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At least not until she was ready. Cali just prayed that when her sister did finally depart it was on her own terms and not because of a damaging situation. She said a quick prayer for Conner while waiting for the elevator. At this point it was all she could do but Cali’s stomach tensed at the thought of losing anyone else. Unfortunately, she had no control over anyone’s life but her own so it was a tough spot to be in.
FIVE
“Shit doesn’t make any sense, War. I promise we’ve been through everybody. Nobody’s saying shit, still. And we put money on it, still nothing.”
War’s jaw flexed as he pulled down the handle to enter his mother’s house. His sister was passing through at the same time so she stopped with a huge grin in place.
“Aight, just keep at it. Somebody will eventually slip up. I’m not gonna let this shit ride. I can’t.”
“I feel you. We’re all on this until it’s handled.”
“Bet.” War ended the call, slipping his phone into the pocket of the joggers he wore.
“What man? The fuck you grinning at me like that for?”
“You know why. Who the hell is Cali?”
“None of your damn business.” War passed his sister, calling out to his mother as he moved through the house.
“Ma, where you at?”
“She’s upstairs on the phone. That gives us plenty of time to discuss this little birthday thing.”
“Ain’t shit to discuss. I said it was none of your business.”
“Maybe not but you don’t get to ask me to pull together a last minute birthday celebration for some woman you’ve never once mentioned, at your house of all places, and get to say it’s none of my business. Who is she? Clearly somebody important or it would have never happened.”
War chuckled as he navigated through his mother’s house, heading straight to the kitchen. It was Sunday and she called demanding he be there for dinner or he would regret it. War knew better than to take one of his mother’s threats lightly so he brought his ass right to her house at five on the dot to make sure he was accessible.
“Damn this shit smells good. What she cook?”
“Catfish and a bunch of other stuff. Now who is she? She’s cute and all and has a little body on her but that’s nothing new for you.” Kirsten leaned against the counter while War lifted pot lids then peeked inside the double ovens trying to see what was going on. The blend of foods hovering around them had his stomach growling and his mouth watering.
“I’m not about to tell you shit. You’re nosy as hell and it’s not likely you’ll see her again.”
“Wait, hold on. So you did the whole birthday thing and you don’t plan on seeing her again?”
War’s annoyed expression landed on his sister. “Nah, it’s not what you think.”
“Then tell me,” she whined. War was always so secretive. He had women in his life but hadn’t been in a serious relationship in years. At thirty-eight years old, her brother was closed off and private. For the most part his family respected his privacy. Even when his mother did press him occasionally about giving her grandchildren, War always brushed it off. It was one of the reasons Kirsten knew something was up with the woman she met at his house.
Cali!
War leaned against the counter staring at his sister for a long minute. She was seven years younger but the two were close. It had always been the three of them—him, his sister, and their mother. War spent most of his time running the streets which gained him a lot of respect and bad habits but it also provided for his family and allowed him the ability to take good care of his loved ones. Since he was all his mother and sister had, they relied on his leadership and support which meant they kept him as close as they could while still respecting his need for space.
“War, who is she?” Kirsten asked again, pulling him from his thoughts.
“Merritt,” he stated, looking Kirsten right in her eyes. She frowned briefly until it clicked. A month after their cousin died, War got drunk off his ass, rambling about the conversation he had with Merritt asking him to take care of his girl if anything happened to him.
War assumed Merritt was referring to Neece, the woman months away from having his first child but Merritt made it clear that he was speaking of Cali, the woman he’d met and fell for hard. Merritt had a tendency to live recklessly, never giving a second thought about how his poor choices affected those who loved and cared for him.
It was like he had a death wish. There were plenty of nights when the cousins would get high and Merritt would talk cryptically about death and how his life would be cut short abruptly because of the way he lived. War always wrote it off until the night they lost Merritt.
The meeting was last minute and War carried so much guilt because he was the one who sent him there. Merritt was always down for anything and even though the request didn’t feel right, he told War he would handle it. Shit went bad and they still didn’t have answers.
“Oh hell, that’s the one. The one he told you to look after, damn.”
“Yeah, damn. Now you see why I said it ain’t nothing.”
