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eyes. “Ramsey, I’m going to say this as plain as a brother can say it. If his punk ass comes anywhere near my sister or my niece, I’m not going to be responsible for my actions. His drama shook her up.”
    â€œI’m right there with you,” Ramsey replied as he stood and finished off his beer. “I’m going upstairs to check on them.”
    â€œCool,” Malachi answered as he picked up the remote and started scanning the channels for other games.
    Ramsey exited the room with Target following close behind. Upstairs he instructed his canine to lie down in the hallway outside their bedroom. He entered the room and found Keilah in bed, reading softly to their daughter. Her eyes were barely opened—that was, until she saw her father. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she started wiggling in her mother’s arms to get over to him. It warmed Ramsey’s heart to see his daughter’s strong reaction to his presence. He climbed onto the bed and kissed both of them on the cheek.
    â€œThanks a lot, Ramsey Stone,” Keilah said softly as Neariah crawled over her to get to her father. “She was almost asleep.”
    He placed his daughter on his chest and said, “I’m sorry. I thought she was asleep.”
    â€œIt’s okay,” Keilah replied as she gathered up Neariah’s lotion and brush. “Where’s Malachi?”
    â€œDownstairs, watching the game,” he whispered as he cuddled his daughter in his arms. “I’m going back down there, but I wanted to talk to you first.”
    â€œAbout what?” she asked as Neariah cuddled with her father.
    â€œLet me get her to sleep first,” he said before taking his daughter across the hallway to her room.
    When he returned thirty minutes later, he found Keilah sitting on the small sofa at the foot of their bed, putting lotion on her arms and legs. She looked heavenly in her gold satin nightgown, and the sight of her caused his body to stir. He pulled her up into his arms and hugged her tightly to his body. He leaned down and gave her a seductive kiss on the lips.
    â€œMmmm, that was nice.”
    He kissed her again and whispered, “I love you.”
    She noticed the seriousness in his eyes and said, “I love you too. What’s wrong? What do you want to talk to me about?”
    He sat down on the sofa and pulled her into his lap. As he held on to her, he searched for an easy way to tell her about her ex-boyfriend, and then he realized the only way to tell her was straight-out.
    â€œBradford came by tonight while you were giving Neariah a bath.”
    â€œWhat did he want?” she asked as she massaged the back of his neck.
    â€œHe wanted to let us know that Michael Monroe was found alive in Iraq a few days ago and now he’s back in D.C.”
    â€œI knew he wasn’t dead, and I knew he would come back,” she revealed. “Do you think he’s going to try and come after Neariah?”
    â€œBabe, he has no reason to come after her, and if he does, he’ll have me to deal with, and you and I both know he don’t want that,” Ramsey said to reassure her.
    â€œWhat if he’s delusional and thinks Neariah is his daughter—”
    â€œShe’s not,” he said, interrupting her. “Those were bad dreams, babe. You have nothing to worry about, and Kyle’s going to keep us informed on his whereabouts. He wanted us to know about it before the news media broke the story.”
    Keilah buried her face in her husband’s warm neck and said, “Thanks for the heads-up.”
    He lovingly patted her backside and said, “You’re welcome. Can I get you anything before you turn in?”
    She climbed out of his lap and said, “No, I’m okay. You’re not going to be up too late, are you?”
    He leaned down and gave her another kiss. “No, I’m tired too. It’s been a long day. I’ll be back up as