KnightForce Deuces by Sydney Addae Page B

throw me the ball,” Adam said
running and holding the ball toward his brother. Tyrese took the
ball and tossed. Adam ran and almost caught it. “Aww, man. Again.
Throw it again.” He ran toward them again.
    “Are you ready, Auntie?” Tyrese asked
Renee.
    She stood and walked around to their mama,
placed a kiss on her cheek and hugged her. “See you soon. Love
you.”
    “Same here, sweetie. Everything will be
alright, if Jasmine can move on after what Davian did to her, you
can move on too. Be patient, things will work out,” Victoria said
patting Renee’s cheek.
    Renee jerked back. “There is no comparison
between those two things, Mama. If you really believe what you just
said, you don’t have a clue with what happened with me or
Jasmine.”
    “What? I just said –”
    “Mama, you need to stop talking. I don’t know
if it’s the pregnancy or what but what you just said was so out of
line… I still can’t believe you went that far.”
    Victoria threw up her hands and shook her head
as if she had no idea how insulting she’d been.
    “What’s going on with David?” Rose asked
craning her neck to see around Danielle.
    “Why’s he running to the patio? Is it about to
rain or something?” Renee asked looking at the sky. “Looks clear.
That was strange. Whatever happened, he held onto Sarita’s hand and
took her with him.”
    “Tyrese find out if everything’s okay,” Jasmine
said, concerned. If that had been any of her other children she
wouldn’t have given it much thought. But David didn’t just do
things, normally there was a reason.
    Renee walked behind Tyrese and kissed each
child goodbye, even Sarita. Jasmine glanced at her mom who stared
at Renee and the children. As much as she loved her mama, the
safety of everyone in the compound, the Nation, rested on keeping
their dual-natures a secret. And she refused to allow anyone to
jeopardize the safety of her children and grandchildren.
    Renee returned to them and hugged Rose. “I’m
expecting a call soon.”
    “I want Rone to make that call, today if
possible.” Rose looked down at her round belly. “Hear that, Aunty
wants to see you.”
    Tyrese returned and spoke to Jasmine. “He had a
bad feeling and wanted to be near the rest of them. Wouldn’t say
much more than that. But he seems okay now.”
    “Thanks, Rese,” Jasmine said and then stood to
hug her sister.
    “ I miss you, seems like we never
spend time together like before. Lets plan a girl trip, we haven’t
done that in years,” Renee said.
    Jasmine stared at her sister. “I know but I
have young children and grands, it’s harder to get away. Maybe when
they are older and more settled we can do something,” she said
knowing it would probably never happen. Her mate had too many
enemies who would try to use her as a bargaining chip but it was a
nice thought.
    Renee’s smile slipped. “Good point. Hadn’t
thought it through. I’ll text you when I get home.” Tyrese and
Danielle waved good-bye as they walked alongside Renee to go and
get her things before leaving for the airport.
    When they left the area, Victoria struggled to
get comfortable in her chair. Her cheeks reddened as she looked at
Jasmine. “I know what you’re going to say –”
    “No, you don’t.”
    Her mom stared at her. “I shouldn’t have
mentioned Sarita’s past.” She shook her head. “When I’m with my
girls, I forget Renee’s not like us and talk like we used
to.”
    “And that’s the reason my sister cannot visit
as often as we’d like, you forget she’s different. We can never go
back to those times where we talk about everything. You have to
always remember what’s at stake if Renee finds out our secret.”
Jasmine refused to make light of what just happened. Her sister
studied people for a living and those small slip-ups could lead to
a major breach.
    “So it’s my fault?” Victoria asked.
    Jasmine stared at her and didn’t answer. Her
mom used the pregnancy as an excuse for