Hey, book bae! On September 7th, my paperback store reopens. This month’s exclusive paperback (and ebook) is Her Heart, His Hood Armor. Check out the synopsis & sample below ✨
Synopsis:
Katia has spent the past 16 years being her boyfriend Tweed’s all and all. After their son’s stillborn delivery, their relationship takes its final hit. Katia finds herself starting life all over again with a new home and the space to decide what she now wants to do with her life.
Argent, an old friend turned enemy, is willing to help in any way he can. The more Katia pushes him away, the harder he fights for her. When she finally learns the truth and gives him a chance, all hell breaks loose.
Real love leads to real problems—including betrayal, violence, and murder. Will Katia finally get the life and love she deserves, or will her life end before it truly begins?
Please note: This is a 27,000-word urban romance novella.
Argent
I wasn’t on Facebook like that. Beyond giving my brand manager access to my Like page, I didn’t use my personal page for shit but connecting with family and old friends from time to time. When my best friend, Heather, tagged me in Katia’s live video, I didn’t even get the notification. She called me a few minutes later, demanding I log in and watch. Heather wouldn’t go into detail about why, so when I disconnected the call, I immediately logged into my Facebook account to find out what the fuck was going on.
As soon as I joined the live, my heart dropped at the sight of Katia. Her eyes were glossy and low and she had a bottle of 1800 in her hand. Normally, her hair was pulled into a low wavy bun; this evening, it was flowing in waves, almost concealing her beautiful face. She grinned before taking a long swig of the Tequila.
“Tag that motherfucker in my shit,” she slurred with a grin. “He won’t answer my phone calls. He with one of you hoes?”
She released a short cackle before standing. My head tilted and shook. Katia was too fucking beautiful to be acting a damn fool on social media over any nigga… especially one that was as toxic as Tweed’s ass. For as long as I could remember, I’d wanted to secure and protect her heart, but for some reason, she always chose to give it to nigga’s who would destroy it—like him.
Her body rocked and I sat up in my seat. I could tell that she was on the roof of their beatdown duplex in the heart of my hood. Since I lived in the gentrified part a few blocks up, I made my way to my car. A sinking feeling filled the pit of my stomach as my body heated. Something wasn’t right.
“Tweed!” She yelled, stepping closer to the edge of the roof. “You promised me you’d take me high and give me a life in the stars.” Katia looked up into the setting sun. “You told me we would fly. But all your ass do is keep me on the motherfucking ground.” Her head tilted back and arms stretched. “I wanna fly.”
“Fuck,” I groaned as comments taunting her to jump began to flood the chat.
Picking up speed, I exited the live to call Tweed. We weren’t friends anymore and hadn’t been for years, but he needed to get his ass home to see about his woman. When he sent my call to voicemail, I resisted the urge to curse him out and disconnected the call.
Turning onto their street, I got back on Facebook as she said, “Y’all would love it if I jumped, huh? Give y’all nosey asses something to talk about. None of y’all give a fuck about me. Hell, he don’t either.” Her chin trembled before she dropped her phone onto the ground.
Swerving into their driveway, I put my car in park and cut it off quickly before I was jumping out. By now, a small crowd had gathered around the duplex, yet it appeared nobody had thought to reach out to her parents or call the police. After kicking down the front door, I headed up the wooden, cracked stairs toward the roof.
Since Katia was close to the edge, I didn’t want to startle her. I opened the door quietly and stepped onto the roof. Her feet hung halfway off the edge of the building. As wind ripped through her, her hair blew. It would have almost been a beautiful sight against the setting sun. Her shoulders trembled as she cried, and that shit broke my heart even more.
“Tweed,” she begged softly, so caught up in her pain that she didn’t hear or feel me until my arms were wrapping around her waist and lifting her into the air.
“Ah,” Katia screamed, fighting against me.
“Chill the fuck out,” I gritted, snatching her phone up and ending the live.
“Argent?” she called softly. “What the hell is wrong with you? You could have killed me.”
I smirked, as I carried her down the stairs. “Ain’t that what you wanted anyway?”
Katia sucked her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can let me down.”
“Nah. Quite frankly, I’on trust your ass not to run back out to the roof.” When I made it to their front door I told her, “Open this fucking door.”
Katia groaned softly before going into the pocket of her loose-fitting sweatpants and handing me a key. It could have been her coming down from her high or the pressure I was putting on her stomach that was making her woozy. Either way, I could tell by her groans and consistent swallowing that she was about to be sick.
“Argent,” she whispered before clutching her throat. “I’m about to throw up.”
“I know.”
Rushing down the slim hallway, I headed toward the bathroom as she covered her mouth. Thankfully, we made it in time for her to hover over the toilet before her stomach erupted. Sitting on the tub that was less than a foot away from the toilet, I held her hair as she continued to heave the contents of her stomach.
When she gagged a few times and nothing else would come out, Katia wiped her mouth and plopped down on the floor. As I looked down at her, I couldn’t do shit but shake my head. The day I first laid eyes on her in sixth grade, I knew she was the best. Period. From the way she walked and talked to the way she carried herself. And she was so fucking smart. I’d fallen in love with her before I even knew what that shit was…