? Nah, I'm just shocked that Jordan got someone pregnant, he didn't let me know. Strange" Kane made a 'pfft' sound in disbelief.

"Hmmm, so you won't mind if I look her up on social media, then? Since you don't know her" Nadia got her phone out, typing into the search bar of the social media app and getting a result instantly.

She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw that Kane was a friend of this Maya Bailey. Though she couldn't see the person's face in the profile picture, they share the same striking complexion. She scrolled the profile page before he yanked the phone out of her hand, he couldn't risk her finding out about Maya. It would literally fuck everything up.

" How did you find out about her anyway?" He queried nervously.

" Through Jordan's laptop, on his chats since he linked his phone to it. That's still missing but the info I found has been very helpful. There was an ultrasound that I had my friend scan to find out her name plus they had an argument two weeks before his death. How do you know her?" Nadia stood up with her hands on her hips.

"What if this is the wrong person? Did you think about that? You could piss someone off making accusations like that" He faced her, knowingly deflecting.

" I haven't accused her of anything, I just said what if she knew who might've killed Jordan unless you know if she is part of it? Do you?" She looked at him, she could see that he was coming up with a lie in real time. She felt hurt that he was so comfortable doing so after everything that happened between them last night.

" Didn't I just say I don't fucking know her?! Nadia, what you're doing is fucking dangerous. Prying into your brother's life like this, knowing he's dead. I know that you want to find out who killed him but did it ever occur to you that maybe you might never find out? Have you at least thought about it? Not every case gets solved you know ." He knew that this was the final nail in the coffin but he had to stop her from finding out anything else.

" Did you just-" she started getting up in his face.

" I know that what I said was harsh but you have to least consider that. Plus, one other thing, I did talk to Jordan that night, and he was on his way to meet with me and Jay. All of a sudden,  I  didn't hear from him again and that was the last time I heard from him." Kane stated, looking at her with shame.

He knew that he completely fucked up but he had to accept that this thing between them would most likely be short-lived. He hated that he may not have a chance to be with her the way he would want to but knowing what he knew now, the risk was too high.

" You really have the cheek to tell me you care about me and this is what you tell me? I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHO KILLED HIM IF THAT'S THE LAST THING I DO! You don't get to tell me what I should consider, you're not going through what I'm going through. You don't how much it hurts and that's what you want to say?! Fuck you, Kane" Nadia angrily sobbed, hitting him and he just let her, he knew she needed this.

He stopped her a few moments later, holding her tightly as she tried to fight him off but ultimately she succumbed to his embrace. Once again, her grief won as she let out a loud sob, letting him hold her and soothe her.

What a fucking mess.

As her cries subsided, she could feel him loosening his grip. Despite everything, she still felt so strongly for him and she knew that was unhealthy. The only choice now was to leave him with an ultimatum because it was getting harder to trust anything he said.

He clearly knew things, witheld them and didn't think it was in her best interest to know but it wasn't right to do that. This was about her brother, the last member of her immediate family to leave her, she had to know.

It wasn't like her parents who died in a tragic accident, his death was by murder and that meant the killer was still on the loose, that didn't sit well with her spirit.

" You have a choice, Kane: either you help me by being real with me or you leave me the fuck alone" She looked at him, eyes brimming with redness.

He wasn't expecting her to say that after what they shared but he had no choice but to make a decision.

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Whooo, another chapter!

I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Let me know your thoughts and vote.

Love, Tam x